When to use this
Any meet where arrival and racing are more than three hours apart, or an athlete races twice.
- A 7am arrival for a 2pm invitational race, with nothing scheduled in between.
- An athlete has a JV race in the morning and a relay leg in the afternoon.
- Athletes are fading in their second event and nobody can say why.
Advanced lab
What recovery in hours can and cannot deliver
The sheet says glycogen is rarely the reason a second race goes badly. This is the reasoning, and where the guidance it contradicts is actually correct.
Dizziness, confusion, cramping or a collapse in later events is a same-day athletic-trainer question, not a cooler question. As a repeating pattern it goes to a physician.
Evidence sources
These references support the handout’s general education. Individual medical, supplement, laboratory, or injury questions should be handled by the appropriate qualified clinician.
- Burke LM, van Loon LJC, Hawley JA. Postexercise muscle glycogen resynthesis in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2017;122(5):1055-1067.
- Ivy JL, Katz AL, Cutler CL, Sherman WM, Coyle EF. Muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise. J Appl Physiol. 1988;64(4):1480-1485.
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. ACSM Joint Position Statement: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543-568.
Where to go next
PrintableGet the cooler packing listThat sheet does the menu by gap length; this one does the decision underneath it.
ToolLay out a two-race dayPut both efforts on a timeline and see where the only controllable meal sits.
PrintableAdd the weather multiplierSix hours of exposure is where a hot or cold day actually does its damage.
