What's your Typical pre-Race Breakfast

I polled a loose cross-section of the pro triathlete community, and the responses were highly varied and sometimes surprising (what's with the EnviroKidz Organic Koala Crisp kid's cereal?). From breakfast choices that ranged from 400 to 1,200 calories, only liquids to hearty feasts, strictly healthy to the decidedly decadent, the answers ran the nutritional gamut.

As for me, I have an inverse oatmeal to-coffee ratio depending on the race distance. Olympic: one pack instant oatmeal and a triple espresso; 70.3: two packs of oatmeal and a double espresso; Ironman: three packs of oatmeal and a single shot. No matter the distance or race, I wash my meal down with a PowerBar Endurance drink.

Here's what the other pros had to say:

Mirinda Carfrae, Ironman 70.3 world champion: For an Olympic distance or 70.3 race, my breakfast usually consists of a chocolate chip muffin or something equally tasty and full of calories. ] feel like it's too hard to force down a real breakfast that early in the morning, and a tasty treat helps get me out of bed at whatever ridiculous hour I need to get up to be ready. I also sip a sports drink until around 60 to 90 minutes before the gun goes off. For Hawaii last year I had some rice bread with honey and peanut butter and a sports drink.

Jordan Rapp, 2009 Ironman Arizona champion: One banana, FirstEndurance Ultragen shake, one bowl EnviroKidz Organic Koala Crisp chocolate rice cereal with a half cup of almond milk, FirstEndurance EFS bar and three pieces of dark chocolate.

Simon Whitfield, Olympic gold and silver medalist (2000, 2008): One cup of EnviroKidz Organic Koala Crisp cereal with lemon omega-3 oil, Hemp Hearts brand hemp seeds and yogurt.

Chrissie Wellington, three-time Ironman world champion: I have a substantial bowl of cream of rice, with sunflower butter stirred in and an unhealthy amount of honey on top. I drink a cup of coffee and I sip on Cytomax energy drink (apple flavor).

Amanda Lovato, Ironman 70.3 Pucon champion: Package of Justin's Nut Butter, a half cup of warm rice cereal, a half cup of coffee (to get the colon rollin') and a banana. if I'm really hungry, I will add one cup of soy yogurt with a quarter scoop of protein powder.

Michael Lovato, Ironman champion: Pre-race meal is a small cup of coffee, a smoothie with 16 ounces of vanilla almond milk, one banana, two cups mixed berries, one packet of Justin's maple almond butter, and two scoops of Ultragen. Sometimes I eat an EFS bar an hour before the race starts. And I sip EFS if it's a warm race.

source: Triathlete_Magazine_Nov2010