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NUTRITION AND HYDRATION
LESSON: Running on Empty
It is 7:00 am at the Riviera Tennis Club in Palm Springs, California. The top tennis players from around the country arrived last night for the first round of the prestigious National Championships.
Walking through a hall of the west wing of the hotel and I can hear Leslie through their door, “Mom…STOP!!! I’m not hungry. Stop forcing me to eat! I’m too nervous. I don’t feel hungry!” This has been an on-going pre-match battle for Leslie and her mom Carol and this time would prove catastrophic.
Trying her best to avoid an emotional battle right before Leslie’s match, Carol gives up on her job of making sure Leslie is prepared for a three hour battle in the blazing Palm Springs heat. “So much for your nutrition and hydration requirements… I give up”, cries Carol.
The first match on Court 7 went to three tough sets so Leslie begins her scheduled 9:00 am match around 10:00 am. Leslie, being a top seed and a far superior athlete jumps out to a commanding 6-2 first set lead. Midway through the second set her wheels fall off. Leslie can’t seem to focus; her body feels uncoordinated and shaky. She complains of feeling dizzy like she’s going to faint. Leslie begins to make unforced errors left and right. She drops the second set 4-6. At the start of the critical third set, the time is now 11:30 am. Leslie hasn’t fueled her body since last night’s dinner at 6:30 pm, which was 16 hours ago.
Guess who goes down in flames losing the third set 1-6? You got it-Leslie! Her disappointing first-round loss was directly related to her stubbornness to fuel her body properly.
“The ultimate athletic goal with respect to nutrition is to maintain a healthy balanced diet day in and day out with special attention to proper nutrition prior, during and after competition.”
