[WWYC] Surviving a 48 Hour Contest

Hrvoje Horvat hrle@ipazin.net
Wed, 20 Nov 2002 11:07:00 GMT


Hey guys...wanna know more about this?! 

http://www.qsl.net/ei8ic/contest/48hrs.html 

 - This page contains a number of tips and techniques to help you carry on 
contesting throughout a 48 hour contest. 

 - I liked the most Stewart's (GM4AFF/GM0F) story so I'll print it here: 

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My favourite subject! Here's a repeat of the information I gathered a few 
years ago when we had a similar thread. It might be helpful to some. 
Apologies to those who have seen it before (I have modified it slightly)... 

There is no doubt that the human metabolism will function better over a 48 
hour period of little sleep, if attention is paid to fitness and diet. Diet 
seems to have the most obvious and immediate effect on the ability to last 
the 48 hour period. 

1. It's a proven medical fact that we should sleep in multiples of 90 
minutes. Most sleep 90 mins on early Sunday morning, and some on Saturday 
morning too. In general, it seems like a good idea to get 3 hours in before 
the contest starts, which is easy in Europe, but difficult in West USA. 
Varied feelings about whether to get a'lie in' on the Friday morning, but 
certainly not good to have a very late night on Thursday. 'Adrenelin' seems 
to be a big factor for some in keeping you going through the weekend. For 
others, the opposite is true - relaxed and laid-back gets them through. 
Whether you're wired or tired, it makes little difference to the final 
result. It's the ability to sustain concentration that matters. 

2. Drink in moderation, but regularly. Drink to quench thirst. Do not drink 
caffeinated beverages. Caffeine will lower the blood sugar level thereby 
affecting the ability to concentrate. Coke, tea and coffee contain caffeine. 
Milk will make talking difficult - radio and TV news readers avoid milk. 
Unsweetened fruit juice, a little often, is good. It is far more difficult 
to waken up if you have managed to get to sleep with a high caffeine level. 

3. When to eat? Stick to eating at regular intervals. Every 6 hours with a 
small snack at 3hr intervals is good. Normal eating times are also good. 
It's what your body expects. 

4. What to eat? The objective is to maintain a steady blood-glucose level of 
around 4-5 mmol throughout the weekend, with a slightly higher than normal 
intake of protein. In normal healthy individuals, high blood-glucose levels 
lead to poor concentration and drowsiness whilst low blood-glucose levels 
lead to iritability, short temper and loss of aptitude. 4-5 mmol, a 
moderately low level, will be achieved by avoiding anything containing 
simple carbohydrates like sugar or bleached pure white flour. So, good is 
wholemeal bread, bad is plain white bread. Good is potato skins, bad is 
creamed potato. Good is natural fruit juices, bad is sports drinks. Good is 
fruit, bad is sweets/candy. Whilst sports drinks will give the body a big 
hit of energy, this hit is followed by a very deep low in blood-glucose 
levels. Complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits and grains) are good, in 
that they take a long time to digest, help maintain a steady blood-glucose 
level and help avoid surges. 

So what should we eat and drink? 

sandwiches of wholemeal bread, with meat or cheese
fruit/grain/granola bars (but watch out for high sugar content)
pure orange juice
water
nuts
apples
5. How much to eat? In general, it is best to eat less food than you would 
normally. 

6. Avoid smoking. 

7. Keep fit. This is really quite important. If you are fit your body will 
react less badly to poor sleep patterns. 

8. Avoid alcohol. 

9. Avoid working on 'stuff' right up to the wire. Prepare well for the 
contest and 'know' that you have. There is a hidden side to knowing that you 
are well prepared. This will help you relax prior to and during the event, 
which is one of the keys to making it through the full 48 hours. It feels 
good to feel loud, and believe that your signal is getting through - 'I know 
what I'm doing'. Learn from the previous year. Immediately after a major 
contest write down what was wrong, what went wrong, what was good, and what 
was bad. That way, next year you will be a little more prepared, and a 
little more relaxed. 

10. Smile when you talk. Sound happy. Even if you feel like death, don't let 
the other guy know it! People like to call happy people. Not a lot of good 
on CW, of course. 

Other points worth noting... 

Vitimin B can help you feel less tired over a period of time, and may be 
beneficial. I would not take this as a recommendation to take vitimins 
though - see your doctor first! 

Tablets/medication like ProPlus (in the UK) which are really just 
concentrated caffeine, will keep you awake but your ability to make even the 
simplest decision is diminished, and concentration is virtually impossible. 
Trouble is, I don't think you are aware of this if you have taken them! 
Perhaps, useful in the last 12 hours. 

Someone suggested avoiding salt, but this may not be recommended in hot 
climates, as lack of salt can lead to muscle cramps. It's unlikely that the 
lack or even overdose of salt over such a short time frame would have that 
much effect anyway. 

A number of ops mentioned feeling rough for the whole of the week following 
a contest. I didn't after the CQ WW SSB, but did after the CW. And I haven't 
felt bad like this before - I recover fairly quickly normally. I don't know 
what this is all about. 

Some ops mentioned a lack of aptitude - the inability to physically send 
certain complex CW codes. This is probably due to low blood-glucose levels 
and lack of sleep. The inability to receive more than 3 or 4 characters at a 
time seems to result from high blood-glucose levels and lack of sleep. What 
to do? Sleep, I guess! 

I believe a shower and shave will work wonders on Sunday morning. [Put some 
clean clothes out beforehand - EI8IC] 

I was told that pineapple juice is a lot better at refeshing you than 
orange. I tried this, and it seems to be true. It's also less acidic I 
think, and orange juice can be a migraine trigger. 

Essential oils may have a beneficial effect, but leave the shack smelling 
for weeks afterwards! 

I don't want to sound like an expert. I'm not a dietition. I'm not a 
top-flight operator. But I am diabetic (insulin dependent), and hence, have 
a requirement to keep my blood-glucose level under control. I made some 
fundamental mistakes in the last CQ WW CW Contest (1999), and I am passing 
on what I have learnt, both from personal experience and from the experience 
of others. I hope others can benefit from this. 

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Also like the K9NW's advice...
"Another 48 hour contest with ZERO caffeine, ZERO sodas, etc.  Ice water and 
fresh lemonade....that's the key!!" 

Fresh lemonade works great and gives u a lot of refreshment and vitamins. I 
tryed it recently and showed extremly good effect on my body. Think it was 
IOTA contest in my case.. 24 hours without even noticing... 

Hrle - 9A6XX