Recovery between finals

Question
Hey Al-

I have national championship finals tomorrow in 2 events with approximately 3 hours in between races. Both are equally important and competitive enough that there is no chance I could shut down early and/or skip the sprint in the first. What would you recommend in terms of food, hydration, and rest before the first race and in between the 2? I have lots of energy gels (used by bikers often), protein bars, and gatorade, and access to my hotel in between where I could take an ice bath, nap, stretch, etc. What do you recommend?

Answer
Hi Pat: I apologize for not giving you a more timely response.  I was on vacation and this e-mail ended up in my spam folder.

My recommendation would have been rest and rehydration -- no food unless you were feeling a bit low on energy.  The hotel would have been where I would have went.  You just can't relax when you are at the venue.

I'm sure whatever you did, it worked out for you.  I remember racing in an elimination heat and not finishing high enough to qualify.  Since it was the last race of the year, we went to a nearby bar and had a few beers; some of the guys even had a couple of smokes.  Sure enough, a boat got DQ'd and we ended up qualifying for the Petite Final later that day.  Despite our odd recovery regimen, we went on and posted our best time of the year.

Regards/AP