Fuelling by the numbers

It’s like Cyclingnews knew we were on a recovery week!  This is the second article from their website about how to approach nutrition.  With LiveMultiSport going south next week, these are some great tips on how to keep the body fueled for a long ride.  I’ve also added some points based on my own personal experience.

Three days before the big ride

1. Reduce your intake of fats – no fried food, chips or burgers. Instead concentrate on pasta, rice, cereals, bread, noodles or potatoes
2. For breakfast: Think cereals and fruit
3. For both lunch and dinner: Try and stick to starchy foods with vegetables

* It probably sounds rather filling, but at least 70 per cent of your calorie intake in the days immediately before a big event should be made up of energy-boosting carbohydrates.

CWR – Make sure to have some protein with your carbo loading.  It helps the body retain the carbos more easily than just eating them on their own. Chicken or white fish is my favorite to eat as a side dish because it’s easy on the tummy.

Day before the big ride

Rather than gorging all day, think more about replacing junk or fatty foods with whole foods, and putting the emphasis on carbohydrate-rich fuel.

1. Eat as much as you have been over the past few days
2. Sip on an energy drink in between meals; it’s a good way of adding extra carbs and will also help with your pre-race hydration

* Recommended carb intake (grams): Your weight (kg) x 8

CWR – Don’t eat foods that are radically different than what you eat.   If your eating spaghetti for breakfast and never have before, bad day to try it than the day before or even worse the day of the race. If you want the best performance, I’d limit the amount of sugar you eat as well.  I found some of my best races have been on a week of low glycemix index foods.

Race day – pre-ride meal

The overall aim is to arrive on the start line with an empty stomach, but with all your glycogen stores at capacity, and fully hydrated. So make sure you:

1. Leave three to four hours between your breakfast and the start to avoid upsetting your stomach.

2. Don’t rely on hotel breakfasts. Eating three hours before a 100-mile day means an early start, and most hotels or B&Bs will palm you off with a ‘continental’ of coffee and buttered croissant with jam this early.

3. Pack some in-the-saddle snacks. On its own, this paltry amount of base energy will see you ‘bonking’ by lunchtime. The solution is to pack your own – both muesli and porridge oats with mixed dried fruit are good, as they can be soaked in your hotel room overnight, and reheated with water from the hotel room kettle in the small hours. Being self-sufficient will cut out potential panics or worries.

4. One for the road: You can top up your glycogen stores with an energy bar or gel as you ride to the starting pen, which will compensate for those first few excited miles when everyone, including you, sets off a bit too quickly…

* Recommended carb intake (grams): Your weight (kg) x 3

CWR - Again, it’s important to stick with foods that you know work for you.  This is not the time to try new things.  High fiber foods are usually not great for race days (unless you have trained with it).  White rice is one of LMS favorites on race mornings.  It’s quick energy to help top up your storages.

During the ride

* Hourly carb consumption (in grams) is your weight (kg) x 0.7 to 1.25 (depending on ride difficulty and conditions)

CWR - All the literature I’ve read supports that 250-300 calories per hour is what you should aim for.  Anymore than this and you could get a bad case of gut rot.  Any less and you could bonk.  These are things you find out in training.

Post-ride recovery feed (within 15 minutes of event)

* Recommended carb consumption (grams): Your weight (kg) x 1.5

Add to this a measure (in grams) of protein equivalent to your weight (kgs) x 0.4. This post-ride snack takes the best advantage of the optimal window for muscle glycogen resynthesis, which should mean you don’t feel so sore after your big day spent in the saddle!

CWR - If you screw around with anything else don’t mess with your recovery!  At the end of a race make sure to have something available.  This is the best time to get in important nutrition to help aid your tired body.  Plan this part in your daily workouts.  Make sure you always have something available or can buy it.  After 30mins your window of opportunity can close leaving you without maximum gains.