When cycling briskly approximately 600 - 900 calories are consumed every hour, but you have enough stored glycogen (muscle fuel) to get you through up to two hours? racing. If you're riding longer you need to consume additional calories to keep from developing a glycogen deficit. Your body, however, cannot absorb as much as you use during exercise, and that friendly round-the-waist storage facility can only be accessed during fairly low intensity efforts. We can accordingly supplement energy reserves by ?carbo-loading? prior to the event, a nutritious breakfast / sandwich before the event, and with bananas, gels and energy drinks to ?top you up? during the event. Carbo-loading. Enjoy a healthy pasta (little to no meat) with some veggies prepared with olive oil, the evening prior to your event. Pre-workout energy. Research shows that people who start the day with cereal eat less fat throughout the day, get more vitamins and minerals and have lower cholesterol levels than those who skip it. In addition energy bars, fruit and cereal make good pre-workout meals. A simple sandwich with butter and jam is an extraordinary good combination of what you will need in the race, which can supplement with an energy drink. Energy during the event (food on-the-go). Cycle jersey pockets are designed to carry food readily accessible, which you will need to prevent that glycogen deficit ?barrier?. The important thing is to be gulping energy well before you feel 'flat'. Use masking tape to stick a banana or energy gel to your top tube or stem for easy access. Energy drinks provide fuel in the form of steady complex carbohydrates, as well as replenishing electrolytes and minerals lost through sweating. Energy gels have become quite popular, are easy to absorb and provide concentrated carbohydrates that deliver quick energy during intense efforts. Some varieties include vitamins, amino acids, caffeine and electrolytes, which are very useful in recovery after the event. Unfortunately some gels tend to "spike", but fruit based gels seems to have a slower release. The humble banana remains a pleasant, cheap and very effective alternative to gels, complete with its own biodegradable wrapper. Tastes. Not all gels agree with all stomachs, and certainly some taste dreadful, especially when you are "eyeballs out" & riding at the limit. Be sure to experiment to ensure that your food and drink choices are right for you. What works for one person won't necessarily work for others. And, twenty kilometres into a century is no time to find out that the energy drink your training partner recommended upsets your stomach? During an event you might be burning 10 to 13 calories per minute. A good race day nutritional approach should be the right carbohydrate intake at the right time, being the equivalent of two gels, each hour of the race. Recovery eating! Reload quickly with a small, high-protein & carbohydrate shake, as there's a window of opportunity immediately after workout /the event. This is when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and glycogen is replaced, otherwise you will be sluggish and hungry for the rest of the day. Chocolate / strawberry milk, gulped down with honey / banana / peanut butter spread on bread is a simple - and exraordinarily effective - solution. There are also a number of off-the-shelf recovery drinks available, feel free to try them all! Keep hydrated. Depending upon your sweat rate and the weather, you lose anywhere from 1 to 2 quarts of perspiration an hour. Replace this fluid loss with more than just water because you're not only losing H2O, but also vital nutrients. Energy drinks are best because they contain electrolytes and nutrients lost through sweating, as well as carbohydrates to fuel the muscles. An energy drink you enjoy will ensure that you?ll drink more, but interestingly, lower the concentration of your preferred drink, because as you fatigue and heat up, you'll prefer less flavour and sweetness. Too rich a mixture can upset your stomach and even slow down or prevent water absorption. Quicktest. To make sure you're properly hydrated before an event, check your urine. It should be pale yellow or clear. Dark yellow and strong-smelling urine is a reminder to drink a few more glasses of water, although vitamin pills can have a colouring effect as well. Another key sign of proper hydration is having to get up during the night before the event to urinate. Eat less more often, and lose some unnecessary weight. Forget the diets and ad?s ? don?t overdo it - a kg here and a kg there lost will do wonders for how you feel and perform. Vitamins C and E help muscles to repair and recover itself, and vitamin E also speeds recovery from abrasions. Ask your doctor or a nutritionist for more information. Lower your cholesterol by using olive oil, avocados, and nuts - all foods with healthy fat - and avoiding too much butter, cakes, and chips - foods with "bad" fat. Ask your doctor or a nutritionist for more information. <?:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /> Whatever you eat, be sure to regularly drink water, which not only helps your body to absorb the essential ingredients more effectively, but keeps you hydrated!
