What and when to eat before a race

[MDW]

Make sure your glycogen stores are full by having some carbs. Protein is not fuel and you have enough fat. Fully fuelled you should be able to race for 90-120 mins. Depletion starts immediately so make sure you replenish when doing longer races.

One problem if you have glucose spiking drink you will not tap your fat stores it mitigates it, so the thing is to understand how u are going to race for how long, the intensity and then you work your fuelling strategy around that. If you are a carbohydrate dependent person then when glycogen stores deplete you will be forced to switch to fat, the transition is painful to say the least. If you are more fat adapted its far more transparent. Time and intensity will determine your feed.

[ScottCM]

One problem if you have glucose spiking drink you will not tap your fat stores it mitigates it, so the thing is to understand how u are going to race for how long, the intensity and then you work your fuelling strategy around that. If you are a carbohydrate dependent person then when glycogen stores deplete you will be forced to switch to fat, the transition is painful to say the least. If you are more fat adapted its far more transparent. Time and intensity will determine your feed.

 

that sounds really interesting, just wish i knew what it all meant

[GaryvdM]

that sounds really interesting, just wish i knew what it all meant

 

Here is some reading on the matter: http://www.gssiweb.org/Article/sse-59-fat-metabolism-during-exercise-new-concepts

[Jacques999]

Breakfast: Yogurt + Muesli, 1 or 2 bananas and a USN spike

During the race: 1 bottle water + 1 bottle GI32, then I use racefood 1-2 bars and 1 more banana (100km)

After the race: whatever I can find

[jcza]

One problem if you have glucose spiking drink you will not tap your fat stores it mitigates it, so the thing is to understand how u are going to race for how long, the intensity and then you work your fuelling strategy around that. If you are a carbohydrate dependent person then when glycogen stores deplete you will be forced to switch to fat, the transition is painful to say the least. If you are more fat adapted its far more transparent. Time and intensity will determine your feed.

 

There is no spike during exercise. Even if you're a fat burner and not a carb burner you will hit the wall when glycogen is depleted.

[MDW]

There is no spike during exercise. Even if you're a fat burner and not a carb burner you will hit the wall when glycogen is depleted.

Agreed BUT Actually there is a major difference ;-) if you are a carbohydrate dependent athlete then hitting the wall has meaning as opposed to the athlete that is more fat adapted. When the body is depleted of glycogen the brain will force the body to slow down in order to be able to take advantage of fat for fuel and this is an incredibly hard or tough period of no energy at all where the "hitting the wall" has large meaning for most. But if you are a very efficient fat fuelling athlete the transition is no where near as painful as a carbohydrate dependent person. In actual fact if you speak to athletes who are very efficient at fat fuelling, they will tell you that the transition is pretty seamless they don't feel the pain, and if you speak to a fat efficient athlete who eats a lower carb diet they will also tell you they cannot remember when they hit the wall last. Intimately this is something I have played with immensely over the past 9 years and deal on a nutrition basis with a lot of my clients moving away from that carb dependency allowing them to be more fat efficient and focussing on timing with carb intake. The same results occurs after adaption, but it continues to improve over time.

So agreed 100% all athletes will run out of glycogen at some stage depending on time intensity and fuel, but the athlete that is more fat efficient doesn't feel the pain as much as those that are more carb dependent :-)

[MDW]

There is no spike during exercise. Even if you're a fat burner and not a carb burner you will hit the wall when glycogen is depleted.

On the spike during exercise I disagree. There can certainly be one depending on the intensity you are performing at and the type of CHO ingestion. I have spent many years running blood tests on athletes during exercise and monitoring the effects of CHO intake dependent on rate of performance. Many cyclists as an example who are riding at a much lower intensity, social ride, or take it easy just finish ride often consume products which do cause a rapid rise in blood glucose and the intensity they are performing at doesn't warrant that kind of consumption.The second thing is if they keep consuming through and through, when the session is finished there will be an excess of blood sugar in the system which the body is still trying to get rid of and if the consumption volume wasn't warranted based on performance you can be sure the side effects are pendulum swinging and weight gain for many.

There are many various degrees of blood sugar rise during exercise depending on type of CHO consumed and effort.

[Redlight]

It's wot you have eaten the day befor

[LouisS]

Has anyone tried Singletrack's Marathon Fuel? Used it for Transbaviaans and again at Xterra this past weekend? Works great for me. Go and have a look at www.singletrackfuel.com. Lots of usefull info on the website.

[Bodhi]

 

 

Check attachment - Wonder Why pizza

 

WANT!

[GaryvdM]

So agreed 100% all athletes will run out of glycogen at some stage depending on time intensity and fuel, but the athlete that is more fat efficient doesn't feel the pain as much as those that are more carb dependent :-)

 

Yes, but as far as I am aware, training with low glycogen/carbohydrate won't increase you bodies ability to oxidize FFA any more than training with high glycogen/carbohydrate.

[twin rings]

i find my problem is trying to eat enough on the bike during long MTB days, if i have anything like a small meal, e.g chicken burger, sandwich, my body seems to shut down, and it can take a good hour or more before i feel like i've got any sort of energy back. Day 2 of Sani is a prime example, if i eat at the lunch stop im useless for the next 1 1/2.........so I try and get by on liquid food like Hammer Perpeptuem and bars, nuts & raisins etc. Im fine for say a 5hr ride but beyond that im struggling.

[Jakkals.]

Before: Oats with milk, honey and banana, taken with a cup of coffee about an hour before the race.

 

During: depends on the distance but usually a mixture of the following GU Roctane, EVOX energy bar, peanuts and raisens, energade jellies, apples, bananas, baby potatoes

 

gaan jy op n piekniek Fanie

[jcza]

Agreed BUT Actually there is a major difference ;-) if you are a carbohydrate dependent athlete then hitting the wall has meaning as opposed to the athlete that is more fat adapted. When the body is depleted of glycogen the brain will force the body to slow down in order to be able to take advantage of fat for fuel and this is an incredibly hard or tough period of no energy at all where the "hitting the wall" has large meaning for most. But if you are a very efficient fat fuelling athlete the transition is no where near as painful as a carbohydrate dependent person. In actual fact if you speak to athletes who are very efficient at fat fuelling, they will tell you that the transition is pretty seamless they don't feel the pain, and if you speak to a fat efficient athlete who eats a lower carb diet they will also tell you they cannot remember when they hit the wall last. Intimately this is something I have played with immensely over the past 9 years and deal on a nutrition basis with a lot of my clients moving away from that carb dependency allowing them to be more fat efficient and focussing on timing with carb intake. The same results occurs after adaption, but it continues to improve over time.

So agreed 100% all athletes will run out of glycogen at some stage depending on time intensity and fuel, but the athlete that is more fat efficient doesn't feel the pain as much as those that are more carb dependent :-)

On the spike during exercise I disagree. There can certainly be one depending on the intensity you are performing at and the type of CHO ingestion. I have spent many years running blood tests on athletes during exercise and monitoring the effects of CHO intake dependent on rate of performance. Many cyclists as an example who are riding at a much lower intensity, social ride, or take it easy just finish ride often consume products which do cause a rapid rise in blood glucose and the intensity they are performing at doesn't warrant that kind of consumption.The second thing is if they keep consuming through and through, when the session is finished there will be an excess of blood sugar in the system which the body is still trying to get rid of and if the consumption volume wasn't warranted based on performance you can be sure the side effects are pendulum swinging and weight gain for many.

There are many various degrees of blood sugar rise during exercise depending on type of CHO consumed and effort.

 

I agree, fasted low intensity training will also condition the body for efficiency. Elite athletes are much better at glycogen preservation and training correct also increases glycogen stores. I was referring to normal CHO intake (+/-40gr) per hour at race pace. I'm sure slower athletes will not have the same result. Fat burning is the way to go!

[Barend de Arend]

On the spike during exercise I disagree. There can certainly be one depending on the intensity you are performing at and the type of CHO ingestion. I have spent many years running blood tests on athletes during exercise and monitoring the effects of CHO intake dependent on rate of performance. Many cyclists as an example who are riding at a much lower intensity, social ride, or take it easy just finish ride often consume products which do cause a rapid rise in blood glucose and the intensity they are performing at doesn't warrant that kind of consumption.The second thing is if they keep consuming through and through, when the session is finished there will be an excess of blood sugar in the system which the body is still trying to get rid of and if the consumption volume wasn't warranted based on performance you can be sure the side effects are pendulum swinging and weight gain for many.

There are many various degrees of blood sugar rise during exercise depending on type of CHO consumed and effort.

 

The thread topic is about racing. If the intensity is low enough to cause a spike, attack!

 

(agreed that ppl overfuel for a lot of training rides.)

[MDW]

 

 

The thread topic is about racing. If the intensity is low enough to cause a spike, attack!

 

(agreed that ppl overfuel for a lot of training rides.)

LOL ????