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road racing/nutrition question

23 posts & 14 voices | Started 9 months ago by dirtygirlonabike | Latest reply from uplink

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dirtygirlonabike - Member

During last weekends road race, i ran out of water/high 5 4:1 with a fair distance still to go (it was fairly hot/i drink a bottle an hour), but my main issue was hunger. I usually eat cereal bars on the bike and energy drink in my bottles but couldn't get a cereal bar down during the race due to a dry mouth - trying to eat an elevenses bar was like emptying a bag of flour into my mouth!

I've never used energy gels/sweets before - would they stop the hunger? Or am i better trying something like jellybabies?

I felt my energy level was pretty consistent during the race with my energy drink/pre race nutrition (and i've done race pace rides with no energy drink so i know i can do the distance/effort) but i'd like to stop the hunger* Eating more at breakfast isn't really an option - i can only eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast (plus it doesn't seem to matter how much i eat at breakfast, i still get hungry come lunchtime) and i was feeling sick with nerves on sunday so could only get a banana and bit of chocolate down about 30mins before the race.

*riding faster to finish earlier is an option as soon as i figure out how to get faster

Posted 9 months ago #
leggyblonde - Member

energy gels are the way forward. I can't eat solid food in road races, but a Mule Bar or Hi5 gel or two is easily gulped.

Posted 9 months ago #
Stuey01 - Member

I don't race, so a different context. I recently rode London to Paris, I found that gels (particularly those with caffiene) were effective at staving off hunger til the next stop where solid food could be taken on.

Posted 9 months ago #
oldgit - Member

What sort of race duration are we talking here.

That thing about not eating breakfast, sort of same here but I get up early and have a first breakfast. Wait a while then have a second, whilst drinking fluid all morning.

Posted 9 months ago #
yoda - Member

I know that Endura rider Scott Thwaites does 100 miles on a single "Trio"! (other small chocolate biscuits are available) and midwayround the Etape du dales it's a bacon and egg butty!

Wouldn't expect to eat too much in a domestic road race.If you ate right the night before and something well before the start then you should get round on a couple of gels and jelly tots (again, other sugary jellified sweets are available).

Posted 9 months ago #
yoda - Member

Oldgit.....are you a Hobbit?

Posted 9 months ago #
The Swedish Chef - Member

I use a gel every 45 minutes when racing, although it's rare that I'd drink quite as much as a bottle an hour.

Posted 9 months ago #
kcr - Member

Different people have different approaches to race nutrition, so experiment to see what works for you.
I would suggest eating more the day before - a lot more. Try eating more for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and grazing in between. As suggested above, get up earlier so you have more time for breakfast if you find it difficult to eat on race day (best to get your breakfast in 3-4 hours before the race).
I think the race you are referring to was about 2.5 hours, which is still long enough to get the knock if you are riding at race pace and are not fuelled up.
Experiment with your in-race food as well. One rider's meat is another rider's poison, so find what works for you - fancy energy bars, home made meusli bars, energy gels, jelly babies, turkish delight, banana pieces, wee sandwiches, etc, etc? As you've found out, sometimes normal riding food doesn't work when you are competing.

Posted 9 months ago #
dirtygirlonabike - Member

Ok thanks, i'll try some energy gels etc then.

Oldgit, it was 90km, my next one is around the same distance i think so i have a month to either find food that i can eat during a race or get faster to finish quicker!

Posted 9 months ago #
The Swedish Chef - Member

OK so 90km is around the distance I race on my MTB, so anywhere between 3:30 to 4:30 hours of exercise time. Obviously racing on the road is a lot quicker but the fundamentals should be roughly the same.

I'd eat more the day before, making sure I had a high carb pasta based dish the night before.

For an 11:00 start I'd want to finish breakfast 3 hours before hand, and again this would be larger, but not stupidly so, than normal. Coffee, juice, large muesli bowl, 3 pieces of toast.

I'd drink a weak sports drink mixture on the drive to the race and consume a power bar or similar 30 minutes before the start.

As I said sports drink in the bottle/camelback and a gel every 45 minutes during the race.

Just some background that may help. As said play around with a routine during the weeks leading up to the next race and see what works for you.

Posted 9 months ago #
uplink - Member

There's a good bit of info in this doc
Obviously aimed at selling you Torq products but useful generally

http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/sites/default/files/resources/TORQ_Brochure.pdf

Posted 9 months ago #
trickydisco - Member

Since i had a coach last year i've never done any conventional carb loading ( he doesn't believe in it and i think he's right)

The morning of the race i have my normal idave™ compliant breakfast (i.e eggs, omlette and salmon etc) and then i'll start drinking torq energy drink about an hour and half before the race.

if it's a road race i'll probably take a gel about an hour in and have 2 bottles of torq on the bike.

Posted 9 months ago #
Bez - Member

My post would be almost exactly as per Stuey01's but with a "not" in it

Hunger they don't stop - they're just unsubstantial goo - but bonking they do. I find snack-size Snickers bars are good to stuff in your face every so often: chewy and weighty enough to feel like you've actually consumed food but not so large as to be a big deal to eat. Rely on the gels and energy drink to keep the energy levels up and the Snickers or similar to stave off discomfort and cravings.

IME, YMMV, caveat that I don't race, etc.

Posted 9 months ago #
Stuey01 - Member

My post would be almost exactly as per Stuey01's but with a "not" in it

Fair enough, just goes to show that we're all different. For me they do just enough to stave off hunger pangs for an hour or so and give an energy boost.

Posted 9 months ago #
hels - Member

Honest opinion that probably isn't what you want to hear - you need to learn to eat more at breakfast. LOTS more.

Everybody is different but this is what I used to do and I never "bonked" (got too fat and unfit to race any more, but thats different !)

Eat loads and loads the night before, and drink as much water as you can stand. Sleep near a toilet.

In the morning, 2-3 hours before the race, eat the biggest bowl of porridge on the face of the planet, with bananas and honey. You want to double your weight in one meal.

1 hour before the race eat some kind of high energy/easy digest bar.

Every 30 mins during the race stuff a gel down your face.

Race day is the one day you can go crazy and eat like a horse, worry about keeping your weight down on (all of) the other days.

Posted 9 months ago #
uplink - Member

I'm fine with just gels - as long as I take plenty of water on, I don't get hungry [so far tried it for 9 hrs]
I'm hoping to survive Kielder on them alone but I reckon I may well reach for the odd savoury snack at the feed stations

Posted 9 months ago #
mustard - Member

Sleep near a toilet

Posted 9 months ago #
bjj.andy.w - Member

You mention eating cereal for breakfast. If by cereal you mean cornflakes or cocopops it's just not going to cut it for race day. I'm no expert but I would of thought porridge or muesli would be far better.

Posted 9 months ago #
dirtygirlonabike - Member

Hi hels....i was wondering if that would be one of the responses on here and i remember your breakfast (and water consumption!) from the sxc we did yonks ago I'm not talking bonking - i generally don't bonk unless i've not slept enough and therefore don't eat enough on the bike over longer miles. Road racing (so far) has been totally different - despite feeling hungry, i've still got consistent energy for the distance but over longer periods it'd be an issue. What you say does make sense - i used to do it for running but the trouble is i really hate force feeding myself, especially when i'm not hungry/feel full. I still can't eat porridge often after using it in Paris for my half marathon/my running training

I guess I'll experiment with gels vs snickers/easy to eat foods to see what works for me.

bjj.andy.w - by cereal i mean muesli.

Posted 9 months ago #
Munqe-chick - Member

Dirtygirlonabike you sound very similar to me! No matter what people say I can't eat bigger portions, you will just make yourself sick, I have tried slowly but it just doesn't work. I have tried eating more the day before, it doesn't work! I find a bowl of museli (normal size) with a banana then maybe 1 1/2 hours before hand a few small slices of malt loaf with butter. Whilst racing then smaller bars, I can't stand Clif or Mule bars they are worse than Elevenses and make you want to drink a litre of water. I think you need to expermient with jelly babies, dolly mixture or tangfastics! I don't liek gels I find they don't agree with me, so it's just trying them. Oh or shot blocks, I REALLY like those, it's like eating raw jelly but worked a treat when I was MTBing for 6-7 hours a day at altitude in Colorado.

Posted 9 months ago #
uplink - Member

I can't eat a big breakfast either, I can sometimes have 2 if I have time

I have the Kielder 100 coming up, it starts at 06:30 so not much chance at all of having a good breakfast, I'm just going to have a bottle of Slimfast as soon as I get up and hope it's enough

Posted 9 months ago #
trickydisco - Member

I have the Kielder 100 coming up, it starts at 06:30 so not much chance at all of having a good breakfast, I'm just going to have a bottle of Slimfast as soon as I get up and hope it's enough

They've got porridge at the castle/start point. I necked that down before i left and had about 7 energy gels on the ride

Posted 9 months ago #
uplink - Member

They've got porridge at the castle/start point

I'm in the YHA where they'll be doing breakfasts from 5 but it's far too close to the start for my stomach
Unless I have at least a couple of hours to digest it, I end up with a stitch and stomach cramps

Posted 9 months ago #