What’s Your Fuel?
My main goal for tomorrow's race is to perform as well as I can. That doesn't necessarily mean I want to place better than last time. I'm more interested in coming to the race better prepared, sufficiently warmed up, and well-fueled so that I can be in control of the situation, and feel as good as can reasonably be expected through as much of the race as possible. I bonked pretty early at the first race, and while I was able to recover somewhat by the end, I was never operating at my full potential, and was never able to improve upon the small gains I made during the first lap.
Although I believe there were several components to this, I think the major contributing factor may have been a shortage of fuel. Being my first race, I was pretty nervous and had very little desire to eat. I managed to eat some toast, but that didn't provide me with the power I needed to get through the race.
So tonight and tomorrow, I intend to eat for the race. I do have some ideas of what this means for me, but I'd like to hear what you do to fuel up for a race. A mountain of pasta the night before? A bowl of oatmeal raceday morning? Liquids and gels only?
What gets you to the finish line?
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October 16th, 2009 - 09:37
Well, I still haven’t gotten in right, but whatever I eat, I always pop a gel and sip water about 10-15 minutes before the start of a hard, fast ride. Gels (I like chocolate Gu) work really well for me and when everyone blasts off the front, I want to be able to hang while I’m still warming up.
Thank goodness women’s cross races at the low level are only about 30 minutes. If I had to ride that hard for an hour, I’d die not being able to eat on the bike.
Good luck! My cross bike is being built up today. Practice tomorrow, maybe race Sunday. Stupid? Sure!
October 16th, 2009 - 10:05
Yeah, I’m thinking I’ll do the gel thing before the start tomorrow.
It’s a strange adjustment for me, coming from a background of long distance riding – usually I don’t have to worry about food until an hour or two into the ride, and then I can just munch and ride. I’m riding with the Cs for the time being, so I’ve only got 30 minutes out there, but it’s a rough 30 minutes!
Good luck on Sunday. I don’t think it’s stupid, but maybe that’s because I did pretty much the same thing! I think you’ll be glad you did it.
I’ll be cheering for you from Michigan!
October 16th, 2009 - 17:43
Thanks! Cheers to you from deep south Texas!
October 16th, 2009 - 11:27
Keep up the racing. You’ll get better as you find a race morning routine and the pre-race jitters calm down (sadly, they never go away). What you eat has little to do with a cross race. Carbo loading does not work anyways. You should aim to eat a regular diet. Try to eat your usual breakfast more then 3 hours before the race (avoid eggs, meat, etc. which will make you burp all race and have you tasting breakfast and wanting to puke). For an intense effort like cross, your primary fuel is the glycogen, which is already stored in your liver/muscles. Eating a lot really wont alter this (as long as you are recovered). Your legs are as good as you’ve trained them to be, and they wont store more energy because you’ve shoved a bunch of carbs down your gullet. The elite CX racers I know actually avoid eating much before a race, save for a gel or two. Far better to be devoid of food (in the stomach and further down the tubes, if you catch my drift) than have an awkward pile of pasta sloshing around. Remember, you should be at near-anaerobic-sub-puke intensity for the duration. No eating or drinking necessary! Slight gripe: it is impossible to "bonk" during a 40 min cross race. If you think you bonked, you didn’t. Maybe a touch hypoglycemic? Sure. Maybe you felt starved? Sure. But true bonking is a place you can visit only after prolonged exertion without glycogen. We’re talking the end of a century during which you’ve eaten a banana. If you have not experienced it, you will someday, and you will look back on how you felt in the cross race and laugh
Good luck!
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
October 16th, 2009 - 15:32
Hotdogs. Though my race tonight was postponed.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
October 26th, 2009 - 20:26
Willis is spot on. Eating within 3 hours of any intense effort will actually do more harm than good. Wait until you begin warming up and then take in a gel or some Heed you don’t need much because like Willis said, your body has all the fuel it needs stored already.