NUTRITION AND HYDRATION

In the days leading up to your event the biggest changes will occur in your training, not your training diet. During your taper, your muscles will have the opportunity to “glycogen load” ensuring you a full tank of fuel for race day.

When your muscle glycogen stores become depleted you will feel exhausted, and your strength will diminish rapidly.  Eventually your blood sugar will drop and you will have “bonked” or “hit the wall”.  This is preventable by filling up your reserves on a daily basis and by fueling with carbohydrates before, during and after your training.

Cyclists, who practice eating 55 to 65 percent of their calories from carbohydrates on a regular basis can expect to prevent chronic glycogen depletion. They are able to train better because their muscles are better fueled and can continue eating the same foods pre-event so there are no unwanted surprises.  (Note: well-trained muscles can store 20 to 50% more glycogen than untrained muscles!)

Research demonstrates that eating more carbohydrates (also known as carbo-loading) the days before an event maximizes muscle glycogen stores and improves performance in events lasting 90 minutes or longer.

Also, when you consume carbohydrates a few hours before exercise, this tops off liver and muscle glycogen stores and enhances endurance performance (Hargreaves et al, 2004)

Proper Hydration Fluids

Any fluids that taste good to you are the ones that you should choose to keep your body hydrated.  Drink plenty, choose a variety of fluids and drink often.  Plain water is important to consume, but it doesn’t have electrolytes or carbohydrates.  Choose a combination of fluids so you get the minerals and nutrients your muscles need to endure, perform and keep you hydrated.  Your job is to concentrate on keeping hydration levels high.

Pre-Event Hydration Plan

Drink one water bottle 17-20 oz @ 2 hours prior to event

Consume 10-14 oz @ 10-20 min prior to event

Drink 5-10 oz every 15 minutes during events

PRE RACE: Determine what your pre-race meal is going to be and practice eating your pre-event foods during training.  If your event is in the morning, practice eating you pre-race breakfast.  For afternoon events, breakfast and lunch, etc.

The amount of carbohydrates consumed prior to an event is dependent upon the amount of time you have to eat before the event, according to the following ratios:

RACE DAY: Have a plan for your race day nutrition. Break your total fluid and calorie intake down into measurable goals so you know how much of what you will be eating and drinking for the duration of your event.

POST RECOVERY: Use your tried and true recovery plan for post race recovery. Remember, having a post race recovery plan is as important as all the training you have put in!  See archived article “Fueling for Endurance” for more details.

GET ORGANIZED

A couple of days before the event you will want to run through the checklist to make sure you have everything you need.  Pre-event preparation will eliminate stressful last minute situations and allow you to focus on your event.

Get on Your Mark, Get Set…GO!

Coach Shelley

Shelley Marenka Smail is an endurance coach and Nutrition Specialist for Wenzel Coaching. She works with cyclists and triathletes who are looking to improve their performance and training using science and strategy. To find out more about her services you can contact her at (209) 890-6244; (530) 864-7891 or at getonyourmark@gmail.com.

Tags: pre-ride training and nutrition

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 9:00 AM and is filed under Nutrition, Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.