70 Miles Nutrition

pieralberto said:

I need some advice:

Last Saturday I did 70 miles and I though I was going to pass out after the 50th mile I stopped sweating and started to have chills, took me 4 hours and change to finish. Now the question is, what should i eat before the ride Im doing it again tomorow 4th of July starting at 7:00am, and I need a lot of energy.

Thanks

Piero

First you should be fueling up days before a long ride like this, not the night before.

Since you are on the last 24 hours I would eat some carb rich foods like some pasta and fruits. During the morning I would eat a banana with some oatmeal and raisins at least 3 hours before you start your ride. During your ride I would use some gel packs about every hour during the ride. Make sure to drink plenty of liquids every hour. Good luck. I just did a 40 miles ride Saturday and 70 miles ride Sunday with another 40 mile today and I feel great.

Generally speaking, it's not necessary to fuel up days before for a 70-mile ride. The night before, yes. The suggestion of pasta is a good one. Looking at your symptoms, you did not fuel your body adequately before and definitely not during the ride.

You should consume roughly 25 - 40 grams of carbs per hour (1 Clif bar or equivalent). If it is hot, and/or you sweat a lot, an electrolyte-laden drink like Gatorade, cytomax, accelerade etc at the rate of 6 oz every 15 ish minutes (~ 2 swigs) .. you want to be through a bottle in about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

You HAVE to eat on a long ride before you get hungry and drink before you get thirsty. When you stop sweating, it's too late .. as you, no doubt, noticed. Try and get some sleep too ..

For tomorrow morning's breakfast, 2 scrambled eggs, a hearty bowl of oatmeal with raisins or some rice. Also, in general, the day of a long ride (for you) ride is NOT the day to experiment with new foods as your body may reject it and you end up feeling worse. Good luck. Drink. Eat. And have fun.

I agree with the two posts above. I would focus specifically on sipping electrolyte drinks continuously, even when you are off the bike. It's clear from your symptoms you are dehydrated and likely missing some key nutrients. Electrolyte drinks help you absorb water better and replace those nutrients you need pretty quick.

Keep drinking!