Race Day Meal

SCDETAILER said:

I do a training race on Tuesday evening, after working all day. I am a grazer by nature, that has a high metabolism. What do you eat on race day to keep the egine ready for the activity? I will be racing a road circuit, that will average in the range of 25 to 27 mph. I usually bring Wheat tortillas, and put a tablespoon of PB and slice a half of a banana for a mid morning snack on this day. I will eat another one about an hour and a half before the race. I also eat in between and drink a protein EAS drink early morning and mod afternoon. It seems to work, but I am not wanting to take in too much, or too little. I would much rather take in too little. I am 5'-9", 158-160lbs. I would assume that my Fat % is in the single digit range. I have had it checked before a while back and I know what I look like when I get in the single digits.

Let me know.

1 gram of carbohydrate per kg of body mass per hour-prior-to-race (in the 3hrs prior to race).

for e.g., if you have a mass of 70 kg and eat 2 hrs prior to the race - you'd need 2 x 70 = 140 g of carbs.

you'd also need to ascertain the amount of carbs in food. for e.g., pasta (my fave pre race food, post race food, and anytime food 😄 ) is ~70% carbs. That is for every 100 g of product (dry weight) 70 g is carbs.

So, to consume 140 g of carbs only from pasta you'd need to consume 200 g of (dry weight) pasta.

Ric

ric_stern/RST said:

1 gram of carbohydrate per kg of body mass per hour-prior-to-race (in the 3hrs prior to race).

for e.g., if you have a mass of 70 kg and eat 2 hrs prior to the race - you'd need 2 x 70 = 140 g of carbs.

you'd also need to ascertain the amount of carbs in food. for e.g., pasta (my fave pre race food, post race food, and anytime food 😄 ) is ~70% carbs. That is for every 100 g of product (dry weight) 70 g is carbs.

So, to consume 140 g of carbs only from pasta you'd need to consume 200 g of (dry weight) pasta.

Ric

Ric: What if race or organized ride start time is 7:30am. Taking into consideration approx. 30-45 min travel time to the event what's the best way to handle a pre-ride meal or should I consider eating breakfast on the bike. Eating 2 hours prior to the event at that hour seems tough.

Thanks, Rick

Sanulaw said:

Ric: What if race or organized ride start time is 7:30am. Taking into consideration approx. 30-45 min travel time to the event what's the best way to handle a pre-ride meal or should I consider eating breakfast on the bike. Eating 2 hours prior to the event at that hour seems tough.

Thanks, Rick

It will depend on the rider concerned. using myself as an example, i ride poorly if i don't eat and drink prior to the ride. some of that maybe psychological, while some of it maybe due to glycogen depletion. To confound the issue further, riding at such an ungodly hour (at least for me) might not mean i'm awake enough to function correctly.

In this situation you'll need to experiment and see what happens. For e.g., you obviously have to get up at least 45-mins prior to the ride (to travel) and getting up a few minutes earlier to eat something like toast and jam or a bowl of cereal and milk maybe the way forward. additionally, while travelling you could drink a ~10% carb drink which will help with your glycogen restoration and fluid intake.

The other option is to use something like a couple of energy gels or bars just prior to training or as you start your ride, and then continuing to eat and drink throughout the ride (as everyone should).

Personally, for me, the day would be poor if i couldn't have some freshly brewed Lavazza or other good espresso, and some toast and Marmite for breakfast. Ok, i feel hungry now 😠

Ric

ric_stern/RST said:

It will depend on the rider concerned. using myself as an example, i ride poorly if i don't eat and drink prior to the ride. some of that maybe psychological, while some of it maybe due to glycogen depletion. To confound the issue further, riding at such an ungodly hour (at least for me) might not mean i'm awake enough to function correctly.

In this situation you'll need to experiment and see what happens. For e.g., you obviously have to get up at least 45-mins prior to the ride (to travel) and getting up a few minutes earlier to eat something like toast and jam or a bowl of cereal and milk maybe the way forward. additionally, while travelling you could drink a ~10% carb drink which will help with your glycogen restoration and fluid intake.

The other option is to use something like a couple of energy gels or bars just prior to training or as you start your ride, and then continuing to eat and drink throughout the ride (as everyone should).

Personally, for me, the day would be poor if i couldn't have some freshly brewed Lavazza or other good espresso, and some toast and Marmite for breakfast. Ok, i feel hungry now 😠

Ric

Thanks, Ric. I guess experimenting is the way to go. Like you, I don't feel right jumping into an exercise activity, especially at that early hour, without some food. I appreciate your thoughts.