Nutrition for Racing

[limewave]

Last year, every race I did, I felt really ill afterwards. This year, my focus is getting proper nutrition.

Saturday I had a 21 mile mountain bike race. Here was my nutrition plan:

Night before:
Dinner: Quinoa and Spring Vegetable Salad
Evening Snack: Old Fashioned Oats with soy milk

Day of:
Breakfast (2.5 hours before race):
Banana, UltraMeal Shake, 8 ounces of water, 8 ounces of coffee

Gradually sip on water bottle from breakfast to race start

Gu packet 5-10 minutes before race

During Race:
48 ounces of water mixed with 3 scoops of Endura
1 Gu Packet at 12 mile mark
(this is 2x the amount of calories I would have taken in last year)

I had sucked my camelbak dry with about 4 miles to go. I have to say, I had a great race. I felt like there was fire in my engine and power in my legs.

Post race, I felt good. I wasn't sore or tired. I was able to do a good, hard long run the day after and didn't feel too much muscle fatigue. This is a complete turn-around from races in the past where I was completely destroyed for the rest of the weekend. Yay!

I feel like I'm starting to get things right.

What are your nutrition plans for racing?

[OakLeaf]

For a big event I make sure to eat really clean for four to five days prior. No alcohol, no allergens (which for me is a long list), good solid nutrition.

The night before a race I favor fish sushi. Hypoallergenic, loaded with carbs and protein, low in fiber, and delicious - and with the added bonus that all the other competitors are at pasta places, and the sushi restaurants aren't mobbed.

The morning of, I eat my normal breakfast, at least an hour and a half before the gun. Chia seeds, tree nuts (usually walnuts or almonds), a small amount of dried fruit, Garden of Life raw protein powder, a milk substitute. Maybe a small scoop of prepared cold cereal.

During - every half hour to 45 minutes, I alternate gels with Perpetuem paste. I really need protein during a long event. I don't like to use soy, but I haven't found any other protein powder that I can tolerate during an event. This is for marathon running. I don't compete on the bike any more, but on a long ride without stops, I prefer liquids over packeted solids or gels - HEED and/or Perpetuem in my water bottles.

Post - again, clean carbs and plenty of protein inside that two-hour window. It's tempting to splurge and eat stuff I'm allergic to, but it really doesn't do me any good. I don't even crave beer the way some people do.

[jessmarimba]

OT - but does the HEED flavor ever come out of your water bottles? I have some that seem to be permanently strawberry flavored. Maybe I need higher quality plastic or something? It's the only reason I don't like HEED.

[OakLeaf]

Haha, it does linger, doesn't it? It seems to go away after a couple of cycles in the dishwasher (yeah, I've given up and decided to let my polyethylene bottles go in the dishwasher - although I really probably shouldn't). But since I use HEED on nearly every ride, I don't notice the difference, and anyway even if I'm just having plain water, once I fill the bottle, I don't really get a noticeable taste. I only use the citrus flavors, too - maybe the strawberry comes through more.

[kacie tri-ing]

Before a really big race, I do a carb deplete and carb load cycle. I also get rid of fiber in the few days leading up. I too try to go pretty clean. I thought my stomach was pretty tough until this last race. Time to experiment again!

[extra-vert]

Not ever having done a race, I hafta ask - limewave mentioned the intake of quite a bit of liquids - what does one do when one needs to pee during all this time?

[aquamoose32]

What do you mean when you say clean carbs Oakleaf?
Limewave, you didn't mention you post meal. That is the most important one I've been told.

[Reesha]

I've got my first crit race tomorrow morning... and so I dug up this thread.

Tonight: grilled chicken thighs and baked sweet potato

Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg, 1 baked sweet potato, protein/carb shake

Tomorrow for race: 1 gu, 1 bottle of accelerade before and 1 for during
After race: bottle of recoverite.

Thoughts?