First, CONGRATULATIONS! Sounds like you had a great experience for your first race, and that you finished strong.

Quote Originally Posted by lph View Post
Drink - not too bad, but I will try out using a camelback, Freda be d*mned, at high speed I don't really want to reach down more than necessary. And for me this was high speed, I really had to concentrate and that got harder as I got tired. Food - how the heck do you eat?? Managed to stuff a banana down my throat on one long slow hill in the beginning, tried to eat an energy bar later on but only got down half before I started wheezing because I was so out of breath.
This is something that 3 years into racing, I still struggle with. I actually tend to neither eat nor drink during a race - too busy breathing . I do use a water bottle, but seldom drink the entire thing. And I never eat during a race. However, I know people who do, and they will use tricks like taping a GU to their handlebars so they can easily rip it off.

I try to eat A LOT for breakfast the day of a big race, and then again about an hour beforehand. Also, I pre-hydrate. This defintely helps, but isn't the complete answer.

So, now we can look forward to more race reports from you, yes? Congrats again.

SheFly