What do you eat the two days before a century

[ACG]

I haven't ridden a century since June of 2009.

I'm riding the Ojai Century this Saturday.

I am so much better at balancing my food intake, etc, been on WW for a few months now.

So the question is what do you eat, do you recommend I eat today, tomorrow with the century being on Saturday? Do I up my protein? My carbs?

Should I eat the same and not worry about it.

I plan on taking with me a peanut butter sandwich and two bananas, the rest of the food I'll eat from the rest stops.

As always your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[indysteel]

I eat a bit more before a long ride, but less out of necessity and more out of "I'll likely burn this off anyway, so why not indulge?" I like pasta, so that's usually my meal of choice before a big ride, but I remember reading somewhere (the New York Times perhaps) that carb loading isn't as effective for women as it is for men.

Now water and hydration is a different story. Even if I don't change my eating habits much before a big ride, I will up my fluid intake 48 hours or so before the ride, especially in the summer. The first thing I do the morning of the ride is down another big glass of water. While it makes for more frequent stops, it makes for a better ride overall.

[aquamoose32]

Water water water water. Piss all day today and tomorrow. I did my first racing century a few months ago and I looked at all these articles about what you were supposed to do the week ahead of time. I am definitely no pro, just love to ride and ride and somehow got suckered into this one. This is what I learned and did, and I had a great ride. I tapered off my riding the week before. Drank lots and lots of water. Ate more carbs the days before. I learned do whatever you normally do/eat the morning of the ride. I made a huge pot of oatmeal the day before and ate lots of that, cause then I also had some bites before the ride started the next day. So that means if you have tea in the morning, have tea. Don't experiment with anything new on the day of your ride. Just do your routine that works best for you. Have fun, I am envious. I wanna do another century. And eat protein to recover. That was my mistake and I was hungry for an entire week afterwards! Oh an sometimes when you get tired, thinking that you are in the tour de france always helps me!

[Biciclista]

We used to "carbo load" but then noticed that overeating disturbs your sleep. Stay well hydrated and eat good light meals....

[maillotpois]

I do exactly what Indysteel said - I don't *plan* to eat more because of the ride, but I relax any usual eating restrictions and give myself some treats I don't usually have. (However, as Biciclista pointed out, you don't want to relax them too far and I admit that while eating the entire 12" pizza the night before my last 400k was a lot of fun, it did disrupt my sleep.)

And I pre-hydrate, often with electrolytes thrown in for good measure.

[indysteel]

I do exactly what Indysteel said - I don't *plan* to eat more because of the ride, but I relax any usual eating restrictions and give myself some treats I don't usually have. (However, as Biciclista pointed out, you don't want to relax them too far and I admit that while eating the entire 12" pizza the night before my last 400k was a lot of fun, it did disrupt my sleep.)

And I pre-hydrate, often with electrolytes thrown in for good measure.

Great, now I'm hungry for pizza!

[shootingstar]

I tend eat a generous meal the night before or if there is breakfast, give myself at least 1 hr. before riding off to feel comfortable.

Of course, during a multi-day touring trip, I've done this. Honest I just don't really plan it in advance.

[Crankin]

The one century I did, I did have pizza the night before. I ate an early dinner, then got up and had my regular bigger breakfast I would eat before a long ride, 2 scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, fruit. I brought all of my own food, since I can't eat PB. I also pre-hydrated. I wasn't hungry during the ride, but was famished for days afterwards. We did the ride on DH's 50th birthday, so we went out for a very nice dinner when we got home.
Champagne and post century drinking was not so great; actually, I think I needed to eat more immediately after the ride and waiting the 2 hours until dinner was the culprit of my weird feeling. I did have a Clif Bar and a banana on the way home, but I felt like I could have eaten a whole meal.

[maillotpois]

Great, now I'm hungry for pizza!

Sorry. Just don't eat a whole one.