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Nutritional Intake: Eating Before, During, and
After a RideBefore your Ride Two to 3 dayd before a big race or ride, your main dietary concern is to ensure you take in a high-carbohydrate diet with plenty of fluids. Personally, I favor a diet of pasta, fruit, and cereals to 
maintain my energy and glucose levels. Try to avoid eating fast food or
processed foods. For lunch and dinner, stick with pasta, rice, potatoes,
and meat, such as white-meat chicken or lean steak.On race day, eat a good meal 3 hours before your start time. If you are racing/riding early in the morning, make sure you are up in time to eat a healthy breakfast to fuel your body. Eat a breakfast of complex carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, museli, pasta, or rice, with some protein. Oatmeal is one of the best things you can eat before a race not only because it contains complex carbohydrates, but also because it has a lot of water with will help keep your body hydrated. I usually have oatmeal with some diced prunes with an egg sandwich. Pancakes are good also, however try to stay away from the sugary toppings. Use fruit or flavored yogurt as an alternative. Approximately 40 minutes before your race starts, eat a banana or an energy bar and drink 6 to 8 ounces (depending on the weather) of a sports drink. This will ensure that you have some fuel in your stomach. If your ride will last less than an hour, you won't need to eat on the bike. You'll have enough glycogen stored in your muscles to carry you through. It's always helpful to take along at least one watter bottle. Never go riding with out some water or something to drink, even if it's only a short ride. During your Ride  A
cyclist will typically burn 2,500 to 5,000 calories on a 4 to 6 hour ride.
A well-trained cyclist an store 1,600 to 2,000 calories which means you
have to eat to avoid depleting those calories -- a condition referred to
in cycling as bonking or hitting the wall. A race typically doesn't last
more than 2 hours, however the effects are the same. This is what happens
when you hace depleted your carbohydrate levels. Symptoms of bonking can include a heavy feeling in the legs, difficulty maintaining pedal cadence, dizziness, severe headache, disorientation, and sometimes hallucination. The remedy is to eat immediately. Look for simple carbohydrates such as energy bars, cookies, or fruit such as bananas. Sports drinks that contain carbohydrates will quickly get into the system -- it usually takes about 10 minutes. Drink, Drink, Drink! The typical person loses up to 96 ounces daily from sweating, urinating, and exhaling. Exercise during hot weather easily doubles or triples that amount. Drink 3 to 4 ounces every 10 minutes during the ride. Carry two full watter bottles on your bicycle frame (or a Camelbak). If you are racing, try to arrange someone to feed you fresh water bottles every lap to ensure you have enough liquid to carry you through. Eat and Drink on the Flats! Don't start sucking down your energy gels or drinking your water while you are pounding up a hill. The extra effort will interfere with chewing and swallowing. Make yourself efficient so your ride will be efficient as well. After your Ride After you have hammered away for over 2 hours, it's time for your body to recover. Consuming a mixture of carbohydrates and a small amount of protein would be ideal. This allows you to replenish your glycogen stores and build muscle protein. The key is to focus on the first 30 minutes after the race/ride. This is commonly known as the glycogen window. During this time, the body has an increased sensitivity to insulin and will facilitate glycogen replacement. Combining carbohydrates with a bit of protein enhances the insulin response and the rate at which glycogen is stored. As discussed earlier, glycogen depletion has been shown to be a major cause of fatigue and exhaustion in endurance events. Over the next 2 to 4 hours, you should continue to take in complex carbohydrates to maximize your glycogen stores and your recovery. In the evening, dinner should consist of more complex carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, potatoes, and steamed vegetables. Raw vegetables force the digestive system to work harder, slowing down the absorption rate, so it is important for your vegetables to be steamed or cooked. By adding adequate protein in the form of lean steak or grilled chicken, you will promote tissue growth and repair, specifically in your muscles. This is particuarly important during this time because your training volume and intensity are increasing. consuming protein as part of your evening meal tied in well with the release of human growth hormone, which simulates the construction of skeletal muscle protein, increases blood glucose levels, and enhances musculoskeletal repairs. At the end of the day, make sure your nightly sleep schedule compliments the benefits from the proper nutrition you are giving your body. In order to maximize training time, you may want to make sure that you have a solid night's sleep of 9 to 10 hours. top of page |
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