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What to eat on race day

14 June 2010

Q

I am new to cycling and I am not sure what I should be eating for breakfast before one-day events and what I should eat/ drink during such an event. My ride usually lasts 2-3 hours. Please advise.

A

The goal of your breakfast is to top up your glycogen stores after the overnight fast, and so should be primarily carbohydrate-rich foods.

Depending on your tolerance and the amount of time available to you prior to the start, the portion that you eat may vary, but it makes sense that you should eat as much as you can at this time. This is particularly so if you find you are unable to fuel regularly throughout the race.

So a good breakfast could be a large bowl of oats porridge (made with milk to contribute a good value of protein) with a large glass of fruit juice. You may then like to have a bottle of your favourite energy drink to sip on whilst making your way to the start. Then from the start of the race you should aim to fuel at regular intervals using your choice fuel to provide approximately 30-60g of carbs per hour.

These can be given in the form of fluids or solids, and in fact a mixture of each would be ideal. An average energy bar and 500ml of most sports drinks will provide about 30g carbs. Any additional fluid requirements can be met with water.

The goal is to keep topping up your stores to prevent the drop in blood sugars which brings the onset of fatigue as it is very difficult to correct this without some impact on your performance. Ideally a strategy should be calculated individually during training sessions to avoid trying anything new on the day.

www.centreforsportsmedicine.co.za

Keri Strachan
BSc. Diet., Post Grad Dipl (UKZN)
Keri is the Sports Nutritionist at the Centre for Sports Medicine, Umhlanga.

She has worked with the Sharks Rugby Team and the Sharks Academy as well as numerous professional and serious amateur sports people. Keri's main interests are sports nutrition, diabetes, heart health and child nutrition. You can contact her on: 031 5605557 or keri@centreforsportsmedicine.co.za

4 comment(s)

Heim

22 August 2010 @ 05:16 PM

Hi Keri

I am relatively new to mountain biking I find every person has a different view points on what and how frequently one should eat or drink energy drinks on race or training days, could you advise me on how frequently should I be taking energy drinks/foods/water during a race or training ride which can be anything from 1 to 5 hours? Thank you Heim

Graham

13 October 2010 @ 09:29 AM

Hi, I would love to hear from you, your advice on cramping! I so often suffer from serious cramps during longish rides and am getting fed up with the million and 1 hints and tips! is it drink more, train harder, don't eat, take supps or simply enter the kiddies races instead!! Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks

Keri Strachan

18 October 2010 @ 12:46 PM

Hi Graham,typically, in my experience with clients that I have seen, cramps are seldom due to the electrolyte or fluid imbalances (most athletes are very aware of the need for fluid and we generally have enough salt in our diets), and from what you have said, it seems to me yours are more likely due to your muscles not being trained for the longer distances. So speaking to a physio for some good stretches for that muscle group, may be a good idea or ensuring that your training is adequate to prepare the muscles for the longer rides. Having said that, obviously, if you are not drinking enough and if you are a heavy sweater, the fluid and electrolyte issue may be relevant to you. Monitor what your fluid losses are during a long-ride (weight before minus weight after the ride is a reasonable guide). If you are losing significant fluid, work to drink more (150% of your weight loss). If you are a heavy sweater, and usually leave white sweat marks on your gear, you may be losing excessive amounts of salt - try adding a high salt snack (e.g. pretzols, Marmite/ Bovril sandwich), before or during the ride, and add salt to your meals.

I hope this helps! Let me know what eventually works for you.

Daryl Kriel

22 July 2011 @ 01:24 PM

Hi Keri
I have been riding mtb for a few years now and have been at various levels of fitness. I am fully aware of good hydration and in addition to riding with cytomax I use rehdrate. I however suffer post exersize migraines after about two or three hours after a hard training session or if I push hard during a race. I have found the only way to relieve this is by taking non steroidal anti inflametry like caterflam.Is there anything else I can do to avoid the migrains witout taking the drugs?