Racing nutrition advice part 3

As promised, here’s part 3 of the racing nutrition advice for endurance racers, it went out in the WSC newsletter two weeks ago. Hope you enjoy the advice, as always you can drop me a line with questions anytime.

“Nutrition for recovery

During the recovery phase of a 24hr mountain bike race, key nutrition goals include fluid and electrolyte replacement and the restoration of muscle and liver glycogen stores. Consideration should also be given to the nutrients required to support the repair of damaged tissue and promote immune function following exercise.

Most athletes will finish a 24hr race with some degree of dehydration, even if they have stuck to a fluid intake plan during the event. One way to gauge fluid losses from exercise is monitor your change in weight immediately after exercise to determine your fluid deficit. Remember that 1kg of weight loss roughly equates to 1L of fluid. Fluid losses continue during the recovery period in the form of ongoing sweating and urination therefore athletes are advised to replace about 125-150% of their fluid losses over the 4-6 hours after exercise. For example, if you lost 1kg (1000ml) during exercise, you should aim to drink about 1250 – 1500ml of fluid after exercise.

In 24hr racing however, this method…”

To read the rest of the article go to the archived newsletter and scroll down towards the bottom:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs005/1102936960953/archive/1103566110802.html

Racing nutrition advice part 2

I just got back from racing 8 days out on the West Coast of BC. That’s my second year doing BCBR and it was epic. Approx 400kms of racing with over 25,000′ vert gain on 70% singletrack – that’s gnarly technical West Coast singletrack. I loved it. I highly recommend the event if you are seeking incredible singletrack.

Upon reflection post-event, I saw improvements this year as compared to racing the same event last year. I can account for this due to a tweak within my training calendar to more correctly address the demands of 3.5 – 4hr race days requiring redlined efforts every day. I managed the intense starts better and generally could stay on the rivet longer. I was pretty happy with my fitness and am looking forward to checking out how things are progressing towards the World 24hr Solo Championships in Oct with another race fitness test comprised of a 24hr solo race coming up in just over two weeks. Canmore is always a tough but fun course, I think it will be my 4th time racing there for a 24hr solo. I’m interested to see how things will pan out.

As promised, here’s part 2 of the racing nutrition advice for endurance racers, it went out in the WSC newsletter just over a week ago so I hope you weren’t holding your breath all that time. Hope you enjoy the advice, as always you can drop me a line with questions anytime.

“Hydration

Many individual and environmental factors affect the rate of sweat loss during exercise. It is therefore recommended that athletes monitor changes in body weight during training in order to estimate sweat losses (see table). Undertaking this exercise in a variety of conditions will enable you to develop a hydration plan for use during races.

Typical sweat rates may be around 500-1000ml per hour but can be higher in hot conditions and may be lower in cool conditions when exercise intensity is low. During a 24 hour mountain bike race, sweat losses will be at their lowest during the night as the pace slows and the temperature drops.

Athletes are advised to drink at a rate that is comfortable and practical to replace most of their losses. Remember that thirst is generally not a reliable indicator of hydration status.

How to estimate sweat losses during exercise…”

To read the rest of the article go to the archived newsletter and scroll down towards the bottom:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs005/1102936960953/archive/1103503869669.html

Racing nutrition advice

I finished editing issue #7 of the World Solo Championship newsletter a few days ago and it went out on time. In case you haven’t seen it yet there is some good basic racing nutritional advice for the endurance racer (or most racers) and if you keep your eye on the newsletter over the next few weeks you might learn a thing or two.

This is part one of a three part series and I’m including the relevant text from the newsletter as well as a link to read the rest of the article in the newsletter.

Enjoy!

“Carbohydrate Loading

Good preparation for a 24 hour mountain bike race should begin a few days out with attention to a high carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrate loading, if done correctly, maximizes muscle glycogen stores and improves endurance exercise performance. For effective carbohydrate loading, an exercise taper and a daily intake of 7-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight is required for the 2-3 days before the event. For a 70kg athlete, this means about 500-700g of carbohydrate per day. Achieving these targets requires planning and it is essential to practice this strategy during training and less important endurance events as it can represent a significant change to your normal eating plan. Commonly, athletes attempting to carbohydrate load fail to meet these targets and consume too many high fat foods along the way. Effective carbohydrate loading is associated with a body mass gain of about 2kg due to the increased stores of muscle glycogen and the water stored with it.

Race morning

A normal sized meal should be eaten 2-4 hours before the start of the race to allow sufficient time for digestion. Choose familiar foods that…”

To read the rest of the article go to the archived newsletter and scroll down towards the bottom:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs005/1102936960953/archive/1103188354292.html

Things to consider in endurance racing

There are so many things to think about in endurance racing. Big things, little things, they all matter. Knowing how you are going to race is one of those things that becomes a necessity if you are toeing the line at a long event and a 12hr race is just long enough to teach you a lesson if you haven’t thought things through.

This week I asked Jillian to write about her recent experience at a 12hr race, Jillian did her homework before she got on the line and it made a difference in her results. She had a solid plan, enough flexibility to adjust to the conditions and the right mindset. I’ve read other reports on the race and it sounded nasty, congratulations goes to Jillian on a solid performance under tough conditions!

Recently I competed in my second endurance event, the Dirty Dozen 12 hour solo race. The Dirty Dozen is held on a short, normally fast and fun course, a nice little loop that I was looking forward to riding for 12 hours. However, the days before the race brought a lot of rain to the area.
I arrived the night before the race, ready to camp before the 8 am start. It didn’t seem so bad, the ground in the camping area was dry. When I went to check in, they said the course wasn’t too bad but they were cutting out a big section of it just because it was wet. Ok, still no problem. Next morning, the race started uneventfully. I remember thinking during the LeMans start that the ground seemed a bit soggy. I got on the bike, no problems, the course stayed on high ground for a bit before going into a twisty, fast singletrack section. Right when I got into the singletrack, I thought to myself, oh no! The normally fast course was now a giant mud pit. It was sopping wet and the mud was deep. Many of the areas where you could allow your momentum to take you through with no effort were super slow and just hard to get through. Also, it was rather cold so each puddle was giving me a nice splash of cold water. Not to mention the creek crossing which is normally a very small amount of water was coming up to my bottom bracket. I thought the course would get drier as the day progressed, but that wasn’t the case. It seemed to get sloppier each lap. Racers were dropping like flies throughout the race but I managed to stick with it and get a nice 3rd place finish.

Shaun asked me to write about the three things I did to overcome the race conditions and finish strong, here they are.

First, and most importantly, I came into the race with a good plan. I knew exactly what I wanted to do in terms of pacing, nutrition, and just general racing strategy. I knew that as long as I raced intelligently, and didn’t pay attention to the people around me, I would be fine. I focused on conserving whatever energy I could for the first 6-9 hours, so that I would have something left in the tank for the end of the race. I had specific targets in my head, such as minimizing pit stops, with a goal of less than 1 minute in the pit for the first 6 hours, less than 5 minutes after that.

Secondly, I was able to take a look at the conditions during that first lap and quickly alter my whole plan. I think it is very important to be able to assess the situation and adapt your original plan. In perfect conditions, my original plan was great. But with the course in such bad shape, it was not feasible. The sections of the course that I should have been able to get through with almost no pedaling were very frustrating. I had a target wattage that I did not want to exceed for long stretches (greater than one minute or so) but I was at 120% of this wattage just to keep my bike upright and moving for most of the first half of the course. Most of the sections of the course that would be good for recovery were suddenly difficult just to get through. I stuck to my original pit plan for the first three laps, then changed it drastically. I found that if I took 10-15 minutes in the pit, my legs felt so much fresher when I went back out for a lap. So that is what I did. I took a few minutes to stretch and clean my drive train and cleats which got really muddied up each lap. Now this did take away a lot of racing time, but there was no way I could have finished strong, or at all without doing this. Mentally and physically, this little break really prepared me for the next lap. And as the race progressed, I noticed that I was passing the other racers in my category.

The third thing I did to finish strongly was to just keep pedaling. I knew that I had to win the battle of wills for this race. I made a point to pay absolutely no attention to what anyone else in my category was doing, until almost the end of the race. I knew I was going to keep going. My pit area was after the check in point, so I didn’t even think about stopping or leaving the course. Every time I finished a lap, I said yes I am starting another. I would then start the lap, and stop at my pit area about 1/3 mile down the trail, compose myself and hop right back on. Mentally, I was already on my next lap and I wasn’t going to give up without finishing the lap I started. This mindset was particularly helpful when all the racers pitted around me were giving up. I just told myself one more lap every time I crossed the start/finish line. I came through for the last time at 7 pm, the cutoff for heading out on the course was 7:59. This was a perfect time to come through, and also the first time I stopped at the desk to look at the standings. I knew that I could conceivably get two laps in, so I wanted to take a look to see what I needed to do. I found out I was two laps behind the women in 1st and 2nd and they were still on course fighting it out. So I was not going to overcome them. I also noticed I was a lap ahead of the woman in 4th. She would have to do 2 laps to beat me, but since I saw her in street clothes by the finish, I figured that was not going to happen so I didn’t go out again. There was no reason to subject my bike and myself to the muddy, dark course when I had locked in my finishing place already.

So basically, I think in any race, especially when conditions are brutal, the main thing is to have a solid plan. Then have the guts to absolutely throw that plan out the window if you need to and just keep pedaling no matter what.

Free Road ID

I like Road ID – www.RoadID.com

I’ve been wearing one for over three years now and don’t leave for a ride without it strapped to my ankle.

If you take a look at their website you will see it makes a lot of sense, particularly for athletes who train long hours by themselves. It’s not just for road rides by the way, if I’m going out on a solo ride on the dirt I usually strap it to my ankle as well.

I like the Ankle ID, once it’s on over your sock and you’ve been riding a few minutes you forget it’s there. It’s really cheap piece of mind. If the Ankle ID isn’t your thing then look at the Shoe ID, my wife uses one for her long runs.

I like their product enough that I contacted Road ID and asked how I could help them spread the word, they just asked that I mention them in a blog post (done) and that they would offer up a little bit of schwag as a giveaway for folks reading the blog. The schwag = an eCard for a free Road ID. my choice on how I want to give it away. I thought about giving it to the first person who sent me a photo of a pineapple carved to look like a battleship but instead I’m going with the first person to send me an email gets the free Road ID offer.

Fire away…