holy crap. bring bad cookies, drink your beer. What are friends for.
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I did Elgin on gels and bananas but I ate three helpings of everything at the post race dinner. Best meal ever.
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Never did Elgin but I canât recall having anything other than gels, drink mix and a camel bak for 8 hours of Gore and 5 Hours of Hillsborough back in 08.
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FWIW
That book describes basically why Hydration is as, if not more important then food intake. At some point yes the body requires caloric intake, but if your not hydrated properly it doesnât matter.
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Even with taking gels, they recommend that you chase them with at least 3 oz of fluids. When I was marathon running I would mesure two mouth fulls of water per gel. And if I couldnât grab two cups at the water station, I made sure to get an extra cup at the next.
Iâve heard some of the gels are pretty hard to choke down without water. I remember using Hammerhead stuff years ago, canât remember if I had tried anything else but someday am going to start experimenting trying to get a gel or two and a bottle in while riding at Mcintosh while on the move just to get a feel for it and get my guts used to the gels, as Iâve heard that can be an issue.
Strangely enough I could write chapters on this topic but conversely am of the opinion that you should keep it simple and shouldnât overthink it.
A few thoughts:
- eat/drink what works for YOU. Try lots of different stuff in your riding/training, keep some notes and then find the stuff that works for you. Donât wait til race day to experiment.
- fitness has a big determinant on how much fluid/food you need. When youâre really dialled in you can do a short race (less than 1:40) with minimal fluids or food unless itâs hot.
- heat is a BIG monkey wrench. You need to ensure youâre throwing LOTS of fluids and electrolytes into the hopper if youâre really working hard in hot/humid weather. And you need to ensure youâre well hydrated leading up to that hot event.
Food:
- I canât imagine eating ârace foodâ like gels during training rides (beyond the aforementioned âfind out what works for youâ). When riding I eat real food. Bananas, apples, muffins, pastry, mini burritos, you name it. Gels are expensive and are a tool, not a meal or a snack.
- Conversely, I canât imagine trying to race full-tilt on regular food. Dude, Iâm on the fucking gas, no one has time to unwrap stuff, chew, chew, chew and deal with a meal. I race on gels exclusively unless itâs a long race (3+ hrs) in which case i add ripe bananas.
Obviously if youâre riding easier, stopping in feed zones or out for a training ride and taking in the sights you can eat- and enjoy- meal stuff. Nothing beats a long ride, stopping for badass meal and a pint/or espresso and continuing on.
Fluid:
- as a mere child racer a hundred yrs ago I was particular about my fluids. This bottle had to have water, this one had to have energy drink, the finishing bottle had to have coke. As an old codger with a cast iron gut Iâm pretty easy going on what is in them. Donât mix anything too strong, save the diluted coke or redbull for the last bottle, drink lots and regularly if itâs warm or the race is long.
Race example: Pic below is from the Gaspe 160k mtb marathon. I started with a Camelbak Hydrobak (50 ozs/1.5 ltrs) and grabbed a fresh one at each feed (every 40 kms) so I had 6 ltrs of fluid during the event. I had a gel flask (holds about 4 gels) and a banana in the pocket of each Câbak so I had the equivalent of 12-15 gels and 4 bananas during the 8+ hr race. If memory serves I had 2 electro tabs dissolved in each Câbak too.
ProTip: For long point-to-point events print out and laminate the course profile and tape it to your top tube so you know when the major climbs are situated and where the feed zones are. (see 2nd pic).
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Thanks! A lot of great stuff here.
I have found that as Iâm building up my fitness there has been a big difference in water consumption, which is also helping with sustained efforts and not needing to stop to pee (took a few attempts before I made the Sambro loop this winter without a stop, never made Peggyâs without needing to stop lol) for xc Iâm thinking of just a single gel with caffeine in at the 45 min mark and a bottle with mix in it.
Was thinking about getting a gel flask just as I think it would be easier to get back into my pocket, so Iâm not trying to put sticky gel wrappers back in my pocket while racing and thinking refilling is probably more economical.
At this point the only events longer than XC I was looking at would be Elgin (probably only 80k this year) and Tour de Cabot (which I believe is a recreational non-race event anyway but still expecting it to be a challenge). Maybe more XCM and out of province stuff in 2022!
Want to try that approach out at least a couple times before racing starts but feel like my longer road/gravel rides or if I ever end up doing XCM again will be where things get more complex with a need for solid food and Iâm thinking ideally some fat and protein rather than just high glycemic carbs and hydration.
What are you keeping track of in terms of what works for you? Like just if it upset your stomach sort of thing, or was easy to eat? How you felt at the end? I havenât experimented too much, have never tried to deal with fruit, mostly bars, rice cakes, baked goods, that sort of thing and thatâs pretty much just doing longer rides on the road or rail to trails where I try to start eating at the 45 min mark and then every 30 mins from there onwards.
Thanks for taking the time to type all that out, lots of good stuff to think about and keep in mind as I work my way up to hopefully operating at that level someday!
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Yeah, keep track of what upsets your stomach and what doesnât. I had a teammate that could only drink orange Gatorade, blue upset his stomach.
I always try to stick to neutral foods. Like Terry was saying, bananas, wrap with PB try to keep it simple.
In terms of hydration, I always make sure Iâm peeing clear before my rides. If not I take more water. I donât drink caffeine so Iâm not fighting the coffee or tea flush. Whenever I did try it, I was peeing constantly.
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Keeping a training log really helped me determine what worked and what didnât. It wasnât anything fancy, just a word doc. I was vigilant in making a note before bed and again when I woke up. This let me track what foods were causing issues post-ride and whether or not I was over training.
I found the skratch labs hydration mix to be great for race hydration and calorie intake, especially when I got deep into the 24 hour race and solid food was getting harder to consume. I could only drink the lemon lime flavour though, everything else have me the bubble guts.
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âMake notesâ could be whatever you want. The comments section on your Strava file or training peaks, a written note on your ride diary, whatever. If the reaction to a product was noxious enough you wonât need to write it down, youâll remember it forever.
Craig has mentioned 24 hr racing and I agree, thatâs a different beast since it encompasses the early AM (2-6am) and nausea is very common for a lot of riders during this time of day. Itâs important to have a wide variety of food available so that when you just canât stomach any more sugar you can dig into a salami sandwich, a bag of salty chips, a tray of fries, etc.
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Heâs one of those ultra marathon sadists who runs on maple syrup, marshmallows, and cold burnt toast. Strange dude.
Iâve managed to cram two medium sized burittos in mine. Great for long rides.
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