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Competitive Cycling
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I have only used two kinds of gels in races: Enervitine (which I can no longer purchase at the store I used to buy it from) and now I use Hammer gels. I found they both work well for me. From what I remember of Enervitine it seemed to last a little bit longer than Hammer, but I haven't done a real comparison. The Hammer seems to buy me about 30 minutes of energy in hard efforts. In mountain bike races I'll generally use one every 30 minutes. In a road race I'll start popping them in the second half of the race about every 20km to make sure I have enough steam for when things start to get ugly in the final 10-20km.
answered over 3 years ago |Report
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During the race, SAG1 is generally reached within 2 hours. As long as you fueled prior to the race to your satisfaction, you should be fine with water and possibly an electrolyte prior to SAG1. Depending on how much you consume at SAG1 determines whether or not and how much you consume before and by SAG2. This is stuff that you have to gauge for you personally during your training. NEVER try anything new during a race from a new tire to a new food substance. A race should be approached physiologically as another training day all though this is easier said than done. Its just a ride that happens to have a lot more people joining you and some free circle K's on the trail. Anxieties can however get the best of you and cause you to pack on more weight than is necessary. Don't forget about those free circle K's. They have electrolytes there to refill your bottles and or camelbacks with. Carbs and Protiens are also there. Between SAG2 and 3 is where you would consider supplementing more often than not but only up to what you need. This is also the area where your needs can go undetected if you are not listening to your body. And, even if your body is not telling you anything, 30 to 45 mins after SAG2 is a great time to supplement. I will continue this pattern until finish. Check out Hammer Recoverite. Its a good 4:1 carb:protien supplment. Caffine - this is something that provides little to no support except for plumbing movement prior to the race. A good high energy playlist on your IPOD can actually achieve the same short burst results as a single cup of coffee. You will gain more and longer derived energy from an electrolyte. As of late, my favorite tasting electrolyte is CytoMAX fruit punch. Its sweet and goes down smooth and quick too. Great for the water bottles. Speaking of which, I am a big fan of just plain water in the Camelback and all my mixed stuff in water bottles. Lastly, it is important to add sodium/salt in around the middle of your race. Depending on the temperature of the race, you could lose a lot more water than you are capable of replacing and this includes sodium. Keep in mind that Sodium plays a vital role in your sustainability including brain funciton, heart function, among a myriad of other items. With out sodium, you will bonk! Those Cliff Chews Margarita flavor is a good source but the taste is debatable. Pre-race eating.....you will do yourself a bigger favor if you carb load over the span of 4 to 7 days prior to a race vs a single pasta dinner the night before a race. The body will disgard that single pasta dinner into other areas of the body that will not be utilized when the heart rate is sustained medium to high intensity. Thus, it will be converted to FAT and that stuff only burns at a low to medium heart rate. The premise behind carb loading days out speaks to a saturation effect that will provide fuel in the higher heart rates. I know, clear as mud. www.hammernutrition.com can speak more eloquently to this.
answered over 3 years ago |Report
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Haven't read the book yet, but I like the info in this interview: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/eating-to-fuel-exercise/?em
answered over 3 years ago |Report
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Brendan Brazier's Book The Thrive diet. I have used it for 1 and a half years and 2 marathons. I make my own GU's and erg drink. My fellow runners are using it now too. Brendan is a Tri athlete.
answered over 3 years ago |Report
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I realize you are asking about during-the-ride nutrition, but I want to throw out one thing I've found that helps before the ride. Bob's Red Mill museli with some fruit lasts me through nearly every long ride- whether it be a 35 mile mountain bike ride or a 60 mile road ride.
Have you found any really good pre-ride nutrition that also helps you out?
answered over 3 years ago |Report
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Any gels are fine as long as you like the taste, they're basically all the same with small differences in electrolytes and caffeine and other marketing hoopla. Nutrition isn't some magic pill of performance success, that's what training's for.
I like Hammer products, cause it tastes good and I get it cheap and good old fashion Gatorade is easy to find and works just fine for me.
answered about 3 years ago |edited about 3 years ago |Report
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I think the gels are all basically the same. I like the Cliff shots because they have a piece of plastic that attaches the part you rip off the top to the rest of the package, so you don’t have to choose between trying to pick it out of your mouth after you rip if off with your teeth, then trying to get the stupid little thing back into your pocket without dropping it, or spitting it out and littering. Nothing slows me down like trying to keep track of a tiny 0.3” X 0.5” piece of plastic while rolling down the shoulder of a road at 26 miles per hour with cars and other racers, and also trying to hold my line and stay on the wheel of the bike in front of me. It is no easier to do it while rolling through the forest and dodging rocks, trees and furry creatures while spinning out in the sand and gravel and keeping your eyes forward to plan your line.
answered about 3 years ago |Report
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Basically all the gels are pretty much the same...except like some one else said for the caffeinated content..and sodium ext. I use power bar products for my during and after race..simply because I am sponsored by power bar and they are free...lol...But your race day fuel will totally depend on pre race diet powerbar.com check out the articles on carb building...sign up for a free and scroll through all the manuals on the community pages on dieting for running, cycling, soccer players etc. have diets and work out regimes for what ever sport you are into.
answered over 2 years ago |Report
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I've found that for longerish rides 12 hour or so, you want something easy on your stomach that delivers what your ody needs at that moment. Usually this means salts and electrolytes. If you can go with gummy or liquid, it might suit you better. I personally like cyctomax energy drinks (help with cramping issues in 24 hors races), cliff blocks, hammer gels and funjuns. Funjuns have a ton of sodium and crunh down to nothing making them easy on your stomach, that and they rock :)
answered over 2 years ago |Report
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A 35-mile MTB race should be able to be done on sport gels alone as you most likely looking at 2+ hours of hard riding. I would not worry about any protein during this distance/time. Nor would I worry about any solid food. Eat a small meal about 3 hours before the race and take in a little gel 5-10 minutes before the start. Just make sure to get some protein in ASAP afterwards to speed recovery.
When I do my long training rides (4 to 8 hours) I use Hammer Perpetuem exclusively with a small squeeze bottle of Hammer Gel and about 2 dozen electrolyte tabs. I did my first 24 hour road race last year and other than a couple of bananas, some orange slices, 1 small Greek yogurt and 2 hard boiled eggs, all of my intake calories came from liquid nutrition. I never bonked nor had any problem with my stomach during the race.
The MTB races will be more intense than my race where I was burning about 65-70% fat while averaging about 14.5 mph. If you go hard for 35 miles on a mountain bike for 2 hours, you will be burning much more glycogen and could entirely deplete your glycogen stores thereby bonking. I have found that the gel gets into the system fast and does the job. For out weekly Wednesday ride, (25-35 miles) I typically carry about 5 oz of gel with me.
When you start moving out into the endurance range of riding, many more things have to be taken into account. And that is part of the fun of being able to go out and ride 80-90 miles on a Sunday training ride. Good luck.
answered over 2 years ago |Report
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