# I've been intermittent fasting with good results--but have a 5 hour race coming up



## celswick (Mar 5, 2020)

I've been doing intermittent fasting for a little over a month. All the things they say about it (lower appetite, increased energy, weight loss, etc) seem to be true. 

I fast usually between 6:00 pm and 2:00 pm, which almost always includes a 1.5 to 2 hour mountain bike ride while fasted. Sometimes at high intensity and sometimes longer rides at lower intensity. 

My question is--I have a 50 mile race coming up in 3 weeks. I figure I should eat, and eat a lot before and during the race. I'm not under the illusion that I can do a 5 hour race (all singletrack) in a fasted state. Should I go to a more "normal" eating plan a few days before the race? Or stick with what I've been doing? I was thinking I'd have a good dinner the night before with meat, potatoes, etc and breakfast with oatmeal the day of the race. And during the race consume energy drinks, PBJ, fig bars, Clif Bars, etc.

Does anyone else have experience/advice they can share?


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

Your body needs calories and fluids to continue to do work...

If you've never done a 6 hour solo before, you're about to find out the hard way.


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## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

I’ve been doing 16/8, restricted calories & light lifting since January. Im down about 18lbs which is difficult to believe. Im approaching goal weight & have a 100k single speed race mid July in Maine so I’m in kind of a similar situation but with much more time to figure this out & (almost) train properly for the event. You’ve only got 3 weeks so you have pretty immediate decisions to make.

Not sure what you’re planning to do for training but I’d be calling it quits on IF & start eating on a “normal” schedule & maximize your calorie intake & timing to make sure you are properly fueled for the riding you’re going to do & go heavy on whole food carb to make sure you start your rides with your glycogen stores topped up. I’d be fueling my rides by eating during them, as well. You can still eat in a disciplined manner off the bike, using whatever you’ve learned during your month of IF. Good luck in your race & remember that carbs will be you best friends prepping for & during the event!


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## jabrabu (Aug 2, 2010)

Your plan sounds good. You can top off your glycogen stores by eating plenty of calories and carbs the couple of days before the race. Some meat, potatoes, rice, and veggies is fine -- no need to pig out on pasta and bread.
For race day, breakfast with oatmeal and a banana is a good start. And during the race you can have a sports drink (something like Infinit Go Far), and some solid food snacks/bars as you mentioned.

Overall, I think this is a good strategy -- to do some fasted or low-carb training to train your body to use fat for fuel, but then add some carbs for the race.


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## netaron (12 mo ago)

From my own experience with diet and training, it's become very clear that very rarely will something that works for me will work for everyone else. You'll have to experiment and log when and what foods you consumed, prefrebly doing a race simulation or two if time permits.


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## celswick (Mar 5, 2020)

Thanks for the input. I've been training for a while--I ride a lot already. The part that changed recently is my eating pattern. My thinking behind the intermittent fasting was that it would be easier to ride 5 hours if I was 20 pounds lighter.

Based on the suggestions above, I think I'll stick with my fasting plan, except during my long training rides (35-40 miles/3.5-4 hours) where I'll eat good food the night before, with oatmeal in the morning, with "race food" during the ride. I drink a 3:1 water/gatorade mixture throughout. I did that last weekend and it worked out fine.

And use that same plan for race day.


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## Dkayak (12 mo ago)

celswick said:


> Based on the suggestions above, I think I'll stick with my fasting plan, except during my long training rides (35-40 miles/3.5-4 hours) where I'll eat good food the night before, with oatmeal in the morning, with "race food" during the ride. I drink a 3:1 water/gatorade mixture throughout. I did that last weekend and it worked out fine.


That’s about all we do for a long, hard day. Otherwise we’re roughly 16/8 people. We use other electrolyte products, avoiding Gatorade due to dyes and sweeteners, and focus on hydration the day before the event too. During a long tough ride we just graze and sip, after loading up somewhat in the morning. I’ve heard you can program a Garmin to nudge you to drink and plan to try it this year.


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## AEyogi (Nov 19, 2021)

It is a bad idea to do something new for your diet for the first time before a race. Do a practice race and try out your pre-race nutrition to make sure it agrees with you first. That being said, nervous guts & new food can result in funny stories to tell your friends later on.


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## gsteitz (Sep 9, 2011)

Yeah, you just need to experiment with this unfortunately. We're all so different.

However, don't be afraid to step out of the intermittent fasting if you're body gets depleted. Once you train it to react to the fasting and utilize fat storage, even if you alter that for a time once you go back it will remember. Same with going low carbs.


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## JackOfDiamonds (Apr 17, 2020)

I eat between 4 and 8PM, and ride lightly in the morning.

The problem with eating breakfast when I am not used to it, especially then if I exercise heavily, is I will get an upset stomach and/or have to **** at a bad time. So if I need more then I drink it... basically drink Gatorade at night and for breakfast.


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

JackOfDiamonds said:


> basically drink Gatorade at night and for breakfast.


Find a better sports drink!!!!!!!!!! Gatorade gives most people terrible gut rot. The bottled version is literally one of the worst sports drink concoctions out there. 

Scratch Labs and Tailwind are my favorites personally but there's other good ones too.


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## Dkayak (12 mo ago)

We use Tailwind now and before that used a Hammer product. At rest stops that offer only Gatorade or water I take the water. If it’s hot I drop in a Hammer Fizz tablet from my seat bag.


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## celswick (Mar 5, 2020)

I did a little testing over the weekend. "Regular" eating Saturday morning (oatmeal) followed by a 30+ mile ride. I did three of my fastest laps ever at my local trail (each lap is 7 miles singletrack). Ate a PBJ in between laps and felt fine. Water/Gatorade mix in my water bottles. My buddy and I were still going pretty fast on lap 4 but he crashed pretty hard so we called it a day.

Then, I went home and climbed on the roof and cleaned my gutters all afternoon. 

Sunday morning--oatmeal again and a 30 mile ride with two PR's on my local loop. The past two days were the best I've ever felt on a bike. 

Monday--back to IF and a slow, steady ride. Water only. Ate salad for lunch about 2:00.


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## Stewiewin (Dec 17, 2020)

celswick said:


> I've been doing intermittent fasting for a little over a month. All the things they say about it (lower appetite, increased energy, weight loss, etc) seem to be true.
> 
> I fast usually between 6:00 pm and 2:00 pm, which almost always includes a 1.5 to 2 hour mountain bike ride while fasted. Sometimes at high intensity and sometimes longer rides at lower intensity.
> 
> ...


think better ask a doctor.


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## Dkayak (12 mo ago)

celswick said:


> I did a little testing over the weekend. "Regular" eating Saturday morning (oatmeal) followed by a 30+ mile ride. I did three of my fastest laps ever at my local trail (each lap is 7 miles singletrack). Ate a PBJ in between laps and felt fine. Water/Gatorade mix in my water bottles. My buddy and I were still going pretty fast on lap 4 but he crashed pretty hard so we called it a day.
> 
> Then, I went home and climbed on the roof and cleaned my gutters all afternoon.
> 
> ...


Sounds like you’ve answered your question. Well done. That’s consistent with our experiences too. You can cycle in and out of IF to fuel a longer, tougher event. No problem. Good luck!


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

Have a decent breakfast before the race. Dont go into the race fasting that day.


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