# Week before a 50K race nutrition



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Afternoon all,

Curious to know what all you guys do a week before a decent endurance race? especially the day or night before.

Thanks

Sid


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

50K ? you mean 31 miles or something else ? on a bike ? what is 'endurance' here ?


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## abeckstead (Feb 29, 2012)

Endurance races are usually hour based events. Example 7mi course do as many laps as you can in an eight hour period either solo or as part of a team. 

The weekend before a race is when I peak and ride over the mileage I plan to do the next weekend. I will do 1 or 2 easy rides in between and then I give myself two full days off the bike prior to race day. 

I like to do a big pasta meal the night before, spaghetti is my go to. I haven’t ran out of gas at a race since I started doing these things to prepare. I think there is some trial and error for everyone in finding out what works and what doesn’t. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Thanks guys. It is a 50K race. Times beginning to end. I guess its not a true enduro then. I like the pasta the night before. What about race morning?
I also like the idea of going a bit longer in miles the weekend before. That makes good sense.
Thanks guys 

Sid


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Tons of carbs the night before and tons more carbs 3 hours before the race.


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

Complex carbs the morning of the race. Mix of different beans, rices and peas. You can find lots of different varieties at health food coops and Indian groceries. Wild rice, barley, oats are adds. Make a bunch and freeze it in ziplocks. 3 tablespoons will do it before a ride. Add peanut butter, olive oil and/or spice to vary it. The slower release of carbs will lessen after event muscle fatique and soreness for me.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Thats exactly what I needed to hear. Unfortunately, the race starts at 9am. To be honest, tons of carbs 3 hrs before gate drop has me concerned with having to crap before the race. Sorry for the detail.


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## primoz (Jun 7, 2006)

Forget about all this and just do what you usually do. If you go do something weird (like huge plate of pasta for breakfast) and you have never done this before, it's going to make you way more problems, then benefits. So keep it like you are used to. Might not be perfect, but it will still be better then something that should be perfect, but you are not used to.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

I train for marathons (I have a race in 2 weeks) and ran my first ultra this spring. My diet remains the same (I don't "carbo" load or change my protein intake... I'm also vegan) leading up to the race.

Eating 2-3 hours beforehand is a good way to avoid problems. Let your guts and your insulin settle down. I like peanut butter or almond butter toast for this purpose but the fat & protein in that is less digestible than it could be. Maybe jam toast or oatmeal would be a safer bet. Opting for sports drink like tailwind instead of water during the race could give you some extra margin. For marathons I take an energy gel every 8 to 10 km before I bonk (I like Huma which tastes great and is digestible) With or without caffeine (your preference)


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

primoz said:


> Forget about all this and just do what you usually do. If you go do something weird (like huge plate of pasta for breakfast) and you have never done this before, it's going to make you way more problems, then benefits. So keep it like you are used to. Might not be perfect, but it will still be better then something that should be perfect, but you are not used to.


Thats a very good point. Thank you


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

cyclelicious said:


> I train for marathons (I have a race in 2 weeks) and ran my first ultra this spring. My diet remains the same (I don't "carbo" load or change my protein intake... I'm also vegan) leading up to the race.
> 
> Eating 2-3 hours beforehand is a good way to avoid problems. Let your guts and your insulin settle down. I like peanut butter or almond butter toast for this purpose but the fat & protein in that is less digestible than it could be. Maybe jam toast or oatmeal would be a safer bet. Opting for sports drink like tailwind instead of water during the race could give you some extra margin. For marathons I take an energy gel every 8 to 10 km before I bonk (I like Huma which tastes great and is digestible) With or without caffeine (your preference)


thank you so much. The race starts at 9am, sign up at 7am. Leaving the house at 6am. Probably make something at the house and eat it on the way I guess.

Thank you so much.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

primoz said:


> Forget about all this and just do what you usually do. If you go do something weird (like huge plate of pasta for breakfast) and you have never done this before, it's going to make you way more problems, then benefits. So keep it like you are used to. Might not be perfect, but it will still be better then something that should be perfect, but you are not used to.





cyclelicious said:


> I train for marathons (I have a race in 2 weeks) and ran my first ultra this spring. My diet remains the same (I don't "carbo" load or change my protein intake... I'm also vegan) leading up to the race.


These

"Carbo loading" is BS anyway. If you want to carb load, you need to be doing that weeks in advance as a part of your training, not the night before. So ignore any of that.

Don't do anything unusual that you haven't done in any of your training rides. Experiment in training, stick with what works in your event.

I am running a 50k in a couple of months. Some people don't even call that a "real" ultra. 50k on a bike is closer to my regular XC racing (20-25 miles), with endurance racing being two laps of the XC course (or more).


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I really like the idea of lots of beans the night before and morning of.
Bring lots of TP!


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Sidewalk said:


> These
> 
> "Carbo loading" is BS anyway. If you want to carb load, you need to be doing that weeks in advance as a part of your training, not the night before. So ignore any of that.


It's widely accepted among sports physiologists that carb loading starting 48 hours before an event works and most pro athletes follow that advice. Having a full store of glycogen before any big effort is an advantage.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Thank you all. The TP thing is EXACTLY what I worry about. My system knows when 7am - 8am rolls around. I have to figure out how to push that off or up, either way.

Thanks again.

Sid


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

J.B. Weld said:


> It's widely accepted among sports physiologists that carb loading starting 48 hours before an event works and most pro athletes follow that advice. Having a full store of glycogen before any big effort is an advantage.


Yes, after having been doing it for weeks before for your longest training sessions to know what works with your body. And then even still your meals should be small, carb based meals that won't mess up your stomach. Which is NOT this:



J.B. Weld said:


> Tons of carbs the night before and tons more carbs 3 hours before the race.


You are better off being consistent the days before your A event.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Sidewalk said:


> You are better off being consistent the days before your A event.


I agree, for the most part anyway. I think it's best to consistently fuel yourself well before any long and/or tough ride and carbs are the best fuel. It seems logical that a longer ride will require more fuel so I always eat more for those.

Definitely it's good to try out anything different before a big event but for most I doubt that it requires too much adaptation to have something like a big plate of pasta the night before and a big bowl of oatmeal 3 hours before a race and do pretty well with it. Both are simple & easily digestible energy sources.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

There's a LOT of info available on fueling. Some of it sounds right, some doesn't. I have no idea what's optimum, but I suppose there are some important points.

There's a limit to how much glycogen your muscles and liver can hold. How can you go about increasing that limit?
I think liver glycogen is what staves off the "bonk" and muscle glycogen is what prevents you from "hitting the wall".

There's a limit to how quickly you can restore glycogen levels after using it. What's best for timing and what foods are best to accomplish that?
Also, days before an event, if your glycogen levels are at their peak, does further carb-loading really do anything, above maintenance of that level?

Can you supplement glycogen usage with "fat burning"? I know after a long hard ride, or even a hard ski day, my levels of ketones are measurably higher. Can you use/enhance this capability?

Can you eat foods that are digested slowly enough to be of use the morning of the event; other than stuffing your cheeks with food like a squirrel?

I ride with guys who are always in need of snacks, where I rarely am, but I don't think too much about it. I don't compete, so good enough is good enough, for me.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

MSU Alum said:


> There's a LOT of info available on fueling. Some of it sounds right, some doesn't. I have no idea what's optimum, but I suppose there are some important points.
> 
> There's a limit to how much glycogen your muscles and liver can hold. How can you go about increasing that limit?
> I think liver glycogen is what staves off the "bonk" and muscle glycogen is what prevents you from "hitting the wall".
> ...


I think you can stockpile about 1,200g of glycogen which might carry you a few hours during a tough event. There are techniques to boost glycogen stores but to my understanding they aren't generally necessary or all that helpful. I guess it's possible to rely on ketosis when glycogen runs dry but it seems a lot more efficient to replace it with gels or whatever during the ride. Definitely carb fueling before and during endurance events has a proven success record.

It is all real interesting to me, I don't know much but I try to keep it simple and use the best info available to my advantage. Whole foods, simple carbs and more of them when doing more work works for me. Letting my fuel tank run dry when running hot for sure doesn't work.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Afternoon all,

I have been reading as much as I can about fuel before and during the race. Most particularly, these SIS gels. Seems they have about 25+/- grams of carbs. My current snack is a clif bar that has 41grams. Other than wanting a drink of water after the clif bar, whats the benefit of the SIS gel? I don't get it. Or is it a quickness/handling thing at speed? I mean theres no way I can consume a clif bar immediately like you can a gel.

Just curious.

Thanks

Sid


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

cityjackit said:


> Afternoon all,
> 
> I have been reading as much as I can about fuel before and during the race. Most particularly, these SIS gels. Seems they have about 25+/- grams of carbs. My current snack is a clif bar that has 41grams. Other than wanting a drink of water after the clif bar, whats the benefit of the SIS gel? I don't get it. Or is it a quickness/handling thing at speed? I mean theres no way I can consume a clif bar immediately like you can a gel.
> 
> ...


For me eating a Cliff bar during a mtb race is nearly impossible, even gels aren't easy to get down on the trail at race pace but they're a lot easier than bars. Also you'll absorb the nutrition faster with less stress.

I'd plan on getting a good portion of your nutrition by mixing it with your water.


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## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Thanks a ton JB. First mtb race for me.

Thanks again.

sid


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## primoz (Jun 7, 2006)

I agree with @J.B. Weld that gels are way to go. It's not so much about not being able to chew, as there's always enough downhills to do that, especially when it's more marathon race then pure XCO race, but main issue is how much time it takes and how many hands you need to unwrap chocolate bar compared to how much time and hands you need to bite off gel's edge and squeeze get into your mouth. Unless you are climbing endless fireroads, you literary need to stop to unwrap bar, while for gel you need 3second of sort of flat terrain. And once you squeezed gel, all you need is gulp or two of water from water bottle and you are fine for another 20-30min. 
PS: For gels you really need to flush it with water, even if someone might not feel need to do it. It works better this way, when diluted with water.


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## abeckstead (Feb 29, 2012)

I like the cliff bloks, I cut the package open and tape them to my top tube with packing tape. Keeps them clean and about as accessible as it can get. I find it's easiest to grab them on climbs as I need to take a drink after. I've seen others do the lickem-n-stickem technique... honestly I think that's gross (get covered in dirt and whatever) and you risk loosing them.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I think I'd just mix nutrients in with water and be done with it. I thought that's what JB was suggesting, but maybe not.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

A little flask is the best & easiest way to do gels during a ride imo. It's quick, easy to manage with one hand, and there's no gooey wrapper parts to stow away or the inevitable goo that gets on your hands and invades your grips.

You can buy gel in bulk and gu makes a great little flask for this purpose.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

MSU Alum said:


> I think I'd just mix nutrients in with water and be done with it. I thought that's what JB was suggesting, but maybe not.


Depends on how long and/or hard the ride is for me. I always fill at least one of my bottles with some sort of energy drink because that's the easiest way to get calories but on anything longer than a couple hours I generally also bring the gel flask, especially for a race situation. Hard to replace that quick blast of energy with water mix, for me anyway.


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