What to eat?

bendertherobot

On the Dragon last year I got cramp at 70 miles. Really serious cramp.

Last week, the same at 60 miles on a long ride.

Now, I'm probably guilty of under hydrating but an odd thing occurred. I ate well during the rides. Lots of energy gels etc etc.

But, last Friday, the thing that sorted me out? A Peters Corned beef pastie. Which begs the thought, should I be eating something different?

Anyone got any good foodstuffs ideas for a sportive? I was thinking bara brith for a start? eccles cakes perhaps?

Rev\'d Gatlin

A Peters Corned beef pastie.

???

Stomach bile to fight lactic acid build up, sounds a bit crash and burn. Have you tried rubbing Gaviscon on your legs?

If I could munch my way through the cramps I'd happily wear a nose bag. I drink loads, eat banana's, flapjacks, gels etc etc. And I still ended up on the side of the road with rock solid legs. It was the Etape du Dales so if they were going to suffer then the Dales are a pretty good test. I would imagine the Dragon is a similar test. In my mind the only way to beat this is to train harder for longer. I can do 50-60 without much fuss, even putting in sprints on the way home. It's the steep climbs and longer rides that kill me.

Another thought occurs, the cramps seem to come arm in arm with a sense of humour failure. Maybe the two are linked.

bendertherobot

Rev\'d Gatlin wrote:

A Peters Corned beef pastie.

???

Stomach bile to fight lactic acid build up, sounds a bit crash and burn. Have you tried rubbing Gaviscon on your legs?

If I could munch my way through the cramps I'd happily wear a nose bag. I drink loads, eat banana's, flapjacks, gels etc etc. And I still ended up on the side of the road with rock solid legs. It was the Etape du Dales so if they were going to suffer then the Dales are a pretty good test. I would imagine the Dragon is a similar test. In my mind the only way to beat this is to train harder for longer. I can do 50-60 without much fuss, even putting in sprints on the way home. It's the steep climbs and longer rides that kill me.

Another thought occurs, the cramps seem to come arm in arm with a sense of humour failure. Maybe the two are linked.

I was as surprised as anyone that it worked. Good to see someone else suffers at the same distance. Mine is always top leg related. The front AND back seize at the same time which makes stretching somewhat tricky!

You might be right about the mental thing mind!

agnello

sounds like you're light on electrolytes. probably the salt in the snack helped.

try an electrolyte drink like SIS GO if you don't already.

rjh299

agnello wrote:

sounds like you're light on electrolytes. probably the salt in the snack helped.

try an electrolyte drink like SIS GO if you don't already.

+1 your low on salt through sweating

And what the hell is a corned beef 'pasty'? Sacrilage!

Mettan

bendertherobot wrote:

Anyone got any good foodstuffs ideas for a sportive? I was thinking bara brith for a start? eccles cakes perhaps?

Fig rolls, Jaffa cakes.

bendertherobot

rjh299 wrote:

And what the hell is a corned beef 'pasty'? Sacrilage!

It's like a cornish one. But with less veg and less air

dennisn

Just the smell of corned beef can cause me to lose my cookies. Really.