Problems during endurance rides - advice much appreciated :)

jmillen

Evening folks

I'm hoping someone may be able to shed some light on a problem I seem to develop whilst taking part in long rides (apologies in advance for the length of the post).

I'm generally fine for the first couple of hours of the ride. I try to take regular sips of what ever drink I have with me, but after x amount of time....I start to feel sick, drained of energy, and sometimes slightly dizzy.

I did the Devon Dirt a couple of weekends ago, 55km off road (extremely hilly) and also the Exmoor MTB Marathon in Nov last year (75km off road). I developed these "symptoms" on both events. Without going into too much detail, I felt physically sick about half way around, which made the rest of the ride quite a struggle, although I did finish both events.

Grateful for peoples thoughts on what may be causing this, I have several ideas:

Not eating/drinking enough before and during the ride (and also in the days leading up to it)
Not eating/drinking the correct stuff before/during the ride
Incorrect and/or not enough training before the event
...any number of other things...?

If anyone has any thoughts/comments on this I'd be very grateful for your input. I really enjoy the rides until this happens, but from then on....well, I just want to get to the end which for me isn't what its all about.

I'm planning on entering the Afan Monster this year, and want to try and get this under control before then...

Many thanks in advance

springtide9

How much are you eating/drinking during a log event/ride? How much fluid do you loose though sweat etc?

I would guess not being hydrated enough sounds like the issue... how much you need to drink varies per rider.

.Brucey.

Sounds like low blood sugar. Try taking some glucose/caffiene type gels or a lucozade. Bananas are good for energy recuperation. Or even gave a pack of wine gums in your pack to chew on.

jmillen

I do find it quite difficult to stop and eat during the ride as I find myself just wanting to get on with it. However, I think this may be proving to be my un-doing as it only ends up being counter productive.

I have a 3 litre camelbak which I generally try and fill, I also then take on liquids at the feed stations where possible. During the Exmoor ride, I had 3 litres of lucozade....by about half way through, I was sick of the taste of it. This time around on the Devon Dirt I tried some simple Oasis drink, but again...by about half way around, the thought of having to drink more of it put me off.

I'm thinking that I maybe need to increase my calorie intake a day or so before the ride, have a decent breakfast on the morning of the ride...and then try and eat as much as I can throughout the ride, forcing myself to stop at say 1 hr intervals to take on some more food.

I also tend to go off at quite a pace at the beginning This is something I also need to work on as maybe that just sapping all of my energy early, and by the last 20k I've literally nothing left...?

u05harrisb

i find things like lucazade really bad to take, sugar high but then you plummet and die. i tend to stick to porridge or an egg and bacon sandwich in the morning, more the better but baring in mind the time taken for it to go down, pack bannanas flapjacks energy bars energy gels and in your bottle pop some energy powder in and water or alternativly do water some salt sugar and some squash (thats what i do enless its a major long ride) if you pack easy eat stuff you shouldnt need to stop i.e. loose nuts or just flapjack and above sort of stuff loose in the pockets of your jersey then just hand in big bit and then savour it and nibble bit by bit you know you might find that (concidering you use a camelback) that using plain water or squash salt n water then having a bottle with some stonger energy drink stuff in?


hoep that helps bud

rock_hopper

That sounds like low blood sugar to me as well. A good carbohydrate meal 2-4hrs before your event like porridge or pasta then use a sports drink like SIS GO and try and get 500-700ml into your body every hour. Also try an eat an energy bar/gel every 45 minutes or so. When your doing events like this you start (or should) with a full tank of glycogen (fuel) as you get through the event this full tank is used up, your goal is to delay the emptying of the tank as much as you can by getting energy into the body. As a rule of thumb the body can process about 60grams of carbs per hour.

You also need a good pacing strategy based on your current fitness level, you need to set off at a pace that you can sustain for the ride. In the first 10 minutes ask yourself 'can I still ride at this pace after xxkms?' You want to start steady, finish strong, too many people set off too hard and blow 20km from the end.

Hope that helps

springtide9

Pretty much what I aim for.

- Porridge first thing in the morning (with dried fruit or fresh)
- Energy drink roughly 500-750ml per hour
- Energy bar, one per hour, from about 1:30 hrs

This might sound OTT, but you can back off some of it later when you are happier with your fuelling.

And as above, start off slower and finish faster if you still have enough left. Once you are happy with your endurance at a specific effort, you can start to increase it.

In terms of fluid, give High 5 4:1 a go:
http://www.highfive.co.uk/energy_endura ... rce4_1.htm

I found Lucozade to sticky and sweet (and you get really sick of the taste). High 5 4:1 (and their standard stuff).. is much easier to drink with a lot less taste.

jmillen

Thanks for the replies folks Some interesting points raised.

I did actually try some gels and bars on the Exmoor ride....but I had decided afterwards that that was what was making me feel ill so I've avoided them since. On reflection, maybe it wasn't...

On the more recent Devon Dirt, I had only really eaten the couple of flapjacks and bits of cake at the feeding stations. Again, thinking about it, for a 6 hours ride....that wasn't much was it considering I only had toast for breakfast :roll:

SpiCan

You may be getting to much sugar.
Laurent Fignon had a problem with this, to much sugar will cause your body to release insulin and you get a negative effect.
I'm no expert but I have and do ride long distance.
I normaly eat power bars and more solid food, the gells and sugar loaded drinks maybe near the end if at all.
Drink a good Isotonic mix, I use Isostar. And water. Normaly on my road bike I have two bidons of 500 ml one with water the other with mix, also for a long event I cary small plastic bags with the Isostar in powder form to refill.
At the start of an event you allways get a bit carried away, back off and get through the middle third, then you can let go to the finnish
Just keep riding. And forget the pain.

jmillen

I don't mind the pain...if it were purely just pain, I could cope with it. Its the sick feeling and dizzy spells I dont like.

I do get a bit of cramp whilst riding as well, usually at around the same time I start to feel bad. Does this indicate dehydration?

diy

Get away from carrying isotonic drinks in liquid form and opt for the powders that go in your water bag.

cuts down on weight.

I made the mistake on the BHF 100 mile SDW last year of caring isotonic drinks in liquid form. I reckon I was carrying 3-4KG more than I needed to.

This year I am using the isotonic drink powders available in health shops and will just add it to my water at the filling stops.

cee

cramp you say...to me that always screams electrolyte deficiency....hows your salts intake during the ride?

might be worth replacing the sugary drink with a balanced electrolyte drink...if you lose salts, you really over-hydrate by drinking saltless fluids.

one other thing is the 'whatever drink i have with me....'.....for endurance rides, its a really good idea to find something that works for you and stick to it.....

+1 on the other feeding stuff....take things you can eat without stopping....bag of dried fruit and nuts in jersey pocket...jelly babies etc....