Sportive Nutrition - Before, during & after

N1ckC

I am entering a number of sportives this year, from my first, a 50 miler this coming Sunday 5th May to the main event, the PruLondon100 in August. I average around 16-18mph but can do double this on flat as I have good leg power. Hills are not so good!
My training & fitness is going well & this weekends 50 should be dispensed without too much issue, the one problem I am yet to resolve is getting food/energy/fluids intake correct before & during the rides.

Any advice therefore from riders out there on good pre & during food intakes, any energy bars, all that kind of thing is appreciated. I hate bananas so that rules them out before anyone suggests them & I have until now been using the SiS tablets to add to water to give me sugars/sodium etc & to keep the electrolyte levels balanced.

Thanks & happy riding...

imposter2.0

In reality, just eat anything you like the taste of - it doesn't need to be any more complex than that. If you have been 'in training' for a while then you will presumably already kow what works and what doesn't, but there is certainly no 'magic potion' in terms of food recommendations. Well done on being able to average 36mph on the flat, by the way...

phreak

If you do 18mph average then you'll be done in under 3 hours. I don't usually take any food with me for such a short ride. Decent sized breakfast beforehand and some squash in my bottles is usually plenty.

schlepcycling

If you can average 32-36mph on the flat then you shouldn't be bothering with sportives you should be giving Dave Brailsford a call.

Herbsman

schlepcycling wrote:

If you can average 32-36mph on the flat then you shouldn't be bothering with sportives you should be giving Dave Brailsford a call.

I can average 32-36mph on the flat, but only for about 1 minute

joe.90

phreak wrote:

If you do 18mph average then you'll be done in under 3 hours. I don't usually take any food with me for such a short ride. Decent sized breakfast beforehand and some squash in my bottles is usually plenty.

bad advice..i would recommend eating something ever half hour to hour with everything 3 + hours long.

Setarkos

Herbsman wrote:

I can average 32-36mph on the flat, but only for about 1 minute

36mph for a minute is quite impressive!
At sea level, no wind, 0% gradient that's well above 700W (and that's already assuming a decent TT position)

phreak

joe.90 wrote:

phreak wrote:

If you do 18mph average then you'll be done in under 3 hours. I don't usually take any food with me for such a short ride. Decent sized breakfast beforehand and some squash in my bottles is usually plenty.

bad advice..i would recommend eating something ever half hour to hour with everything 3 + hours long.

Bad advice for you maybe. I've done lots of 3-4 hour rides this winter and not eaten on the way round. I didn't explode Those are solo rides as well. Dare say if I'd been in a group I'd have used even less energy.

Managed a 5 hour ride on Sunday with half a dozen fig rolls if that helps.

Herbsman

Setarkos wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

I can average 32-36mph on the flat, but only for about 1 minute

36mph for a minute is quite impressive!
At sea level, no wind, 0% gradient that's well above 700W (and that's already assuming a decent TT position)

I said 32-36! My best for 1 minute is about 650w, that was at the end of a hard ride, speed was approx 33mph with a bit of a headwind. So could probably average 36 on a good day on the same stretch with no headwind or a wee tailwind

Zoomer37

Herbsman wrote:

Setarkos wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

I can average 32-36mph on the flat, but only for about 1 minute

36mph for a minute is quite impressive!
At sea level, no wind, 0% gradient that's well above 700W (and that's already assuming a decent TT position)

I said 32-36! My best for 1 minute is about 650w, that was at the end of a hard ride, speed was approx 33mph with a bit of a headwind. So could probably average 36 on a good day on the same stretch with no headwind or a wee tailwind

I reckon you could probably take it to 38mph for 1 min mate if those ''I'm totally awesome'' decals don't start peeling off and cause a bit of drag

Herbsman

ok ok im only stating facts

I don't actually think I'm awesome, my power output is pretty shit compared to most people I ride with

simonhead

Do what feels right, if its crappy weather and you are feeling a bit miserable a handful of chocolate covered raisins are great for your mood.

I am doing the london 100 and up to 60 mile rides averaging about 16 mph, always have some peices of flapjack if i am on a longer ride and use the High 5 zero tabs or energy source powder if i want a lift.

joe.90

phreak wrote:

joe.90 wrote:

phreak wrote:

If you do 18mph average then you'll be done in under 3 hours. I don't usually take any food with me for such a short ride. Decent sized breakfast beforehand and some squash in my bottles is usually plenty.

bad advice..i would recommend eating something ever half hour to hour with everything 3 + hours long.

Bad advice for you maybe. I've done lots of 3-4 hour rides this winter and not eaten on the way round. I didn't explode Those are solo rides as well. Dare say if I'd been in a group I'd have used even less energy.

Managed a 5 hour ride on Sunday with half a dozen fig rolls if that helps.

That's crazy. I would die, and have done in the past by not eating enough...! Everyone's different I suppose. but the general rule is to eat often on long rides.

sloppyschleckonds

joe.90 wrote:

That's crazy. I would die, and have done in the past by not eating enough...!

Amazing recovery.

imposter2.0

Good thread - so far, we have one poster who can average 36mph - and another one who is immortal

joe.90

Imposter wrote:

Good thread - so far, we have one poster who can average 36mph - and another one who is immortal

Ha ha...you know what I mean!

keef66

Before: massive bowl of porridge
During: fig roll and a few jelly babies every 40 mins or so. Wash down with a slurp of drink.
After: Pint of sweet tea and a couple of Hobnobs, then return to normal eating habits.

SBezza

phreak wrote:

joe.90 wrote:

phreak wrote:

If you do 18mph average then you'll be done in under 3 hours. I don't usually take any food with me for such a short ride. Decent sized breakfast beforehand and some squash in my bottles is usually plenty.

bad advice..i would recommend eating something ever half hour to hour with everything 3 + hours long.

Bad advice for you maybe. I've done lots of 3-4 hour rides this winter and not eaten on the way round. I didn't explode Those are solo rides as well. Dare say if I'd been in a group I'd have used even less energy.

Managed a 5 hour ride on Sunday with half a dozen fig rolls if that helps.

Same here, nothing amazing about doing a 3-4 hour ride without food if you have eaten decently before the ride. Get the body used to using a nice stored energy source (FAT), and you have plenty of stored energy. I do plenty of 50 mile after work rides without eating.

SBezza

Setarkos wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

I can average 32-36mph on the flat, but only for about 1 minute

36mph for a minute is quite impressive!
At sea level, no wind, 0% gradient that's well above 700W (and that's already assuming a decent TT position)

Well so much for calculations, I can manage 36 mph whilst TTing with a lot less power than 700 watts I would suggest the TT position is of someone shaped like a brick.

jesseventura

I think this a bad advice for you maybe. I've done lots of 3-4 hour rides this winter and not eaten on the way round. I didn't explode and those are solo rides as well.

buckles

jesseventura wrote:

I think this a bad advice for you maybe. I've done lots of 3-4 hour rides this winter and not eaten on the way round. I didn't explode and those are solo rides as well.

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liter

Today I did two fairly hilly road races, in the morning 77km with 1100m climbing, in the afternoon 82km with 770m climbing.

Each race took just over two hours, I didn't have breakfast nor eat during the races but I drank 500ml of sugar water in each race. In between the races I ate a 100g packet of Haribo and 600ml of plain water. (The second race was a last minute decision so I hadn't brought any lunch with me).

I am not recommending this approach, although it seems to work for me, but just making the point that it is possible to go quite far on a small number of calories, once you get used to it.

imposter2.0

liter wrote:

Today I did two fairly hilly road races, in the morning 77km with 1100m climbing, in the afternoon 82km with 770m climbing.

Each race took just over two hours, I didn't have breakfast nor eat during the races but I drank 500ml of sugar water in each race. In between the races I ate a 100g packet of Haribo and 600ml of plain water. (The second race was a last minute decision so I hadn't brought any lunch with me).

I am not recommending this approach, although it seems to work for me, but just making the point that it is possible to go quite far on a small number of calories, once you get used to it.

Doing that is eminently possible - but if you're racing it's the results that matter. You didn't mention where you finished.

liter

Imposter wrote:

liter wrote:

Today I did two fairly hilly road races, in the morning 77km with 1100m climbing, in the afternoon 82km with 770m climbing.

Each race took just over two hours, I didn't have breakfast nor eat during the races but I drank 500ml of sugar water in each race. In between the races I ate a 100g packet of Haribo and 600ml of plain water. (The second race was a last minute decision so I hadn't brought any lunch with me).

I am not recommending this approach, although it seems to work for me, but just making the point that it is possible to go quite far on a small number of calories, once you get used to it.

Doing that is eminently possible - but if you're racing it's the results that matter. You didn't mention where you finished.

It's a good point, I didn't win either race. I do win occasionly though. The real question is whether my performance would be better or worse if I ate more; impossible to say. I have tried taking food in my pockets but I never get round to touching it.

To answer the OP's question I would recommend taking some food in your pockets and eating it if and when you feel hungry. In your bottles: mix 35g of sugar or honey and a pinch of salt per 500ml water.

SBezza

liter wrote:

Today I did two fairly hilly road races, in the morning 77km with 1100m climbing, in the afternoon 82km with 770m climbing.

Each race took just over two hours, I didn't have breakfast nor eat during the races but I drank 500ml of sugar water in each race. In between the races I ate a 100g packet of Haribo and 600ml of plain water. (The second race was a last minute decision so I hadn't brought any lunch with me).

I am not recommending this approach, although it seems to work for me, but just making the point that it is possible to go quite far on a small number of calories, once you get used to it.

I am glad you are not recommending it, it is pure folly to think about racing without fuelling properly. Training can be done without special foods, but racing is another matter. Why you didn't have a breakfast in the morning God only knows, but why start a race in a glycogen depleted state unless you just wanted to get round rather than actually contest the race Fuel up properly and you might get better results (though to be honest you might have won one of the races )