Mountain Bikes!

Good to know.
I'm told there will be aid stations sprinkled throughout the course throwing whatever you want at you, but I'm not about to try a new supplement for the 1st time ever mid race. A PBJ 2-3 hours pre-race sounds like a lot of sense. I will have someone w/ a full Camelback waiting at the 20mile mark. I just don't know if I should pound a PBJ then as well or stick to the supplement packs. Sounds like save the 2nd PBJ for after race and stick to supplements for the 40 miles. Just seems nuts to ride that hard for that long on only 1 PBJ in the AM but I guess I just don't give enough credit to the power of a GU type supplement. I'm familiar w/ Skratch so I'll use them in my Camelback.
I'll be hydrating well before for sure.

Appreciate the tips.

 

I typed a really long reply to the what to eat/drink question, but it got lost.

Simply - 32 ounces of water (with electrolytes), 20-30g of carbohydrates EVERY 45 MINUTES. Don't miss a single serving.

 

I hate when that happens, Pants.
Do you have a suggestion for 20-30g of carbs?
Looks like Skratch has 20g per serving and GU has approx 20g per package.

 

Seriously, this in one bottle will give you what you need through the race. The naked flavor basically tastes like slightly sweet water. The mandarin flavor is a light orange flavor. They are my two favorites.
https://tailwindnutrition.com/products/endurance-fuel?variant=40078964981807
If Camelback is your usual hydration then I guess keep with it, but I can't ride with them, especially long distances. Gets way too hot.

Pair it with your supplement of choice - GU, chews, waffles, etc., and you're golden. (I can't stand the waffles, but some people dig them)

Don't try to eat the PBJ at the midpoint. Your body likely won't let you, and if it does you will be hating life anyway. Eat it after for sure.

 

Grabbed some Mandarin.
You've got me thinking of mounting bottles now.

 

Don't change up anything too major too close to the race. If you are used to drinking from a hydration pack, you might want to stick to it. Getting used to pulling up bottles and putting them back takes a little bit of getting used to, but you could give it a try over the course of this week and see how it goes.

 

There are a million and one companies selling you athletic "fuel"

The reason you don't eat much during race is that your body can either work or digest, but not both. Your mom was right, don't go swimming right after lunch.

The concept is to take on as much easily digestible sugars as possible during the event, without taking on more than your body is digesting. If you eat too much, it's called "stacking" and results in, ahem, very bad things.

It turns out sugars, particularly maltodextrin, is easy to digest. It also turn out that maltodextrin (and some other ingredients) really upsets some people's systems and results in, ahem, very bad things.

Whatever you decide to eat (or drink) on race day, make sure that you've eaten or drank it before. My stomach doesn't like electrolytes in my fluids. So, I have Nuun tablets for electrolytes and eat my carbs.

 

30g of carbs is a good baseline to start, and you can increase that number as you get your system dialed in. Try different products and systems (gel, chew, waffle, etc.) and see what works for you.

My intake on a long bike day is:

Eat a normal-sized breakfast (egg, bacon chees biscuit, hash browns) at least two hours before start.
I get a sweet tea to sip on while I get ready to ride.

At 0:45, I eat a peanut butter and jelly on white bread
At 1:30, I eat a second PBJ
At 2:15, I start eating candy (gummy bears, Swedish fish, etc.) I pre-portion 30g of the cady so I know how much to eat.
I repeat the candy every 45 minutes until I don't want to eat any more. This usually happens in hour four to five. The thought of food starts to sound bad to me.
If I can't eat the candy, I switch to gels which can be swallowed without chewing.

For liquid, I drink about 24 ounces of water every 45 minutes, with Nuun electrolyte tablets. If I haven't drank that much within that time, I force myself to finish that amount. I sweat a lot, and putting double the Nuun tabs in helps me with (not) cramping.

You will find that if you don't eat early and often, and don't drink enough early, your energy will fade badly.

 

And perhaps the most important advice I can give is to "meter your effort."

Just like you can't run a 5k at your 100-yard dash pace, you can't ride 40 miles of MTB at your "normal" 15-mile ride pace. You're going need to slow it down. Keep your pace in Zone 3 (tempo) or below.

As a racer, it's hard to let the person in front of you go, but you have to. You only have enough energy in your muscles (glycogen) to sprint so much, and you can't make more during the race. Conserve that energy at all costs by keeping your heart rate down to reasonable levels.

 

your body will burn fat for energy.
The GUs are just gel so its easy to consume and the taste holds up in the most miserable conditions.
Skratch also has a high carb version thats ~100 grams per serving.

 

its already been said but you need to train your gut as well as the rest of your body for endurance efforts. Cramps usually are dehydration and that can be lack of fluid OR lack of salts. Minimally you want one bottle of water every hour, and with some sort of hydration mix in there. I'm trained to intake 60-90g of carbs per hour, and I try to take 120g or so before the ride. If its hours before, you can eat solid food but if not you'll be relying on science foods before and during. Gels, shot blocks, waffles, sports beans, whatever works for you. I need to keep them varied or I get sick of eating them. At the aid stations, refill with hydration mix and have something salty. If you're cramping badly, have a shot of pickle juice. I don't know why it works, but it works.

 

Also start loading up on fluids 1-2 days prior to the event. You can't get fully hydrated in just one day.

 

The only hydration drink you need:

 

- Protein and complex carbs the night before a race (load your glycogen storage).
- Longer-burning fuel for the body the morning of (I like oatmeal or rice with various add-ons like PB, etc.). 3hrs. before the race is ideal but don't sacrifice a good night's rest for it.
- During the race - as mentioned already, hydration, electrolytes and XXg of carbs/sugar per hour (or 20-30min. if you want to break it up that way). Any solid food during the race should be easy to digest, but if you can do it through calories in a bottle or gel, that's ideal.

I use Hammer Nutrition products, but there are a variety of options out there. Also keep in mind you'll go through calories faster at race pace, so plan accordingly (both in fueling and pace you plan to ride). If you haven't done that distance before, your body is for sure going to tell you on that second lap.

 

That's somewhat of a myth nowadays .. It's not so much 'loading' as it is 'ensure you're properly hydrating every day, especially leading up to a race'. Over-hydration is a thing too..

 

Did 15 miles on a Revel Rail on my local rocky trail yesterday. Shockingly disappointed in that bike. The shop had specced it with a Domain fork that was incredibly harsh and I couldn't get a whole lot of travel out of it, which seems to be a common complaint with that fork.

Rear end was typical Revel bottomless feel but I disliked the slack seat tube angle and the bike wasn't particularly confidence-inspiring. I was well off my best segment times on this trail and I thought I'd at least be close.

Didn't help that the headset, brake levers and shifters were all loose on the rental. May have to talk to the manager about that at some point.

I think the GG Gnarvana is up next.

 

I’ve come to the absolute, no reversal, no backouts that I HATE 29ers.

to the point I’m selling my salsas.

 

#teamnopedal. 12k vert all downhill. Completely trashed. The downhill is so tech and steep it’s terrifying.

 

Tell us more Dave .. what are you going to go to?

 

behold.

https://www.bansheebikes.com/rune-v32