I’m looking forward to training with you this spring and riding through cornfields in June. I want to introduce myself as a resource for any nutrition questions you might have in your training. I am a registered dietitian and have done several long rides like the MS Ride in the past. (I’m realizing that I just had my 10-year anniversary as a member of the Lakeview YMCA—I joined in February 1999 when I was first beginning to train for the AIDS Ride that year.)
I’ve been talking with Mira about doing some sort of nutrition/hydration seminar for our team, so I’d love to hear if you would be interested in that. I’m also putting together some brief handouts covering the basics of fueling your body –i.e., food and fluids to fuel yourself for an awesome ride.
I created this blog page as a place for me to share some ideas about hydration and eating for training for long-distance cycling, as well as other random advice from my experience with longer rides. (I have personal experience with hyponatremia, so I plan to share that little story with you so you can learn from my mistakes!) :o)
If you have any questions about fluid or food in regards to training or for long-ride days, please post ‘em here or feel free to contact me via email. (Click on the "About Me" link on the bottom left of the page and you can get my email--I'd put in here in the text, but I'm trying to prevent more email spam than I already get!)
You’ll be hearing from me again soon, but in the meantime…. Ride on!
Shelley
Hi Shelley! Here's one for you - is it true that we should "carb up" the night prior to the ride? What kind of meal do you recommend for the evening prior and the morning of the event?
ReplyDeleteAhhhh. Very good question! Here's the short answer (and I'll write a longer post later)....yes, it can be helpful to focus on carbs the night before, and even for several days to a week before, to help maximize how much carbohydrate your body can store (which is typically only a very small amount). The ubiquitous pasta dinner is a good example, but I'll try to post some other ideas as well. I'm curious if anyone else has a favorite "pre-event" meal?
ReplyDeleteHi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteIf you are just doing a more leisurely pace - NOT racing, do you still need to worry about your "fuel"? Will the snacks along the route be plenty or should we be toting protein bars?
Hi Liz! Great question....for rides like the MS ride, with pit stops placed along the way, the food provided at those rest stops is likely going to be adequate for most of us. Of course, that means that people need to stop at those stops and actually eat a little something while they are there. I've been on rides where people don't want to stop riding for the pit stop, or when they do stop they don't have an appetite to eat anything....it's not that we need should eat a full meal at every pit stop, but it's a good idea to eat at small snack. It's a very basic analogy, but we need to remember that just as a car can't run on an empty tank, we can't run (or, in this case, ride!) when we use up all our fuel.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first MS ride, and I don't know what types of snacks will be provided at the pit stops, but will look into that. Some folks are very particular about what foods they like to eat on rides, in which case it's a good idea to bring those snacks with you in case they are not provided by the ride organizers. I'll post more on snacks during the ride in a later post.
Hi Shelley,
ReplyDeleteMy question is about running vs. cycling nutrition. Do you have to fuel differently for each sport? I know that Gus, water and Gatorade/Accelerade seem to work fine for me for 2.5 hrs of running, but I have no idea how the caloric burn rate of cycling compares to running.
Actually, I have two more questions, too. I would be interested in knowing
1) what foods during the ride might be best for a sensitive/nervous stomach, and
2) what foods before, during and after riding would help prevent cramping.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! :o)
-the other Liz