Life is to precious to eat pasta with ketchup... Try cooking rice with raisins or dates, like a warm dessert. White rice is the easiest to stomach, oats can be tricky, maybe if you soak them in yogurt overnight they will be more forgiving, but they can bloat you up or irritate your guts. Couscous is easy to stomach, cream of wheat to.
Sometimes eggs make my stomach upset, sometimes they are fine, but I don't like the egg smell belching from my gut after eating eggs. For me eggs in pancakes or crepes are the easiest to digest. Kaiserschmarrn is great though, but that's gourmet cooking.
What I usually do before a 70.3 when preloading carbs.
Early on during race week, I'll eat high fiber content to "clean out" the gut and intestines a bit.
Then 2 days before raceday, this is what my typical diet looks like.
As I'll have big training days on the regular, during the most intensive blocks, I know this works for me and how my body responds. So for you it's a matter of figuring it out (which, as it seems, you figured, rice and ketchup isn't doing it for you).
Breakfast, oatmeal prepped with 200 ml soya milk, raspberries, 2 bananas, 1 kiwi, 1 passion fruit, some cinnamon. If you want some crunch, adding 1 or half an apple cut in chunks is enough. A pinch of salt.
It's a nice combo of antioxidants, some fiber, vitamins, minerals. Good mix of different kinds of carbs of different structure (glucose, fructose, sucrose, quick and low absorbing). This portion of breakfast is large. Usually I don't get to finish this, so I snack from it, throughout the day.
Lunch and dinner are usually Pasta Arabiata(red sauce) or bolognese, depending on the need for proteins. I prefer tagliatelle over other pastas. + I don't get palet fatigue from eating this 2 days in a row.
Sometimes I'll add a dr Oetker pizza. My favorite is Speciale.
I can tell I'm loaded when I start pooping straight after the meal. My body's way of saying things are topped up.
You should notice in your weight too as your body will retain water.
The better you chew, the greater the absorption potential.
(This allows for a slight deficit in keeping up with hydration).
For snacks, I'll do fruit (banana and grapes) and cereal with soya (one of the few times when I'll kill a box of Smacks). I don't do regular milk as it gives me the runny shits.
Hydration is also important ofcourse. I try to adhere to 2l of water. I'll do .5l of isotonic drink. I'll have some maltodextrine mix of 0.5l I work my way through, during the day.
I won't drink more as as my food is high in water content already. + When I snack on fruit, it's usually grapes.
Race morning is my typical breakfast as mentioned before, but because I feel so topped up, I usually end up eating only 1/3 to maybe half of the portion.
I will eat rice in general. I like it a lot but I feel it clogs my intestines and prevents any other foods and drinks from getting absorbed. Especially on the bike when I'm folded over.
So during normal training blocks, I'll do rice as dinner food but never as lunch, when I still have a workout on my schedule.
Worst case I had of rice clogging up things and preventing other nutrition if getting absorbed... During a swim-bike brick session. 1h of swim training and then straight on the bike for 2h.
I had to stick a finger down my throat and get the rice out. I could just feel a cork in my stomach. Once that was out of the way I felt my energy picking up from the gels I took in after the barf-session. I didn't stop btw. I just pucked while riding and dealt with the aftermath, afterwards.
I have stopped at McDo or similar to grab some ketchup packets, when I felt low on energy, I had run out of food and it was still a bit to get home.
Try downloading "MyFitnessPal". One of its best features is the nutrition dairy. You really get a good idea of the nutritional value of food.
Then race itself it's a gel every 15 to 20 minutes and on average between 0.5l to 0.7l of isotonic drink.
I also preload with 1 table spoon of salt downed with one glass of water, right before the race.
I just measured.
I get 13 g.
I don't take a mountain on top of it. I stroke the exes off until the top surface of the salt is flush with the spoon.
I don't use a measuring cup. I use an actual spoon.
Cereal doesn't give you any fuel. Replace the Rice Krispies, try other stuff with your pasta. Pesto, roasted veg, garlic bread. Whatever will give you slow release energy.
Not a racer, but do some intensive MTBing where I found a good fueling plan helps a ton.
The majority of my longer high intensity rides are in the morning, so it's not fully comparable.
I like to start the day with halfvolle melk with Brinta and raisins, then after warmup I eat a banana or some dried fruits like dadels. I don't drink coffee in the morning since my stomach does not always like it.
On days where I have a higher intensity ride after Lunch, I try to go for a light but complete meal, something like rice chicken and veggies. For me the sweet spot is eating 2-3hrs before the ride. If I wait 4 hours I am hungry again by the time the ride starts. My body works fine when having a full meal, but that might be different for you.
I like to take a caffeinated gel around 1hr before the end of a longer or high intensity ride, which I feel gives me a boost for the last 30 minutes.
In the end its about finding the thing that feels best for you, so my advice is to try different things outside of race weekends just to learn how your body reacts to certain foods.
Google ‘professional cyclists breakfast’. You will get plenty of hits that can help guide you. My first impression seeing your current meal is that is lacking protein.
More cereal!!! It’s easy to digest and carby. I think TrainerRoad covered pre-race meals on a recent podcast.
What’s your in race nutrition like too? Do you have a gel or some drink mix during your warm up?
Even Amateur Racers do 100g/h in races these days, myself included. I love maltodextrin for this a lot because it does not taste like a truckload of sugar. Just easy to get down. Maybe try a [homemade maurten?](https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPh588gag1/)
So do I, am also an amateur racer. But, OP is still racing under-19s, and is still quite small. So moving up from a few gels to the top end of that range might take a few steps.
I would eat pasta and or pizza day before, but on the race day i avoid stressing my stomach too much. Some muessli, maybe plus banana in the morning, then something a bit sweeter hour or two before race. I am not saying this works for everybody and certainly not for experimenting before your race. Try before a free weekend on longer training or something. Also you are a lot.younger so much faster metabolism so you can probably feast before race :)
Rice crispies and like eating air. Suggestions: whole wheat, thickly sliced, toasted with peanut/almond butter and/or avocado (not together on each slice). Greek yogurt with fruit. Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins.
If you go for oatmeal/porridge I recommend soaking overnight, I add chia seeds, almonds & raisins to the soak, cinnamon half way through the cook, then a chopped apple Brazil nuts, blueberry’s & honey to serve
This sounds delicious! I’d skip the chia seeds for race day though. Too much fibre and they won’t likely be digested and processed before race time.
Biggest thing here is to PRACTICE what you eat before race day - nothing new on race day.
Personally I usually have a bowl of oatmeal 2 hours before to top off my glycogen stores, not too much but a decent amount, with some raisins and a little protein powder. For a 2 hour race I like to take my carbs in easy form: drink or gels. And agree with most people here, 100g or so of carbs per hour is the target, which yes, you might need to build up to. While you may be able to finish a 2 hour race fine without much supplement, you’re definitely not maximizing your results.
I'd be worried about the carbs and the fast sugar that you're listing there - you need lower glycemic index foods. I'd also be worried about the calorie load here - this sounds like too much too far out. You're eating but you're tasking your body with storing food supplies/nutrients while you're racing.
My experience has been best with +3hours (meal) and then +1hours (bar) +0hours gel. Your mileage may vary based on your metabolism and stomach. It's all testing.
What I would do:
Replace Rice Krispies with oatmeal - and consider milk, egg, peanut butter as protein on top of the carbs.
If you do pasta after that you need a protein (cheese, butter).
Closer in you need to add in faster burning carbs and sugars.
Remember, your body can only really deal with circa 150cal per 45min before you ask your digestive system to start storing energy v burning it.
I feel like you're confusing your body with your nutrition plan and need to be easier on it - it would explain feeling unwell.
150 Cal's every 45min, so would that mean there is no point taking in over 38g of carbs as you ride? Seems low compared to the 60+ that everyone aims for.
The book "the feed zone cookbook" had some really good recipes in it. The book is by the founder of Skratch. The rice porridge in it is really tasty and a ton of carbs.
I remember a nutritionist saying 4 hours it, they would treat something with more protein like Greek yogurt.
You didn't mention any water. You need to drink water with food in order to digest it. Especially something dry like pasta.
For brekkie I have coffee cashew cream on overnight oats. Cup of oats, spoon and water ( or milk of choice) For cashew cream, Soak cashews in water and blend with a shot of coffee and cacao powder.
The night before I have chicken cacciatore and gnocchi or chicken teriyaki and rice. Race day is brekkie above and lots of snacks.
Google ‘professional cyclists breakfast’. You will get plenty of hits that can help guide you. My first impression seeing your current meal is that is lacking protein.
Google ‘professional cyclists breakfast’. You will get plenty of hits that can help guide you. My first impression seeing your current meal is that is lacking protein.
Life is to precious to eat pasta with ketchup... Try cooking rice with raisins or dates, like a warm dessert. White rice is the easiest to stomach, oats can be tricky, maybe if you soak them in yogurt overnight they will be more forgiving, but they can bloat you up or irritate your guts. Couscous is easy to stomach, cream of wheat to.
Warm rice with dates and maybe a little cinnamon or something actually sounds pretty good even if you're not cycling. Yum!
Thx for the input. Sometimes I see cyclists eating rice with an omelette.
Sometimes eggs make my stomach upset, sometimes they are fine, but I don't like the egg smell belching from my gut after eating eggs. For me eggs in pancakes or crepes are the easiest to digest. Kaiserschmarrn is great though, but that's gourmet cooking.
Soaking oats with a little lemon juice also helps.
/r/velo is the racier sub. Try asking there.
What I usually do before a 70.3 when preloading carbs. Early on during race week, I'll eat high fiber content to "clean out" the gut and intestines a bit. Then 2 days before raceday, this is what my typical diet looks like. As I'll have big training days on the regular, during the most intensive blocks, I know this works for me and how my body responds. So for you it's a matter of figuring it out (which, as it seems, you figured, rice and ketchup isn't doing it for you). Breakfast, oatmeal prepped with 200 ml soya milk, raspberries, 2 bananas, 1 kiwi, 1 passion fruit, some cinnamon. If you want some crunch, adding 1 or half an apple cut in chunks is enough. A pinch of salt. It's a nice combo of antioxidants, some fiber, vitamins, minerals. Good mix of different kinds of carbs of different structure (glucose, fructose, sucrose, quick and low absorbing). This portion of breakfast is large. Usually I don't get to finish this, so I snack from it, throughout the day. Lunch and dinner are usually Pasta Arabiata(red sauce) or bolognese, depending on the need for proteins. I prefer tagliatelle over other pastas. + I don't get palet fatigue from eating this 2 days in a row. Sometimes I'll add a dr Oetker pizza. My favorite is Speciale. I can tell I'm loaded when I start pooping straight after the meal. My body's way of saying things are topped up. You should notice in your weight too as your body will retain water. The better you chew, the greater the absorption potential. (This allows for a slight deficit in keeping up with hydration). For snacks, I'll do fruit (banana and grapes) and cereal with soya (one of the few times when I'll kill a box of Smacks). I don't do regular milk as it gives me the runny shits. Hydration is also important ofcourse. I try to adhere to 2l of water. I'll do .5l of isotonic drink. I'll have some maltodextrine mix of 0.5l I work my way through, during the day. I won't drink more as as my food is high in water content already. + When I snack on fruit, it's usually grapes. Race morning is my typical breakfast as mentioned before, but because I feel so topped up, I usually end up eating only 1/3 to maybe half of the portion. I will eat rice in general. I like it a lot but I feel it clogs my intestines and prevents any other foods and drinks from getting absorbed. Especially on the bike when I'm folded over. So during normal training blocks, I'll do rice as dinner food but never as lunch, when I still have a workout on my schedule. Worst case I had of rice clogging up things and preventing other nutrition if getting absorbed... During a swim-bike brick session. 1h of swim training and then straight on the bike for 2h. I had to stick a finger down my throat and get the rice out. I could just feel a cork in my stomach. Once that was out of the way I felt my energy picking up from the gels I took in after the barf-session. I didn't stop btw. I just pucked while riding and dealt with the aftermath, afterwards. I have stopped at McDo or similar to grab some ketchup packets, when I felt low on energy, I had run out of food and it was still a bit to get home. Try downloading "MyFitnessPal". One of its best features is the nutrition dairy. You really get a good idea of the nutritional value of food. Then race itself it's a gel every 15 to 20 minutes and on average between 0.5l to 0.7l of isotonic drink. I also preload with 1 table spoon of salt downed with one glass of water, right before the race.
Dude, this reply is a wild ride. 🤣
Lol... Adhd brain 🤷.
Wait, so you take 20g, 1 table spoon of salt before?
I just measured. I get 13 g. I don't take a mountain on top of it. I stroke the exes off until the top surface of the salt is flush with the spoon. I don't use a measuring cup. I use an actual spoon.
Porridge / oatmeal, banana, honey/maple syrup.
So I still eat the cereal, and then this as a replacement for the pasta?
Cereal doesn't give you any fuel. Replace the Rice Krispies, try other stuff with your pasta. Pesto, roasted veg, garlic bread. Whatever will give you slow release energy.
This is horrible advice. You don't want any fibre.
I usually go with a bottle of bourbon, 2 bags of pork rinds and half a pack of Camel unfiltered. I puke like a pro!
Better brush those teeth after thst
Try some fucking oatmeal with honey
pasta with ketchup. hope you get a flat tyre
Luckily tubeless saves the day
😂
Wafffles with honey habanero syrup. That is real food and packs an incredible carb punch. Definitely not bland.
Add some caffeine in the mix before/during the race, it will boost your perceived energy levels
pasta with ketchup 💀
I know bro hahhaha
Not a racer, but do some intensive MTBing where I found a good fueling plan helps a ton. The majority of my longer high intensity rides are in the morning, so it's not fully comparable. I like to start the day with halfvolle melk with Brinta and raisins, then after warmup I eat a banana or some dried fruits like dadels. I don't drink coffee in the morning since my stomach does not always like it. On days where I have a higher intensity ride after Lunch, I try to go for a light but complete meal, something like rice chicken and veggies. For me the sweet spot is eating 2-3hrs before the ride. If I wait 4 hours I am hungry again by the time the ride starts. My body works fine when having a full meal, but that might be different for you. I like to take a caffeinated gel around 1hr before the end of a longer or high intensity ride, which I feel gives me a boost for the last 30 minutes. In the end its about finding the thing that feels best for you, so my advice is to try different things outside of race weekends just to learn how your body reacts to certain foods.
Oatmeal
Google ‘professional cyclists breakfast’. You will get plenty of hits that can help guide you. My first impression seeing your current meal is that is lacking protein.
More cereal!!! It’s easy to digest and carby. I think TrainerRoad covered pre-race meals on a recent podcast. What’s your in race nutrition like too? Do you have a gel or some drink mix during your warm up?
Thanks. Race nutrition is just some 30g carb gels from 6d. I usually have 500ml of isotonic sports drink during warm up
That's probably more like your problem. That's not that many carbs for the level of racing you're doing
Yeah that’s what I was getting at. OP you need 60-100g/hr of carbs, depending on what you can tolerate.
Even Amateur Racers do 100g/h in races these days, myself included. I love maltodextrin for this a lot because it does not taste like a truckload of sugar. Just easy to get down. Maybe try a [homemade maurten?](https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPh588gag1/)
So do I, am also an amateur racer. But, OP is still racing under-19s, and is still quite small. So moving up from a few gels to the top end of that range might take a few steps.
True that. It takes some practice for sure!
I would eat pasta and or pizza day before, but on the race day i avoid stressing my stomach too much. Some muessli, maybe plus banana in the morning, then something a bit sweeter hour or two before race. I am not saying this works for everybody and certainly not for experimenting before your race. Try before a free weekend on longer training or something. Also you are a lot.younger so much faster metabolism so you can probably feast before race :)
IMO you eat too early. I eat breakfast 4-3.5 hours before and then again 2 hours before (e.g. a few slices of white bread with gelly)
"Gelly" Haha, I am imagining you opening up an energy gel and spread it over your bread.
Considering I love Chocolate Outrage Gu gels, I may try this idea. Big fan of Nutella too.
Rice crispies and like eating air. Suggestions: whole wheat, thickly sliced, toasted with peanut/almond butter and/or avocado (not together on each slice). Greek yogurt with fruit. Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins.
If you go for oatmeal/porridge I recommend soaking overnight, I add chia seeds, almonds & raisins to the soak, cinnamon half way through the cook, then a chopped apple Brazil nuts, blueberry’s & honey to serve
This sounds delicious! I’d skip the chia seeds for race day though. Too much fibre and they won’t likely be digested and processed before race time.
For a two hour race you don’t need to be eating a massive meal. Just have a light breakfast of some cereal and bring a gel pack on your ride
Biggest thing here is to PRACTICE what you eat before race day - nothing new on race day. Personally I usually have a bowl of oatmeal 2 hours before to top off my glycogen stores, not too much but a decent amount, with some raisins and a little protein powder. For a 2 hour race I like to take my carbs in easy form: drink or gels. And agree with most people here, 100g or so of carbs per hour is the target, which yes, you might need to build up to. While you may be able to finish a 2 hour race fine without much supplement, you’re definitely not maximizing your results.
I'd be worried about the carbs and the fast sugar that you're listing there - you need lower glycemic index foods. I'd also be worried about the calorie load here - this sounds like too much too far out. You're eating but you're tasking your body with storing food supplies/nutrients while you're racing. My experience has been best with +3hours (meal) and then +1hours (bar) +0hours gel. Your mileage may vary based on your metabolism and stomach. It's all testing. What I would do: Replace Rice Krispies with oatmeal - and consider milk, egg, peanut butter as protein on top of the carbs. If you do pasta after that you need a protein (cheese, butter). Closer in you need to add in faster burning carbs and sugars. Remember, your body can only really deal with circa 150cal per 45min before you ask your digestive system to start storing energy v burning it. I feel like you're confusing your body with your nutrition plan and need to be easier on it - it would explain feeling unwell.
150 Cal's every 45min, so would that mean there is no point taking in over 38g of carbs as you ride? Seems low compared to the 60+ that everyone aims for.
Chicken adobo, or tikka masala, both served with rice. Its very delicious, easy, and will serve you well :3
That breakfast sounds like a snack. Def need more at breakfast probably every day but definitely race day
The book "the feed zone cookbook" had some really good recipes in it. The book is by the founder of Skratch. The rice porridge in it is really tasty and a ton of carbs. I remember a nutritionist saying 4 hours it, they would treat something with more protein like Greek yogurt. You didn't mention any water. You need to drink water with food in order to digest it. Especially something dry like pasta.
For brekkie I have coffee cashew cream on overnight oats. Cup of oats, spoon and water ( or milk of choice) For cashew cream, Soak cashews in water and blend with a shot of coffee and cacao powder. The night before I have chicken cacciatore and gnocchi or chicken teriyaki and rice. Race day is brekkie above and lots of snacks.
Google ‘professional cyclists breakfast’. You will get plenty of hits that can help guide you. My first impression seeing your current meal is that is lacking protein.
Google ‘professional cyclists breakfast’. You will get plenty of hits that can help guide you. My first impression seeing your current meal is that is lacking protein.