12 tips for quality training nutrition
 
So your training’s well underway and you have a detailed schedule in place to follow so you can achieve your next event or race goal. But have you thought about your nutrition on those long training rides as you build up to race day? Quality nutrition means quality training and quick recovery. Check out these 12 tips to keep your nutrition at optimum levels throughout your event build up:
 
1.       Start planning your nutrition for your long training rides and, in particular, your event well in advance. Find out what nutrition is provided at the event to see if you can take advantage of that come race day (you will need to test it first – see point 6).
2.       Remember to consider both your food and your fluid requirements. The basics of cycling nutrition are: calories in = calories burned; water in = water out; electrolytes in = electrolytes out. Keep this in mind at all times.
3.       Fuel yourself enough before and during any long ride to ensure a quality session. It only takes about an hour to two to exhaust your carbohydrate stores (depending on your pace). So for longer rides, you’ll definitely need fuel supplies with you on the bike.
4.       Eat at least an hour before your ride if you can. Riding with a full stomach is uncomfortable and it means your body will be using energy to digest instead of ride.
5.       If you starve yourself during a long ride you will only reduce the quality of your training and your ability to recover from the ride will be diminished. Using a long ride with little or no nutrition to teach your body to burn fat instead of glycogen is a myth.
6.       Test different nutrition combinations during your training in the months preceding the event. This process of trial and error is the only way to find out what works best for you. Everyone is different and what works for your training partner may or may not work for you. You may prefer real food like diluted fruit juice, peanut butter sandwiches and bananas or your may prefer the convenience of gels, bars and energy dinks. You may prefer to eat 3 hours before a ride or 1 hour before a ride. Just test some different scenarios.
7.       You should also test different pre-ride meals in training to see what settles best in your stomach and gives you the most energy for the ride. Muesli or porridge with fruit and milk or yoghurt are hard to go past.
8.       Keep a note of the weather conditions and training conditions on your longer training rides and how much food and fluid you are consuming. Your body needs different amounts depending on temperature, wind, sun and so on.
9.       It can be easy to forget to keep levels topped up so you might want to set a 20 minute alarm to remind you to consume on a regular basis. Every 20 minutes consume about a cup of fluid. Once you are thirsty you are already too late. Every hour eat about a handful of food (you can pre-bag each hour’s food supplies if this makes it easier).
10.   Refuel yourself after the ride with a combination of carbohydrate, protein and fats within 30 minutes of finishing the ride. This will ensure the best recovery as your broken down muscles need to rebuild themselves. Eat normally for the rest of the day.
11.   To carbo load in the week prior to your race or event you need a healthy diet as a base with all your main meals containing lots of carbs, especially in the last two days before the ride. Aim to consume 8-10 grams of carbs per kg of body weight each day.   Don’t include lots of fatty content like cheese or oil with your carbs.
12.   Drink plenty of water each day and aim to have your urine running clear at all times. Avoid excessive alcohol and caffeine as they can dehydrate you. Drink extra fluid the day before and the morning of the event up to two hours before the start so you can absorb it and excrete the excess.

If you follow these tips come race day should have a clear idea about what works for you and you’ll be ready to make the most of all those quality training sessions. Stick to what works to maximise your energy, minimise any chance of upsets and achieve the best performance on the day.