 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So 3 hour race, I don't carry a backpack and need to eat something, tried energy bars but they were so dry I ended up running out of water and wasted 10 mins looking for some. Tempted to take 1/2 a pasty and the traditional Jelly Babies but is there anything a tad more "technical".............
Energy and caffeine jelly beans are magic (scratch/cliff) torque bars are more chewy and the bank busters are similar. Bananas are good.
For 2 hours I'll normally go with electrolyte/energy drink a gel or 2 and some Cliff shot blocks after some proper food before and a few pints the night before.
On a 3hr trailquest, I use 4-5 High5 IsoGels, banana x2 and a few jelly babies with just water in the bottles/bladder. easy to fit the above in the back of jersey pockets.
I find the IsoGels great - they are almost like water in consistency, and go down very easily.
They are also usually on offer, like this, though they were ten quid the other day:-
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/high5-isogels-mixed-flavours-offer-60ml-x-25/rp-prod121366
Those iso gels are great, less gel more liquid so easier to drink and you don't need to wash them down.
Cheers, it goes without saying an ale or 3 will be consumed the night before. So thanks for the suggestions. How many of those gel things are "normal" to consume over a 3 hour period????
3 hour race, 3 or 4 gels, couple of energy bars. Two large bottles.
Eat a decent bit of sensible food a bit before the race (i used to leave 45-60 minutes, you may need more or less) and empty a bottle during your pre race prep. Make sure you had a decent meal the night before too.
More importantly, try them out well before the race, in race (ish) conditions.
Stomach cramps and the galloping shits isn't fun 90 minutes into a 3 hour race if you don't get along with that particular brand/taste.
And don't drop your wrappers. 😉
Depends on the brand, what sort of gel it is and how aggressive the marketing is.How many of those gel things are "normal" to consume over a 3 hour period????
Depends on the race and your intensity. 3hrs tough xc/trail at full noise will leave me hanging if I'm not feeling as I go. Did 4 1/2 hrs of enduro and did it with water and energy beans.
3 person team at a 12hr and it was bananas, burger, cans of coke and some chips...
I did a 10 hour endurance ride on a watt bike a few weeks ago and made some of the sky rice cakes and found them great but the recipe makes about 12 bars so you can 1/4 everything. Well worth looking at.
[url= http://pages.rapha.cc/team-sky/rice-cakes-a-recipe ]Sky rice cake recipe[/url]
Cheers, it goes without saying an ale or 3 will be consumed the night before.
stick to the pie plan then 😉
Your body can only absorb a certain amount of carbs per hour, the general recommendation on the gels is one gel every 20 mins. Last time I looked it up, that was about what the average person could absorb energy wise. I have less gels per hour and substitute with real food, other wise I get empty stomch grumbles!
How many of those gel things are "normal" to consume over a 3 hour period????
depends how badly you want the shits.
you want something thats the consistency and energy density of scrambled egg but that doesn't require carrying round sweaty scrambled eggs. Anyone ever tried like a'fortified' jelly with bits of raisins chopped fruit in I reckon that could be a winner?
Depending on the race. If you were going all out and unable to chew then gels. That is why they exist. On the road for 3 hours I'd have 750ml of energy drink and 3 gels. I'd probably have half a bar up my short leg to eat as the race started.
Different energy bars are easier to eat. I find the zipvit chocolate ones very easy. The high 5/Torq ones are too dry and chewy.
If you don't want to do gels then sweets works although not that well if it is wet.
I occasionally make stuff to eat. I find brownie works well. Also some of the various recipes for home made energy bars. Rice balls/cakes also works (google Dr Lim rice cake) but I've never managed to get them at a consistency that I would be happy to eat in an all out race. They are too fragile - good for endurance stuff though where I can take a bit more time.
The only real answer to this is to experiment on training rides to see what works. Gels for me is a massive compromise as I don't particularly like them - but I've not found much else that is better.
I have used "raw" jelly. The stuff that you buy in the supermarket to make jelly from - dense cubes are not vastly dissimilar to the branded energy stuff.
In fact hit the Pick'n'mix to see what looks good.
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7636/16786598628_83dce3f3cd_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7636/16786598628_83dce3f3cd_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/rznGWh ]The Setup[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewsmith/ ]Mike Smith[/url], on Flickr
There is of course plan b, from out 24 team event we had 2 kegs of cider, 2 meat smokers, 1bbq and a paella setup. Though from one guys experience don't eat a set of ribs then set off for a flying lap...
Other thing to remember is it takes approx 45 mins for the carbs to get from your stomach to your legs iirc, so less important to eat right at end of race. However the instant sugar rush makes you feel alert 😆
Having been through most of the stuff mentioned above, my particular brand has settled to zipvit for drink/gel/bar and they're pretty much the only brand I find don't make me feel grog.
In your example I'd use 2 gels and energy drink/water, keep a bar in my pocket for a "just in case" emergency and thats it.
Also if you crash (hit the floor) or have a moment have a gel or similar. Chances are your hungry but not noticing it. Or the kick can wake you up a bit. Solid tip from experience.
I think 45 mins might be on the long side for carb utilization, but you should certainly stay ahead of hunger, the alertness point is a good one. The brain can only use sugar, so if you start riding like a plonker after a couple hours, get those refined carbs in ASAP.
What do you eat BEFORE the race? Two hours before, I eat rice, tuna and Worcester sauce. Then take food every 30-40 minutes. Gel-blok-banana-energy bar rotations. With jelly babies ad libitem. Jelly babies sit in a rear pocket and are easy to handle with gloves at this time of year.
Drink is NUUN electrolyte, normally green tea flavoured.
Racey race? Then carb drink in bottle and gels - prob 1 per hour if I'm drinking a lot. Up the gels if it's cold or I've only got water. Swapping gels for jelly babies is a good cheap option too.
Beers-the-night-before sort of race? Then some proper food - cheap rice crispy bars from lidl are my current ride snack now. Break into chunks for your jersey pockets. Or if you have time before, then bara brith is excellent. Not buttered though and use some good strong tea to soak the fruit in.
If you eat and drink properly before the start then you don't need as much as you think. 2x500m ml bottles and a banana and shot bloks would work, for 3 hours.
Advice such as
is total overkill to me, and can only be recommended by people who make energy gels.the general recommendation on the gels is one gel every 20 mins
Juicy jam sandwiches and Snickers bars.
What are you eating during training? Chucking in something new just because it's race day is an experiment not many would recommend.
My food while training regime consists of stopping for a full veggie breakfast or if warm enough to eat out pasties and then cake and coffee on the way back.....
mmmmm, your ride food sounds great.
[off to find cake] 🙂
Your body carries about 90-120 mins of 'energy' in the bloodstream (less if going really hard) so if you don't refuel there's a chance you'll bonk so little and often (every 15-20mins) is best approach. General estimate is you need 1g carbs for every kilo of bodyweight per hour - gels contain about 30g and energy bars about 60g. For a three hour race I'd expect to consume 1 - 1.5L of fluid / energy drink and 3-4 gels but I'm a skinny whippet of a thing. Also factor environment - if it's very cold you'll need more energy to stay warm, or very hot more fluid to stay hydrated. Best to work these things out in training rather than finding out the hard way on race day - many people go off too hard and don't drink or eat until it's too late.
Peanut butter and jam on Bergen bread, TOP TIP, freeze the bread and then make the necessary troweling of PB on each slice ladeling jam between as the filling, cut the crusts off as they are a bit too much to get down without choking and then drinking fluid, cut into fingers and then bob into freezer bag, when the jam makes your teeth itch you know it's worked.
As for taking on a gel every 20 mins, I agree only some one flogging you these would attempt to pull off such an audacious act of robbery, a bit like the bloke who worked for Johnson & Johnson who put on every bottle "upon completion and if symptoms persist, repeat"
So they sold you two bottles instead of one, win win.
Love the wide ranging suggestions, which I think reflect the wide range of experience. OP - you don't say whether your on the road or MTB'ing, as although it shouldn't technically make a difference to what you eat, it will impact the packaging you can probably deal with on the fly.
Doing the four hour Brass Monkey races I'm in full fingered, warm gloves, which hampers dexterity, so easy access it really important.
The tracks are mainly singletrack, so need to pick your moment and get it down you quick.
Also, anything solid becomes almost inedible if it gets too cold, so no bars or solid food.
I was towards to front of the field, so only wanted to stop to swap bottles.
I opted for isogels, and took one every 30-40 mins, as I carry plain water to counter the sweetness so gels were my only 'food'.
In the summer, with warm temperatures, short fingered gloves, things are a bit easier, so the options open up.
You feeding option are determined by lots of things. How technical you want to be is only one factor...
Gels and Energy supplements to the drinks bottle, Bananas and homemade flapjack with dates if its a bit more relaxed.
As Dragon says, for a 3 hour race the most important thing is hydration and fuelling BEFORE the event, for a 2 hour race you don't need any solid foods other than maybe 1 bottle of carb drink it depends on you and also your body weight and size.
Remember once you start shoving sugary stuff in you have to maintain it or you will get a massive sugar low, so stay away from gels etc try to eat more solid "normal" foods as mentioned rice cakes, fig rolls, new potatoes or whatever works for you. Pasties and pork pies are too fatty. Save a gel for the last 45 mins if you really have to.
But you have to try and test stuff yourself as no amount of recommending gels will help you. There are hundreds out there you need to see what your body can digest and what you actually like the texture of!
what about oil? vegetable oils, olive etc.
I'm guessing there's a very good reason why no-one produces energy oil sachets.
Top of the list in terms of calories per gramme, though.
Edit: just been a-googlin' http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-basics/olive-oil-athlete-go-in-stride/1856
obviously a partisan source, but interesting reading. Any comments from you race nutritionalists?
I've only got one cage, so I'll be going with a bottle of half water, half olive oil. Flaw-free plan as far as I can see.
Enduro eggs.
[img] 
[/img]
[url= http://www.constipation-remedies-for-all.com/olive-oil-for-constipation.html ]olive oil constipation relief[/url] 😀
Top tip from MTB tips YouTube channel, is to tape your gels to your top tube by their tabs. That way, you can tear them open with one hand, not risk dropping the tab and not have to fish through old sticky wrappers in your jersey pocket as it can be for empties only.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Sausages.
Like,13-14 per hour.
It's what the pros do.
DrP
crosshair - MemberTop tip from MTB tips YouTube channel, is to tape your gels to your top tube by their tabs. That way, you can tear them open with one hand, not risk dropping the tab and not have to fish through old sticky wrappers in your jersey pocket as it can be for empties only.
This is a brilliant idea! I'm trying this on sunday!
[img] 
[/img]
nom
[url= http://pages.rapha.cc/fr/team-fr/teamteam-sky-fr/rice-cakes-a-recipe ]team sky rice cakes?[/url]
I think there are probably as many fuelling strategies as there are people racing. 12 hour solos are my poison and, being a smaller fella, I grind to a halt if I'm not nibbling every 15-20 minutes. For any longer races I prefer a good mix of sweet and savoury and like the High 5 Isogels for the reasons stated (just not the Banana one, I imagine it's the closest I'll get to the results of fellating a monkey).
Top tip from MTB tips YouTube channel, is to tape your gels to your top tube by their tabs. That way, you can tear them open with one hand, not risk dropping the tab and not have to fish through old sticky wrappers in your jersey pocket as it can be for empties only.
Be careful with the finish on your bike with this.
I did it on my road bike and it took off the top decal layer when the tape came back off again. Not happy. Was only electrical tape, so nothing strong.
Is fine when done on my hard tail, but that's 13 years old and is bashed right up!
It does have the benefit of being able to plan which gel you want when as well. normal, caffeine, carnitine. Save's the randomisation you get with a jersey pocket. Also, on the mtb tape the bottom one to the frame top and bottom (less securely) and then each layer on top of that onto the one below in the same way to stop them flapping about all over the place.
In terms of nutrition I tend to just use gels and electrolyte in liquid. I use a camelbak, but that's so I can drink a lot as I sweat heavily and cramp a lot. Though I wonder if I'd sweat less through not having it on my back and need less. Chicken/Egg.