Training Nutrition Summary
By Rich Strauss

The longer the training/racing event, the more critical proper hydration and fueling becomes. An event like an Ironman is essentially an eating contest on the bike and run. The "race" doesn't start until about mile 16 of the run. The smart guys pay very close attention to getting this stuff dialed in before the race. I have a well-wired plan based on hundreds of hours in the saddle and on the road.

Fueling

Your body burns mostly fat to produce the energy to pedal a bike. However, it needs carbohydrate to burn that fat. Carbohydrate is stored in the muscles as glycogen. A well trained endurance athlete has about 2000 calories of glycogen stored in the body, between liver and intra-musclular stores. This is enough for about 2-2.5 hours of intense exercise. Once you burn through these stores, your body has to switch to a much less efficient means of producing energy. Your perceived exertion increases dramatically and you are suddenly unable to maintain the same pace. More importantly, you brain only works on the burning of glycogen, not fat. When the glycogen is gone, you will feel dizzy and disoriented. This is called Bonking. For those of us who have been there, we don't ever want to go back. Boom, boom, out go the lights. For events longer than about two hours, you will need to take in some carbs to supplement your glycogen stores.

Hydration

A net water loss of as little as 3% of body weight can produce a substantial decrease in your performance. You only need to look at the results of Lance's ITT at the TDF this year to see the consequences.

Pre-Ride Application

The longer or more important the training session or race, the more attention you should pay to starting the event fully hydrated and with full glycogen stores. Here is what I do:

1. Begin hydrating the day prior with Gatorade or other sports drink. This will help you load up on water, glycogen and sodium.
   
   
2. Drink as much water or sports drink as you can stomach before going to bed.
   
   
3. When you wake up at 2am or so to urinate, eat a "large" meal. I will drink 2-3 x meal replacement shakes of about 300 cal each and go back to bed. This gives me a head start on fueling for the ride. More importantly, I've learned that my body is sensitive to training on a full stomach at the start of a ride, usually resulting in a higher heart rate than I would like. I eat early so that when I start the ride my stomach is empty and I'm in control of everything going forward. I learned this at Ironman California in 2001.
   
   
4. When you wake up, continue drinking sports drink and just nibble on a bagel or something. You had breakfast at 2am, so don't worry about it.
   
   
5. Weigh yourself before the ride.
   
   
6. Drink another bottle of sports drink before you get on the bike: "It's better to have it in you than on you." My stomach is at least two bottle cages and I use them both every chance I get.

During the Ride

I like to think of this in terms of two ranges along a low risk – high risk continuum.

Liquid calories to solid calories
As you move from liquid to solid calories, the risk of digestion problems increases (gas, bloating, stomach shut down, etc). It's easier to process 800 calories of liquid than a Double Double, in other words.

Low to high heart rate
As you move from low to high heart rate, the risk associated with eating increases. Six Krispy Kremes on the couch vs during a 40k TT.

Guidance
Stick with this and you probably won't go wrong.

1. 2 bottles of fluid per hour.
   
   
2. 200-400 calories per hour, regardless of source.
3. If your heart rate is high, stick to the low end of the scale. If your heart rate is low, bump to the right of the scale.
   
   
4. Experiment during your training rides to determine what works best for you. On long aerobic rides I can take in 400-500+ calories per hour.

As an example, two bottles of Gatorade and one gel per hour is just over 300 calories per hour. That's pretty simple to do, logistically. Some tricks I use are:

• Always start the ride or roll away from a rest stop with a stomach full of liquid.
  
  
• 3-4 bottle cages on the bike, for long or hot rides.
  
  
• Carry your own powder. I always carry a ziplock baggie of Gatorade or other mix with me.
  
  
• You don't need the latest whizbang nutritional products during the ride. My favorite is a sleeve of Fig Newtons in my jersey, or a Snickers Big One at half way. 550 calories for $1.15. Can't beat that.

Post-Ride

After the ride you need to take care of two issues:

1. Replace fluid loss.
   
   
2. Replenish glycogen stores to ensure successful training sessions downstream.

Fluid Loss:
Weigh yourself and compare to pre-ride weight. A net weight loss is fluid. Try to replace it within about two hours of the ride, pound for pound.

Glycogen Stores:
A recovery meal is probably the most important thing you can do after a ride. General guidance is 800-1000 calories of carbs and protein. Liquid is preferred, as it hits your muscles more quickly than solid. My post long ride routine is:

• Big smoothie with strawberries, bananas, blueberries, OJ, soy milk, protein powder.
  
  
• 400 IU of Vitamin E, 1000mg of Vit C (anti-oxidants), sometimes 800mg of Vit I (ibuprofen).
  
  
• Drink the smoothie and lay on the couch with my feet elevated for about 20 minutes.
  
  
• Eat normally the rest of the day. See below.

Considerations for weight loss goals

Want to become instantly more fit? Improve your body composition (decrease % body fat). V02Max is the measure of how much oxygen your body uses per kilo of body weight. Decrease body weight and your Vo2Max instantly increases. Sure beats training hard to achieve the same net results. However, long, hard training event is NOT a weight loss session. Want to lose fat? Put down the friggin' donut at the office, don't starve yourself during a training event. You need to eat to ensure a successful training session. Sorry, but that is a major pet peeve with me.

Here is how I use my training to cut weight when I need to:

• From training with my Powertap I know that I burn 600-800 calories per hour during a ride, depending on how hard I'm going. So a 3 hour ride is about 1800 calories. Call it 2000 to make it easier.
  
  
• Add to this my basal rate (the number of calories I need to eat to maintain my weight) of about 2200 calories = ~4000 calories on the day of a 3 hour ride.
  
  
• After the ride I do the smoothie thing (800-1000 calories) to replace my glycogen, and then eat normally throughout the day. This will probably net about 3200 calories intake on the day.
  
  
• In order to lose one pound of fat you need to create a calorie deficit of about 3500 calories (cals in < cals out). The math above gives me a deficit of about 1000 calories x (3 x 3hr rides per week) = about 1 pound weight loss per week.
  
  
• If you do the same on your long ride day, you accelerate your weight loss. Long ride = 4-5 hrs x 700 cal/hr = 3000 cals burned. If I eat normally I create a 1500-2000 calorie deficit. That's on the large side, for health considerations, and I will only do that a few times.

Basically, if you don't use your training, especially your long ride, as a green light to go postal on the chow, you will lose weight. Just replace glycogen loss and eat normally the rest of the day. This required a big shift in my head, as I have used my long days as an excuse to eat A LOT on the weekends.

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