By Ellen McDermott BSc Dip PN UKAD, Performance Nutritionist
[email protected] & @ellensmcd
Riders have so much advice coming at them, and so many options for fueling, it’s little wonder we can be unsure when it comes to the basic question of what to eat before we go training at this time of year. Equally as important is why we should opt for specific foods.
At this time of year, many of us are upping our training volume and getting the traditional winter base miles in. This often means two big rides at the weekend with our local group and other midweek sessions on the road or home trainer. When we are doing frequent long rides, fueling becomes especially important.
There have been multiple review papers written about the topic of fueling for cycling training - the most commonly quoted being ‘Fuel for the Work Required’. But what does “the work required” even mean?
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The first question you need to ask yourself, and be clear about, is what are you hoping to get from your training session. What are you trying to improve?
- If you’re looking to improve you 3-5 minute hill climb effort, then your focus is VO2 Max
- If you want to survive your first 100-mile sportive, then your focus is your endurance capacity
- And if you’re focusing on pushing out the watts again and again when you’re already suffering, then you’re working in the realms of lactate shuttling. This is the ability to use lactate as a fuel so it doesn’t accumulate in the legs and lead to fatigue
It’s important to remember that all these systems work together. Working on one system will have some effect - positive or negative - on the other. So once we know what kind of work will be required throughout the session, we need to know what will fuel it.
You have multiple fuel “tanks” at your disposal; primarily fat and carbohydrate stores. A typical 70kg male holds around 15,000g of fat (135,000kCals) as fuel. At the lowest intensity efforts, this can last for well over 6 hours. But we cannot use this fuel at higher intensities - those above anaerobic threshold.
The same male would store anywhere between 350g and 500g of carbohydrate (1,400 - 2,000kCals). Depending on intensity this will typically last for 2 hours at steady endurance pace or for a few 1-minute full gas efforts. Think about that - 500g of carbohydrate for 120 minutes of work, gone!
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So it stands to reason that if you have high intensity work to do, or an endurance ride longer than 90 minutes, you need to have that fuel available to you. How close to training you eat, and what you eat, will depend on the robustness of your digestion. Our safest bet is 400-600 kcals with a mixture of slow and fast release carbohydrates and around 20g or protein.
For the plant-based athletes, milk “alternatives” are not good enough as the sole replacement for milk. Instead, a plant-based protein addition will be required.
This classic overnight oats recipe I use with my athletes gives 580kCal with approximately 100g of carbohydrates and 20g of protein:
- 1 Banana
- 80g Jumbo Oats
- 150ml Semi Skimmed Milk
- 50g Skyr Yogurt
- 50g Blueberries
Mash all those up in a bowl (add extra milk/water if necessary). Top with blueberries and stash in the fridge the night before an endurance ride. You can make this as porridge by cooking the milk and oats on the stove or in the microwave and then stirring in the yogurt, sliced banana and topping with blueberries.
Overnight oats are basically a cold form of porridge - stored in the fridge overnight in a sealed Tupperware or covered bowl ready to go in the morning - handy if you're not a fan of cooking in the morning. Cooking it as porridge in the morning will take longer, but some people (myself included) prefer a hot breakfast.
This overnight oats recipe will give you an extra 100g carbohydrates to see you out a little longer on the road. After that, you’re relying on carbohydrate intake during the ride if you want to sustain the work.
Remember, hydration is also key - sipping 500ml of fluids - water, coffee or juice - when you wake up will benefit you during your ride. Orange juice is an easy way of adding an extra carbohydrates to your breakfast. Sip, don't gulp - unless you want to stop for a nature break 10 minutes into the ride.
I'll talk about carbohydrate intake during the ride in another piece shortly on stickybottle.
