Nutrition (for endurance training and racing)

In endurance training and racing, additional healthy nutrition is needed.  Referring to ‘diet’ as the day-to-day consumption of three nutritious meals, drinks, and snacks.  The extra ‘sports-nutrition’ would be consumed close to the training session and during, to keep you going, and immediately after to aid recovery. 

The additional fuel required during these challenges is mainly carbohydrate.  We burn this off fast.  While some endurance is primarily fat-burning, the body stores enough fat to sustain itself for a very long time; however, the carbohydrates eventually run out.  Fat burns in a carbohydrate flame.

This blog aims to present two straightforward, easy, and affordable ways to manage your nutrition and hydration.  To explore the topics of diet and hydration more specifically, I have written separate blogs.

Nutrition on the go

To keep your carbohydrate topped up for endurance training and racing, an easy solution is energy gels- 

Pros: I’m not going to lie; gels work a treat.  Find the brands you get on with and the ones you don’t, and use them if you need to, to your advantage. 

Cons: Energy gels are an expensive solution.  The brands don’t always get the mixture right for one’s palate, and, perhaps my biggest gripe, they are terrible for the environment, causing a significant amount of landfill waste.

My solution

Get hold of the following stuff:

·      A see-through water bottle to use as your gel bottle.

·      Some masking tape or Sharpie pen.

·      A measuring jug.

·      A kettle.

·      A spoon.

Buy the following ingredients:

·      Raw, unfiltered honey.

·      Blackstrap molasses.

·      Sea salt.

Method:

Boil the kettle. Once boiled, use it to dip your spoon and gradually add 90ml of honey to the jug.  Repeat the process to add a further 60ml of molasses. Top up the mixture with an additional 30ml of the hot water, add half a level teaspoon of sea salt and stir vigorously for 30 seconds.  Lastly, whilst still warm, pour all of the gel into your water bottle - This gel contains 125g of carbohydrates, ready to spread out over a training session or endurance challenge - Now mark the bottle in increments using the tape or a Sharpie so you can see how much you consume as you ride. 

For example, if I am going for a three-hour focused ride, 125g is ideal!  I would aim for just over 40g/hour, so I will add three markers on the side of the bottle for reference as I am riding.

Nutritional values of homemade gel/s:  

·      Gel: 465Kcal

·      Carbohydrate: 125g

·      Protein: 0g

·      Fat: 0g

·      1000mg sodium

·      Trace: magnesium, potassium, zinc

Hydrating

Lastly, during your next endurance session, be sure to stay hydrated.  Using my three-hour ride as an example (above), in cooler but not cold weather, I would need about three 800ml bottles of fluid.  I know – through a sweat test – that I need a sodium fluid mix of about 1000mg/L.  I only have one spare bottle cage on the bike, so I am taking a level teaspoon of salt with me and filling my bottle up twice on the ride – riding one hour to a trail where there is a water fountain, one hour around, another fill-up, and then one hour home.

Everyone is slightly different, and people sweat different amounts of salt. Conduct a sweat test to define your fluid and salt loss.  Simply adding sea salt to the water can effectively replace lost sweat and keep you feeling good, allowing you to perform at a higher level for a longer period. If you prefer the electrolyte tables or salt tables, use those instead.  Just dial in to what you need and be sure to take it with you.