Nutrition for the DC – Ian Craig
These are notes from the recent Bike Max Power 'DC Strategies' workshop at Helderberg World
In the weeks before the DC, it is important to get the basics right. That is, eating for optimum health – eat enough food for the amount of exercise you are doing, ensure that there is some quality protein in each meal and snack and aim for 5 portions of veggies per day (1 portion: size of your fist). This provides a strong base to your pyramid and you can now consider specific Performance Nutrition.
During the actual DC ride, depending on your own metabolism, about 50% of your energy will come from fat burning and most of the rest from carbs (5-10% will be muscle breakdown). So, in preparation for the race, fat burning will be important, but without sufficient carb supplies, you won't hit your higher paces. Therefore, it would be sensible to spend a few days Carb Loading before the event – Wed, Thurs and Frid should be enough. Here are a couple of example diets (2500Cal is about right for a lightly exercising woman or sedentary man and 3000Cal for a heavily exercising woman or lightly exercising man):
2500Cal | 3000Cal | |
B-fast | 1 cup oats; 125ml 2% milk; 10g whey powder; 4 dried figs; 1 medium banana | 4 thin slices rye/wholegrain bread; thin smear butter; 2 boiled eggs; 1 cup strawberries; 1 cup blueberries |
Snack | 2 apples | 300ml fruit juice plus 10g whey protein mixed in |
Lunch | 4 thin slices rye/wholegrain bread; thin smear butter; 50g cooked ham; 1 tomato, ½ cup red bell pepper; ½ cup red onion; 2 tbsp hummus; mustard | 80g salmon; ½ cup (dry) brown rice; 1 portabella mushroom; ½ cup red bell pepper; 1 cup broccoli; 1 cup lettuce; 1 cup spinach; 100g sw. potato; ½ tbsp pine nuts; lemon juice/balsamic to taste |
Snack | 4 rice cakes plus thick spread of hummus | 10 small dried apricots plus 20g mixed nuts |
Exercise | 500ml sports drink or fruit juice (diluted 50% with water) | 500ml sports drink or fruit juice (diluted 50% with water) plus 20g whey protein |
Dinner | 50g Spaghetti (dry); 1 serve Dolmio sauce; 1 tbsp Parmesan; 1 cup lettuce; 1 tomato; ½ cup cucumber; 5 olives | 100g risotto rice; 10ml olive oil; 1 clove garlic; I cup onion; 2 sticks celery; 0.25l veg stock |
You can choose from any of the meal options and reduce it or decrease according to your needs. Aim to eat evenly through the day and not a small b-fast and lunch plus large dinner as many people do. This is a high carb/low fat/low protein diet, so if it reminds you of what you eat already, then eat more protein and 'good' fats on a daily basis!
Hydration is extremely important for such a long ride. There are 3 ways of 'water loading':
- Salt – ½ tsp sea salt per litre water drunk in the day to two before the race
- Glycerol – drags water into body cells. Take 1ml/kg body mass 150mins before event along with adequate water
- Creatine – 5g per day taken for 2 weeks + before the event
(Warning - if you want to try the last 2 options, please talk to somebody who knows about sports nutrition – you can have some nasty side effects if you get it wrong)!
The Morning of the Race – the Last Meal
- The race is long and you will start steadily, so your breakfast should be decent
- Do what you usually do and if you are going to change anything, do it weeks before!
- Respect individual needs – some people will be best with a heavy B-fast and light snacks during the ride, others are the opposite!
- Include protein in B-fast!
Here are a few example B-fasts – if you have a personal race favourite, please share it with us.
- Muesli with milk and sliced banana and 1-3 tbsp natural yoghurt
- Oats (cooked or raw) in milk with sprinkle of nuts and seeds and some fruit (honey to taste)
(In both cases, put some whey protein in to increase protein content, if tolerated)
- Eggs (2-3) with 2-3 slices of bread (spread with butter) and a tomato or some berries
- Light option – 2 slices toast with a good spread of hummus, tahini or PN butter
Thanks Ian for sharing this information with the wannabees! Tomorrow I will post more advice and tips from Ian about nutrition for the DC race.
