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What should you eat during a tough endurance race?


One of the perks of being a serious endurance athlete is that you can eat and drink with impunity. All this training burns a lot of calories, which is why you’re doing real damage to the buffet.

In fact, sometimes it may seem like you’re hungry all the time—except during a tough workout or competition. In this case, the “fight or flight” response kicks in, causing your nervous system Overdrive and suppress your appetite so you can focus on the task at hand.

The only problem with this hormonal autofocus is that it causes you to burn a lot of calories, so if something goes on for too long (like more than 90 minutes), you’ll run out of gas.

To avoid running with an empty tank, here’s how to fuel your body during a race.

How the body burns fuel during exercise

Back view of woman running

When you exercise, your body can get energy from several places:

  • Adipose tissue (via lipolysis – lipolysis)
  • Muscle mass (via protein breakdown – the breakdown of protein)
  • carbohydrate (Through glycolysis – the breakdown of glucose (also called blood sugar), which is also stored as glycogen in muscle and liver cells).

when your physical level Very low, or when you’re training lower heart rate zoneyour body burns a higher proportion of fat than carbohydrates as fuel. Even very lean athletes have enough fat to last for a while, so if you’re in recovery mode or building a base, nutrition during workouts isn’t that important (but hydration Still is!

In fact, many athletes deliberately Training in a fasted (i.e. glucose-deficient) state During these types of exercise, their bodies are taught to better utilize fat as fuel. But as the intensity of exercise increases, your body’s reliance on carbohydrates for energy increases.

If you’re going to put in a real effort, or if you’re going to train for more than a few hours, you’re better off carbohydrates because your body will deplete glycogen stores.

What is glycogen?

Glycogen is basically a backup supply of blood sugar. It is easily converted back to glucose for energy. Glycogen can diffuse throughout the body, including muscles, but muscle glycogen only acts on the specific muscles where it is stored.

When your glycogen stores are fully peaked, you should have approximately 90 to 120 minutes of energy available for work. after that you “Awesome” Or “hitting the wall.”

If you’ve ever been in the middle of a training session and suddenly felt like even the simplest tasks were a huge challenge, that’s too bad. Technically, you can still perform at that point because you still have fat stores and muscle to draw on, but your performance won’t be as good.

How to replenish energy during prolonged activity (60+ minutes)

Cyclist eating energy bar while cycling | During event

1. Start with carbs

Increase your carbohydrate intake over several days before gameand since there’s no easy way to know when your glycogen has reached 100%, hedging your bets by eating a carb-rich meal a few hours before you start.

2. Take the initiative to cheer up

Start feeding about 30 minutes after you start feeding rather than waiting for the first signs of fatigue. Because if you wait until you’re tired to refuel, you’ve waited too long. (Our bodies did not evolve to optimize fuel production at 140.1 miles triathlon Race and the Bicentennial.

During extreme exertion, the human body can burn 800 to 1,000 calories per hour. Unfortunately, we can only absorb approx. 360 calories carbs An hour, which means we are facing diminishing returns from the starting line, so it is important to replenish glycogen in time.

Since one gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories, 360 calories of carbohydrate equals 90 grams. But getting those 90 grams isn’t as easy as wolfing down a jelly donut because different sugars are absorbed in different ways and at different rates. For example, if you only consume glucose, you will only absorb about 60 grams per hour.

3. Combine carbohydrate types

Here’s a trick to maximize carbohydrate absorption: Fructose is absorbed differently than glucose; It needs to pass through the liver. This process can occur at the same time as glucose absorption, so if you eat a mixture of the two, you should be able to absorb more carbohydrates – 90 grams per hour.

While this number is backed by some respected science, don’t think it’s set in stone. Just because you may absorb 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour does not mean that you should. During “shorter” events lasting one to two hours, you may not need 90 grams per hour, so you might as well take the pressure off your digestive system and stick to it 30 to 60 grams per hour.

However, if you’re going for longer periods of time, your best option is to keep 60g/hour as a baseline and add 30g/hour to that based on what your system can comfortably tolerate.

90g may seem like a lot of carbs to take in, but as with most aspects of training, you can improve your body’s ability to process carbs. Start with an amount that works for you and slowly increase your intake. Remember to experiment during training, not competition.

4. Set reminders

Also, take advantage of any fancy data technology you might have invested in.

How to stay hydrated during activity

Cyclists receive drinks during event | During event

The science behind event feeding is surprisingly vague, but the science behind event feeding hydration It is relatively strong, so by fixing it, the feeding part can be simplified.

Your fluid intake should vary based on your sweat rate, which according to the American College of Sports Medicine can range from 8 to 67 ounces per hour During the event. Finding the perfect hydration level can take some time, but cyclists typically drink around 24 ounces per hour. This is about the volume of a standard water bottle, so it’s easy to keep track of.

Should you drink sports drinks?

You may be tempted to fill the bottle with a sugary drink Sports drinks This way you can feed and hydrate at the same time. There’s a good chance this will suit your unique physiology, but chances are High osmotic pressure (More concentrated than blood) The nature of this delicious drink will not be efficiently absorbed.

It can cause an upset stomach or, as experienced by many trail riders, vomiting. You’re better off drinking hypotonic (concentrated less than blood) drinks that contain less sugar. Such solutions tend to absorb more efficiently.

good sports drink A carbohydrate combination of fructose and glucose will be provided. one serving Beachbody High Performance Hydration Contains 10 grams of carbohydrates, so if you drink four servings per hour, that’s 40 grams, which means you only need 20 to 50 grams (or about 80 to 200 calories) of carbohydrates from food in that hour.

You can always try to get all your carbs in liquid form, which is not uncommon during pregnancy. triathlonbut this will cause some problems. First, if you insist on using a low-osmotic mixture, you’ll need a lot of water.

Second, eating just one type of food for hours on end, while enduring mental and physical pain, can lead to palate fatigue—you develop such an aversion to nutrients that your exhausted, overactive brain actively prevents you from eating. Or drink water. By mixing liquids and solids, you can better avoid taste fatigue and maintain your appetite.

What type of food should you eat?

Anything that tastes good and consists mostly of carbohydrates will probably work. You want to absorb this sugar quickly, so High glycemic foods (i.e., those drugs that quickly raise blood sugar levels) work well in this situation.

Some popular top choices include bananamelon, other low-fiber fruits, and mini pretzels. (I also happily drank an eight-ounce can of Coke three to four hours into a particularly grueling race. Long live carbs and caffeine!)

But if your activities are consistently exhausting or jarring to your system— triathlon I’m thinking of marathons – both gels and chews are easy-to-digest feeding options. Again, make sure read ingredients Verify the source of sugar.

Triathlon swimming dilemma

Swimming for Triathletes | Marathon Fueling Strategies

Given how difficult it is to refuel while swimming, those of you triathletes might be scratching your head. By “difficult” we mean impossible.

Therefore, make sure to eat well and hydrate well before starting a race, and focus on replenishing your energy when the race begins land. Keep a full bottle next to your bike or in your transition bag for sipping whenever you can while changing clothes.

As for diet, it’s up to you to decide what you can tolerate and/or adapt to. It would be nice if you could chew a bite or two in the transition without slowing down. Otherwise, keep an eye on feeding during the first few miles on the bike. Remember, feeding is easier while biking than running, so don’t fall behind.

That said, suddenly filling your intestines can cause gastrointestinal problems, so it’s important to know your intake limits. Treat this transitional supplement like any other part of your training.

A word about protein

although protein is an afterthought tool and should play a small role in Feeding during the event. Your goal is to restore glycogen as quickly as possible, while protein slows absorption.

Multi-stage races are the exception. In this case, you want to keep protein turnover (synthesis and degradation of muscle) as balanced as possible, so taking protein in this case is a good idea. Just put carbs at the front of your feed and try protein during training to see how much you can tolerate.

Last word: do what you love

While all of these suggestions provide you with a great starting point for activity nutrition, or hopefully a workaround for your current approach, keep in mind that personal taste and biology go a long way in determining what’s right for you. Never, ever experiment during a game. But when you’re training, don’t be afraid to try different foods, different amounts, different ratios of solids to liquids.

Also, don’t be afraid to grab the samples provided at contest registration (for later use), or don’t be afraid of your friends when they have something you’ve never tried.

Find the intersection of what works scientifically and what works personally. Once you discover this, you will be unstoppable.



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