Dropped out of criterium

[SniperX]

sucks... got droppedout in a criterium race... in a dilemma now ... just cant figure out what went wrong... my heart rate was much higher than my usual when i was warming up.... is that a sign of something wrong? this is worse than the last race cos i didnt even complete it .. the only difference i can think of was that i had twice as much food b4 the race than the previous one.. had 20 over tablespoons of milo with over a litre of milk around 3 hours before the race ( over 1000kcal) ... is that too much and the cause of my lack of strength n energy cos of the energy used for digesting the food ? hope i can find the reason for the bad performance soon.. sigh

 

[Leon]

Was there any difference in altitude.

I do most of my training at sea level and do a number of "races" at altitude 1700 - 1800 m amsl.

That plays havoc with my heart rate. The first couple of time I thought I was getting sick. It affects you phsycologically.

Now I have gotten use to the effect.

Leon

 

[SniperX]

nah it was a flat loop

 

[bomber]

jeez.... a litre of milk and all that milo... i'm surprised that your stomach didnt feel worse i think in would have been sick exercising after that combo.. what works for me is a medium corb meal at least 2hrs before any ride let alone the intensity of a criterium.. good luck for the next one as criteriums can be great fun

 

[SniperX]

will eating too much suck away your energy when you exercise? i'm kinda worried cos i have never performed that badly before this race... really need to noe what was the cause of fatigue..

 

[ric_stern/RST]

Prior to a race to maximise glycogen stores, you need to consume in the order of 1gram carbohydrate per kilogram body mass per hour, i.e., if you wish to eat 3 hrs before a race take 3g/kg BM, if you eat 1and a half hours before the race take 1.5g/kg BM, etc. Don't, however, consume 3g/kg at 3hrs prior and 2g/kg at 2hrs prior etc!

However, on a personal level i can't think of anything worse than lots of milk prior to a race, got to make you not feel too good.

Your pre race meal, should consist of mainly starchy carbs and little or no fat or protein as these slow gastric emptying, which might make you feel full (and thus bloated) when racing.

Toast/muffins/bread products with jam/jelly/honey etc, baked potatoes (without the skin), pasta and a tomato based sauce, etc are all good.

Perhaps, it was that ketogenic diet you had that might have adversely affected your training, and thus your performance?

Ric

 

[SniperX]

ricstern : nah it couldnt be the keto cos i have stopped for months already .. even had a race after i stopped and that race was a longer race than this .. i still completed it ... the only difference i can think of preparations b4 that earlier race and the recent race is i rested more for this one the week b4 and i doubled the intake of food for this one and also i added in the milk factor... didnt consumed milk for the earlier race.. only soy milk... not the normal cow milk.. is soy better? its really kinda scary n demoralising as i really didnt expect myself to do so badly... i already found it strange when i was warming up for the race .. my HR rose up very fast n higher than normal... was this indicating indigestion making the heart work harder? ... really need to find out what actually went wrong... sighz

 

[ric_stern/RST]

When you say you rested, do you mean you had an easier week's training (etc) or did you do no training (that would be detrimental).

The higher HR could be caused by a multitude of factors, which might or might not have any bearing on your performance (e.g., hot weather causes your HR to rise, no training causes your HR to rise). It's difficult to assess what your change in HR means, if anything.

The amount of food that you ate is possibly about correct depending on your body mass. However, as i previously mentioned i don't think that drinking milk (any type) is too good/pleasant for anyone prior to a race -- it's probably going to make you feel quite queasy/bloated etc.

Also, how did you do in your last race? Don't forget that a crit is a very high intensity race, and can really show up any weaknesses that you may have, as opposed to being able to 'hide' in a longer RR.

It'd be worthwhile analysing your recent training to see what is good and bad about it, and maybe looking at your diet too. (Self promotion bit!) i'm just about to offer this type of service!

Cheers
Ric

 

[2LAP]

Just completed a dietary analysis for a rider, proved very interesting many of the problems with the riders diet had implications with performance at work and not on the bike. This was due to timing of eating.

I think that this would be a way to go for SniperX.

SniperX, don't be too disapointed if you have one bad ride - we all have our bad days. When you have a few bad rides, then its time to become concerned. I agree with Ric, milk isn't ideal as pre race food.

 

[CatSpin]

SniperX,

Sounds a lot like a problem I used to have with fueling up for a crit. The intensity of a crit requires high glycogen levels of "fast burning" carbs. I have highlighted "fast burning" on purpose because you may want to experiment with liquid carbs, ie Poweraid etc.. on your next ride. If you are racing in a morning crit, liquid carbs tend to be a better source of fuel. Eating your starchy carbs for rides requires your body to break down the starches into sugars which need heat, energy and more importantly, time.

NB- That is why one needs to carb-load up to 2-days in advance for VERY long races and at a minimum 2hrs before a normal races...it takes time for your body to break things down and put sugar in quick reserves.

Liquid carbs can do this in a 45-minute to 75-minute period and will tend not to "shock" your system the way whole foods do when you "break"fast.

If you are racing in the AM, try a crit fueled by a liquid carb, or 2, your next time around. The same can work for a PM crit if you eat a normal meal 3 hrs before your ride and a take a liquid carb 1hr prior to racing.

A coach of mine used to say. "its a fuel source with a higher octane level:

PS - I agree with the rest of the forum members. Though you had a lot or calories, most if not all came from that milk source. Milk is too protein rich for crits and probably caused mucus to build up in your lungs and nasal passages. I used to be an advocate of milk due its protein (whey) source for recovery but the more I read about it...it is loosing favor with a number of athletes.

 

[SniperX]

thanks to everyone for the advice... about the rest i cut down to only 2 days the week prior to the race (100 plus km milege) .. i find the HR factor very confusing too... if iwere to train hard and my hR seems to lower and i have difficulty in raising it ... heard that this is a sign of overtraining... after a few rest days i can raise it up again.. but then again.. could that also mean becos i have not trained and have lost fitness thus causing the raise in HR ? have always been puzzled by this..

 

[J-MAT]

Don't worry about food or supplements. The diet the average non-athlete eats is plenty for a 45-90 minute crit. Food isn't the problem. Fitness is.

Even if you are smoked from doing too much training or doing 2-3 races in one day, you should still be able to sit in and wheelsuck until the race is over. The exception might be a long road race with tough climbs.

I've been dropped, every pro has been dropped, everyone reading this has been dropped. Whenever I got dropped, it was because I lacked the fitness to hang on. I think everyone else will agree, fitness is the real issue.

Don't take it personally, but if you got dropped your fitness level was poor. Unless there was something wrong with you like an illness or you were somehow racing against riders in a faster category, fitness is to blame if you get dropped among riders of similar class.

You have experimented with the keto diet in the past. This diet will prevent you from training properly to survive a crit, namely speedwork and anaerobic fitness. If you are weak in either area, you won't last very long no matter how close you wheelsuck.

Don't worry about your heart rate. It comes and goes. It can be low if you are overtrained, stressed, on certain medications (beta blockers,etc.), or if you have obtained a higher fitness level for the same amount of work. The adrenaline flowing through your blood in a race will cause your heart rate to be higher for the same amount of work than if you were riding alone.

Just eat "normally," don't skip meals and train hard. You will be fine.

Good Luck!!!