fuel for training



leanman

New Member
Sep 20, 2009
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gonna try and eat a little more this year on longer training rides and in races. i always eat a normal dinner, rice or pasta, meat and veggies. breakfast is light, water, a bananna, milk mixed with a scoop of protein powder and a bagel.(600 calories).. then 1:30 later, i'm on the bike for 4 hard hours training. i drink a few water bottles, and a bottle of poweraide.. i tried all the powder drinks over the years, from extran, to cytomax, accelerade. etc. they all give me a stomach ache. poweraide and water. sometimes just water..i have a few (3-4 )fig newton cookies and thats it. 300 calories on the bike at most.. i may have 500 with a few more fig cookies. i never once bonked, and always get stronger as the ride goes on..
watcking videos and looking at forum posts, racers eat way way more than me. we are all different and respond different, but i was thinking on upping my calories on the bike. maybe take a few small candy bars, or a cliff bar(200 calories). i was wondering if eating a bit more will give me even more energy later on in my race/training.. gu is ok, upsets me a bit. tried dark chocolate, which i like. break off a big candy bar and take a few pieces of that with me. i guess i'm not a big on the bike eater. i just want to try and eat more hoping it will mean more power later on in my training.. i eat like a pig all other times i eat, just not on the bike.. thanks
 
I think it is fairly well accepted that taking in CHO during the ride helps performance. For rides longer than 60min I always drink sport drink at a rate of about 24oz per 30min on hot days (90-100F) and about 24oz per 120min on cold days (0-30F). In the winter I mix the sport drink stronger and also carry solid food because I don't sweat as much and don't have the thirst I do in the summer.