Mountain-bike 100km Marathon: a nutritional strategy that worked!
Heeeyho Readers! Let's talk about marathon strategies!
Last Sunday kicked my ass (almost!?). Not for the distance nor the climbs, but the extreme heat. Let's start by saying that an 100-kilometer mountain-biking marathon isn't a ride to the park, let alone when temperatures neared 40°C. Yes, brutal. I know.
However, the strategy worked as planned, allowing me to cross the finish line with some spare matches to burn. In this post I'll discuss the strategies I took to complete the challenge.
On a previous post, we discussed general ideas for a long-distance bicycle ride. By the way, engagement on that post was awesome! Thanks a bunch. On today's post I'll write about my personal experience bringing up nutrition data and other little details that might help fellow Hivers.
Before The Event
Planning for a hard event actually starts during the week before the carnage. I cut training volume and only performed easy rides during the week to keep the legs moving. Same for training at the gym, where we substituted weightlifting for mobility exercises. Nutrition-wise I ate more carbs two days before Sunday and completely avoided anything out-of-usual to prevent any gut issues. Water intake was also pumped a little.
Lastly, checked the bicycle during the week to make sure everything worked, added sealant to the wheels, charged the GPS, etc.
During The Event
The event comprised 100 kilometers of rural roads, trails and river crossings — full off-road mountain-biking. I had planned to complete in ~5 hours, but due to waiting for friends it took a little bit more. There were six feeding points throughout the course (17, 36, 51, 58, 80 and 87 kilometers). This information is particularly important to estimate food re-supply.
As mentioned before, the secret to finish well a long marathon is to eat/drink during the event. Let your body run dry and you will bonk. That said, for my body type I generally eat between 60-100 grams of carbs per hour.
I took with me nutrition for the first 2hr30min, which totaled 180 grams of carbohydrates (~70g/h).
- 4 carbohydrate gels (80g carbs)
- 1 full dose of Maltodextrin in 750ml of water (100g of carbs)
- Another bottle with fresh water that I refueled on feeding points
For the second half I resupplied at the feeding points, which included all sorts of different stuff according to the table below.
The second half included more solid snacks and no carbohydrate gels (those feel terrible after a while).
Hydration followed a simple rule: drink plenty until wanting to pee. It worked. Pee was plentiful after the race, indicating that water intake was sufficient.
What can I say about eating enough during the race? It's wonderful! Really, I was feeling so energetic after 80 kilometers that I decided to drop my friends and push a little harder until the finish line. And I could keep on going. The objective for the next event is to finish under 5 hours -- it's doable if I don't stop to wait.
In the end the strategy worked as planned, reinforcing the importance of testing different approaches and observing how our body reacts. Also felt grateful that my body handled such a level of stress (mostly heat) without issues. Thank God!
Have you ever bonked during a bicycle ride?
I hope that you enjoyed this post and the information here provided. By sharing our own experiences we are able to build an awesome archive to help those aiming for greater distances on two wheels.
Peace.
Did you know that I have a book out? Check this!
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6500272773?
If you enjoyed this post consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.
Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrprofessor_
~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
Congrats on finishing the marathon! Seems that Arthurito is officially back in shape :) Btw this post made me google out maltodextrin (and dextrose). For some reason, I thought they were some unhealthy food additives as they often appear in food like candies, chips and other unhealthy snacks. But it´s obviously not the case. Btw how about creatine? Ever tried it before or during a performance?
@tipu curate 2
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 13/63) Liquid rewards.
Yooo, thank you! We are always following the shape, I guess it never ends xD
Maltodextrin comes from corn if I'm no wrong; it's also sweet as fuck, and great to fuel the body during endurance sports. Fructose is also important.
I take creatine 3-4mg every morning with breakfast just to keep storage near the upper limit. It helps with short and super intense efforts. I noticed after taking it for a month that I'm fresher after the gym, not sure if it's placebo or a real positive effect.
Lastly I use our favorite: whey protein
Yeah, I was curious about your experience with creatine. I have been working out (weight lifting) for years and never used any supplements other than protein here and there but a few months ago, I somehow started to stagnate. I was not able to improve my maxes on any machine by even one kilo anymore. That was actually pretty frustrating so I decided to give a shot to a bag of creatine that I actually received as a gift long time ago. I didn´t believe it much but I must say the change was pretty instant and very noticeable. Been using it for some 3 months now, just a flat teaspoon before every training (I train 3x per week) but I have been breaking my PRs every week now. I obviously have more strength but I can also handle longer training now. My training used to be 1 hour and 15 minutes max and now, I can handle 1 hour and 30 minutes. So as sceptical as I´m towards fitness supplements in general, I must say that creatine really works ;)
Oh, sure it does! Creatine is the main source of fuel for the muscles on really intense and fast requirements (say a full-power sprint or trying to lift something heavy). Our body produces creatine naturally, but if we can pump the number by suplementing it's even better.
I heard somewhere that it's also used in UTI patients and elderly to keep some level o muscle mass.
That´s right. Creatine contains ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is basically source of energy for all cells in the human body. Not just muscles. All cells. That´s why creatine is often used outside of sport as well ;)
Right now I'm doing a lot of aerobic training to boost the mitochondria, which will be able to produce even more ATP. Mitochondrias are the boss!
Your nutrition during physical activity is very important, it helps delay onset of fatigue and improves body composition.
Precisely ^^
Great achievement and a very informative post.
I once encountered the man with the hammer during a ride where I didn't take enough food. Since then I always take enough food with me.
Upvoted by the Cycling Community
Share your rides, bicycle, maintenance, news or any other cycling related content!
Supporting the Cycling Community
You can help the Cycling Community to support cyclists on Hive by delegating Hive Power or following our Curation Trail (via https://hive.vote: @hive177745)
You can select the Hive Power you like to delegate here:
25 - 50 - 100 -250 - 500
Check out our Discord Channel too!
It's the worst feeling ever. What did you do?
My speed went down to 1/4th of what I was riding. I shake and craved for food. But it was late in the evening already so everything was closed already.
I eventually got home, but it was terrible.
I've learned a lot from that experience 😀
Damn, that was a monster bonk! I've been there too, but it was the heat that hammered me; I tried to breath but the air would not fill the lungs.. worst bonk ever