Category: Races

Category for all things specific to races, e.g., yearly schedule

Posted on

Race Day Fueling and Hydration

I’ve taken a page from pro cycling and patterned what I do on what I see all the teams in the peloton do. They spent big buck on all this. One of the benefits to watching/listening to four to five hours of coverage is that the commentators talk about all kinds of things to fill the time. Occasionally they’ll talk about things like fueling, hydration, recovery, energy management, etc. These are retired pro riders who cover the teams, so they know what they’re talking about.

It’s also a good place to look for what products to use. There are so many gels, energy bars, gummies, etc., on the market. Again, go with what the pros use and see how it works.

Fueling

Riders in the peloton take in bars and things like that (solid fuel) in the early parts of stages, and gels later in the stage. Here’s what I do:

Marathon

  • Bar at mile 5. Currently, these are Bonk Breaker Cookies & Creme. They’re easy to get down. I had used Cliff Bars but, for me, they require some fluid to eat. Everyone’s different.
  • Gel at miles 11 and 16. Currently these are SIS Beta Fuel gels
  • Gel at mile 21. Currently a SIS electrolyte gel with caffeine.

Ultra

  • Bars at miles 5 and 10.
  • SIS Beta Fuel gels at miles 15 and 20.
  • SIS electrolyte gel with caffeine at mile 25.

Hydration

I wear a CamelBak and load up with about 20 to 30+ fluid ounces of SIS Electrolyte mix. How much depends on the race-day conditions. I’d rather have it with me than to stop for a small cup of something. I make sure I’m drinking every other mile or so. I also take a drink when I run by a water station — they’re a good reminder.

BTW, the CamelBak also has pouches in the straps for bars and gels. Makes it easy.

Testing

Testing is critical. I use long runs to test out the what and when. I also try variations to see how I respond late in the runs. Long runs are pretty much every Sunday, so the opportunities are plenty. I figure that a general plan/schedule is quite sufficient. Trying to do some sort of precise planning would be nuts, since every run is different. Close enough is good enough here.