10 WAYS TO MASTER YOUR FUELLING AND HYDRATION FOR LONG-COURSE RACING
Follow Andy’s expert dietry advice below and race free in the knowledge that you’ve got your nutrition regime nailed…
01 Carb-load properly
Carb-loading means making sure your muscles and liver are topped up with glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate in the body) when you stand on the start line of a race. There is an abundance of scientific and real-world evidence to demonstrate this has an extremely positive impact on endurance performance. Proper carb-loading involves eating 8-12g of carbohydrate for every 1kg of your bodyweight (e.g. 560840g for a 70kg person) per day during the 1-2 days immediately before a race. This is A LOT of carbs, so reducing the amount of fat and fibre you eat during this phase is critical so you don’t end up with an excess of total calories and an uncomfortable stomach. Foods like white bread, pasta or rice should ideally make up the bulk of your intake (with support from sports drinks if you’re struggling with the size of portions).
02 Pre-hydrate sensibly
Unlike carb-loading, you can’t store lots of extra water in your body in the days prior to a race. In fact, just drinking tons of additional H2O will mean you pee way more than you need to and wash out valuable electrolytes. Yes, it’s a good idea to drink a little extra water (i.e. an extra glass with meals/snacks) in the final couple of days just to make sure you’re not dehydrated, but don’t go overboard. Add some additional salt to food or electrolyte tabs to some of your water in the last 48hrs before race day as this will help you to absorb and retain what you drink more effectively. Also consider preloading with 500ml of a very strong electrolyte drink (ideally a strength of 1,500mg of sodium per litre or slightly stronger) about 60-90mins before the start of the race to act as a final top-up before the gun goes off. The relatively high concentration of sodium maximises the amount of fluid you retain in the blood at this point, boosting plasma volume while reducing the need to pee.
03 Last-minute sugar hit
Even if you eat and drink aggressively, you’re always going to end up in a calorie deficit during a long-course race. If you can take a gel or a couple of energy chews in the last 15mins before the start, the sugars will hit your bloodstream just as you get started and provide a little more energy to spare more glycogen for later. Test this in training to optimise the timing, so you don’t feel sick or get an energy crash by taking it too long before or too close to the start.
04 Eat and drink early
It’s a good idea to start eating and drinking early on the bike so that you’re not losing any time in getting the energy and fluids in. While you won’t necessarily feel like you want to take a gel or to start drinking 15mins into the ride, by doing so you’re maximising your chances of absorbing as much fuel and fluid as you can and not creating an energy or sweat deficit that can’t be compensated for later on.
05 Consider your carry-on
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘control the controllables’ and being in control of where the vast majority of your fuel and electrolytes are going to come from on the bike is a smart move in a long-course race. Consider mixing all of your gels into one or two bike bottles so you can ‘sip’ on them as you go, without the faff of carrying each gel individually. Everyone loses a different amount of sodium in their sweat, so make sure you have electrolyte drinks that are of an appropriate sodium strength for you
in your other bottles. You can then carry electrolyte capsules to swallow down with water picked up from aid stations to keep your sodium levels topped up when those initial hydration bottles run out. That way you only really need to focus on collecting water on the move, reducing reliance on aid stations and the chances of not picking up what you need, when you need it.
06 Front-load your bike intake
Because eating and drinking is far easier on the bike than the run, aim to get a little more carbs, fluid and sodium than you need to hit your overall average numbers during the bike leg. This will allow you to drop your intake down a little bit on the run and ensure that you start it with minimal energy deficit and negligible levels of dehydration.
07 Take time through run aid stations
Try to carry a decent amount of the gels you intend to use on the run with you. This allows you to choose tried-andtested products that you know your stomach can handle. It also means you can fuel up on the way into aid stations and prioritise only getting fluids through them, rather than aiming for fuel and fluids at the same time. If it’s super hot, take the time to walk through selected aid stations so you can drink enough water; rushing through to save a few seconds is a false economy if you end up dehydrated and walking on the back end of the run.
08 Listen to your body/ adjust on the fly
While going into a long-course race with a plan for how you’re going to hit your carb, fluid and sodium numbers is important, it’s also crucial that you allow for some flex in the plan as the race wears on. Continuing to pile in the fluids if you feel bloated or are peeing a lot makes no sense (and may be dangerous). Equally, forcing gels down when you’re already being sick into your mouth just because your plan says take ‘x’ per hour is clearly not sensible. Listen to your body and increase intake if you’re feeling thirsty or low on energy but also be prepared to slow down and reduce your intake if your gut is telling you to back off in some way.
09 Use caffeine appropriately
If you’re someone who finds that they benefit from using caffeine (and studies suggest that this applies to about 70% of athletes), consider taking a moderate dose before the start of the race (around 3mg of caffeine per kg of bodyweight is in the right zone for optimising performance) and then drip some more caffeine in as the race wears on and the effects of that initial hit start to wear off (usually after 3-4hrs). Appropriate dosing requires some experimentation but something along the lines of 100mg per hour from late on in the bike is in the ballpark for most people. Remember that caffeine takes 30-60mins to peak in your bloodstream after you consume it, so don’t leave it until the very final stages as it’ll likely kick in after the finish line if you only take it in the last few kms of the run!
10 Record your intake accurately
After the race, note down, with as much detail as you can recall, exactly what you ate and drank, how your body reacted, and any other information that will help you to iterate your plan towards something better in the future. You can’t rely on having accurate recall weeks and months after the event, so doing this as soon as possible is essential to build-up a useful library of information for future reference.
“FORCING GELS DOWN JUST BECAUSE YOUR PLAN SAYS TAKE ‘X’ PER HOUR IS CLEARLY NOT SENSIBLE”