Thought I would throw it out here… I did High Cascades 100 2 weeks ago and had a good event for nutrition, however I want to really dial it in. I did a carb mix on my back in a USWE backpack… so I ended up with 60 g of carbs per 600 mls of water … along with that I did my best to take in 1 SIS gel per hour … ending up with about 80 g of carbs/hr. (knowing I missed some gels per hour leaving me with 80 g/hr) Any advice on how to better deliver carbs… or some better way of an alert on when to take in either carb water or gels.
I so understand how important nutrition is in these events… however when I am hours in and a bit race goofy I tend to miss some of it… love the advice on others who have figured it out.
I don’t know if I’m leaving marginal gains on the table or anything but I don’t care, my system is so simple it just makes me delighted to set up for a big ride or a race.
2x 500ml bottles with water only. One on the down tube and the other on the top tube (where people usually have a bento). I can get to the bottle way easier when it’s here which means I hydrate better and I only have to reach down to the down tube once to swap bottles. (I’ll use 625s for these if it’s a long stretch between aid stations or if it’s hot)
1x 750ml bottle with carbs and electrolytes on the seat tube. A fairly rich mix that I sip when I need.
Calories is 5 hammer flasks of pure maple syrup (this amounts to close to 700g of carbs that I can easily take swigs of throughout the day) and whatever handfuls of whatever I can grab and stuff in my face as I blow through aid stations.
*I do usually gulp a banana and a gel or two at the start line but I refuse to be opening gels and wrappers while riding *
About in the 400-500 cal range between the maple syrup and carb bottle. Plus whatever bananas or handful of gummy bears find their way into me along the way.
I’d try to take 2 gels an hour with your current setup. I’d say that pretty much everyone should be taking in at least 90-100g/hour during hard/long efforts.
Most head units have an alert feature that you can setup to remind you to take in fuel at the intervals of your choosing.
What does your electrolyte plan look like? That’s really important too!
I use LMNT for electrolytes… and a Canadian product called Olway for carbs… it also has 200 mg of sodium per 30 g of carbs. I was more interested in the delivery of electrolytes and carbs. When I did Mohican it was so rough I had a hard time doing anything other than grabbing my hydration tube… so trying to get gels in was a challenge.
For a typical 4-5 hour race, I will carry the list below, and I’ve gotten pretty good at drinking regularly enough.
One bottle with 375-450g (I mix my own GLU/FRU, though depending on temp, 450 may not stay dissolved). This lives in a tight bottle cage (Lezyne Flow) and I’m extremely careful when using it. I’ve never had a bottle rattle out of one of these cages, including years of MTB (with a couple crashes where my bike cartwheeled after I hopped off) and gravel pothole hell descents.
One flask with 100-150g (GLU/FRU or GLU/SUC or SUC).
50-125g gels as backup
For fluid, my plan depends a lot on temperatures, what’s available/reasonable at aid stations/feed zones, but my liquid tends to be water+salt.
It depends on a bunch of factors when I do a race/event. First, I try to estimate how much time it will take to finish. This is easier for events you’ve already done. That will give me my total number of carbs to aim for. So if I’ve got 3 hours and am trying for 100g/hr to make things simple, I am attempting to get 300g total, split pretty evenly across the ride. Next is weather because I need to know how much liquid I will need. The last thing I want to do is put all my carbs in my bottles on a cool/cold day, go race, and either barely touch them because I’m not sweating as much or force myself to drink them because I need the carbs. Then I will just need to pee because I’ve had too much. Not to mention that I don’t want to carry more than I need because of the weight. So depending on water needs for the day, then I decide on how much goes in the bottles vs how much is in my pockets via gels or gels in a flask or maple syrup in a flask or bloks. Any of these or a mixture might work best depending on the course and the effort. On single track, it’s much harder to eat. In a gravel race, it’s pretty easy. I also use the time alerts on my Garmin to remind me. So yeah, there’s no easy answer to this question. It depends on so many things and just your own experience is a huge one so experiment and see what works for you.
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