Regarding sodium bicarb, I started taking it the night before. Still get the same benefit but totally eliminate any possibility of gastointestinal distress during the workout/race.
So, same protocol I typed above…just doing it right before bed the night before.
Creatine, Beta Alanine, Whey Protein, Magnesium, and Multi-vitamin are on my daily supplement list. Before a hard VO2max training session, hard group ride, or race I like to start drinking a Monster Energy drink about 1 hour before go time.
double shot of coffee (note if you take milk with your coffee, animal based milk products are known to blunt efficacy of the caffeine) two hours hour before a race, followed by a small can of Red Bull 110mg caffeine just before the race and then two pieces of caffinated gum with 40mg of caffeine each (absored faster and more effective than other sources) with 40min to go.
Bicarb loading up to 90min before an event
done this a few times prior to big Zwift races and put out best ever power numbers
Vegetable Smoothie with Beetroot, ginger, celery and apple or spinach. I’m always in a state of disbelief when I look at how low my HR for the effort I’m putting out. This is ideal for early morning workouts. Make it the night before and store it in a thermos flask in the fridge.
Sole (Saturated Himalayan Rock Salt)
1 teaspoon in a cup of warm water first thing every day.
With my drink bottles, I usually take a sweet bottle (home made drink mix which also includes a tablespoon of Sole and 5mg of magnesium powder, teaspoon of bicarb soda, table sugar and maltodextrin with a 1:1.8 ratio of fructose: glucose) and a salty bottle (a tablespoon of sole).
Paracetamol. During my Everest which was on a hot day 30 degrees celsius/86F, I did a combimation of strong black coffee and a couple of paracetamol a couple of times about three hours apart during the hottest times of the day. I responded well to this little cocktail. The link to a Victoria University meta-analysis, suggests there is some benefit, but test before competition.
If I am doing an extra long event (10-12hrs) such as when I did an ironman, everest and everest roam, I also did some additional salt loading the day before, just sipping on a salty bottle over the course of the day. I am a heavy sweater, but I only needed one toilet stop for the day during those long events.