Route has now been changed due to some ongoing roadworks in the area. This might suit me better (or kill me less) because they’ve cut out the final big climb of the day and replaced it with an extra loop of another section of the course. This might prove interesting as on the 2nd time around I’ll have a better idea of where I’m strong/weak compared to other riders.
carb loading is 8-12g or carbs per 1kg of body weight but that is a ton.
I’d say go for 8g, and there’s alsothis blog post that I put together that talks about it
good luck!
Wow, you’re right, that is a ton! Thanks for the link, it was an interesting read.
I’ve just had a quick scan back through myfitnesspal and most days I only eat half that many carbs. One day I just about ate 8g/kg of bodyweight and I had a huge chinese takeaway and a load of chocolate biscuits!
Speaking of which (without going too far off topic here) I’d be interested to know how much the “quality” of the carbs matters for the purposes of carb loading. Is a pack of biscuits as useful to me as a bunch of bananas? I’m assuming not. Is it because the carbs in those foods are different? Or does the fat in the biscuits create issues of metabolising the carbs? Or is it simply that the carbs are the same but the fat in biscuits is unnecessary extra calories. I also notice your blog post mentioned rice and some bread. Which kinds of bread are better and did you intentionally not mention pasta?
And one last thing. Am I cutting back back on fat and protein whilst increasing carbs in an effort to consume more carbs but the same calories? Or should caloric intake be higher than normal too?
On a carb load I aim for 7-10g/kg of carbs in the 2 days prior. I try and keep my total calorie intake for the day the same, which ultimately means I have very low fat and pretty low protein. I also steer clear of carbs that are to heavy.
My go to is oats, heaps of plain rice, bananas, sports drinks, toast/spreads, pasta, sports bars. Heaps of water
I spread it fairly even over the day and avoid a really big meal the night before.
If you have done your car load right you will put on a little weight as the extra glycogen holds water.
Also follow the final week/taper plan to keep your legs primed.
I have had great success with the above, but everyone’s body is slightly different.
I always would set 15min drink reminders on my Garmin, but not as easy on the Wahoo, possibly would need to set it as a timed lap.
I personally if it was remotely warm would be carrying a 1 ltr bottle and a 700ml, I hate running out of fluids.
Best of luck.
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I just did some quick maths.
Im 80kg. 8g/kg means i have to eat 640g of carbs.
1g of carbs is 4 cals so 640g is approx 2500 cals. Thats more than my daily intake! Is this right? Assuming i cant completely avoid some fat and protein, im going to be eating to some excess arent I?
I commute to work most days so i actually burn enough calories for this to not put me in excess calories in total for the day, but im also burning carbs which im supposed to be storing so…?
Im confused
Forget about measuring how many carbs . Have a nice Spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread, rice pudding to follow, museli for supper, you’ll be fine.
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no because there is prob a lot of fat in here also, right?
just be careful of too much fiber, especially before the race
there ya go!
sprouted grain, but yes pasta is easy to get your hands on so not out of the question. i’m a big fan of rice!
rice and eggs
rice and avocado
rice and peanut butter and honey
yes, correct! lean the diet toward carbs, meaning slightly less fat and protein
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The beauty of measuring/calculating what you eat means in the days prior, it holds you accountable and if the foods work really well for you you can repeat them next or modify them if it didn’t.
Doing the big bowl of pasta the night before is a pretty old school approach, it works but you can do better.
Don’t worry about a few excess calories, it’s sounds like your eating fairly low at the moment.
I checked back through my diary and I my macros were 80% carbs 10% fat 10% protein.
Regards
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Correct, but i am 62 and have ridden over 1200 races over 50 years, placed top 6 in about 25% of them.
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Well guys, my race report is going to be much like the race itself…short!
Spoiler alert, I punctured after 25 miles and that was the end of my race.
Long version:
The carb loading went well. Thanks for all the tips. It was nice to eat like a teenager again and cram as much sugar down my throat as was possible. I didn’t find a way of getting close to the 8g/kg of carbs without massively overshooting my daily calorie allowance, so suffice to say I’m a couple of lbs heavier than I was last week.
The race itself was tough right from the off, courtesy of some local strong Cat 2 riders. I found myself midpack at the start of the race already doing 600w up a slight incline while the race was still neutralised. A couple of riders went straight off the front when the race started and I focused on staying mid pack, holding a wheel as best as I could and generally staying out of trouble. It was good fun but the surging, even mid pack surprised me. I found myself either braking or doing big accelerations in the pack even on the flat roads.
About 15 miles in I made my first mistake, a sharp downhill corner took me by surprise, and a couple of riders surged past me. The riders in front strung out in to single file as the accordian stretched out, and next thing im sprinting to hold the wheel. At this point I look back and all I see is the neutral service car. Shit, I’m the last man! After this, I couldn’t get back on the wheel and the peloton inched away from me! I spent the next 10 miles chasing them, joining and then dropping a fellow dropped rider, and going over the first big climb of the day on my own. Unfortunately, on the descent I clipped a hole or something in the road and by the time I got to the bottom I had a flat rear tyre.
Being off the back, I had no support from neutral service, and I stupidly left my puncture repair tools back at HQ. A quick phone call to the organiser and a kind marshall picked me up and drove me to the finish.
So that’s it, plenty of lessons learned. Hold the wheel at all costs and keep track of how may riders are in front of you so you avoid being at the back.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and hopefully I can come back next time with a better story to tell!
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Other lesson learned is carry a spare tube and CO2 or mini pump! Always good to be able to finish under your own steam, especially if you’re out on a long course and not sure when the next race vehicle might come along.
Well done for taking the positives out of your experience, better luck with equipment next time
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