Dear Sarah,
I am training for 60 km bike race. I start off at good pace but start to slow down. How can I sustain my energy to sprint to the finish line?

Ruth

Dear Ruth,
The best way to sustain your energy is through eating the right foods. Your body is like a car; if you put in the wrong kind of fuel, it will sputter out on you. Food is your fuel. Your body is made up of what you eat, digest and assimilate.

And your muscles need fuel to sustain energy. This energy is called glycogen. When you eat carbohydrates, your body turns them into glucose to feed your brain and glycogen to fuel your muscles. Carbohydrates are found in many foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. (not white bread!)

How fast and how far you can cycle depends on how much glycogen you have stored in your muscles. A cyclist who begins a race with more stored glycogen will have an endurance advantage. To achieve higher glycogen storage, you should consistently consume plenty of a carbohydrates and fluids. Eating carbohydrates before, during and after your race plays an important role in reducing your fatigue during the race.

Not only will your diet on the day of the race impact your performance, but so will what you eat the week before. And, what you eat after your race will impact your next race performance.

Whether you're a professional cyclist or a weekend warrior on the road, eating whole grains, fruits and vegetables is your ticket to optimal performance. Eating for sports performance requires a bit of planning and clock watching. The performance improvements are worth it. You will notice more energy in the second leg of your race.

What to Eat and When to Eat it:

3-4 hours before the race: Eat a large carbohydrate meal including foods such as legumes, sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain cereal, small amount of protein, and fats. This will help to saturate your glycogen stores and prevent fatigue.

30 minutes - 1 hour before the race: Consume some fruit: apples, bananas or citrus fruit are your best choices.

At the mid-way point: Consume some dates, or real fruit juice. This will sustain energy levels and saturate your muscles with glycogen so you can cycle faster and harder. You could also use a gel. (see recipe below).

After the race within 30 minutes to 1 hour: Consume carbohydrates (approx. 50-70 grams) with some protein. Smoothies are ideal. The sooner you ingest your post race meal, the more responsive your body will be to replenishing the glycogen stores which will decrease your recovery time.

Choosing the right foods at the right time will help to enhance your performance and create an "edge" over the other competitors.

Gogi Go Gel ( aka the GGG)
2 large dates
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp ground chia seeds
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp of Gogi berries (soaked)
½ lemon juice
Sea Salt
Mix in a blender, put in a small Ziploc bag.

Sarah Brown is a very healthy woman. She is not only a fitness instructor at Goodlife where she teaches Body Pump, Body Flow and yoga but she is also a registered holistic nutritionist. If you have a question for Sarah, leave a comment below and she will try and help, but note that not all questions will be answered.