The season is almost around the corner and you have
worked extremely hard during the last few months
getting in the best shape possible for 2007! But
really what is all the point in working out hard if
you don’t know how to transfer all that hard work into
a race. First things first, think of your body as an
engine, one that’s going to run at a high intensity
for up to 3hrs! You need fuel! This article will give
you a guide as what you should be doing prior to every
race, whether it is a Local District Race or a
National Series race XC or MX.
Pre Race Nutrition
Everyone likes and dislikes different food types, but
one thing that must be understood is that your body
needs 3 different food types, Carbohydrates, Fats and
Proteins. A basic diet for an active person should
contain approx 60% Carbs, 25% Proteins and 15% Fats.
The higher the intensity and shorter the duration of
your race the more Carbs your body will utilize as a
fuel source. The lower the intensity and longer
duration your race is, the more your body will utilize
its stored fat which is the biggest energy source in
your body.
If you have ever watched any long distance track
races, athletes will always talk about how they
‘Carbo-loaded’ prior to the race.
Carbohydrate Loading
This is a technique used to enhance muscle glycogen
prior to long-term aerobic endurance exercise such as
a XC ATV race but will benefit a full day at the MX
track. Carbo-loading is a very old and well proven
technique with great benefits to the endurance athlete
and is highly beneficial in ATV racing. The most
effective regime for carbohydrate loading is a 3 day
regime with a tapering of exercise the week before
competition and complete rest the day before the event
(See graph below). This method allows the body to
store 20-40% more muscle glycogen than normal. In the
loading phase you want to increase the amount of
carbohydrates to about 75% of your daily calorie
intake. Don’t be worried if in the last few days of
loading you put a few lbs on when you weigh yourself.
This is due to the fact that each gram of carbohydrate
your muscles store holds 3 grams of water. This water
becomes available during exercise, and helps to
prevent dehydration (for other tips on avoiding
dehydrations check out last months AEM fitness
article), but the only downside is that it is heavy! -
So don’t worry about it!
Day before Phase: The day before the race, a healthy
carbohydrate/protein combination is what you’re
looking for. This can be accomplished with foods such
as spaghetti and meatballs or chicken and vegetable
stir fry with rice. Healthy carbs, such as vegetables,
will help keep you from feeling slow and sluggish the
day before the race. The carb/protein balance is very
important in this phase.
Race Day Phase: Your breakfast menu should include
items such as whole wheat pancakes, oatmeal, fruit,
whole grain toast and possibly some eggs or egg
whites. How much you eat depends on how early you wake
up. If its 3-4 hours before your race, eat about a
1,000 calories of any of the combinations listed
above. If your cutting it closer, stick to something
smaller like an individual packet of oatmeal, a piece
of toast and banana or a bagel. Always make sure to
down plenty of water, at least 16 ounces with
breakfast and keep drinking all the way up until your
race. Packing in these types of carbohydrates will
give you a slow burn throughout the race day; think of
it as a time released capsule of energy.
One thing I highly recommend you taking approx 1hr
prior to your race is the excellent workout/racing
supplement Cardiostack (www.Cardiostackracing.com).
This supplement does a whole host of great things for
you such as, improving oxygen utilization, delays the
onset of fatigue, and allows your body to tap into
those all important fat stores as mentioned
previously. The great thing with Cardiostack is that
it is all natural and contains no artificial
stimulants that can cause jitters and shakes which
other products are renowned for!
Pit Stop Phase: For the most part you’ll want to
consume about 30-60 grams of quickly digested
carbohydrates like sports drinks, gels, or energy bars
every hour. Obviously having sports drink in a
Camelback will save on time for pitting. But if you
do need to during a pit stop you could try and take in
a sports gel cube or energy bar. I know a lot of this
only applied to XC racers, but any MX racers that race
2 different classes in close succession to each other
should also follow these guidelines.
Final Phase: The race is over and you are finished for
the day, and you need some fuel as quickly as
possible- even if you don’t really feel like eating,
you need to! I suggest a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich or turkey on a bagel with a sports drink and
protein bar. About 2 hours later you should be ready
for a larger meal – this should be high in
carbohydrates and protein, both which will reduce the
soreness and time taken to recover from the day of
racing. Research indicates a recovery meal of four
parts carbohydrates to one part protein will also jump
start the muscle rebuilding process so you’ll be less
sore the next day and be stronger the next time
around. If you do this properly, you can cut your
recovery time in half; from around 24 hours to about
12.
Now you know how you should fuel your body, fill it up
and go race!
