food on race day

[Frakke]

Let me be the first to explore this new forum.
What do the most of you eat and drink on race day?
I'm not as a much eater on race day! Why? The nerves I think. What would be the best to eat. From time to time I eat some spaghetti or little breads (as we call it 'pistolets' it's a french word actually) but for the rest I'm not hungry. Mostly I drink water but after the race I drink some sportsdrink. is this ok or would it be wiser to stay with the water?

[Woody_393]

Hey sorry, I'm not posting in regard to the question, but what was the name of the other thread you started? I would like to move it to this forum.

[Frakke]

Work out, how?

[shiftMX]

frakke, you are right to drink the water, and i would only drink the sports drinks once your body has cooled down, but if it is a hot day, and you are just out of a moto, only drink the water. as far as the food, keep eating that, your doing great...as you want to get the best carbohydrates possible the night before and in the morning for your best energy supply also get enough protien with that. stay away from cheap carbs from sugars like candybars and such, it is not guaranteed, but there is the possibility that you will get a little surge of energy from it they get a "sugar crash" as i call it, and you don't want that in the middle of your race!

[VET393]

I drink water for the most part when we ride or race. We also eat lots of trail mix and granola bars, Keeps it light.
Think thats a good thing?

[Frakke]

Thx shift, you sure know alot about it!! By the way. Today I went training in the gym, I skipped the excercises in halve (10 instead of 20) and put about 1/4 weight to the weights!!! I was really exhausted. It felt like I was doing cardio and weight training at once. I must admit I go from one excercise to the other without waiting and did after every group of excercises 10min cardio with my heart rate between 150 -170. I did 3 groups and I was more exhausted then otherwise. I'm surely gonna continue this for a period to see if it helps me out on the track. It's gonna costs me some effort to do it some time but I'm sure I'll be possible to push myself to it!!! Thx alot!!

[shiftMX]

vet, that's correct, keep it lite while at the track...nutrigrain, granola, any good quality cereal bar is excellent for the track.

frakke...see what i mean? lifting heavy does raise the heart rate a bit more than usual, so technically you are also doing cardio at the same time you are lifting...this will no only help you at the track, but when you see yourself adding just a few more pounds of muscle and getting a little more ripped, it also adds some confidence on and off the track. everything is a state of mind...with confidence and self asteem...you can do anything!

[Frakke]

In the beginning I had my doubts but since I did the training today I'm convinced. You know you're stuff Shift, I could advise this to everyone, it works!!!

[Dell30rb]

I dont eat much on race day. I try to down food in the morning before heading out, but waking up at 5 am throws the senses off and I just cant eat. Pancakes taste like sandpaper then.

Usually I will bring a bananna to munch on during the drive to the track. After i get there i usually force myself to eat a granola bar before practice.

After practice I try to eat another granola bar, and down some water. Water is the only thing I drink on race day, coke will upset your stomach and make you burp your way around the track.

There is usually a 1.5 - 2hr gap between motos, so after moto 1 i am usually feeling hungry and down a sandwich of some sort, with a chaser of water.


The rule i follow is an hour of digestion for something large like a sandwich, and about 20 mins of digestion before riding for a granola bar or something small. When you drink water, try to have it in sips and not guzzle the whole thing at once. That will upset your stomach and make you burp your way around the track (like coke).

[Frakke]

What is a GRANOLAbar, I think it's something like a VITALINEA bar uphere but I'm not sure. Is this a cereal thing or something eelse?

[Woody_393]

Ok, some info that I got from my brother in law. He's a road biker, but the info is valid none the less.

He said, that really anything cardio wise that gets your heart (for training that is) rate above 145 is no more effective for increasing your cardio strength. Not that it still isn't good, but you don't benefit any more from it.

As far as drinking. The body (generally speaking) can only absorbe (I think anyway... It's a little fuzzy) 1/2 cup of water every 15 min. So anything more then that over that 15 min time frame isn't helping you. The idea of sipping is a good one.

Also, something Yardpro393 mentioned in another thread, that warm water is actually better for cooling down a warm body then a cold drink. I don't recall why, so maybe he'll post his thoughts on this.

[04whyzee]

I treat any riding day like a race day. I'll get up about 8 or 9 and eat some Raisin Bran and have a tall glass of orange juice. Then I load up and head out to the track. Before my first practice session I try to drink about 1 cup of water. Then I will drink 1 cup o fwater in between practice sessions. After the second or third practice session I will eat a 6" Subway Sandwich, wheat bread, roast beef, turkey, ham, lettuce, pickle, honey mustard sauce, a little salt and pepper. I usually take a good 30 minute break after I eat my sandwich. This gives me energy to ride the rest of the day without "crashing" from too much carbs. I've been following this routine since I was 13 years old and it has always worked well for me. Sometimes I will subsitute Gatorade for water when I eat my sandwich since it washes it down a bit better. Wheat bread has lots of carbs. I try to avoid white bread b/c it doesn't really digest, instead it just balls up in your stomach and absorbs anythign else you drink.

[Shifting]

Bananas! I don't know why but we (Faded and myself) always eat bananas and it keeps the arm pump away. I can tell within 20-30 minutes of riding if I don't eat a banana. I was told it has to do with the potassium but I don't really know. I recommend it.

[Keetoman393]

Actually the white bread has empty calories and is burned too fast to do much good.

This is taken from a book I have:

"Be careful of the intake of carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, the ones which can push glucose into the blood quickly. Those are the ones which spur insulin production the most; therefore, they're little more than body-fat synthesisers and bad-eicosanoid maximisers, as Sears tells it. And that means that grains, breads, and pasta, the carbs preferred by many weight-conscious people and the carbs which have a high glycaemic index, are the ones which are most dangerous. Throw out those pasta machines! Other popular carbos, including corn, potatoes, papayas, mangos, bananas (!), carrots, and fruit juices are also very 'bad' because of their high glycemic index."

On hydration, you really need to be hydrating yourself properly all the time. Do not try to drink gallons of water the night before. There was a lady that actually died from doing that at the 2002 New York marathon. I forgot what the reaction is called but it basically dilutes the sodium in the body to the point that your brain will swell. The maximum amount of water that an athlete can tolerate is between 600-1200 ml per hour depending on body mass and the amount of exertion.

I'd like to say I follow this regimine but I can't My diet on race day may consisit of a chicken sandwich with some fruit, some tuna and a V8. So far it's worked for me but I am getting deeper into proper nutrition. This is not to say I wont occasionally indulge myself some of the "bad stuff"

[Shifting]

Originally posted by Keetoman393
Throw out those pasta machines! Other popular carbos, including corn, potatoes, papayas, mangos, bananas (!), carrots, and fruit juices are also very 'bad' because of their high glycemic index."

I can feel a difference with the bananas, so, anyone else have any good ideas about armpump and how to avoid it? This is my weak link when it comes to riding.

[Keetoman393]

I eat bananas myself so I go with it! That was just a quote from my book.

[Shifting]

Great, I would hate to change one of my habits from years of riding. I wear the same underwear everytime I ride! Kept me safe so far, just smells kinda funny. j/k

[Keetoman393]

LMAO, that's just not right man!

[psyklone393]

shifting --> well if that underwear thing works for you, there's no sense in ending the streak! yes ... pun intended.

bananas work good for me as well when it comes to preventing muscle cramping in general. i was told the same thing about potassium when i was in junior high and started eating bananas before i'd play basketball and in the breaks between games and every time i do that to this day my legs don't cramp up.