LONG DISTANCE
This ride will definitely cause you to bonk if you don't replace carbohydrates, so snacking on the bike is essential. As intensity increases above 60% VO2 max., it becomes more important to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-ride interval to avoid GI distress. If this is really planned as a slow, long training ride, that is not as important. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hours before this ride helps "top off the tank" so to speak in terms of muscle glycogen stores.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 70-80 % Calories from carbohydrates; at least 600 grams per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride
4 hours prior - if the intensity is moderate, eating during this interval is OK, but avoid fatty foods and eat at least 2 hours before the ride. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hour pre-ride is recommended if possible
4 minutes prior - nothing special
during the ride - regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night after the ride. fluids - one water bottle per hour, perhaps a bit more in hot weather
An example of the ultimate long distance event is the Paris-Brest-Paris ride. Here is a question from a reader that provides a good example of how to analyze the challenges of a ride.Q. I have been doing a type of riding called randonneuring (200km to 1200km, moderately-paced bicycle events) and would like to know how I can use heart rate or perceived exertion information to improve my training. The pace of brevets is only an average of 9.5 mph in order to get under the time cut off, but the clock continually runs (flats, eating, resting, etc). Effort at the 600k, 1000k and 1200k distances becomes a challenge. Since these distances are not reasonable training distances, how can/should one use some science to improve chances of successful completion? By the way, the time limit for a 1200k brevet is 90 hours.) M.G.
A. I amgoing to keep this very high level:
PBP is the ultimate endurance event. So cardiovascular training is not the issue. You are probably riding at 50 - 60 % VO2max most of the time and thus are burning a fair amount of fat calories as opposed to sprint type events.No need to worry about intervals.
Nutrition will be important - you have to focus on eating as many Calories as you are using per hour - and maintaining good hydration.
This will really be more of a musculoskeletal challenges - being on the bike for a long period of time - which means body conditioning, not heart conditioning will be the tougher part.
And of course the psychologic component - having faith in your abilities - will be a key factor in your success.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 70-80 % Calories from carbohydrates; at least 600 grams per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride
4 hours prior - if the intensity is moderate, eating during this interval is OK, but avoid fatty foods and eat at least 2 hours before the ride. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hour pre-ride is recommended if possible
4 minutes prior - nothing special
during the ride - regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night after the ride. fluids - one water bottle per hour, perhaps a bit more in hot weather
An example of the ultimate long distance event is the Paris-Brest-Paris ride. Here is a question from a reader that provides a good example of how to analyze the challenges of a ride.Q. I have been doing a type of riding called randonneuring (200km to 1200km, moderately-paced bicycle events) and would like to know how I can use heart rate or perceived exertion information to improve my training. The pace of brevets is only an average of 9.5 mph in order to get under the time cut off, but the clock continually runs (flats, eating, resting, etc). Effort at the 600k, 1000k and 1200k distances becomes a challenge. Since these distances are not reasonable training distances, how can/should one use some science to improve chances of successful completion? By the way, the time limit for a 1200k brevet is 90 hours.) M.G.
A. I amgoing to keep this very high level:
PBP is the ultimate endurance event. So cardiovascular training is not the issue. You are probably riding at 50 - 60 % VO2max most of the time and thus are burning a fair amount of fat calories as opposed to sprint type events.No need to worry about intervals.
Nutrition will be important - you have to focus on eating as many Calories as you are using per hour - and maintaining good hydration.
This will really be more of a musculoskeletal challenges - being on the bike for a long period of time - which means body conditioning, not heart conditioning will be the tougher part.
And of course the psychologic component - having faith in your abilities - will be a key factor in your success.
COMPETITIVE EVENT
This is what it's all about, and good nutrition and planning your eating strategy can make a difference. You will need a good carbohydrate base to maximize your muscle glycogen reserves. And you need to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-event interval to keep your stomach empty or you risk the GI distress that goes with exercising close to or above 100% VO2 max. You will also sweat more so fluid replacement needs to be watched. If this is a ride of less than 1 1/2 to 2 hours, there is no need to carbo supplement during the ride.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 60-70% Calories from carbohydrates; 600 grams of carbohydrate per day in the three days prior to the event
4 hours prior - don't eat in the 4 hours before this ride
4 minutes priorr - a candy bar, energy bar, or other carbohydrate snack is a good idea
during the ride - even for an event of 1 1/2 hours or less, a liquid carbohydrate supplement should be used. And if it's going to be longer, you will definitely need carbohydrate supplements (beginning regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks as soon as the event starts to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night to replace the muscle glycogen that was probably completely depleted during the event.
fluids - one water bottle per hour as an absolute minimum
4 days prior - balanced diet with 60-70% Calories from carbohydrates; 600 grams of carbohydrate per day in the three days prior to the event
4 hours prior - don't eat in the 4 hours before this ride
4 minutes priorr - a candy bar, energy bar, or other carbohydrate snack is a good idea
during the ride - even for an event of 1 1/2 hours or less, a liquid carbohydrate supplement should be used. And if it's going to be longer, you will definitely need carbohydrate supplements (beginning regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks as soon as the event starts to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night to replace the muscle glycogen that was probably completely depleted during the event.
fluids - one water bottle per hour as an absolute minimum
MULTI-DAY RIDE or BIKE TOUR
This ride is basically the same as the long training ride, but you need to be very careful to eat a high carbohydrate meal each evening or you will slowly become glycogen depleted and chronic fatigue will develop. If this is going to be a high intensity event on certain days, (intensity above 60% VO2 max.), it is important to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-ride interval to avoid GI distress. But on those long slow days, that's not an issue. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal each day 3 to 4 hours before the ride will maximize glycogen reserves. This is the dietary program most appropriate for a multi-day bike tour.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 60-70% Calories from carbohydrates; at least 600 grams per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride
4 hours prior - if the intensity is moderate, eating during this interval is OK, but avoid fatty foods and eat 2 hours before the ride. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hour pre ride is recommended.
4 minutes prior - nothing special
during the ride - regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night after the ride, and try to eat at least 600 grams of carbohydrate per day above and beyond that needed to replace the Calories burned on that day's ride.
fluids - one water bottle per hour, perhaps a bit more in hot weather
4 days prior - balanced diet with 60-70% Calories from carbohydrates; at least 600 grams per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride
4 hours prior - if the intensity is moderate, eating during this interval is OK, but avoid fatty foods and eat 2 hours before the ride. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hour pre ride is recommended.
4 minutes prior - nothing special
during the ride - regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night after the ride, and try to eat at least 600 grams of carbohydrate per day above and beyond that needed to replace the Calories burned on that day's ride.
fluids - one water bottle per hour, perhaps a bit more in hot weather
In order to understand how muscles are injured it is helpful to know how the muscle is made up. The muscle is surrounded by an outer sheath or covering. Inside this outer sheath are bundles of muscle fibres which are known as fasicles and are themselves surrounded by another inner sheath. If you looked at the bundles very closely you would just be able to see the individual muscle fibres. (The muscle fibres are made up of even smaller parts but a microscope is required to see them).