1/2 through a race, what to eat?

[stillflabby]

Some friends of mine are trying to talk me into entering a race.
It's a mountain bike race and everyone will have "hammer gels" and stuff with them to keep energy up. Hammer Gel Info

I'm wondering, if I were to enter the race, what sort of thing could I consume 1/2 through the race to keep energy levels up.

We are talking about a 1.5 - 2 hours of racing.

I was thinking maybe I could mix up some amino acid shooters to drink before and 1/2 way through. Or maybe a small PWO type shake.

Any suggestions?

I've still not decided if I'm going to race or not, I'm just not very competetive in that respect.

[ryancostill]

I would go with a basic 6% CHO solution with some added sodium.

From my knowledge, essential amino acid supplementation has not been shown to increase endurance exercise performance.

[psaturn]

You are right RyanCostill.

When you are doing an endurance type activities, what you need is ready carbs....body need glucose to keep up with all that strenuous activity.

[miker44]

i read an article about taking BCAA before/during endurance training and yes there are scientific references but i dont want to post them all lol, but check this....."Those same Swedish researchers took seven endurance-trained cyclists, and had them peddle to exhaustion on exercise bikes on a weekday night, before having them peddle again the next morning. the successive training sessions were designed to deplete their glycogen, the stored energy source in their muscles. That next morning, some of the cyclists were given BCAAs and others were given plain water. Every ten minutes during the eighty minute workout, they were asked to rate how hard they were exercising and how they felt. Those taking BCASS felt their exercise was not wearing their bodies out as much and they also felt less mental strain at exerting themselves. And when these exhausted cyclists were given written tests after peddling, the BCAA takers also perfformed better

[miker44]

i meant taking BCAA in addition to carbohydrates just in case any one thought i was suggesting to take them instead

How do you make sure the solution is 6%?

[stillflabby]

very interesting


so, i should just mix some dextrose in with some water and a bit of salt then?

6% solution I'm guessing?

So if I have 20 grams of dextrose, would that need to be mixed with about 330 mL water?

[jlands]

The amino acid shooters wouldn't be a good idea before. It says you have to drink it within 10minutes of mixing. I doubt it would hold up for an hour in the bottle.

[miker44]

if that post was referring to my post, i was not talking about the amino shooter....i was talking about a bcaa supplement in pill form to be taken during the race with simple carbohydrates