Ask the Experts: Ben Greenfield on nutrition for riding a double century

Question: I have a double century on the bike on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. How should I eat to make sure I don't bonk?

Answer: Great question! The trick is to keep your body's energy reserves full without overeating and drawing too much blood away from your cycling muscles. So in the days leading up to the event (Wed, Thu and Fri) absolutely no skipped meals after workouts, and, if desired, a slightly greater amount of carbs post-workout, preferably in the form of  seeds, legumes or fruit.

Eat a slightly greater amount of carbs with dinner on Friday (i.e. A large side  of quinoa), but Saturday morning, it is not necessarily to carbo load with breakfast. You'll actually do better if you don't start fueling until about 30 minutes into the first ride. This will train your body to access fats for the long day - rather than relying on blood sugar. I would not give the same advice if you were "going hard", such as would be the case in a race, but on a double century, you'll likely be at 50-60% intensity for the better part of 200 miles.

From the start of the first ride, depending on your size, you could try to follow a simple rule: consume 100-150 calories every 30 minutes, which you can average out at aid stations if you like (i.e. If you only hit an aid station every 1 hour, then you could do 200-300 calories at each aid station). Take in at least 1 bottle of water per hour, but no more than 2.

Post-ride on the first day, consume 400-600 calories, with at least 200 calories of that from protein. For the next 3 hours after that, eat a 150-250 calorie snack each hour each with at least 50 calories of protein. Also consume 1 water bottle per hour for at least 3 hours after the first ride.

Post-ride day 1 sample:

Large potato with caesar salad and chicken breast immediately after ride.
1 hour later: tablespoon almond butter and apple
1 hour later: 5 tablespoons yogurt with raisins
1 hour later: 1/2 dark chocolate bar with handful cashews

The next day, you pretty much do the same thing! If you wake up hungry, however, top off your energy reserves with 200-300 calories of a pure carbohydrate, like oatmeal, before setting out. Good luck, and if you like this type of advice, be sure to check out my brand new endurance nutrition book over at http://www.mindsettriathlon.com: "Holistic Fueling for Ironman Triathletes."

Ben Greenfield
MS, CPT, CSCS, CISSN
President, Pacific Elite Fitness
Director of Sports Performance, Champions Sports Medicine
http://www.pacificfit.net/bengreenfield.html
http://www.champsportsmed.com

Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. The views expressed here are the opinions of the experts and as such do not represent the official position of TrainingPeaks. Read on to learn more about the expert, and submit a question of your own below!

About the expert:

Ben Greenfield is recognized as one of the top fitness, triathlon, nutrition and metabolism experts in the nation. In 2008, he was voted as the Personal Trainer of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, an internationally recognized and respected certifying agency. Ben is Director of Sports Performance and oversees the physiology and biomechanics laboratory at Champions Sports Medicine in Spokane, WA, which offers metabolic-based weight loss, bicycle fitting, running gait analysis, swim stroke analysis, VO2 max testing, blood lactate testing, resting metabolic rate analysis, and other cutting-edge procedures for weight loss and performance.

Ben hosts the highly popular fitness, nutrition and wellness website at www.bengreenfieldfitness.com, which features blogs, podcasts, and product reviews from Ben. In addition to coaching and training for weight loss and sports performance at http://www.pacificfit.net, Ben serves as a business and marketing consultant to fitness professionals, and is the host of a weekly syndicated fitness business blog and podcast at http://www.trainfortopdollar.com. E-mail: ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com

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