Long Distance Cycling Fuel

[scotthollo]

What should I eat while cycling 50-70 miles for 7 days straight? I will be cycling across Georgia in June 2003. Most rest stops have fruit and cookies. What can I take to maintain a low carb diet and still have enough energy to pedal for half the day?

Scott

[MaineDaddy]

Scott you raise an interesting question. I have been thinking about the same sort of question myself. I am slowly getting back into running shape and plan on running longer and longer distances, I am however still losing weight. I do not want to tip the scales in the wrong direction while keeping up my energy.

For now I am running without any extra carbs...but I expect I will get to a point where I will add some without risking any weight gain. When the time comes it will be just as important to choose the right carbs to add as how many. My gaol will be to fuel the machine rather than build up stores of carbs. As I have no set schedule for running a marathon I will be able to "experiment " with different levels of carbs during long runs.

If anyone has any direct experiance with this please step in and share.

Thanks

Good luck with the biking.

Shane

[kghamilton]

I just joined the forum and posted about long distance running...

I ran 3 marathons last year, loosely (very loosely at times) eating a Sugarbusters diet. When I was close to races, I would eat more carbs. I was not very strict about the diet, though I did lose 40-45 pounds.

I am trying to find the balance of being able to lose more weight (another 20) and conitnue to train for marathons.

What I have been doing the past few weeks is similar to what the people on the CKD do. I usually do my long runs on saturday morning (15-25 miles). I will eat more carbs Friday until shortly after the long run. I then go back to LC. Given my training I have cheated a fair amount, which is partly the reason I still need to lose 20 pounds. I am determined to find the right mix. My next marathon is Marhc 29th so I need to figure it out soon.
You'd think running 40+ miles a week, I shouldn't have a weight problem. Go figure.

[MaineDaddy]

You'd think running 40+ miles a week, I shouldn't have a weight problem. Go figure.


Kg- When I was running competitivly during college I always had some extra weight. I ran 60+ miles weekly. I could never understand why the last few pounds would'nt come off. Ten tears later I think I finaly have the answer. First I would gain weight in the off season and end up trying to lose it fast in the fall. I could always drop most of the extra weight by pushing the mileage and starving myself. Now I know that my body was predicting what I would try and It was holding onto some fat for reserves. The other problem was what I did eat for calories ws high in carbs. Every runner thinks they need extra carbs all the time. What they really need is to carbo-load before a long run or race, and to do that properly they need to deplete any carbs first so they don't just turn them all into fat.

It's been a long time without running but I am going to try to approach things from a different angle. This time arround I am losing the weight slowly and I'm not starving myself. I have added weight training to my workout...I was always afraid to do this because I wanted to lose every pound I could not gain. Now I know that building muscle will help me to burn the fat. I also know much more about carbs that I thought I did before. When the time comes that I start my long runs I will play with "Carbo-loading". I will do it before a long run and monitor ketones in stages after the run. My goal will be to fuel my running muscles enough only for the run and keep from storing extra carbs.

I have the benifit of time on my side now. I am not conforming to a team race schedule so I can take all the time I need to figure things out.

[kghamilton]

I think in response to Scott's original post, personally I would worry more about getting through the gruelling event and get the carb level up starting before the race. Once the race is done then go back to low carb.

Incidentally, my morning run yesterday was terrible. My evening run was better (hill training). I could only manage about 4 miles this evening. I'll definitely need to bring up the carbs before my next hard workout. I cut the carbs last saturday after my long run (23 miles). Usually when I'm training I eat a lower carb diet than most runners (no pasta, bread, potatoes) but I eat whole wheat crackers and drink orange/grapefruit juice as well as skim milk.