Pre Race Routines,Rituals,Advice

bunnygreen

Hi all,anyone care to share their pre race routines,food intake,rituals,just general stuff you might do and keep doing,be it in a club league race or something more serious.Personally i find a nice bowl of Spelt Pasta 3 hrs before a short race helps me just about hang on to bunch,until of course theres a serious climb involved.

ba

i often wondered myself. of course your winter training plays a big part of it.

the evening before i relax on the couch, drink lots of water, eat well, maybe some pasta.

while food is important, a good warmup cannot be underestimated, seriously, cos some races start incredibly fast. its my first season, so i have issues with big speeds.

and plenty of water, and dont be afraid to eat on the bike in a race. eating is not cheating.

and if i remember, stay outta the big gears. i have a junior block on my rear wheel, so it encourages me to spin more. but the downhills are tough!

smithslist

bunnygreen wrote: »

Personally i find a nice bowl of Spelt Pasta 3 hrs before a short race helps me just about hang on to bunch,until of course theres a serious climb involved.

dont think a bowl of pasta is the secret ingredient for hangin on....its all that long winter training that does it and diet commitment.....food\drink intake before or during a race can only help you up to a certain point...........

Quigs Snr

Pasta the night before. Nothing too solid to eat for 3 hours beforehand. Easy stuff like Chocolate Raisins or breakfast bars in the hours leading up. I like to get some caffeine into me too. Cereal / toast a couple of hours beforehand. I need a 5-10k warmup with a couple of 75%-85% 10 - 20 second bursts to get my heart started.

The start of a race is crucial. Even if you just want to hang on it's always painful until the break goes so you have to be willing and able to destroy yourself in the first 20k... usually it will be more settled after that. I don't think any food will help with that, as mentioned above you need to train for that. If you can survive that part of it and still be in the main bunch, nutrition becomes more important in the final stages.

crashoveroid

Well not everyone got a good winter i sure didnt due to being in hospital for two weeks and 3 months off the bike i have only been back on the bike abount 6 weeks and have no problem getting about in a race. My routine is always the same making sure i get 200 grams of carbs in me two days before the race and on race my fav pre race meal good old beans on toast. The main thing you need if you dont have the miles build strength.

ba

this morning i had porridge and jam on toast. when i reached stamullen, i warmed up for 20minutes. it was a fast warmup too. and i had drank about 3pints of water by then.

no complaints... cept for my sprint.

Quigs Snr

Today I did my usual ritual, checked my bike found the rear caliper was shot. Took out the brand new bike, never ridden, tried to get the fit right in the carpark before the race, not terribly well prepared, 2 miles in shooting pains up the back of the legs, race over. Bike fit all wrong and had to suffer the indignity of being dropped by every fred in Ireland or at least thats what it felt like.

Moral of the story ? Change nothing on race day if you can avoid it.

ba

sorry to hear quigs. i hate when that happens. sure two weeks ago, i left the house for a race, forgot my shoes!

anyways i clean my bikes after training/racing. helps me keep an eye on everything, tyres, chain, brakes, gears etc.

where did ya race, and on yer new cervelo was it?

Quigs Snr

Carrick. On the new bike, been going alright on the old one of late, slowly starting to come round again. Will take a few weeks to get used to this one, its a very, very different feel. For such a light frame its incredibly stiff, feels very twitchy. Will be a flier when I get used to it.

E@gle.

Quigs Snr wrote: »

of being dropped by every fred in Ireland or at least thats what it felt like.

spealing of Fred's they seem to be coming out of the woodwork lately for the sunshine.