Wicklow 200 TIME TO FUEL UP

Bikerbhoy

Sorry to not put this on the existing Wicklow 200 Thread but as its such an important topic I thought it would be benifical to all, to have this as a separate thread.

With the big day literally only hours away I was wondering if the more knowledgeable participants amongst us could shed a bit of light on what would be wise eating habits over the coming days in order to be as fueled up as possible on the day.

and possible suggestions of items to eat on the day during the event would be more than welcomed also...cheers

thanks in advance ........ AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL

Ryaner

I'm increasing my portion sizes and on Friday/Saturday I'll be adding in some extra protein and carbs.

Once you eat consistently on the day and don't push too hard, preloading shouldn't be an issue or even affect anything. I'm only doing it since I'm normally slightly below my caloric needs.

Also, making sure to tailor sleep coming up to it will make a huge difference. I'm up at 4am to cycle across for 6am.

blorg

I'm eating completely as normally, I might have a slightly larger dinner than normal (slightly, nothing crazy) on Saturday night and have a bit more than what I normally eat for breakfast on Sunday (I am normally a quite light breakfaster mind.)

To an extent I am relatively used to the distances involved but I am not sure that loading up in the DAYS coming up to the event is particularly necessary for most people doing this. It is not a race and I suspect most people doing it are (1) not ultra-skinny athletes without a decent store of body fat that have to store and (2) are going to be at a pace where fat is providing most of the fuel.

On the day itself I plan to try to take on most of my food in the form of sandwiches at the controls and not eat that much on the bike although I will keep an eye on that also. I'll probably bite into my first Nutrigrain bar around the 1h45-2h15 mark. After that I'll keep an eye on the time and take a bite every 30-45 mins or so. I will go one bottle energy drink, one water which will help with the ongoing fuel intake.

Sleep is certainly important as Ryaner says but where are you coming from that you are getting up at 4am? That would seem a bit extreme and potentially counterproductive to me (mind I am not an early riser.) I'll be getting up around 6:15 to get over for 6:45 I reckon.

Note all of this is what works for me, I am not offering it as advice to other people.

Gavin

blorg wrote: »

I'll be getting up around 6:15 to get over for 6:45 I reckon.

But actually arrive for 7:15

Lumen

Gavin wrote: »

But actually arrive for 7:15

Not sure who's old enough to remember this, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsrfovOPcjk

Emty called when he got the word,
He said: "I suppose you've heard -
About Blorg".
Well I'd rushed to Dundrum Luas,
And I'd looked under the bridge,
But I could hardly believe my eyes -
Lots of other cylists rolled up, but no sign of Blorg
Perhaps no surprise...

Oh, I don't know when he left,
Or where he's gonna show,
I guess he's got his reasons,
But I just don't want to know,
'Cos for twenty-four minutes
I've been waiting around for Blorg.
Blorg, where the **** is Blorg!

blorg

In fairness I don't want people waiting for me, I generally just follow and catch up. For this I want to be on time for the group photo- with the general consensus of "7am" on the spreadsheet, I wonder is that "turn up at UCD time" or "leaving UCD to start time."

TinyExplosions

blorg wrote: »

In fairness I don't want people waiting for me, I generally just follow and catch up. For this I want to be on time for the group photo- with the general consensus of "7am" on the spreadsheet, I wonder is that "turn up at UCD time" or "leaving UCD to start time."

Leaving UCD to start time

DirkVoodoo

I plan on upping my food intake thursday, friday and saturday. Pasta and lean meat, plenty of milk.

Breakfast on the day will be porridge, glass of OJ, some toast and a cup of tea.

Food on the bike will be 1.5L of fluid, a banana, some nutrigrains, some jellies and these gels I bought purely because I bought them to try them out.

I don't have many fat reserves but I have noticed a big personal improvement in loading up the night before.

And obviously a good night's sleep.

I'm actually not really that fussed about the cycle, I think it's going to be a great day and I am looking forward to putting a lot more faces to names and then the mandatory beers the following week.

Raam

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

then the mandatory beers the following week.

Mebbe stick a post up about that?

DirkVoodoo

Raam wrote: »

Mebbe stick a post up about that?

I would, but I'm afraid that it will end up like my midweek spins and no one will reply

Also I can't remember what day we decided, was it the saturday in the church?

blorg

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Leaving UCD to start time

What is the thinking regarding arriving in UCD for group photo and to register time then? Would 6:45 do it (if it was _really_ 6:45 ) or are people thinking earlier?

DirkVoodoo

blorg wrote: »

What is the thinking regarding arriving in UCD for group photo and to register time then? Would 6:45 do it (if it was _really_ 6:45 ) or are people thinking earlier?

I think 6:45 for photo on the steps of UCD sports center is best idea. People can either arrive earlier to register or do it afterwards, then try and roll out around 7 am.

We still need a photographer with one of them fancy SLR-yokies.

Ryaner

blorg wrote: »

Sleep is certainly important as Ryaner says but where are you coming from that you are getting up at 4am? That would seem a bit extreme and potentially counterproductive to me (mind I am not an early riser.) I'll be getting up around 6:15 to get over for 6:45 I reckon.

I'm coming from Finglas. It'll take an 45min to an hour on the bike to get to UCD at a nice slowish pace. Aiming to get out as early as they'll let me as I'm slow on the hills and since I'm gonna go for the 200, I'll need all the time possible from what I'm hearing about Shay Elliott and Slieve Mann.

interested

Bikerbhoy wrote: »

With the big day literally only hours away I was wondering if the more knowledgeable participants amongst us could shed a bit of light on what would be wise eating habits over the coming days in order to be as fueled up as possible on the day.

Lots of good advice already - nutrition and eating habits are a personal thing and should be tried before hand.

Things you might consider:
- if you dont take additional salt in your diet and are likely to sweat buckets this sunday then add some salt to your food over the next day or two. Also, get some diarolite (any chemist) and take one before and/or during the ride.
- if you can steer clear of fatty foods over the next few days and take an extra portion of pasta or rice it'll help build up your stores.
- have your normal pre-ride brekie on sunday
- bring spare cash in case theres a food / drinks shortage along the route

Personally I tend to eat fish with pasta a lot for the week before an event and typically take a carbo loaded drink the night before.

Post ride: with an hour or so of finishing I'll take a recovery drink if I have one or Strawberry Yazoo if I dont. If you can stay clear of fatty / greasy foods again for 24 hours or so it may give your body time to recover.

As somone else mentioned - enjoy it - its definitely not a race - and it'll be a whole lot more fun if youre still spinning away chatting coming in from Enniskerry.

blorg

Ryaner wrote: »

I'm coming from Finglas. It'll take an 45min to an hour on the bike to get to UCD at a nice slowish pace. Aiming to get out as early as they'll let me as I'm slow on the hills and since I'm gonna go for the 200, I'll need all the time possible from what I'm hearing about Shay Elliott and Slieve Mann.

Fair enough, good luck to you, you are adding a fair few kms on top cycling from Finglas.

kenmc

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I think 6:45 for photo on the steps of UCD sports center is best idea. People can either arrive earlier to register or do it afterwards, then try and roll out around 7 am.

We still need a photographer with one of them fancy SLR-yokies.

Don't forget that as soon as you register the clock on the official end timesheets is ticking. You can try justify your times all you like with excuses such as "Well I registered early at 6, then hung around helping people with punctures, taking pictures, then headed off at around 10:30 am, when all the folks were tended to, and I got back at 6pm, so it only took me 7.5 hours"; the spreadsheet will say 12 hours and it don't lie.

kenmc

interested wrote: »

If you can stay clear of fatty / greasy foods again for 24 hours or so it may give your body time to recover.

Someone should tell the organizers that; there's burgers and chips at the end in UCD

Nietzschean

kenmc wrote: »

Don't forget that as soon as you register the clock on the official end timesheets is ticking. You can try justify your times all you like with excuses such as "Well I registered early at 6, then hung around helping people with punctures, taking pictures, then headed off at around 10:30 am, when all the folks were tended to, and I got back at 6pm, so it only took me 7.5 hours"; the spreadsheet will say 12 hours and it don't lie.

so when is everyone other than blorg planning on being there ? 6:40 ish? or reg before pictures? big queue around the 7 mark last year?

kenmc

they're talking about an outside reg this time, to make it faster. was a bottleneck in the sports centre last year.
Oh, for anyone driving over; the Clonskeagh Gate of UCD is not always open early - last year I think it was closed at 6:30 but there's a pedestrian gate that you can go through with your bike.

Caroline_ie

WW200 ... ok it's not even 200KM, so far this year most of us have done +20 centuries. I am kind of worried about how long it will take me to complete but the special preparation thing? is it really necessary?
i won't eat too much the saturday as in, no heavy fatty food, nice and healthy to avoid discomfort the next day, No alcohol, no fizzy drinks, No crazy fxie spin on the saturday, no late night, a bit of yoga, plenty of fluid, shops to get the best snacks, but other that ... no preparation...

kenmc

Caroline_ie wrote: »

...No alcohol, no fizzy drinks...

It's best not to try out new dietry changes the night before an event!!!!! Stick with tried and trusted.

DARKIZE

Re getting a good night's sleep on Saturday........actually there is some research to suggest that "the night before the night before" is more important. So get your 8 hours in Friday night as well, and no ehhhhhhh...how can I put this delicately.....physical exertions in the bedroom.

Kitchen is fine though.

Caroline_ie

kenmc wrote: »

It's best not to try out new dietry changes the night before an event!!!!! Stick with tried and trusted.

I have a very low alcohol threshold when it come to alcohol consumption ... so I shall keep in intake to 0.0ml ... I might have tea though. Tea is safe ...

Raam

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I have a very low alcohol threshold when it come to alcohol consumption ... so I shall keep in intake to 0.0ml ... I might have tea though. Tea is safe ...

I can confirm that some random Italian Rosé from Lidl @ 4% doesn't do a whole lot of damage. I drank pretty much the whole bottle last night with no damage. Only €2.49 too!

ROK ON

I am going to make a nice big bowl of creamy mash potato for my diner the night before and some grilled chicken, that or a nice risotto.

As for stay clear of greasy foods for 24 hours after the event - are you completely mad. After the event I am going to eat everything that is not nailed down. Pizza, steak and maybe a late night thai curry or at the very least some satays. Bucket loads of coke and a few nice bottles of Staropramen.

Chips Lovell

I had a big plate of carbonara and about four hours sleep before the last W200. I did fine.

Have to work on Saturday this year. Hopefully I'll get out of there at some sort of reasonable hour.

Nietzschean

Caroline_ie wrote: »

WW200 ... ok it's not even 200KM, so far this year most of us have done +20 centuries. I am kind of worried about how long it will take me to complete but the special preparation thing? is it really necessary?

No i'd say its not necessary at all for those who have done +20 centuries this year, but quite a few noobs here whom this will be a challange(like me!). So we are probably just being nervous ninnies, but what harm can excessive pre-prep do ?

Caroline_ie

Nietzschean wrote: »

out of the ~40 - 50 odd boardsies doing the W200 how many of them have completed +5 centuries? or have ever done 192km? ...

i've completed 13 Centuries in 2009, the longest one being 172km this year ... which is utter crap compared to Blorg or Scott or emty...

Nietzschean

Caroline_ie wrote: »

i've completed 13 Centuries in 2009, the longest one being 172km this year ... which is utter crap compared to Blorg or Scott or emty...

my whole thing was phrased horribly(hence the edit), but my point is compared to uhh people like me, you might aswell be a pro

interested

ROK ON wrote: »

I am going to make a nice big bowl of creamy mash potato for my diner the night before and some grilled chicken, that or a nice risotto.

As for stay clear of greasy foods for 24 hours after the event - are you completely mad. After the event I am going to eat everything that is not nailed down. Pizza, steak and maybe a late night thai curry or at the very least some satays. Bucket loads of coke and a few nice bottles of Staropramen.

My comment re: avoid greasy foods after the event
Is based on my own preferences and objectives for the summer. I dabble with triathlons and am training to go long this year (so, I guess the answer about be mad is obvious;)). I'll need to be in state after the 200 where I can happily swim the next morning and continue with training.

If you're not training then eat,drink and be merry !

Caroline_ie

Nietzschean wrote: »

my whole thing was phrased horribly(hence the edit), but my point is compared to uhh people like me, you might aswell be a pro

... argh ... i didn't mean it that way ... if anything ... if I managed, anyone can. I'm absolutely crap at hills ...

ROK ON

Caroline_ie wrote: »

i've completed 13 Centuries in 2009, the longest one being 172km this year ... which is utter crap compared to Blorg or Scott or emty...

I have to say that I am between two stools on this. Half of meis casual, in that I have 16 centuries (but longest is 150km). Also have done a max climbing of 2300 in one day. I have done all of the climbs on this course.

Then half of me is nervous, not really sure why. But after 6/7 hours in the saddle I can get very very bored and disinterested, particularly if the climbs and descents are behind me and it is just rolling road home. I think I am allowing the event get to me. Blorgs motto of its only another Saturday spin is a good one I think.

Limestone1

kenmc wrote: »

Don't forget that as soon as you register the clock on the official end timesheets is ticking. You can try justify your times all you like with excuses such as "Well I registered early at 6, then hung around helping people with punctures, taking pictures, then headed off at around 10:30 am, when all the folks were tended to, and I got back at 6pm, so it only took me 7.5 hours"; the spreadsheet will say 12 hours and it don't lie.

Don't expect too much from the official timesheets, if they are anything like last year - they missed loads of peoples times. On mine they had my clocking out time in the morning and nothing else - despite queuing up for 5-10mins at the two stops and the finish.

ROK ON

I think that the regular boardsies used to the 10am spin could suffer with the early start:D.

Lumen and I have put in a few crazy early starts, that should now be a big benefit come Sunday morning.

Nietzschean

ROK ON wrote: »

Then half of me is nervous, not really sure why. But after 6/7 hours in the saddle I can get very very bored and disinterested, particularly if the climbs and descents are behind me and it is just rolling road home.

I've found that when out by myself, but in a group not so much an issue, can always see who has the legs for a sprint to the finish!

blorg

Even for people not used to the distances though- probably not a good idea to absolutely stuff yourself for three days prior to the event, or indeed try anything radically different to what you are used to during the event itself.

Get good rest prior, don't go on a bender Saturday night, two bottles on the bike, salt in your water, carry more food than you think you need on the day (tip about cash in case is a good one, I would not rely on the organisers.) I don't tend eat a lot on the bike myself but I always make sure I have food on me in case and eat before I need to.

Apart from that you are best off treating the ride like you did your last 150km/100km one or whatever, don't try anything new on the day itself or you could end up making yourself ill.

interested

ROK ON wrote: »

I have to say that I am between two stools on this. Half of meis casual, in that I have 16 centuries (but longest is 150km). Also have done a max climbing of 2300 in one day. I have done all of the climbs on this course.

Then half of me is nervous, not really sure why. But after 6/7 hours in the saddle I can get very very bored and disinterested, particularly if the climbs and descents are behind me and it is just rolling road home. I think I am allowing the event get to me. Blorgs motto of its only another Saturday spin is a good one I think.

Based on your previous posts and the climbs you've taken in you'll have no bother. The thing about the 200 is that after 6/7 hours out you'll still be meeting people along the way. The atmosphere is very different that a solo ride of that length.

Its good to be nervous about anything imho It makes rolling back into UCD much more satisfying.

tunney

Its 190km - slap on your 23-11, your 55 and bring a second bottle of water

interested

tunney wrote: »

Its 190km - slap on your 23-11, your 55 and bring a second bottle of water

2 bottles of water ? Your coach must be slipping Tunney Are you planning to stop at the checkpoints champ ?

Raam

interested wrote: »

2 bottles of water ? Your coach must be slipping Tunney Are you planning to stop at the checkpoints champ ?

The checkpoints will stop at Tunney, not the other way round.

Chips Lovell

People should bear in mind that your body can only store a certain amount sugars and anything above that will just be converted to fat. So stuff your face for days beforehand can be counterproductive.

Blorg's advice is very good, i.e. don't make any big change to your routine. A good dinner and breakfast are key and then after that make sure you keep eating on the bike.

tunney

interested wrote: »

2 bottles of water ? Your coach must be slipping Tunney Are you planning to stop at the checkpoints champ ?

Don't even know if I am doing it yet. 180km TT Saturday and a run. If I'm screwed or if its pissing I'll only do the 100

ROK ON

tunney wrote: »

Don't even know if I am doing it yet. 180km TT Saturday and a run. If I'm screwed or if its pissing I'll only do the 100

Wimp.

Even if you only do the 100, I presume that you will make an appearance for the Boards group photo;). Go on, you know you secretly want to.
Your a fred like the rest of us.

Chips Lovell

ROK ON wrote: »

I presume that you will make an appearance for the Boards group photo;). Go on, you know you secretly want to.

We can then photoshop boards kit on to him.

Ghost Rider

Someone used the expression "between two stools" but what if you find yourself, um, not actually between stools during the event? Are there likely to be any porta-loos at any of the checkpoints/water stops?

I suppose what I'm asking is: are we expected to "go LeMond"?*


* C.f. Paul Kimmage's account of Greg LeMond sh*tting on the bike during a TdF.

kenmc

Start training your body to go in the evening. you have 3 days. Go.

Chips Lovell

You know the handwringing has started when someone says: "but what if I need to poo???!!!"

Going by last year's experience, there will be jacks at UCD and the rest stops.

interested

tunney wrote: »

Don't even know if I am doing it yet. 180km TT Saturday and a run. If I'm screwed or if its pissing I'll only do the 100

Savage stuff. Spoke briefly with man-with-tan recently and he said you were flying. Must be close to your last full on week.
You hurtling about the 100km course on the Cervelo is bound to freak people out ... brilliant.