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  • Amateur MTB Marathon: It's not all about the Pasta

  • Cyclist No.1 nutritionist Jamie Richards looks into the prevalence of the high-carb diet in sports science and how there is a time and a place for it

Words by Jamie Richards, Photo by Gary Lake - posted 10/03/2009

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Amateur MTB Marathon: It's not all about the Pasta

Conventional sports science tells us that a high carbohydrate rich diet is the way to go for endurance events. Carbohydrates in the form of glycogen stored in our muscles are our main source of fuel so we should eat a 60-70% carbohydrate rich diet. This is true to a certain extent but like many trends of our time we have taken it to the extreme. Eating carbohydrates all day long is overkill.

For the kind of endurance event that Gary is undertaking you really need to be a lean, mean, fat burning machine. A metabolic animal that responds well to changing circumstances and changing demands. Not someone who’s over reliant on carbohydrates to ensure they survive.

Nutritional demands

Endurance exercise puts a huge strain on the body causing cellular/muscular damage, free radical production, the depletion of essential nutrients and the breakdown of muscle tissue. Food is our way of dealing with this catabolic process but the refined grains, sugars and processed foods that we typically see in a carbohydrate rich diet just aren’t able to address these issues.

The time when we can see a true benefit from carbohydrate rich foods is immediately before and after exercise. Immediately before exercise we need to ensure optimum levels of glycogen stores and immediately afterwards we are metabolically primed to replenish them. This post exercise window of around 30-45 minutes is the time to get those fast releasing carbs into the system.

Add a little protein, especially those containing branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) to help repair and reverse the breakdown of muscle following exercise and you have a proven way of reducing recovery time. This also allows you to train harder for longer.

Many people find solid food difficult to tolerate during this time so if you can’t handle a double peanut butter and jam sandwich, a bowl of pasta with tuna or a couple of energy bars, use a recovery drink. Ideally it should contain a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein and no artificial flavourings or sweeteners (more about that another time). I’ll be providing a recipe for home made recovery drinks during another article.

Race day

I’m going to jump ahead of myself to race day foods because if you are thinking what food to eat on the day of the race then you have left it way too late. Most races don’t start on your doorstep so pre race meals are often dictated by what’s available at the time unless you plan ahead and prepare for all eventualities.

Good planning will ensure that you have replicated your race day routine during your training. More races have been ruined by poor nutritional planning than anything else. Turning up at the local Spa shop 3 hours before an event and hoping to find something to eat is just asking for trouble.

Do your research on the area and find out what’s available or take your own food with you. Whatever you do, make sure you have tried it in training. My simplest suggestion for a pre race meal is to take a jar of unsweetened apple sauce and some protein powder with you. Mix them together about 2 hours before the start and this should get you to the start line fuelled and ready to go.

If cooked food is available then scrambled eggs on toast followed by a couple of bananas will do the trick. Whatever you do, practice it beforehand, work out the timing and stick to it on race day.

What next

We’ll take a close look at how best to start your day with a good breakfast, and also what to eat during those long training rides.

Jamie Richards - Nutritional Contributor

Jamie RichardsJamie runs a private nutritional practice based in Bristol and has clients throughout Europe.

He analyses and revises diets for his clients, and uses the most up to date nutritional supplements to help keep competing athletes and weekend warriors free from illness and injury. Training and competition stresses the body and depletes us of essential nutrients. How and when to replace these nutrients is the key to training longer and staying fit and injury free.

He also runs lectures, seminars, workshops and classes on a wide range of topics from female health to preparing for your first marathon. Jamie joins Cyclist No.1 as our expert nutritionist.

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