New Years resolutions have been set and many are embarking on their first century training program as a result! In order to maximize performance, it is essential to fuel yourself properly during training rides and racing, especially when you are riding longer than 2 hours. As a nutritionist, I have found that many cyclists tend to overestimate actually cycling energy expenditure, causing them to overeat during the day and gain unwanted weight during season. Furthermore, an overzealous calorie intake during training can trigger a multitude of stomach issues (e.g., nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, side stitches, sloshing) and ultimately diminish performance. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you determine your total calorie burn during training rides as well as your target calorie replacement needs after about 90-120 minutes of cycling. Happy riding trails!

Much of the research on aging and endurance performance suggests that there are physiological and nutritional changes that start occurring between the ages of 35 and 40 years that may limit endurance performance. Several master athletes complain of weight gain, slowed recovery time, nagging injuries, and diminished performance. Yet, many master athletes continue to conquer the running scene, beating their younger counterparts. Look at 42 year-old Yekaterina Podkopayeva, a female Russian distance runner who ran 1500 meters in less than 4 minutes. Or marathoner Jack Foster who conquered 26.2 miles in 2:19 at the age of 41. As simple as it may sound, peak performance for all ages relies on 2 factors: smart training and proper nutrition.

Most endurance athletes practice some form of carbo-loading on a daily basis as means to prevent glycogen depletion, aka “the wall” or “bonking”, during longer training bouts. Perhaps it is that pasta dinner the night prior to a big workout or a pancake breakfast after a long training run. However, a more regimented form of carbohydrate loading will help “supersaturate” our muscle cells with glycogen to levels 50-100% greater than baseline, thereby delaying or even eliminating that performance-declining “wall” during events that entail a moderate-to-high intensity for longer than 90 minutes.

Every athlete should know how to calculate their sweat rate in order to have a hydration target. The goal is to see exactly how much dehydration you incur during your workout and in turn, determine your hourly fluid replacement (how much you need to drink). When you are done with this sweat rate formula, you will have a hydration target that you can use in both training and racing.

I have been racing endurance events for a long time. Last week I was trying to remember the date of my first race, I think it was a duathlon in Columbus Ohio way back when Pyro pedals were the hot equipment. Late 80’s or early 90’s I think, I really cannot remember which. The only hard clues I have is  some finisher plaques from the Muncie Endurathon dating back to 1991. So it has been a while.

First of all, I hope that 2014 was a successful year for you – whether it was doing races or just staying fit!  What follows is an emphasis on not wasting the experiences you’ve had (and hopefully learned from) and I’ll offer some suggestions on what you can do to get ready for 2013 

I know that sounds like an obvious statement, but it is still hard to do in everyday life. Even when things are a bit chaotic, most of us seem to under estimate the effects of stress on the body. As athletes we look at our training, equipment, and nutrition in hopes of a faster race and improving our fitness level. However, the majority of us never consider our stress levels. As an athlete stress can hurt your performance in many ways including an increased heart rate and oxygen consumption. It can also harm your exercise efficiency and cause a workout or race to feel tougher than it actually should. Increased muscle tension and reduced leg turnover are also contributed to stress. 

For most endurance athletes, there comes a time each year when they are evaluating what is next on their calendar.  Many athletes choose to just continue down the path of race, race, race, race, then the weather gets cold, so they do marathons, half marathons, and more race, race, race.  At some point, the body is going to start to reject this mentality and regiment.  Overtraining can cause a deep level of fatigue that only rest and time away from the sport can cure.  This is where “offseason” comes into play.

Sweat Rate Testing. Most athletes this time of year find themselves measuring and analyzing things like VO2 Max, Lactic Threshold, etc. On the hydration side of this is Sweat Rate testing. Understanding the amount of fluids your body uses and loses on a per hour basis can give you a much better understanding of how many ounces of fluids you need to be replacing each of activity. Below is a great way to find what your sweat rate is.

After you have made some strength gains in the gym, the time is ideal to build sport specific power.  The goal is for the strength gained in the gym to translate into added swim, bike, and run power.  Here are some high resistance intervals you can do in the pool and on the roads to build strength and power for each of the three sports.  As these intervals involve explosive movements, you should be warmed up before beginning them to reduce the risk of injury.  The first time, just do one interval toward the end of your workout.  Assess your body’s response to the first interval to determine how many you will do the next time, and gradually increase the number of intervals.