hutsunuwu

In 2 weeks I will be racing for the first time. Training wise I think I have a good idea of what I need to do to get prepared but I am not sure how to eat properly leading up to the race and was wondering what kind of tips or suggestions you guys might have.Do you like to have a set meal plan leading up to a race or do you just try to eat a little better that week and not put a big emphasis on eating habits? Im not necessarily looking to lose more weight I just want to maximize my power and speed by fueling up correctly.

Homebrew01

How long is the race ? What time of day ? What & when you eat the day before and race day can be important, but don't worry too much before that, assuming you're already eating properly. Being rested is more important.

ericm979

Eating is really critical for me. If I don't get it right I suffer. I take care to come to the start with an appropriate amount of calories for the race length. Shorter more intense races mean a slightly emptier stomach than I'd want for a long race. I usually try to eat 3 hours before the race. If it's a 3 hour drive I'll eat breakfast and have a snack an hour or so before the race to top up.

Dinner the night before should be healthy and a normal amount. I don't think that carb loading is worth doing.

veloboy971

Just eat what you normally do. Many riders eat way more than they need on a ride/race.

botto 

this.

carpediemracing 

Don't radically change your diet either, you'll end up sitting in a portalet while your race is starting.

Also what you eat for the two days before really fuels you up. When I was dieting severely it took me a good 3 days of eating more carbs to feel good on the bike.

I eat normal stuff, carbs (rice/pasta), meat (meat sauce, chicken, whatever), drink some (water, Coke, coffee), and, before the race, I usually need something an hour or so before. I seem to eat every 3-4 hours normally so I usually have something around just in case. Closer to the event the more likely I'll crave sugary stuff.

I trust my body so if I crave something I usually give in to it.

When I raced at Red Trolley I had NOW bars, powerbars, gels, some other stuff, but I really wanted a little taco or something. So I split a two taco order with a friend, had a Pepsi/Coke with it (sugar, fluids). Really hit the spot, and I was racing about an hour later.

I do have a cast iron stomach so take my advice with a grain of salt. Before a really, really hard race in really hot and humid conditions, I had a couple hotdogs (from a street cart guy) and a large Coke. This was TEN MINUTES before the start. I barely had time to swallow everything before we lined up. I managed to drop both water bottles in the first two laps so raced in about 90 deg weather, 90% humidity, for something like 25-30 miles with no water. My teammate got sick (he ate the same stuff I did) and dropped out. On the last lap I watched a collegiate teammate of mine jump really early, thought "hey, Stephen's going to win!" and then realized, "Oh, wait, we're not teammates now". I jumped hard, caught him at the line, but he won the bike throw.

ridethecliche

Keep shiet simple