CanadianBiker32

Ok i got myself confused on what to eat day of event. Such as if event is in morning or noon. Should one have a big breakfast. Yes i do have good meals, 48 hours prior and day before of good carbs etc.

Recently I just did a long XC ski race. i eat well day before. So morning of event. I thought you should also have good breakfast? i guess i was wrong.
this is what i ate 3.5 hours prior to the ski event, for breakfast
For morning of event.

1. Oatmeal.
2. orange juice
3. apple
4. 3 slices of toast - peanut butter
5. lots of water

this was around 8am with event starting at 11

on route to event around 10am on bus

1. part of granola, - harvest crunch
2. banana
3. water

That about it
however at stop of one rest station prior there was gatorade which i had and it was hot

otherwise nothing else odd here as most foods normal and was eating healthy days prior

So into the event about only about 13minutes into event of skiing. I got into a crisis. I got the "runs" I was forced to stop and jump into the bush and let it all go. and i was that way rest of the event,
probably one of my worst skis all year.

Now I have a few 100 mile mt bike events for in about 2 months i am doing

So please please give me an idea of what to eat the morning of event for a breakfast? as i do feel i should have something in the tummy, but am i eating too much? or too much fibre?

All the best suggestions on this?
Should i eat very little when event is in the morning for breakfast?

Spld cyclist

I would guess that your problem at the XC event was either coincidence (you happened to get sick right at that moment) or psychological. I don't see anything wrong with what you ate (assuming that's all normal food for you).

Carbonfiberboy 

I never eat oatmeal or granola before something like that. Same thing. Nothing like being in the middle of a large glacier . . . Worse than Saskatchewan. Many people can, some can't.

ftwelder

I eat the same type of thing as a regular day for my first meal. I don't eat again until that meal has digested completely and I have burped.

GeorgeBMac

Your body -- or more specifically, your body's gut flora (which do a lot of the work of digesting) need time to adjust to changes in diet... That can take days and often weeks for it to shift from say, a carnivore diet to an herbivore diet. And, while it is doing that you can get some strange, unexpected and unpleasant GI effects: bloating, gas, cramps, diarrhea...

You do not say if what you ate was much different from your normal diet, but your post sort of suggests that it was.
... If so, I would blame your GI problems more on the sudden change of diet rather than the diet itself.

Carbonfiberboy 

IMO the problem could be a combination of a sensitive digestive tract with a very high fiber food like oats and a high physical output which changes the normal action of the intestine. I always go with a very low residue breakfast before an event or long ride, even though oats and other high fiber foods are a part of my normal diet. I also eat low residue foods during the event or ride. This always works for me. I'm also careful not to eat this way more than once a week.

Sweet oatmeal soup was always my favorite after a XC race.

Gramercy

Apple and orange juice are acidic, that may not be good to put in your body before exercising. Last weekend an hour before my race I had 4 eggs, crackers, and a clif bar.

CanadianBiker32

Hi guys sorry to mention yes the diet is normal food I eat. So really what you all suggest then as a decent food to eat a few hours before a big event? that would not cause any pooping or gas , or bloating etc

CanadianBiker32

What are other examples of a pre race/event meal? i like some extra examples of what everyone is eating these days

Carbonfiberboy 

You just asked that here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-ride-or-event

But didn't get much response. For something my style, but premade, hard to beat Perpetuem.

Fat Boy

My go to breakfast prior to a big (~4 hour) ride is 500g or so of baked sweet potato, cinnamon, salt, ground ginger, some chopped walnuts (or hulled hemp seed), a scoop of vanilla whey protein, and plenty of coconut milk. It turns out to be 6-700 calories with plenty of carbs, some good fats and a bit of protein. That and some black tea (Irish breakfast, please) and I'm good for quite a while.

travelerman

Three cups of coffee and one banana, getting up at least two hours prior to the event... The coffee helps with energy, and has the positive effect of helping you to void your bowels well enough to not have to worry about having to find a restroom or or a bush to hunker behind during the ride.

The banana is - to quote an old ad campaign - "quite possibly the world's most perfect food".

10 Wheels

My 100 mile breakfast: completed 19 centuries that month...total 2,200 miles

Carbonfiberboy 

"Big event" is too generic. What would be good nutrition for a 200k bike ride might be really different from a 10k-20k XC race. Eating before an XC race will be more like before a MTB race. Your competitors will have you on your redline right out of the gate and it's going to be like that for the next hour. Steady very hard, plus big surges on the climbs. Barf-proof and super high energy is what you'd want.

wolfchild

Too much fibre and too many liquids might of caused you to have runs. All that orange juice, lots of water and Gatorade plus all that fibre is what might of caused your digestive distress.. Next time skip the orange juice and have some tea instead . Wait a little bit and let your body digest some of the food before drinking a lot... My personal breakfast before a long distance ride is scrambled eggs, and some potatoes mashed with butter, ... hash browns and eggs are also great for breakfast..White rice with eggs also makes good breakfast, white rice is a lot easier to digest then oatmeal and less likely to cause digestive distress.

BikeAnon

On the upside... You will retell this story many more times than you'd have told the story of your performance without the "Run to the Bushes Incident of 2014”.

You will also probably derive more insight into yourself, the way you handled stress, and your ability to deal with the unexpected. Looking back, this actually won't be as bad a day as it appears now.

CanadianBiker32

Thanks for feedback. All this time i was eating Oatmeal prior to a big event . now i did have the meal 3 hours prior to start time
i never realized OJ was a bad thing to had for when doing endurance as i drink OJ every day to start my day

Also i thought one had to pound the water prior to an event and even up to race start time
all well i guess something new every day

Also i did not know drinking coffee or tea of event day was good thing. now when you said Tea was it green tea you refer to or any type of tea?

so drinking a coffee prior to race time be good thing to do
what if drinking part of an energy drink too or would that be bad?

travelerman

Another good example of YMMV - if I eat eggs within 3-4 hours prior to a ride, I would swear that they are in my throat within 10 miles... I don't eat them very often any more because of the time or two that this has happened...

Jseis 

I have "sensitive stomach syndrome" which is more less like IBS so I've learned to go mild which means sips of water, not downing lots of sports drinks at once. Fried eggs & white bread...no grease...maybe a tad of butter, or my fav...white bread, turkey bologna and a little peanut butter & honey. Flour tortillas & a few beans, rice, chicken. Everything in moderation. I stay way from energy bars as they can kill my stomach. I've read where the one thing that pro bikers fear is stomach upset as it can ruin your day completely and I believe it. Protein really helps stabilize my stomach but I can't eat a lot of it at once while riding. I'm not a racer. I like longer rides so I eat a little bit all the time. That being said, exercise is the best thing for calming my stomach and I practice with various food types just so there are no surprises.

wolfchild

Everybody is different. What works for one person may not work for another. Each individual needs to experiment and see what works best for them...

wolfchild

Black tea and green tea are all good, much better for your health and digestion then orange juice. Coffee is also good. I like to start my day with Espresso.