Fastfwd01

I'm looking at doing the Hotter'n Hell 100 this weekend. I've done it before in 2015 and I did better than I expected. Like about 5 hours 20 minutes or so. I'm maybe not in the same condition as I was in '15 (I'm six years older in the least).

So, I'm looking to attempt to have some kind of fueling strategy. I ordered some of the Skratch Labs Superfuel mix. I've never used it and I know common wisdom dictates to never do something for the first time at an event, but I think I'm going to put some trust in their product and see how it works out. I'm looking at how to incorporate it into a strategy for the ride and I thought I might ask here.

The Hotter'n Hell 100 is a HUGE cycling event. They claim they have like up to 13,000 cyclists some years. So, to get a decent time you really have to take that into account. Generally speaking the fewer stops the better and it is probably best to skip the first stop or two if you can manage to do so if time is important to you.

That said, I really wish I could save one bottle of that Skratch Labs for the end, but that would leave me with one 21oz bottle to use for hydration and I would have to stop to refill it at least once an hour. That's not ideal from that perspective. I can only imagine taking that last 100g of carbs in liquid form right at the end would be nice though.

The Skratch Labs mix will yield about 100g of carbs per bottle depending on how it is mixed. From what I understand the recommendation is to take on somewhere between 40-60g of carbs per hour. That's about all your body can process. I've also heard up to 90g of carbs might be usable if your body is capable of processing it. I don't frankly know how much I can process, but I usually don't fuel nearly well enough I imagine. Not even close to 60g per hour most likely.

I don't usually use gels because they are too expensive to do training miles with, but I have used them in the past with no ill-effects. So, I did pick up a box of GU Energy Gels (23g carbs per gel). I do regularly use Jelly Belly Sport Beans (25g carbs per bag). I'm also starting to use Nature's Bakery Fig Bars (38g carbs per package) to substitute for my old Cliff Bars (40g carbs per).

After considering saving the one bottle of Skratch labs for the end and deciding that would leave me short on hydration I'm now thinking I may need to use both bottles for the first two hours of fuel. That's going to equate to about 200g of carbs. I'm not sure what happens to what you can't process in an hour? I could just mix the bottles a little lite or heavy depending.

It's going to be hot. So, I am going to use some Nuun Sport as soon as the Skratch Labs mix is gone.

I generally don't mind a solid early on in a long ride. So, I'm thinking I might use these Nature's Bakery Fig Bars for my hour 3 after the Skratch labs is gone. 2 of those will be 76g of carbs which should be more than enough.

I'm considering doing the Jelly Belly Sport Beans for hour 4. 3 packs 25g of carbs each for 75g of carbs.

Saving the gels for the end at 23g of carbs each. I know even the Jelly Beans can be really difficult to chew and swallow toward the end of a long hard ride. So, the gels should come in handy at the end. I'll probably pack 4 of them along with me and just see how it goes.

Sorry for the length of the post. I'm curious if this sounds like a decent enough 'plan' for fuel? I haven't put a ton of thought into this honestly, but with what I've got to work with this is how I think I will plan to use it. I welcome any advice anyone might have on this.