“GET IN MY BELLY!”
Many people everyday ask me what kind of food should you eat during an endurance event? What do you do when your stomach starts to eat itself? You most definitely need real food baby! The question is always finding the balance between the real food and the “state-of-the-art” energy foods and sport drinks. And getting it to your system before you come a human dredal spinning around and bonking. Liquid energy foods work really well for some people, but other times you need another option. One racer eats a whopping 36 power gels in a 6 hour, a single marathon!
I try to plan to eat real food at least every 5–7 hours to keep myself sane.
How? Well, try stuffing roasted salted potatoes in a zip lock bags or, like I recently tried at La Ruta de los Conquistadors was bags full of cooked rice and beans with a little bit of egg. Now I know what you’re thinking, gross! Look the body needs real food and it’s relatively easy to make and quick and they taste good. You can also gulp down cans of Ensure- I would suggest the high protein version. Which gives you 155 calories per can.
Tracey Higgs of Auntie em’s recommends for high endurance athletes “eat lots of fat, I am not saying you should eat sticks of butter, but foods that are high in fat and in high protein like almond butter and cheese.”
The best way I’ve found to get extra calories during race is a concoction I call “Rocket Fuel” by using a mixture of Endurox and a can of flat Red Bull in every water bottle and Hydration bladder. It has 120 calories per scoop, and a can of flat Red Bull has 112 calories and making it flat will be easier on your gut. And it DOES give you wings!
It hasn’t caused stomach problems other mixes have created for me. Adding your favorite electrolyte drink to some of the of the bottles will allow you to get those electrolyte your body needs without OD’ing on the gastric-upsetting sugary excess that seems to accompany most electrolyte drinks. Greg McDonnell a, Ironman triathlete said, “It (Rocket Full) tastes like a candy bar, but it really works”
Other real meals substitutes like on the racecourse include Cliff bars, almond butter sandwiches, dried fruit and nuts. Of courses, this is just what works for me. In the end you will need to do some experimenting during training to find out what works best for you. To avoid race disasters
Now, I ‘m starving, need to go eat some thing. But what else is new.
