I’ll start. First with an apology for having to miss the second clinic as well as the first … the cough that cropped up a week and a half ago has gotten so bad that I’ve been put on steroids and still sound like I have a death rattle. A cold has now taken up residence alongside (probably because the steroids have lowered my immunity). Absolutely, Coach, I should have emailed you earlier in the week to let you know my chances to make it to the clinic were slim, and that’s on me, and I’m very sorry for that.
Regarding the bike nutrition: I’ve experimented a great deal in training on longer rides (60-80+ miles) and what I’ve found works for me is that I can generally take in 300-350 calories an hour on the bike without GI distress. For the first half of my ride, I take in more solids — a half a PBJ on Ezekiel bread plus half a bottle of Tailwind, say — each hour and then slowly divert to more gels and liquids when I get closer to the run. I write down my “menu” hour-by-hour and tape it to my aero bottle so I can see it each hour and don’t have to do math while on the ride (as the day goes on and my brain gets more tired, this is crucial!).
Generally for the first half to two-thirds of my ride, I have a mix of:
PBJs
Gummies (Shot Blocks, etc.)
Stroop Waffles
Tailwind powder in bottle
And for the last part of the ride I switch to:
Gels
Tailwind (still)
Maybe a serving of Shot Block for variety
This combo has worked for me in training and racing. But I’d always love to fine-tune it!
Hope 🙂
