Subject: RE: Long bike nutrition IMO, three things determine caloric intake for a single event training session:
1 ) Prior caloric consumption (i.e., timing, amount )
2 ) Post expected caloric needs (i.e., is the run a marathon or .5 marathon? ).
3 ) Heat
These three element can change the caloric intake equation significantly.
Calorie intake is a constantally moving target. In my case, I've done IM's consuming about 500 calories per hr. on a bike and had success... and, have done IM's consuming 300-400 calories per hr. and had success also. The key difference between the two differences in calorie intake had to do with heat and balance between water intake, salt and food/carbohydrate (CHO ).
I am guessing based on your post that your training for a HIM... if this is true, the range of 200-400 calories per hr will most likely be a sufficient point to start experimenting. But, I have found that the kind of CHO intake is as important of a diet factor to know than the amount of intake. It's important to know if the kind of food intake will cause GI issues.
(Sidenote: Concentration of fluid intake (between CHO and water ) will have an effect on taste and not performance. "Kind" of food relates to product differences and not a CHO's simple vs. complex molecule difference. )
Calorie consumption is not only determined by what you eat on the bike, but also what you have ate before the bike and when you eat. In the end, amount, timing, balance and type/kind of calorie's consumption is almost always based on experience. And, how you relate your experience to the conditons and distance you will be racing will be the factor that determines overall diet success.
FWIW Joe Moya |