If it’s a first-thing workout before work it depends on intensity. An “easier” one I’ll just have coffee and maybe a biscuit or two. If it’s a “hard” one I found a dose of re-go is enough to get me through. Both of those have to be an hour before, and are because I can’t do any serious workouts until at least two hours after eating a proper meal.
If it’s a ride out though, that’s usually “casual” pace and so porrage oats, with coca powder and honey is my go to. I might chuck an energy bar in the pocket but generally look to the coffee stop for cake
I also like minimal, as the risk of vomit is too much. Instead of usual water in water bottles I use sugary drinks. When I used todo a group run early I would set my alarm an hour early and eat a pack of simple hot cross buns I kept unopened by my bed and then sleep again. Hot cross buns are good because they’re simple and can be eaten raw.
The “sitting like lump” is always a concern. Not as much with pre ride fueling but on long endurance rides like a gran fondo, mid ride fueling is a challenge and “stomach distress” really becomes an issue. High heat make it even worse. It can get to the point that I don’t even want to drink, which is not good. Open to suggestions.
Not sure if this helps but I have found for myself that once I am below a certain HR that eating and drinking is okay with no “lump” issues and if I am stuck above that HR then I’m kind of SOL till I can calmed down, even getting water down can be tough because your trying to breath and drink at the same time. The last thing you want is to start choking with your HR above LTHR, its the worst!
Also I have found that investigating the ingredients of products and sticking to simple and natural products can beneficial to help with the tummy issues. I have found Honey Stinger and Skratch Products which you can get at the local stores fairly easy to be beneficial during the ride. Cliff Bar is okay post ride or on a break but takes a while to digest but these new RX bars are quite nice too and I find they digest much nicer in comparison to cliff. I have also found that homemade snacks such as rice cakes, sweet beards, and cookies or cakes can also be just as nice as the store bought goods.
Its all an experiment and it seems like soon as you find something that works your body wants to throw a wrench in the cogs. Good Luck!
I have two “go to” pre ride feeds. Dependent on whether I will need the benefit early in the ride or later. For an early demand I go with a two egg omelette and might have some jam on toast with that. For a later demand I have muesli in oat milk with a banana and honey (muesli has oats in). If I go hard early on muesli it wants to make a return visit. On long rides/ races I’ll have a couple of SIS bars with me and they seem to sit well with the muesli. Having said that, I’ve had success in multi-day/stage races hitting gummi bears at the feed stations!
For weekday rides, either a slice of Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast and honey or a medjool date or two. For outdoor weekend rides and races, a bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup - but if there is a drive involved, then a bagel from the bagel shop. For post-work group rides (which aren’t happening for me this year), a Kind Bar or Picky Bar (ideally the one with caffeine). Except for the post-work rides, I try to eat real food beforehand and save the gels and chews for my pocket. Some people are great at baking up real-food ride snacks, and they sound delicious, but I can’t seem to make that happen.
I usually do all my workouts really early which makes it hard to get enough food in. If I’m doing an easy ride I don’t eat anything. If I have intervals or other hard workout then I usually go for a plain bagel or flour tortilla, a banana, and water. Today for my 100 mile attempt I had a bagel with butter, a banana, and a small cup of coffee with coconut milk and heavy cream. I woke up at 3:30amand started at 4:30am. I never drink coffee before a workout, but because it was so early and I was tired I added in the coffee, today. And unfortunately, after less than an hour I already had heartburn which plagued me for the rest of the day, tho did improve slightly as time went on and I ate less solid food. I usually have coffee AFTER my workouts with no issues. Could also have been the butter which is greasy and I usually eat plain bagels.
During the ride I had 5 12-oz bottles of gatorade (1 per hour), toasted frozen waffles, small welches fruit snacks pouches, a couple energy gels (no caffeine) towards the end, plus loads of water - including one bottle with an natural energy mix.
After I did nothing special. Finished my water. Took a shower. Then had pancakes, OJ, and coffee.
Hmmmm, looks like we have a mixed bag of answers so far ranging from coffee alone to fairly sophisticated meal preparation. Before a race or long group ride, I usually eat a hearty bowl of oatmeal, especially if I can get it in a couple of hours in advance. I’ll usually take an energy drink on the ride too.
For my weekdays, when I getting ready for my SUF punishment, it’s usually just coffee and a piece of toast with peanut butter… not exactly the heartiest of meals!
This is a difficult one for me, I have put on 15kg up to 95 in the last 6 months due to non stop working which has caused non stop eating drinking and very little training.
I really need to loose weight now and started restricting calories and most carbs, the weight was coming off quickly but when I got on the trainer I couldn’t turn my legs much over 100w, was horrible. If I get a banana in before it is better but I’m not fully fuelled.
If I am riding for an hour or less then I am OK on water or electrolyte drink, but it will take me longer to recover after the ride. I think pre ride food for a short workout can be as much about preparing for the following day as bombing the current workout. For rides over an hour I like porridge and toast, wait until I have done my absolutions and I am good to go. If this was not possible for an early morning ride, then I would do the workout in the evening, before the evening meal , but make sure I had a good snack an hour or two before the off
I come from a running background, so that’s played a big part.
For most of my life - from school into adulthood - I ran in the afternoons and I was already fueled, so I only took on some water. After I had kids I only had time early in the morning before anyone work up and I just continued that since I wasn’t used to getting up early and eating and the running that quickly afterward.
So, I tend to do almost all my running workouts outside with nothing beforehand except for water. The further the workout the more water I drink. 8oz for a 3 mile run. 16oz for a 5+ mile run. Only if I really plan on doing something really intense and over an hour like a race - or have a really long run of 13 or more miles - do I eat anything before running. For almost all of my half marathon races I’ve had a bagel and a banana and some fluids before, but taken on nothing more than water or gatorade during the event.
So my first couple years of cycling I followed my running patterns and such. My workouts tended to be mostly time trial-ish (which seemed to make sense since most of my cycling comes in triathlons) and not enough intense intervals. And I did most of my workouts fasted with only some water. But then once I got more serious with triathlon and began paying attention to the quality of my workouts and doing more intense workouts and the joining The Sufferfest, I realized I needed to actually incorporate more food in ahead of time. So, often my pre-workout “food” will consist of a gel and some water, and then maybe another gel and some gatorade and some water during. For my HM and FF tests I try to do them later in the morning so I give myself a chance to wake up and get a real meal in and then wait an hour or so after before I do the test.
As I understand it the caffeine is a brain trickery thing, yet it does give the feeling of jitters. The theanine and cirualine does some muscle stuff… #broscience ; #istayedataholidayinnexpress
Caffeine blocks adenosine, a chemical-signaling molecule. Blocking adenosine in the ventrolateral preoptic area leads to arousal, resulting in increased blood pressure and cortisol levels as well as mild anxiety or stress.
