So we're 11 days into this Giro now. Most things about the day are becoming routine. The biggest thing is, of course, recovery. And to recover, one needs to eat right and eat often. So when we race about 200k per day, that's a lot of calories.
I'm a champ in the eating department though. I love food. Anyone who knows me will tell you this much. I often extend my rides 30 minutes, not for the fitness, but because I can slam an extra sandwich guilt-free. I proudly haven't gained or lost weight yet after 10 days of racing. So being in Italy and racing over 35 hours in the first week alone, I'm a happy little glutton. Here is the breakdown one has to consume to be competitive again tomorrow.
My normal breaky:
- Actimel bifidus probiotic shot (on empty stomach)
- Chai latte or cappuccino, with maybe croissant/cookie/biscuit
- BIG bowl oatmeal with banana(other fruit available) and honey. And sometimes another small bowl of cereal depending on length of day
- Omelette
- Then a prestart drink 1 hour before race. About 250 more calories.
I start eating 30 mins into race. And have minimum 1 bar and one bottle of mix(gatorade stuff) every hour. I like to eat solids as long as possible before moving to gels and sugar bombs (yesterday I happily completed stage 10 with solid food only).
After finish we have a 300 carbo/electrolyte drink. A bowl of rice with some sort of protein. Then an hour later a heavier protein drink. Then u can snack if you want before dinner.
Dinner is a 4 course meal (appetizer/salad, rice/pasta, meat/veggies, dessert) with seconds of pasta/rice usually. Some guys even do a protein shake at night. But I usually don't.
So there you go. In a nutshell, that's a lotta comida.
Ciao
Pete
Didn't I stash a burrito in here?