Tahoe Century Race: Nutrition Report

I did it! My first century. I came through the finish line in 6 hours and 2 minutes, but had to do a few extra laps around the parking lot just to get the 100 miles mark on my Cateye. I averaged 17.5 mph overall and throughout the course, formed pelatons that pushed me to keep 21mph on the flats. There were points were I thought to myself that there was just no way I could hold this pace any longer and thought about how easy it would be to fall back. But, then I'd think how much harder I'd have to cycle through the wind if I was by myself, so I just pushed on to stay behind the pack. I knew I was not going to be as fast as the peleton on the hills, so I paced myself trying to not lose them by too much, and when the descent came (finally!), I would get in an tuck position, wouldn't brake and end up catching up with them. This strategy seemed to work well on this century because there were not too many long climbs.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the century was the view. There were times where I would turn around a bend and the snow covered mountains and crystal blue water was just so mesmerizing that I thought this is what it must be like to cycle in the Swiss Alps. The elevation was not really a problem, neither were the cars that steered clear out of our way. There were people stationed along the way to make sure we stopped at intersections, but some of those intersections really did not warrant a stop. If I just stopped pedaling, that equals a "stop", right?

In terms of nutrition, I felt like I ate the right amount during the race. I came in around 1700 calories, which is just about the recommended 2 calories per pound per pound of body weight. I felt light and had a lot of energy at the end of the ride. A lot of people have been asking me what I ate before, during and after the race so I thought I'd provide a little report of that below.

Night Before:
Whole Wheat pasta, Ravioli and Salad

Breakfast at 5:30am:
1.5 cups of Oatmeal with 1 banana, pecans, honey and milk mixed in
Approx. Breakfast Calories: 530 calories

Pre-race at 6:20am:
1/2 Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar
8oz of water
Approx. Calories: 250 calories

During Race 6:30am-12:30:
Miles 1-20:
1/2 Peanut Butter Clif Bar

Rest Stop #2:
1/4 bagel with Peanut Butter
1/2 banana & cantalope
1 Fig newton

Rest Stop #3/ Lunch Break:
1/2 veggie sandwich
handful of pretzels & chips

Mile 85:
1 Double Espresso GU to give me a boost to finish the last 15 miles quickly

Throughout Race:
4 Bottles of Water
3 scoops of Clif Shot Electrolyte Replacement Powder: Calories: 160
4 scoop of Carbo-Pro Pure Carbohydrate Powder: Calories: 440
6 pieces of Cran-Razz Clif Shot Bloks

Approx. Calories consumed during race: 1700
Approx. Calories expended during the race: 6388 (per heart rate monitor)

After our last rider had come in, we all decided to do a ride through the finish line together. Here we are, with big smiles after finishing our first century ride of the season.