To Portland the Hard Way

Peddle to Portland?! Ok, I really dig Powell's but on a bike, how the heck would I get all my books back? My clients, Chad and Jill, are doing the STP this weekend - that's 200 miles, folks! Jill sent me this question, and I know a few of you will have some feedback. In the meantime, may the wind be at your back!

Hey Heather, So I've been thinking that I'm going to be burning a lot of calories the next couple of days - 8000-9000 by some counts and I was just wondering about how I should approach my nutrition. Since I can't really carry anything with me and the race is supported (likely gads of powerbars, powerade and the like) what do yo u think I should be looking for? What should I eat tonight? I've been told to carb load, but i just can't see that lasting and feel like I would have to eat constantly if I only eat carbs... thoughts? Blog entry material? Thanks so much! j

What I find effective is Macadamia Nuts - talk about caloricly dense! They have the best omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, they don't take up tons of room in your bag, they don't crush or melt and you don't feel yucky-full when you eat a few here and there. Chew thoroughly though.

I would go to Whole Foods and get some dried cantaloupe - tasty stuff but not as dry and chewy as dried fruit can be so I don't think you have to worry about your teeth quite as much. There is some sugar but you can afford a bit given the task ahead.

I would stick with your standard 40/30/30 sort of meal for tonight. Once your glycogen stores are full, they're full and then excess sugar gets stored as triglyceride. Carb loading only works to ensure that you get your glycogen topped off. That makes the American standard of six cups of pasta just silly.

Your carb choices might be decided using a more practical measure - transit times. You may not want to eat a bulky fibrous meal if you tend to expel it in short order. Since the parasympathetic stimulation will speed up your transit times anyway, you have that to consider . In other words, in case I'm being too subtle - you want to try to make sure you aren't going to need to poop. Damn inconvenient.

On that topic, many bars use artificial sweeteners that are also laxatives. Not usually a huge dose but given what I said previously, it still may have adverse affects on your digestion. Stay away from sugar alcohols and any other carb-lowering sugar alternatives.

Go with a standard portion of salmon - good anti-inflammatories and some fat for the slow burn and some pineapple (the bromelain is also anti-inflammatory). Nix the pineapple though if it tends to give you carb-head and go with a more moderate carb.

If you're reading this Mellenium Man - you do more long distance stuff. Any tricks?