keeping up the strength

[Terrie_Tavis]

I will be racing my class 10 car at the BITD Nevada 1000. I plan to drive the full 1000 miles. The race will take place over a period of three days. Normally, after a one day race, I loose around 5 to 7 pounds...and for me, thats a lot! I need to keep up my strength, and keep the weight ON! Its hard for me to eat regular food when I race...for one thing, it slows me down, but also, eating during a race is a total turn-off!!!! What do other racers do to keep their strentgh up,who race long distances? I thought perhaps, stocking some of the pits with Ensure, but I can only take so much of that stuff

www.tavis-racing.com
BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[Kritter]

A lot of sports bar manufacturers make little packets of stuff that looks like frosting but it is for sustained energy(simple sugars mostly). I use to use them a lot during triathlons and they work awesome. You could tape them to your roll bar or something for easy access, I use to tape them to my handlebar and just suck them down while I rode. DO that and keep your water up....5-7 pounds is definitly water loss. I know drinking water is hard because then you have to pee, but if you are dehydrated you will become fatigued much quicker. Maybe a cathator is the way to go.

Kris
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dmsrace.com>www.dmsrace.com</A>
"Jesus loves you, everybody else thinks you're an A-hole"

 

[Terrie_Tavis]

You're right Kris, dehydration is the major cause of weight loss. Drinking isn't a problem as far as having to 'go', however. You just don't when you're dehydrated. One of the biggest problems with drinking enough fluids, at least in my case, is that it distracts me when I have to open my shield, find the hose, and then try to put the hose in my mouth...still, not a good enough excuse for letting myself get dehydrated! I try to drink my water in the fast sections where the roads are less technical, and when we're in the pits. Calorie intake is important too, especially for a three day race. I'll see if I can find that stuff that you're talking about...like to try it first before the race just to make sure it agrees with me. BTW, I'm not sure, but I don't think the ladies use catheters

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tavis-racing.com>http://www.tavis-racing.com</A>
BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[Kritter]

I wasnt sure about the cathator thing either, cut a hole in the seat instead. The brand I recommend is Power Bar and it is called Power Gel, it is about 40 grams and is recommended to be taken every 45 minutes of strenuous activity. I like the carrot cake and tropical fruit. You should be able to get them for about a dollar at most vitamin stores or I know REI use to have them, but I have not seen an REI around in a while.

I know when I ride I put the camelbak hose through my chin strap so it is easy to get at.

Kris
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dmsrace.com>www.dmsrace.com</A>
"Jesus loves you, everybody else thinks you're an A-hole"

 

[Chris_Wilson]

My info is old but 25 years ago (and 50 lbs ago!) I used to be a national caliber cyclist (road racer)
and we would eat bananas, fig newtons, and drink something called ERG in multi-day stage races.
The ERG stood for Electrolite Replacement with Glucose. I suspect some of the new potions sold
are improvements upon ERG. We also forced ourselves to eat a nice breakfast regardless of
pre-race jitters and we also carbo loaded (pasta) daily at dinner after each stage. We also
carried fructose tablets and experimented with no-doze for an end-of-the-stage kick if you
were fading. The number one factor was to stay hydrated. Put a drink system in your car
and force yourself to drink even if it means slowing down to do so. There are lots of graded
roads to LaPAz where you can eat a banana and dring water, ERG, or whatever they sell nowadays.
Endurance stage racing is only partly about speed. It's mostly about keeping your head. Drink lots,
stay sharp, drive smart, and have a great stage race!

 

[ryans]

On bike rides of 50 or more miles Power Gel hits the spot. I like to open the package before my ride as I am usually reaching for this when I'm running low on energy and the last thing I want to do is crash while trying to tear open an energy pack. Has anybody tried carbo loading for a race? I don't race cars but it seems that all endurance activities could benefit from similar preparation. On a side note I am curious to know if any racers take advantage of Vision Therapy or similar training to enhance their competitive advantage. I'll start a new thread on this.

Brand new desert race fan... TOOMUCHFUN

 

[ntsqd]

Those gels are a godsend. I also carry a couple Powerbars, a couple hard granola bars, and a handful of plain old Brach's hard candies on long rides. I suck on the hard candies, I don't chew them up.
I've found that dumping a 64ozer of Gatorade in my 100oz bladder and topping off with water keeps me going. Filling with plain water isn't enough, for me at least. I go thru that 100 ozs in about 12-15 miles of MTBing when it's hot (yes I sweat like a pig) and in about 20+ on colder rides.

The carbo loading sounds like a good idea, as does some form of long period endurance training. Wonder if the book Mark Martin wrote on conditioning would be of value ? A 500 miler in one of those cars gets pretty close to dez racing.

Don't have any ideas about the 'exit' problem. I've seen a 'cup' made for long distance small plane flights. I doubt one would be very comfortable in this application. Having had a cathator once for a kidney stone, I'm not real interested in another. I've heard urine works pretty well at evaporative cooling, but tends to make the seat and the suit smell bad after a while......

TS

"It only seems kinky the first time"
-- Bumpersticker seen in Lost Wages

 

[AllwaysRcn]

RE: "Having had a cathator once for a kidney stone, I'm not real interested in another"

Although it wouldn't apply to Terrie, The cathators we use for the long distance races are "External".
So the discomfort thing is minimal. (Except when the hose gets snagged on something and snaps that baby off-OUCH)

"Quality has No Fear of Time"

 

[Dave_G]

I was over at Enduro racing this morning and talking to Dan Smith about this subject. He wears an external cathator while racing in the trophy truck. He says he pounds down as much fulids as he can to keep from getting fatigued and just goes when he needs to. He did admit though that mentally it was a problem for him at first to pee in his suit while driving even though it was going overboard out a tube.

I'm not sure what kind of external cathator system is out there for the ladies but I'm sure the military has some type of device for women fighter pilots. I'll ask on one of the aviation forums to see if anyone has info on a good system for the ladies.

Ah, the joys of racing.....

Dave

"I know it all, but I can't remember most of it..."

 

[martininsocal]

terrie- i do heavy fluid challenges before a race and also try to drink while driving. stay away from caffiene and alcohol before and during races as both these are dieuretics and will cause dehydration.

in my job, we have been doing studies on these types of ailments for years, here is what we found. on working fires, we use between 2000-2400 calories an hour. weight loss from fluid is about 2 lbs per hour average without intake. at this pace, after 3 hours, heat exhaustion and heat stroke happen quite frequently. we have found that mental/motor skills deminish rapidly after 2 hours/3 lbs of fluid loss and your body will try to compensate by shunting fluid from non-essential organs(like the stomach, thats why you barf) and use up the remaining electrolytes and fluid for the brain, heart, and lungs.

here is what we have found works best- hydrate early and often. if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated and behind the curve. we try to drink 1 quart of water every hour during the day whil eresting and 2-3 while fighting fire. you will not have to urinate as much because much of the fluid you take in will be lsot through sweat and heavy breathing, that is how your body regulates temperature. we drink tepid(not quite warm) water when working. we do this because cold water causes the muscles around you stomach to constrict, reducing blood flow and causing a longer period for your body to absorb the fluid. through studies, we have found that gatorade (full strength) takes longer to absob because your body has to break down the highly concentrated additions. we will cut gatorade down to a 50/50 mix with water. the key is to drink even if you don't think you need to during the long stints.

for energy, the glucogen based gels are good as are some of the sports pastes. if you want to stay on a natural track, bananas are great for potassium and sugar. one of natures best. apples are good for sugar, but take longer to digest. another great food is peanuts/peanut butter. most contain sugar, salt, protein. make your own "sports gell" with smashed banana and creamy peanut butter with some wheat germ or raisins thrown in. granola and trail mix are also usefull to fight the hunger pangs. try not to over do the "candy" sugars. they give an initial burst of energy, then cause a crash feeling worse than before the lack of energy.

good luck
martin

If your gonna go, go BIG

 

[Donahoe]

Terrie.... Bannanas and Lots and lots of room temp water. The potasium in the bannanas will eliminate cramping as well. Thats what I do....Dehydration will kill your energy... So drink lots... And if you have to pee well I'm not sure what to tell ya... I dont think they make a cathider for girls do they? Just pee I guess... We wont laugh at ya...

NEVER LIFT!!!!!

 

[Terrie_Tavis]

Wow! No wonder I always tend to slow down on the last lap...guess I haven't been taking care of my self. I've always filled my camelback with ice then put water in it. I never eat breakfast because of pre-race jitters, etc. I realize now, that I've been letting my poor brain 'poop out', where I just thought I was unintentionally depriving my physical self of liquids and nutrients. I am so glad I asked my question. This is certainly THE race for taking care of myself the RIGHT way. And your question about 'what do the ladies do?' Well, thats not a problem, but it is a well kept secret!!!!!

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tavis-racing.com>http://www.tavis-racing.com</A>
BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[stuckthrottle]

something should be said (unless somebody already did and i missed it) that drinking too much water AND ONLY just water is also bad for you. you need to replenish your salt or something??? This just happened to me last week while working under the sun, i drank over a gallon of water and didnt eat anything. I had stomach cramps, was dizzy, and almost passed out. My bad.

victor fabian
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.stuck-throttle.com>www.stuck-throttle.com</A>
CARCO RACING 5-1600

 

[Kritter]

You have to drink an outrageous amount of water to do that. People who have addicitve natures have this happen to them. It offsets the bodies Ph and is almost like a high so they do it for the high.

Kris
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dmsrace.com>www.dmsrace.com</A>
"Jesus loves you, everybody else thinks you're an A-hole"

 

[deleted]

I am not sure what the experts say, but before i race one of the things i do is a take an all natural Ginseng pill.. they seem to help a lot for the long races( ie Baja 500, Baja 1000) until they wear off and your body begins to crash from the effects of not having them and you need to take more. For Nevada 1000 i will definitely be taking them because the days are hopefully not going to be to long....

Matt Scaroni
SMD Motorsports/ Protruck 27 / Excursion 4111

 

[partybarge_pilot]

Drinking alot of water can cause water (aphisha) I think is the medical term. Rapdi changes in water level in the body can cause your brian to go whacky..

 

[rdc]

I have learned a lot about this as I have studied exercise science...and I'm agreeing with most of what I have read on this thread. It does take drinking an awful lot of water before you need to worry about having drank too much, it is MUCH more likely to not drink enough. Also, drinking small amounts of water often is more effective in maintaining balance under severe heat or exercise conditions than is drinking very large quantities at longer intervals. one rule of thumb is 600mL-1L per hour of rigorous exercise. In hot weather espcecially, thirst is not a good guide to dehydration, and a little extra water will do no harm. If you wait until you're thirsty, you are already dehydrated. The best thing to be drinking is usually water, as most athletes do not need the amount of electrolyte replacement as sports drinks provide. In fact, sports drinks, rather than adequately hydrating an athlete, can hinder water absorption because of their high sugar content. Too much glucose can draw water from blood (where you need it) into intestinal tract to help in digestion. Drinking gatorade is not bad, but you should drinking much more water than gatorade. Gatorade can be more beneficial, toward the end of a long bout of exercise, when you have depleted some of your glycogen stores. And stay away completely from sodas they've got caffeine, carbonation, and twice as much sugar as sports drinks. Also, "All sport" (like gatorade) is carbonated, and should be avoided.
As for nutrition, this is most important in the days leading up to competition, not the day of. A Balanced diet will provide all the necessary vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, etc you will need, and won't require supplementation...but go ahead and add a little extra salt to your food, and eat a bananna if you want. The salt is more important than potassium from banannas, potassium loss is usually negligable. This type of electrolyte replacement is especially useful for unfit people, or for when exercise will be resumed again within a few hours of stopping. What you eat is most important about 48 hours to competition. Serious Carbo loading can be useful, but only in LONG bouts of exercise like the second half of a marathon, or a 1000 mile race.
Okay, I think I've droned on long enough...sorry.
Jaron