KEEPING YOUR GI HAPPY

A key aspect to sustainable power is fueling it, and it all starts in your GI. Keeping the GI happy while hammering for days on end is one of the greatest challenges. The GI is the key to your bikepacking happiness and is worthy of much attention. You can get away with a poor GI for short events but for something as long as Colorado Trail Race (530 miles) there is no faking it. The more calories you can process, the faster overall speed you can maintain – period!

Race food like Powerbars, Gatorade and the like are sterile. They are just nothing like fresh food – fruits and veggies – and don’t contribute to GI function that well over long distances. To keep your GI happy for days on end I have some recommendations. These recommendations assume over pacing and/or heat distress has not already upset your GI.

• Eat real food whenever possible.
• If you experience GI shutdown after the 8-10 hour mark it may be helped by probiotics.
• Carry a room temperature stable formula of probiotics.
• Those high dollar fruit smoothies in gas stations/grocery stores are worth the $ !! Odwalla or similar, fantastic fuel.
• Gut conditioning – prior to multi-day adventures make a conscious effort to eat clean for at least 2 weeks prior by minimizing sugar and sweets, maximizing fruits and veggies, and even consider vegetable juicing.
• Eliminate gluten during race periods and/or heavy training periods. You may find recovery improves.
• You could be one of the lucky few that thrive on SPAM and red bull, but if not, try some of the above and see if it helps.

By Lynda Wallenfels Google+