Changes to 24hr Solo plan for point-point race

[takeone]

Hi Linda,

I'm male, 45 and on week 4 of '24hr solo PR' plan.
My strong points are endurance, climbing long hills (4-6%) in low zone 4 and I'm getting stronger compared to others towards the end of long races.
Areas needing improvement are sprints and short,steep hills done above AT (Zone 5b+)

I'm training for a 24hr MTB race in Dec (3rd time). It's a 340km point to point race with a 24hr cut-off time, done on gravel roads. Lots of short intense hills in middle section. Support points at every 70km. Temperatures up to 50C(122F) and a nasty headwind for last 100k. Low humidity. 9hrs of the race will be in the dark.

My questions:
1.The Sunday ride on week 8 (6hr E4a) is done on a lapped course.
What do you suggest I change (if anything) to better suit a point-point race?

2.This time I'm training to use liquid fuel only where previously I ate some solid food at the support stops. In training I started using Perpetuem from Hammer with good results. Since starting the plan I've given up red meat, coffee, alcohol, sugar, wheat products. I eat 60% of my food raw, so lots of fruit and veggies and take vitamins. I feel full of energy at this stage, but not sure how liquids only will work out over 24hrs.
What's your opinion on liquids only as fuel for long distance racing, or do you recommend some solid food as well?

Thank you for a challenging plan that's working, I surprised a few teammates at a windy

[Lynda]

1. No changes needed to that ride. You can do it on a lapped course or point to point with support stations.

2. This is a hot event and in general most athletes find Perpetuem unpalatable in warm conditions. Once mixed up Perpetuem will go bad quickly at temps like 50C, so be careful not to get caught with rancid fuel in your bottles. This will happen with any protein containing drink.

Take your Perpetuem out on a warm day to test it or heat it up a little and take a guess of how much you would drink when warm. In the end it doesn't matter how good a product is if it stays in your bottle.

One option to get over the lack of palatability of Perpetuem in the heat is to eat it in a paste form from a gel flask then wash it down with water.

My opinion is liquids only works for the rare athlete for a straight 24 hours. I am not a fan of the liquid only 24 hour plan. Liquids only can work well for periods of 6 hours. Staying on liquids only through the hottest part of the day is a good plan – not with a protein containing drink mix though at 50C.

My opinion is that 24 hours straight of highly processed sport products, Perpetuem, gels, bars, sports drinks etc is a disaster recipe for your stomach environment (natural bacteria, pH and digestive enzyme activity). To maintain proper stomach function some natural products with bacteria and enzymes are important such as yogurt (very small amount) and raw fruit. Processed pro-biotic capsules may work too.

Gluten free is optimal for race food.

Bananas, peaches, canned soft pears, grapes, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes with eggs, rice cakes, gluten free rice chips, soup are all real foods than can make good race food in addition to the sports products.

A mix of sports products, processed food and unprocessed food is optimal.

I hope that helps.

Lynda

[Author]

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