So much has happened since my last blog post where I was building up some big winter miles and fine tuning my hydration strategies with the help of Precision Fuel and Hydration.
We have had some brilliant team calls with Supersapiens and Precision Fuel and Hydration discussing fuelling strategies for different types of events, timing of nutrition, female specific advice, recovery protocols and really learning how to get the most out of continuous glucose monitoring via the biosensors we are all wearing.
A call with Skye Moench gave us some fascinating insights into how she experimented in training with her carbohydrate intake allowing her to take on board around 100g/hr on the bike, improving not only her performance, but her recovery. It was refreshing to hear a female athlete with no fears around eating too much or too many carbs.
I have been experimenting with foods and timings for different sessions. On this day I cycled to and from the gym for a heavy lifting session at lunchtime. Two hours before I primed with plain yoghurt, muesli, mixed fresh berries and seeds. A gentle spin to the gym (flat, 30 minute zone 2 ride) helped the regulation of glucose and ensured I started the session warmed up and metabolically stable.
I stayed in the red ‘Performance Zone’ for the lifting, but near the bottom of the zone and in discussion with Supersapiens we agreed that taking on some calories during the lifting would have raised the glucose response and meant less glycogen depletion. You can also see clearly by the time I walked through the door at home levels were plummeting and it was time to refuel. This was achieved with scrambled eggs on sourdough toast giving me some protein for muscle synthesis and repair and some carbohydrate to replenish the muscle glycogen. My glucose levels then nicely trended stable for the afternoon keeping me in the ‘Recovery Zone’, allowing my body to replenish glycogen and reduce inflammation.
Like Philippa I have been racing in Zwift, in the A division of the WTRL league, with my teammates at RCC. It is definitely a work in progress, but the jelly babies are working a treat coupled with the PH1500 sachets which have a small amount of carbohydrate mixed with the electrolytes to enhance absorption of water for very sweaty athletes.
And this week Supersapiens kindly sent us an energy band enabling us to see the real time glucose data without needing the phone app open, useful for the Zwift racing where my phone is running Discord and the Zwift Companion App, as well as music; and for outside events and races where you would not carry your phone.
The key message remains though that everyone is different and what works for one person might not suit another so trying different things now during training over winter hopefully will pay off when I get to the big events in Spring and Summer. More on this next time and via my social media at @holly_seear.
Until then,
Holly
