The season is almost around the corner and you have worked extremely hard during the last few months getting in the best shape possible for 2007!    But really what is all the point in working out hard if you don’t know how to transfer all that hard work into a race.  First things first, think of your body as an engine, one that’s going to run at a high intensity for up to 3hrs!  You need fuel! This article will give you a guide as what you should be doing prior to every race, whether it is a Local District Race or a National Series race XC or MX.

 Pre Race Nutrition
Everyone likes and dislikes different food types, but one thing that must be understood is that your body needs 3 different food types, Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins.  A basic diet for an active person should contain approx 60% Carbs, 25% Proteins and 15% Fats.  The higher the intensity and shorter the duration of your race the more Carbs your body will utilize as a fuel source. The lower the intensity and longer duration your race is, the more your body will utilize its stored fat which is the biggest energy source in your body. 
If you have ever watched any long distance track races, athletes will always talk about how they ‘Carbo-loaded’ prior to the race. 

Carbohydrate Loading
This is a technique used to enhance muscle glycogen prior to long-term aerobic endurance exercise such as a XC ATV race but will benefit a full day at the MX track. Carbo-loading is a very old and well proven technique with great benefits to the endurance athlete and is highly beneficial in ATV racing.  The most effective regime for carbohydrate loading is a 3 day regime with a tapering of exercise the week before competition and complete rest the day before the event (See graph below). This method allows the body to store 20-40% more muscle glycogen than normal. In the loading phase you want to increase the amount of carbohydrates to about 75% of your daily calorie intake. Don’t be worried if in the last few days of loading you put a few lbs on when you weigh yourself. This is due to the fact that each gram of carbohydrate your muscles store holds 3 grams of water. This water becomes available during exercise, and helps to prevent dehydration (for other tips on avoiding dehydrations check out last months AEM fitness article), but the only downside is that it is heavy! - So don’t worry about it!

Day before Phase: The day before the race, a healthy carbohydrate/protein combination is what you’re looking for. This can be accomplished with foods such as spaghetti and meatballs or chicken and vegetable stir fry with rice. Healthy carbs, such as vegetables, will help keep you from feeling slow and sluggish the day before the race. The carb/protein balance is very important in this phase.

Race Day Phase: Your breakfast menu should include items such as whole wheat pancakes, oatmeal, fruit, whole grain toast and possibly some eggs or egg whites. How much you eat depends on how early you wake up. If its 3-4 hours before your race, eat about a 1,000 calories of any of the combinations listed above. If your cutting it closer, stick to something smaller like an individual packet of oatmeal, a piece of toast and banana or a bagel. Always make sure to down plenty of water, at least 16 ounces with breakfast and keep drinking all the way up until your race. Packing in these types of carbohydrates will give you a slow burn throughout the race day; think of it as a time released capsule of energy.

One thing I highly recommend you taking approx 1hr prior to your race is the excellent workout/racing supplement Cardiostack (www.Cardiostackracing.com). This supplement does a whole host of great things for you such as, improving oxygen utilization, delays the onset of fatigue, and allows your body to tap into those all important fat stores as mentioned previously.  The great thing with Cardiostack is that it is all natural and contains no artificial stimulants that can cause jitters and shakes which other products are renowned for!

Pit Stop Phase: For the most part you’ll want to consume about 30-60 grams of quickly digested carbohydrates like sports drinks, gels, or energy bars every hour.  Obviously having sports drink in a Camelback will save on time for pitting.  But if you do need to during a pit stop you could try and take in a sports gel cube or energy bar.  I know a lot of this only applied to XC racers, but any MX racers that race 2 different classes in close succession to each other should also follow these guidelines.

Final Phase: The race is over and you are finished for the day, and you need some fuel as quickly as possible- even if you don’t really feel like eating, you need to! I suggest a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or turkey on a bagel with a sports drink and protein bar. About 2 hours later you should be ready for a larger meal – this should be high in carbohydrates and protein, both which will reduce the soreness and time taken to recover from the day of racing. Research indicates a recovery meal of four parts carbohydrates to one part protein will also jump start the muscle rebuilding process so you’ll be less sore the next day and be stronger the next time around. If you do this properly, you can cut your recovery time in half; from around 24 hours to about 12.

Now you know how you should fuel your body, fill it up and go race!