Fat & Endurance Sports: Stop the Bonk
Last Saturday I participated in a 40 mile mountain bike race. The race was fun, beautiful, and (as always) a little painful.... ....Although this time it wasn't quite as painful and I believe this was due to some different training and fueling techniques I employed that I will share below.
I love endurance sports and before I dabbled in functional-fitness-type-things, I would supplement my rock-climbing with super long runs and bike rides. But, my favorite was, and always has been, very long mountain bike rides. I just can't get that "high" from any other activity like I do from finishing a long, hard ride or race. The problem with the love of endurance sports is that as one ages, the battle wounds of hours and hours of long workouts starts to take a toll. So I am always searching for ways to stay in the game longer, recover quicker, and still compete with myself.
My old training patterns leading up to a race or long ride:
Very structured and absolutely a must to get all planned rides and lifting accomplished.
Ride for 2-4 hours every day, lift 3 times a week, ride some more.
Typically I would take the day off two days before the race, do a set of sprints the day before the race, and then give it everything on race day.
My old fueling patterns:
Simple carbs and protein before the race (banana, protein bar, crackers, oatmeal, etc).
Every hour during the race: power foods (simple sugars) like gels and gummies, and sips of a carb/protein shake mix.
My new training protocol:
Intuitive and flexible.
I have rides and gym work scheduled but if I'm not recovered from a previous ride or session, I rest instead of doing my workout.
I still use a periodization schedule based on seasonal athletic goals, but I'm much more flexible with what happens on a daily basis.
Fueling... One word: FAT (ok... two words: HEALTHY FAT). Now I won't get into all the recent science behind this wonder-macro but it is working for me. (Just a side note: I am a firm believer that we should all be consuming heathy proteins, fats, and (gasp!) carbs. BUT....everyone is very unique in what amounts work for them to create the body they want and energy they desire so this is NOT one size fits all!....More on that in another post.) Using fat to fuel during long endurance efforts lessens the number of times one needs to fuel, stops the bonking, and provides our bodies with the ability to burn it's own fat instead of the typical burning of sugars that we are usually ingesting every hour to keep going.
The old way did work for me. I always did decently (for me) and I always felt good about how I did, etc. But as I got older, training like this was wearing me down. I wasn't getting faster and I could not recover as quickly as I desired. And, this is why I love reading all the new exercise/nutrition science... There really are some amazing new ideas emerging in this field that can be used for self-experimentation that can lead to fun results.
Here are a few healthy fats to experiment with: avocados, macadamia nuts, almonds, MCT oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, olive oil, and pumpkin seeds. Try incorporating just a little into your diet and see how you feel. Are you satiated? Do you feel energetic? Remember, too much fat (or too much anything) will still make you pack on the pounds and feel lathargic, so pay attention to the amounts you use. Also, I tend to see that men have a much easier time incorporating fat into their diets without needing to pay super close attention to the amount and source, but fat works differently in women's bodies. We have particular hormones that fat may influence. So again, this is all very individual.
If you are an older-ish endurance athlete or amateur, wanting to speed things up (including your recovery time) this is worth trying and experimenting with. Plus, it just tastes good! Enjoy!