{"id":1271,"date":"2025-06-30T21:42:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T15:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/?p=1271"},"modified":"2025-06-30T21:42:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T15:42:57","slug":"what-to-eat-before-your-iceman-training-rides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/30\/what-to-eat-before-your-iceman-training-rides\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Eat Before Your Iceman Training Rides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>Because bonking mid-race in November is a special kind of misery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you&#8217;re training for&nbsp;<strong>Iceman<\/strong>, what you eat before your rides matters. A lot. This race isn&#8217;t just a cruise through the woods\u2014it&#8217;s 30 miles of relentless effort across singletrack, two-track, gravel, and more rolling climbs than your legs are ready for if you&#8217;re under-fueled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nailing your pre-ride nutrition now\u2014during training\u2014is how you\u2019ll build confidence, avoid bonking, and figure out what actually works for&nbsp;<em>you<\/em>&nbsp;before race day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Timing Is Everything: Eat Before You Ride, Not Just During the First Climb<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a rule of thumb, aim to eat a solid meal&nbsp;<strong>60\u201390 minutes<\/strong>&nbsp;before your training rides. This gives your body enough time to digest without leaving you feeling sluggish or, worse, sloshy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re rolling out early or on a tight schedule, even&nbsp;<strong>a small snack 30 minutes<\/strong>&nbsp;beforehand is better than heading out running on fumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fuel for the Effort: Carbs Are King<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you&#8217;re doing Sprint Intervals, Threshold, or a long weekend ride to simulate Iceman\u2019s full course effort,&nbsp;<strong>carbs are your main fuel source<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your legs run on glycogen. Glycogen comes from carbs. Don\u2019t skip this part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Good Pre-Ride Options Based on Time:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Time Before Ride<\/th><th>What to Eat<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>90 min+<\/td><td>Oatmeal with banana + nut butter, or rice and eggs with toast<br><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>60 min<\/td><td>Toast with jam + hard-boiled egg, or Greek yogurt + berries + granola<br><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>30 min or less<br><br>After<\/td><td>Banana, granola bar, fig bar, handful of pretzels, or rice cake<br><strong>Keep fat and fiber low<\/strong>&nbsp;pre-ride to avoid GI issues<br><br>Protein shake, banana or Greek yogurt with banana<br><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Avoid These Common Mistakes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Skipping food altogether<\/strong>\u00a0because you &#8220;don\u2019t feel hungry.\u201d If you start small and work up to more food over time, you\u2019ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. It just takes time for your body to adjust.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Eating too heavy or too close to ride time.<\/strong>\u00a0A breakfast burrito and then 10 minutes later, the VASA Pathway? You\u2019ll regret it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Trying new foods on race day.<\/strong>\u00a0If you plan to use it race day, train with it\u00a0<em>now.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Practice Like You Race: November Is Coming<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Training rides are where you rehearse what you\u2019ll do on race day\u2014including your pre-ride meal. By November, you should know exactly what sits well in your stomach, how much time you need between food and bike, and how your body responds in the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Use these next few months to test, tweak, and repeat.<\/em>&nbsp;The Iceman course rewards preparation. The better your fueling habits now, the stronger\u2014and smoother\u2014you\u2019ll feel from mile 1 to 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Next up: Fueling &amp; Hydration Strategies for Men vs. Women<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Men and women don\u2019t always fuel the same\u2014and they shouldn\u2019t. In the next post, we\u2019ll dive into how sex-specific physiology impacts fueling and hydration needs during training and racing. From hormonal shifts to sweat rates to carb utilization, we\u2019ll break down what matters and how to apply it on the bike\u2014so you\u2019re not just fueling hard, you\u2019re fueling&nbsp;<em>smart<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gina Render is a certified Performance Nutrition Coach\u00a0that works with a variety of athletes and active individuals both locally and remotely to help them meet their goals. As a wife, mom of two teens avid mountain biker, and strength athlete, she understands the demands that come with balancing life and sport. From sport-specific fueling to general nutrition, she&#8217;s your partner and advocate to empower you to Adventure More. Contact her at gina@adventure-more.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Because bonking mid-race in November is a special kind of misery. When you&#8217;re training for&nbsp;Iceman, what you eat before your rides matters. A lot. This race isn&#8217;t just a cruise through the woods\u2014it&#8217;s 30 miles of relentless effort across singletrack, two-track, gravel, and more rolling climbs than your legs are ready for if you&#8217;re under-fueled. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/30\/what-to-eat-before-your-iceman-training-rides\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What to Eat Before Your Iceman Training Rides&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[207,18],"tags":[208,69,165,72,139,141],"class_list":["post-1271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fuel-flow","category-training","tag-fuelflow","tag-iceman","tag-iceman-cometh-challenge","tag-kalkaska","tag-training","tag-traverse-city"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1272,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions\/1272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iceman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}