by hattenburrow | Dec 20, 2015 | Nutrition
On Wednesday I went to a talk by Dr Rob Child on sport nutrition. It was really interesting and to learn more about how nutrition and training really sit side by side and should been seen as equally as important.
Dr Robert Child is the head of ESG’s nutrition services and is an expert in the safe and legal use of nutrition supplements. He has been working with top-level athletes for over a decade.
Below are some of the key points from the lecture that I wanted to share.
Fuels for performance and what they do:
- Fat – lots of fat available to fuel a small engine – slow process to use fat
- Carbohydrate – smaller reserve but can burn at a faster rate
- Creatine – tiny engine – fast process to use creatine. Used very quickly but regenerates rapidly too
Good nutrition is about harnessing the beneficial effects of food.
What is a good training diet?
Fat-
- Omega 6 – cakes/ ready meals etc Omega 6 has an inflammatory response
- Omega 9 – olive oil
- Omega 3 – fish/ Flax seed etc Omega 3 suppresses inflammation – benefits of omega 3 include reduced heart rate, improved mood, and improved ventilation
Protein-
Vegetable protein
Animal protein (milk, egg, fish, meat) – milk and eggs contain important antioxidant’s; creatine, carnosine and carnitine are found in animal proteins.
Characteristics of animal proteins –
- Low GI
- They make you feel full (20/30g per meal)
- High vitamin density b vitamins, iron, minerals, zinc, creatine
- Important for muscle grow, repair, immune system
Carbohydrate –
Glycemic index.
The Glycaemic Index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrate-containing foods based on the overall effect on blood glucose levels. Slowly absorbed foods have a low GI rating, while foods that are more quickly absorbed have a higher rating.
- White bread 95 digested quickly so big increase in glucose
- White boiled rice 60-70
- Spaghetti (Durham wheat) 64
- Potatoes boiled 85
High GI foods are good recovery foods and help stimulate the release of insulin was which also helps with muscle repair.
Anything with a lot of fibre in it has a low glycemic index, low GI takes longer for your body to break down and release energy making them good pre-race/ long training ride foods.
- Oats/muesli 42
- Apple 36
- Chickpeas 36
Fibrous (unrefined carbs) if it looks like when it was growing its fibrous
- Fruits
- Veg
- These have low GI
- Don’t elevate insulin levels
- Make you feel full
- Nutrient dense
QUESTION: I tend to train early in the morning and if nots an intense session I won’t eat first, I thought this meant I burnt more fat… but turns out I could be burning muscle too!
Starchy carbs
- White Rice
- White Pasta
- Ice cream
- High GI
- Elevate insulin levels
- Don’t make you feel full
- Low nutrient density
Type and amount of protein, fibrous carbs, starchy carbs in meals is important
- Big breakfast high calorie to fuel you throughout the day. Minimum of 10g protein in breakfast
- Big lunch
- Small dinner so less to be stored over night as fat
This is obviously very different to the way most of us eat now and is a lifestyle change but potentially a good one! After Christmas I am going to give it a go having a larger breakfast and lunch and a smaller dinner.
I hope you have enjoyed my post, the nest one will be on recovery nutrition.
by hattenburrow | Nov 24, 2015 | Coaching, Training
As the leaves cover the ground and riding conditions become somewhat soggy it is important to look after your bike.
Yes I know when you get home a cuppa and hot steamy shower sound tempting but if you want your bike to be in tip top condition and ready for your next session you need to give it some TLC before you tend to yourself!
Here are my tips for keeping your bike rolling over the winter.
First of all you will need to buy some Duck Smart bike cleaner I recommend the Earth Mover as it cuts through the grime quickly, smells nice and is biodegradable.
You will also need an old towel which you can cut into piece (leggings, t-shirts and old tea towels are great alternatives)! A scrubbing brush from somewhere like Morrison’s and also an old sock or two!
- Start by wetting your bike frame being careful not to get too much water around the joints
- Spray on the Duck Smart, all over the frame, chain and cassette
- Go flick the kettle
- Lightly use the scrubby brush alongside the hose to wash off the grit and grime again being careful not to get too much water in your bikes joints
- Now use the scrubby brush on your cassette and chain to remove and grit and grime still left behind
- Turn your bike upside down and check the jocky wheels for grit
- Dry your frame with the towel
- Use a sock to dry around the seals in your forks
- Use a different cloth to clean your brake rotors
- The final sock should be used to wipe over your chain
- Use a wet lubricant to oil the joints in your chain and leave to soak in. I like Muc-Off wet lube the colour makes it easy to see when it has soaked into the joints
- After about 15 mins go back and remove as much oil as possible from your chain with the sock, a good tip is when you run your figure over it your figure should come away pretty clean and not caked in oil
So there you go that is my wet weather clean routine. Before you get out and ride this winter it is a good plan to make sure your bike has had a good service if you live around Hampshire Bike Fixers Portsmouth is a great place to go to make sure your bike is ready for winter riding.
Happy Riding x
by hattenburrow | Nov 20, 2015 | Biking Adventures, Film & Photo
I hope you enjoy this little video about me and why im a bit of a cycling nut!
[vimeo 122962156 w=500 h=281]
Dogtag Stars: No 3 – Hannah, Mountain Biker from Dogtag Travel Insurance on Vimeo.
by hattenburrow | Sep 13, 2015 | Racing
It seems a very long time ago that I was lining up at Battle on the Beach for my first race of the season.
I went up to elite this year which was a bit of a baptism of fire! My first nationals were a real eye opener to the speed needed to be competitive in cross-country. Although the race was really hard I learnt a lot from the experience. I went away and worked on my technical skills.
Over the winter I had been doing some longer rides and found these suited me. I have always found the power and pace of cross-country a challenge but this year decided to try endurance racing.
My first six hour solo was tough but showed me that I could turn to endurance racing. I worked hard to improve my endurance building up from 3 hour nonstop rides to 5 hour nonstop rides. These were hard but I enjoyed pushing myself in a new direction and worked hard on my fitness.
The next challenge was a 24 hour race with Martyn where we got an unexpected 3rd place.
After Mountain Meyhem I had my own time of mayhem with buying our first house my training was disrupted. I decided to use this time when I was feeling rather stressed to concentrate on training and getting used to being on my bike for long periods of time and perfecting my nutrition during those rides.
I entered the last round of the Southern XC series and was happy that my training had paid off when I managed 3rd place.
My next priority race was Torq in your Sleep, my first 12 hour solo. I didn’t really know what to expect but I had a plan which I stuck too and that paid off. I learnt so much from this race like make sure you eat little and often so that you don’t get stomach cramp, don’t take the dodgy head torch light out as coming back to change it costs a lot of time (20 mins to be precise).
The next few months I will be working on my endurance and stamina clocking up the miles and building a good base over the winter.
My aim for 2016 is to race the Trans Alp and continue to improve on my endurance results from this year.
Thank you to my coach Mark at Velo coaching for your help with my training.
Thanks to my sponsors Grip Grab and Bike Fixers. Thanks to Silverback for my brilliant Syncra which has kept me competitive all year.
If you would be interested in supporting me in 2016 please contact hannah@peal2pedal.co.uk
by hattenburrow | Sep 2, 2015 | Racing
No race would be complete without a bit of drama! Torq 12:12 was no exception. On Saturday my newly tubeless tyres decided they were not happy with this arrangement and both went flat! Mild panic set in as I considered getting a flat tyre in my first ever 12 hour solo race on Sunday. So I popped in some tubes to keep punctures at bay.
Arriving Sunday morning I was eager to ride the course and face the much talked about Minley bombhole! I was accompanied on my practice lap by super star of the hour Fred who won his race the previous day in the under 7’s and Seb, feeling the need to be talked through the A lines it was nice to have some company!
The course was brilliant, singletrack linked by fire roads. It was mainly flat with 3 good climbs, the first was a short sharp up, a long gravel road climb and the worst one of all was a grassy climb, which considering it was not steep or long seemed to suck energy out of my legs! Considering the level of rain there had been the course was pretty dry with a couple of ‘sticky’ patches. Arriving at the Minley bombhole I rode it twice and was happy with my line choice.
After rider briefing I was feeling nervous but had prepared well so tried to relax before the mass start. Karen and I lined up together and it soon was time to begin our epic ride!
I got a good start and was not caught in too much congestion going into the singletrack.
The first three laps were good fun I pushed it on the climbs recovered on the downhills and ate on the flats. The singletrack was really good fun, especially a section with some off camber turns through the trees.
After the third lap I had a pot noodle break, this was the wrong time to stop as I got held up behind the six hour race in the singletrack which was frustrating, as soon as we got out of the first section I worked hard to pass as many slower riders as I could before entering the second section, however this high burst of energy with a half digested pot noodle made me feel rather sick and I got bad stomach cramps afterwards.
Lap five and six passed quickly I rode consistently picking up a new bottle and small snack. After lap 7 I stopped again for a porridge pot, it had just started to rain. I then felt a bit better so had a slice on banana bread and a packet of marmite crisps as I was craving savoury after so many jelly babies and sweet energy drinks.
Riding at night was a really cool experience. Under the tree canopy with only my headlight beam in front of me I felt like I was the only one out on the course, with only the sound of the ground under my wheels for company. Every now and again a shimmer of light and the sound of others would catch me up and then usually over take! Other riders where so supportive giving me encouragement which kept me going. Sometimes I felt like I had been riding alone for nearly a whole lap and then in the distance a carving beam of light would appear, this was really uplifting and gave me a target to aim for and catch.
At one point the course opened up into a field and through the trees I could make out tiny lights shimmering through like stars.
Near the end of the lap through a dark section of forest the organisers had put loads of glow sticks in the trees it was really pretty, like entering a magical forest and with the music from the disco pumping in the background I had a surge of energy and felt happy with my progress.
As I went out for lap 9 I had a technical issue as my head torch stopped working, I cut off the track and picked up a new one but had to then re-do part of the course again, this cost me valuable time and I felt a bit flustered and came off on a silly root.
Going back out for my 10th lap was the hardest I was cold, my knees ached and I just wanted to curl up and sleep. Martyn was an amazing support and convinced me to do another lap or two! I managed to do one more getting in just after the mid night cut off.
I felt pretty overwhelmed with what I had achieved coming third in my first solo 12 hour race was something I had never expected.
I want to say a huge thank you to Martyn who was an amazing support keeping me going every lap.
Thank you to Mark my coach who has helped me with my training.
Thank you to Silverback for my amazing bike, Bike Fixers for keeping it in tip top condition and Grip Grab for keeping my hands and feet toasty in all conditions!
Read the Pedal 2 Pedal team race report here.
