Get Your Off-Road Nutrition... Without Falling Off the Bike

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There’s a saying about racing off-road, and how complex it is. To be a good off-road triathlete, you must master the art of off-road racing. And when it comes to the complexities of nutrition logistics, there is definitely an art that must be mastered.

Off-road nutrition is much more of a logistical mystery than a simple road triathlon, where you can use a bento box, carry a bar of some type or use gel packets. Off-road, you can’t take your hands off the bars to reach for a package, tear it open, and eat it anytime. Try doing that on a volcano in Maui, or on the twisty, winding roots of a single track trail and you’ll soon be licking fresh wounds.

Let’s not forget your water demands either. If you ride a full-suspension bike, you might have only one water bottle cage. Due to the intensity and length of many major off-road triathlons, you’ll need more than one bottle of water when you’re racing anywhere from three to five hours!
So what can you do? What can you eat? What’s the best strategy for getting the calories you need? What about water? What about electrolytes?

The best strategy you can employ is consuming liquid calories, complete with all the electrolytes you need, supplemented with plenty of water for the conditions. This simple plan will help to keep your hands on the bike more and allow for fewer risks, easier consumption, and more efficient use of your time on the bike.

There are four points to consider with a liquid-nutrition plan; the amount of fluid and calories you actually need; the amount you can carry; the amount available on the course; and finally, where you can actually consume it during the course. It is very important to consider each of these.

The amount of water and calories you actually need to consume in the race is the most important thing to know. Not getting enough water and calories for the race demands will certainly lead to underperforming, while taking in too much can lead to intestinal issues and wasted time from slowing to consume needless fluids and carrying the unneeded weight.

The amount of water and calories you need is dependent on two things – course length and climate. The longer the race, the more calories you will need. The hotter it is, the more water you will need.

How much fluid you can carry is also an important variable to know. This amount is determined by how many bottle cages your bike has available on it. If it has only one, you may very well need to find another way to carry fluids, such as a hydration backpack, if the race is long enough to require more.

What’s available on the course is just as important to know in advance, and can be the determining factor for whether you bring a hydration pack or just use the water and nutrition available on the course. Consider the time it will take to complete the course, and how much water you will need given the time and conditions, as well as your caloric needs. If there are enough opportunities with aid stations to give you what you need, you should be fine. If not, you must figure out how to fill in the voids.

Once you know how much you need, how much you can carry, and how much is available on the course, you can make better decisions about how to execute an effective hydration and nutrition plan.

The final step to your strategy is determining where on the course you can actually consume fluids. Some courses are wide open, and reaching for your bottle isn’t a problem at all. Some are so rough it’s hard to ever grab your bottle during the race. Many races fall somewhere between these two extremes.

If the course has rough sections, you must plan to hydrate and consume your calories during the easier sections, even if it means backing off at times. If the course has very little space to easily consume, you may have to utilize a hydration pack to make drinking easier.
If you carefully consider each of these four points when planning your next off-road triathlon, you’ll be sure to avoid surprises for an improved performance!

Jim Vance is a USAT Level 2 Certified Coach for TrainingBible Coaching, and a professional triathlete. He is also a former XTERRA Amateur World Champion. Questions or comments can be sent to jvance@trainingbible.com.

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