Hi All,
I’m going to try the only Zwift course I have not yet finished, the PRL full. My challenge is I have tried it THREE times and failed.
The first time I got 155km and 6hr15 in before my son accidentally powered off the PC. The second and third times I got to about 4hr 45 each. Every time I end up pooped (I mean tired) and with massive cramps in the legs. (hamstrings cramp, and then if I straighten the legs, the quads cramp etc.).
How do I prep and hydrate/fuel etc. to be able to get to the end? Wisdom from you experts is greatly appreciated.
well I alternate between doing zwift workouts or else maybe the Race3r group rides 1hr generally and then also laps of Richmond Park 90min. Haven’t got time really to do lots of 100k rides, but tossing off an 80k on a weekend is not a bother.
Fueling last time was coffee and scrambled eggs on white toast (chose white for the high GI), during the ride a banana or so, at the halfway mark I would have a cheese and ham sandwich.
a bit after the sandwich maybe couple of chocolate digestives or else chocolate bar
I posted this reply in this topic a few years ago -
I got off the bike each descent after the Box Hill climb. Even though it’s only 3 or so minutes, it was good to walk around a bit and refill the water bottle.
I took a break after 4 laps, then after another 3 laps, and then just before the 10th climb of Box Hill.
I ate 2 PB&J sandwitches, one Cliff bar, 2 bottles of sports drink, 2 small Cokes, and a couple of Pickle Juice shots.
After I finished, I drank a Muscle Milk, and used a massage roller on my quads. I was sore that evening, but felt really good the next day.
You probably need more carbs and electrolytes during the ride. I did a 100 mile gravel race last weekend (actually 104 miles; 7,500 ft climbing) and I was eating a gel about every hour, plus drinking Gatorade (3 liters total during the ride) I also ate a couple of Cliff Z bars and a Scratch peanut butter bar. No stops to refill, finished in 6 hours 23 minutes. No cramps, no bonking.
Are you taking on any electrolytes during your ride? If not, either natural (bananas, pickles, etc), supplement (SaltStick, Hammer Endurolytes, etc), or liquids (Liquid-IV, Pedialyte, Skratch Hydration, etc) will probably help with the cramps. As Dan mentioned, pickle-juice, it can be a miracle worker at times.
You’re not consuming enough carbs for a ride of this length, and you’re consuming too much protein during the ride. Depending on your pace, you might want to shoot for at least 60g of carbs per hour. You can deal with the protein after the ride.
You may not have enough base to tackle a ride of thus length at a high effort level, or without some rests, as suggested by @Dan_Kothlow.
Make sure you’re drinking enough fluids, and consuming enough electrolytes. You don’t have to replace all of the fluid you’re sweating (and breathing) out, but definitely a fair amount of it, or else you’ll really start to fade as the miles tick by.
A good fan is likely to help, if you don’t already have one.
If there is one, see if you can enter an event using this route. Having people to ride with can definitely help. If no event, at least pick a day where London is one of the world choices, so that there are more people on the route.
Cramping can also occur when you attempt something far longer and harder than you have trained up for. On the day, all you can do is ride with the fitness you have, so yes to the electrolytes, but setting interim goals that involve building up more saddle time is more important for me.
In terms of products, I like Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem for the longer events, and I do stop and eat a sandwich but that won’t erase the need for steady intake of carbs especially before you are really exhausted. Once you get to that point it can’t be corrected.
Another factor to consider is managing core body temperature and humidity, airflow in the training space.
Here is my recipe for homemade electrolye mix. Buy a bag of sodium citrate and potassium citrate. Mix together so that each serving is roughly 500 - 700 mg sodium and 300 - 400 mg potassium.
$25 - $30 and you have a couple years supply (depending on how much you use it of course). I mix small amounts at a time and use 1/2 tsp per bottle per ride. It lasts a really long time.
I add the mix to my bottles with those crystal light single use sticks, those are 5 or 10 calories each. Or you can just use plain water, can’t hardly taste it.
