This is a guest post from Judy Stermer, Vermont Foodbank’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs. She’s rode two of the Harpoon Point to Point century (100 mile) rides, so we asked her to write about her favorite nutrition tips for training.

Are you training for the Harpoon Point to Point presented by National Life Group? Team Foodbank is out there, putting in time on the road, preparing for the big ride on Saturday, August 8th. As part of our training, we’ve been talking about the importance of proper nutrition during training and on ride day.

1046-Harpoon-P2-P-2014-FA64When training for any sort of endurance activity, nutrition before, during and after a workout is paramount for high performance and healthy recovery. And through experimenting with various foods and drinks during my own training, I’ve learned that there isn’t a single nutrition plan that works for everyone. Just like training plans, there are a million theories about what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to consume.

My advice? Practice eating and drinking while you’re in training mode. Find out what makes your body feel strong. Figure out how much you should eat/drink and when. That way you will be ready to go on ride day.

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with electrolyte drinks. According to the National Institutes for Health, electrolytes are minerals in our blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge. Electrolytes affect the amount of water in our body, the acidity of our blood (pH), our muscle function, and other important processes. We lose electrolytes when we sweat, so we must replace them by drinking fluids that contain electrolytes. Common electrolytes include: calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and sodium.  There are many sport drinks out there—Gatorade, PowerAde, Heed, etc. They all contain water, sugar and salt so I figured I would save some money and make my own.

Harpoon Point to PointHere’s my recipe!

  • 4 cups of water (could replace with 3 parts coconut water, 1 part water)
  • 1 cup citrus juice (lemon, lime, and/or orange)
  • ¼ maple syrup or honey
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Shake, fill your water bottle, and hit the road!

Like any plan—there are lots of opinions out there. These are just some of our thoughts—we’d love to hear how you eat while training, what works for you, and any recipes that you are using!

Please feel free to add your comments below. Also, check out other Harpoon Point to Point blog posts here, including training tips, bike shop deals and rider stories.

The Harpoon Point to Point is our largest fundraiser of the year – and we still need riders and volunteers! Learn more.