We are now less than a week away from the start of this year's edition of the Titan Desert, the toughest MTB stage race in the world. For this reason, in this second post, I want to give you some tips so that day by day, regardless of your level, you perform at your best. That's why I am going to talk to you about hydration and the proper consumption of carbohydrates during the stages of this demanding race.
The first piece of advice, try to rest as much as possible between stage and stage; the second, take care of your diet as much as you can, despite the limitations of the race; and as a third piece of advice, be very strict with hydration and nutrition protocols during the stages, because that will help you recover better for the next day. To achieve this goal, I will give you some tips below so that you can train it beforehand and calculate the amount of products you need to take with you to the desert...
To make it easier, I am providing you with a summary table of water, salt, and carbohydrate intakes by stage hours, created by one of the nutritionists who knows this very tough race the best, José Antonio López:
Therefore, and by way of summary, I will tell you the following:
Hydration:
Start drinking from the beginning, don't wait until you are thirsty, thirst is a warning that indicates we have already started to dehydrate. If the intake is combined with a replacement drink like Isodrink&Energy even better since it also provides us with minerals that are essential for hydration. You have to force yourself to try to ingest at least 500 ml of liquid every hour of the stage.
Energy (carbohydrate consumption):
Energy consumption in the form of carbohydrates is essential in this type of race, because we cannot afford the luxury of reaching the finish line “empty,” since the next day we have another stage and even if we eat well, glycogen resynthesis takes more than 24 hours to be completed, so we have to consider that as the stages go by, our fuel tank will come out a little emptier each day. For this reason, it is extremely important that during the stage it is “emptied” as little as possible; for that, one has to be very strict and meticulous with carbohydrate intake and start doing it from the beginning.
Recovery:
As I already told you in the previous post, since it is a stage race, recovery is of utmost importance, so to optimize it both at the energy and muscular level, we must resort to a well-designed and quality recovery drink like 3:1 PRO Recovery.
Performance improvement:
If, as I recommended, you have been taking supplements like HMB, beta-Alanine or Creatine, remember that you should continue taking them until the last stage is over. So count on it and take the necessary portions for all the days you stay there.
I hope these tips help you finish your degree in the best conditions and enjoying it to the fullest.
