Sarah and I raced the legendary Breck Epic this year, August 2024. Sarah ambitously signed up for the 6-day, while I decided to tackle the 3-day as my 1st ever stage race. I thought it would be helpful for me to summarize my Breck Epic nutrition plan to hopefully help others who wish to take on this beast of an event in future years.
Stage 1 recap
I started off the morning like I do every morning with a cup of coffee with oatmilk. Then, I realized the 1 think I forgot to bring! Darn! I left the pancake mix at home. Good thing I brought a back-up breakfast option! I had oatmeal with fruit and maple syrup for breakfast and a glass of beet juice about two hours before the start. I was a little bummed that the race start time got pushed back twice, and that the course was shortened to just 16 miles due to weather. However, I was happy to not have to start in the pouring rain and also happy that the race director chose a new route that would not damage the beautiful trail system in Breckenridge. The trails were still a bit slick and I was running a little too much PSI in my tires (that was the conclusion I came to at the end of the race). Thus, I stayed pretty conservative in the woods sections as I didn’t want to wreck on day 1 (or any day for that matter). Since it was a shorter course, that meant faster paces, but I still wanted to keep my carb intake very high knowing that I had 2 more days ahead. I averaged ~70 grams of carbs per hour from sport drink (1 scoop of Skratch hydration + 1 scoop of Skratch high carb mix per bottle), Huma gels, Skratch chews, and Cliff Bloks. I was sure to get my recovery nutrition in knowing that I had 2 big days ahead. On day 1 I realized how lucky I was to have a partner crewing for me and helping me on and off the bike. I am forever grateful for my husband who supported me - cheering on course, washing my bike daily, cooking my meals, and doing all the dirty work while I recovered resting on the sofa in a VRBO. I'm 100% sure that his support was what allowed me to ride so well and recover tremendously each day. Sure I made the menu, but he implemented it! One mistake I made this day was consuming WAY too many cherries and tart cherry juice. Yes they are great for recovery, but too many for someone with IBS is risky. I'll be keeping my portions on that to lower amounts in the future that are better on my tummy. Eating dinner was difficult this evening and I was definitely force feeding myself, but I knew I had to consume as many carbs as I could stomach to prepare for the next day.
Stage 2 recap
I had pancakes for breakfast (my gracious husband went to the store to get mix), and then a glass of beet juice about an hour and a half before the start. I sipped on water during my warm up, cruising around the streets of Breck with other riders and chatting it up with friends while waiting for the start. This was the 1 stage I had not pre-rode so I didn’t know what to expect on course. Little did I realize, there were very few places to consume nutrition in the early part of the race. I wish I had taken a gel or chews early on when we were still on the road, because once we hit the singletrack it was pretty difficult to take in nutrition in the first hour or so of the race. However, I didn’t eat anything early due to GI issues (urge to go number 2, an uncommon symptom that I get if I start out way too fast). Luckily, I tape my gels to my top tube and that makes it a little easier and faster to consume them when I need one. So once the GI issues subsided about 60 minutes into the race I was able to get on top of my carb intake. Again, I averaged around 70 grams of carbs from sport drink, gels, and chews (starting after the first hour, which was minimal intake). My pacing was not great going up the Colorado trail and I lost a lot of time here. This was the biggest learning day for me in terms of pacing and the importance of pre-riding to know where you can eat and where it's too difficult. My appetite was back this evening, which I was thrilled about! I was able to eat twice as much food at dinner than the previous night. This allowed me to implement the highest carb day of my Breck Epic nutrition plan.
Stage 3 recap
Once again I had pancakes for breakfast about 2 hours before the start and a glass of beet juice about a hour and a half before the start. This stage was my jam! Fun, technical singletrack mixed with fun and flowy sections of downhill. I also did a much better job of pacing today in the first third and was able to really give the course my all in the last third. Averaged ~65g carbs per hour today. Hike-a-bike is pretty hard for me with my short legs, so I tried to stay on the bike as much as possible. However, I did walk the top of French Pass with everyone (almost everyone) else. The caffeine in my gels definitely helped with my energy yesterday and today. I had 100 mg of caffeine from gels and chews spread throughout the race (that’s about 2 mg caffeine/kg body weight for me) plus my coffee at breakfast, so probably around 4 mg caffeine/kg for the day. The optimal amount for performance for most people is around 3-5 mg caffiene/kg of caffiene, for those who respond well to it. Overall, I felt amazing after day 3 and thanks to my successfull meal planning and pacing techniques I was actually regretting that I didn't sign up for the full 6-day race because I felt I had more in the tank to go the distance!
This brings me to my Ah Ha moment: Stage racing can seem daunting especially the legendary Breck Epic but if you have amazing race crew support, stick to your tried and tested meal planning, and have the patience to pace well you can push your body to levels you never thought possible.
Breck Epic Menu for a 3-day stage race. The focus was on high carb, low fiber, low fat food choices as well as simple foods that would be easy to eat when appetite at altitude is poor. I'm certain that the super high carb intake on Day 2 had me feeling great on the course and even better the following day.
Saturday (day before race day)
Breakfast: pancakes with syrup and fruit and Greek yogurt, coffee with oatmilk
Lunch: leftover roasted potatoes and tofu
Snacks: pretzels, beet juice
Dinner: baked ziti. I mix ricotta with tofu to increase the protein and decrease the fat
Approx. 350 g carbohydrates (7 g carbohydrate/kg) , 85 g protein (1.7 g protein/kg)
Sunday (Race Day #1)
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit and maple syrup, beet juice, coffee with oatmilk
About an hour before race because of delay: Banana
On bike: Skratch in bottles, Huma gels, Cliff Bloks, Skratch Chews
Post-ride: ½ Cliff bar and a Gu Protein Recovery shake
Afternoon snacks: Lots of cherries and tart cherry juice, tortilla chips
Dinner: 1 burrito (Flour tortilla, tofu, rice, corn)
Approx. 490 g carbohydrates (9.8 g carbohydrate/kg) , 75 g protein (1.5 g protein/kg)
Race time: 2:07
Monday (Race Day #2)
Breakfast: Pancakes with syrup, beet juice, coffee with oatmilk
On bike: Skratch in bottles, Huma gels, Cliff Bloks, Skratch Chews
Post-ride: Untapped waffle and a Gu Protein Recovery shake
Afternoon snacks: leftover baked ziti, tortilla chips, peach, Skratch cucumber mocktails (basically just the new seasonal cucumber Skratch over ice)
Dinner: 2 burritos (Flour tortilla, eggs, rice, corn)
Approx. 700 g carbohydrates (14 g carbohydrate/kg) , 90 g protein (1.8 g protein/kg)
Race time: 5:27
Tuesday (Race Day #3 – final day for Nicole)
Breakfast: Pancakes with syrup, beet juice, coffee with oatmilk
On bike: Skratch in bottles, Huma gels, Cliff Bloks, Skratch Chews
Post ride: Pickle sandwiches - These were at the recovery tent. Pickles, potato chips and mayo on white bread. Sounds gross but tasted great!
Afternoon snacks: Grapes, ice cream (free at the rider's meeting area), tart cherry juice. Should have had a protein shake here, but hey, it was my final day!
Dinner: 4 bean tacos
Evening snack: Chocolate chips and peanut butter
Approx. 630 g carbohydrates (12.6 g carbohydrate/kg) , 50 g protein (1.0 g protein/kg)
Race time: 5:35
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