Marah (Youth Cyclist): Q & A

Q:  Can you tell me why you recruited my services in prep for your first 100-mile bike race recently?  

A: I decided to reach out for your help as lately in longer races and rides I’ve been hitting a wall at about the four hour- four and a half hour mark and I’ve just been feeling nauseous and reluctant to get any nutrition down following that time mark, and I knew I needed to make some changes and start to understand a bit more about my nutrition and what I need to be doing in order to complete something as long as a 100 mile race.

Q:  And how did the race go for you?  

A:  My race was great! It was definitely one of the most challenging rides I’ve ever done, but I didn’t have any issues and my stomach felt good the whole time, and I didn’t feel nauseous once! Overall I was honestly surprised by how good my body felt throughout the whole thing and even the next day. 

Q:  What was your most important or surprising finding as we navigated through our sessions?  

A: One of the most important and surprising findings to me as we went through our sessions was actually the sodium content of my sweat and just how little sodium I was actually sweating. I’ve been overdosing on salt on my rides for about the past two years now, and it was amazing to learn that that was a big factor into why I might have been feeling so nauseous during all those long rides, and it was really cool to see how dialing back my sodium intake changed the way I feel on the bike and how my stomach feels. 

Q:  What's up next for you race-wise?  

A: For me this fall season, my next big race is Tour of the White Mountains 50 miler in Pinetop, Arizona this October. Followed by El Tour de Tucson later in November. I’m so excited to see how I feel at these races and going forward now that I have a solid nutrition plan and just a better overall understanding of what I need to be doing nutrition wise to feel my best! Thank you so so much Brooke for all your help!