Maltodextrin Notes
Took out 2 bottles for yesterday's recovery ride of about 20 miles (on the road). Didn't plan on drinking them both, but wanted to overdo it to see how much I could stomach in a short time. I used an entire do-it-yourself mix:
Added this all to a 32 oz Nalgene bottle, added about 16 oz of water, and shook it. And shook it. And shook it. The little white blobs of maltodextrin mix very reluctantly. After a few rounds of shake, then do something, it was finally mixed.
I divided it into 2 water bottles, then topped them off. Roughly 48 ounces of water.
So I find myself thinking in terms of limiters these days, identifying rides in terms of the 1 thing that held me back the most (almost always short & steep climbs). In terms of this concoction, there was 1 clear limiter. Taste. The mango kool-aid was designed for 64 ounces of water, and a whole botaload of sugar. As a result, this mixture was bitter, not sweet. The lack of sweetness is something I could probably get used to. The bitterness, not so easily. I have a few other kool-aid packs. Obviously I need to use less kool-aid, and maybe another flavor, fruit punch or something classic like that. Am I old if I refer to Fruit Punch Kool-Aid as a classic?
I knocked out 1 bottle in about 45 minutes, which is a fair calorie intake (220 per hour pace). The stomach was fine with it, no adverse reactions. But the taste...it wasn't awful but it wasn't something I enjoyed much. That clearly needs work.
In terms of energy I never felt weak, which would happen at the end of a 20 mile ride had I brought nothing. But this clearly isn't a true test of anything. I need to work out the details of the mix. I know some mix it with Gatorade but I'm trying to avoid simple sugars with this mix...I really don't know why. I note that Hammer uses some sort of apple concentrate for sweetness. Perhaps I should just toss in some table sugar.
At some point this weekend I will more than likely fall back to a maltodextrin mix. Despite the fact that every intelligible source says to not try anything new on race day, I'm an idiot. As such, I will likely follow up this post with colorful vomit stories. Stay tuned.
- 3 scoops maltodextrin (330 cals)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pack emergen-c
- 1 pack mango kool-aid
Added this all to a 32 oz Nalgene bottle, added about 16 oz of water, and shook it. And shook it. And shook it. The little white blobs of maltodextrin mix very reluctantly. After a few rounds of shake, then do something, it was finally mixed.
I divided it into 2 water bottles, then topped them off. Roughly 48 ounces of water.
So I find myself thinking in terms of limiters these days, identifying rides in terms of the 1 thing that held me back the most (almost always short & steep climbs). In terms of this concoction, there was 1 clear limiter. Taste. The mango kool-aid was designed for 64 ounces of water, and a whole botaload of sugar. As a result, this mixture was bitter, not sweet. The lack of sweetness is something I could probably get used to. The bitterness, not so easily. I have a few other kool-aid packs. Obviously I need to use less kool-aid, and maybe another flavor, fruit punch or something classic like that. Am I old if I refer to Fruit Punch Kool-Aid as a classic?
I knocked out 1 bottle in about 45 minutes, which is a fair calorie intake (220 per hour pace). The stomach was fine with it, no adverse reactions. But the taste...it wasn't awful but it wasn't something I enjoyed much. That clearly needs work.
In terms of energy I never felt weak, which would happen at the end of a 20 mile ride had I brought nothing. But this clearly isn't a true test of anything. I need to work out the details of the mix. I know some mix it with Gatorade but I'm trying to avoid simple sugars with this mix...I really don't know why. I note that Hammer uses some sort of apple concentrate for sweetness. Perhaps I should just toss in some table sugar.
At some point this weekend I will more than likely fall back to a maltodextrin mix. Despite the fact that every intelligible source says to not try anything new on race day, I'm an idiot. As such, I will likely follow up this post with colorful vomit stories. Stay tuned.
posted by Norm at 6:18 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home