Adrian is a keen endurance mountain biker, regularly competing in 24hr events. Here he explains when and why he uses Active Root.
Hello again, my name is Adrian Beale, Veteran (55) Ultra Athlete specialising in 24hr solo mountain biking, I also am vegetarian and now gluten free. We (I say we because without my amazing support crew and coach and mentor I am just a heap of jelly) had our best ever year in 2018 by achieving podiums in all the ultra races we entered;
• 3rd in the European 24hr solo mtb age cat
The just two weeks later
• 2nd Overall in the Manx 24hr solo mtb Championship at Longest Day Longest Ride (LDLR)
• And 2nd in British Championship 24hr solo mtb age cat
• 3rd in British Marathon solo mtb Championship
• 2nd in World 24hr solo mtb Championship age cat at WEMBO Fort William.
• I was also honoured to be nominated for an award at the Isle of Man Sports Awards, Veteran Sports Person Category 2018
This year we are again entered in;
• The Manx LDLR
• Also the first running of the Manx 200, 200 miles, 30,000ft of climbing in 24hrs
• The European Championship 24hr solo mtb
• The British 24hr Championship solo mtb
So another tough year planned. For this year we have changed the training slightly to emphasize more on big indoor sessions over the winter then moving outdoor with the better weather. Also some dietary changes and but still have Active Root at the core of both hydration and nutrition. We have found that during the event Active Root combines really well with my diet to remove gut distress, which is a huge gain at ultras. As I have said before its no fun spending time throwing up in a hedge watching the opposition ride past. My pit crew notice I am less hungry too.
During training I use a combo of full strength Active Root (my favourite is the peppermint combo) for the longer plus 2hr efforts, then for shorter turbo and road efforts I use a dilute version as its so refreshing and I don’t need the calories.
While racing then we go full strength unless its really really hot and I am chugging down the liquids and don’t want to overload the system. Although then I find the green tea of benefit at full strength as I love the less sweet taste. We can adjust strength as we go through the event, but generally full strength is a great base line.
By less sweet I mean in taste only as I never find AR over the top in sugariness. After 50 years I have finally quelled my sweet tooth!
24hrs is a long time to be on it so we do have to tailor the hydration strategy based on my feedback and its different for every event from the extremes of northern Italy in mid summer to the cold of Fort William in October.
Training is the time to get the info in the bag and then take it forward to your specific event. Don’t experiment in competition but learn from it. Try out the new stuff in training.
Information is king……………
Big love to all for 2019….. Lets do it.
Ade
