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Rice cakes for in-race nutrition
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slowstitch
Aug 19, 23 7:40
Post #1 of 14 (2079 views)
   
It seems that rice cakes were popular in this year's Tour de France. I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on this, or other attempts to make long-course nutrition a bit more attractive. I'm new to long course and looking for ways to avoid gastro distress and (and maybe something for a little psychological lift by consuming something resembling human food on the bike).

EDIT: For avoidance of doubt I'm talking about actual rice made at home with cream cheese, peanut butter, honey or something added.
Last edited by: slowstitch: Aug 20, 23 15:56
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [slowstitch] [ In reply to ]
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theyellowcarguy
Aug 19, 23 8:02
Post #2 of 14 (2047 views)
Rice cakes and another solids tend to be okay for cycling but for most people won’t sit well for the run. Gels, concentrated sports drinks, and other clear liquids will be the preferred method to minimize gastric distress. If you aren’t running then they are a great choice.
My Strava | My Instagram | Summerville, SC | 35-39 AG | 4:41 (70.3), 10:05 (140.6) | 3x70.3, 1x140.6 | Cat 2 Cyclist
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [slowstitch] [ In reply to ]
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s13tx
Aug 19, 23 8:04
Post #3 of 14 (2042 views)
Rice cake will turn into sugar very quickly and hit the blood stream giving your a spike and comes down quickly too. I rather have oatmeal bars or something that goes through your system slowly and gives you steady energy.
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [theyellowcarguy] [ In reply to ]
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slowstitch
Aug 19, 23 8:05
Post #4 of 14 (2042 views)
 
Yeah running is brutal. I guess my question would be whether "real" foods like bananas or rice cakes consumed in the first half of the bike leg would come back to haunt one in the run. I don't understand the operation of a partially shut down digestive system well enough to have a handle on this at all. It could well be that what works for Le Tour doesn't work at all for ironman.
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [theyellowcarguy] [ In reply to ]
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Dr. Tigerchik
Aug 19, 23 8:43
Post #5 of 14 (2010 views)
Quote:
Rice cakes and another solids tend to be okay for cycling but for most people won’t sit well for the run.

someone should tell the IM aid stations that hand out pretzels and stuff

to the OP - I've heard of people using rice balls (cooked rice) with no issues.
maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [Dr. Tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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eblackadder
Aug 19, 23 8:52
Post #6 of 14 (2003 views)
I tried rice cakes for a while, recipes from the feed zone cookbook. They’re ok nutritionally, but from a practical standpoint they’re bulky. I found no matter how I packaged them they were messy. They’re pretty easy to eat, but not particularly calorically dense. That’s fine if you have a car and domestiques passing you food, but if you’re trying to carry 3-400g of carbohydrate (enough to get me to special needs in a 140.6), that’s a lot of food.
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [slowstitch] [ In reply to ]
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michael Hatch
Aug 19, 23 11:44
Post #7 of 14 (1922 views)
I would assume that for the Tour riders the rice cakes would help the stomach deal with fluids as the rice is pretty useless at providing energy.
I use rice cakes to help keep the weight off, they're a diet food. Plus for those who get dry mouthed a rice cake would be like chewing sawdust.
I have trouble with all the standard energy bars as it takes me five minutes or more to chew a single bite of those things two hours into a race.
You can get away with that in a Half but not a whole IM.
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [michael Hatch] [ In reply to ]
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MP1664
Aug 19, 23 11:51
Post #8 of 14 (1914 views)
I think you’re thinking of a different type of rice cake. These aren’t the discs of cardboard typically used as a diet food, but a squishy ball/block of rice - I’ve made them with sushi rice - filled with peanut butter/jam/filling of your choice.
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [MP1664] [ In reply to ]
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michael Hatch
Aug 19, 23 12:12
Post #9 of 14 (1898 views)
Aaah....you might be right. I've never seen them, but then, I've never looked for them.
Must admit that cold mushy rice would not be big on my wish list, unless it's sushi.
Although chopsticks are tricky at speed...:0)
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [MP1664] [ In reply to ]
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tinman
Aug 19, 23 12:25
Post #10 of 14 (1886 views)
I've used Allen Lim's sticky rice bar recipe for many bike portions of Ironman races. It's a nice savory option and can be packaged into 1-2 bite portions and stuffed in your bento or jersey pocket. A great way to save the sugary gels, etc. for the run.

https://www.skratchlabs.com/...n-and-egg-rice-cakes
tinman
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [slowstitch] [ In reply to ]
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kajet
Aug 19, 23 14:29
Post #11 of 14 (1818 views)
A rice cake is 7 grams of carbs. If you’re going to use them for 3 hours and eat 84 grams of carbs per hour, that is 36 rice cakes you need. I also think they’re low in fructose, so you can’t absorb as many grams of carbs from a rice cake as from a more balanced source (which would have roughly the same amount of glucose and fructose).

A banana might have 30 grams of carbs, so we’re taking over 8 bananas.
"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden
Last edited by: kajet: Aug 19, 23 14:30
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [slowstitch] [ In reply to ]
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ThailandUltras
Aug 19, 23 14:55
Post #12 of 14 (1798 views)
We actually used to get a pack of rice cakes in our Ironman goodie bag at Ironman Oz back in the 90's. I used to put peanut butter on them for rides..Makes me want to go buy some just for the nostalgia value. :-)
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [kajet] [ In reply to ]
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dand
Aug 19, 23 15:49
Post #13 of 14 (1760 views)
kajet wrote:
A rice cake is 7 grams of carbs. If you’re going to use them for 3 hours and eat 84 grams of carbs per hour, that is 36 rice cakes you need. I also think they’re low in fructose, so you can’t absorb as many grams of carbs from a rice cake as from a more balanced source (which would have roughly the same amount of glucose and fructose).

A banana might have 30 grams of carbs, so we’re taking over 8 bananas.




MP1664 wrote:
I think you’re thinking of a different type of rice cake. These aren’t the discs of cardboard typically used as a diet food, but a squishy ball/block of rice - I’ve made them with sushi rice - filled with peanut butter/jam/filling of your choice.
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Re: Rice cakes for in-race nutrition [kajet] [ In reply to ]
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robgray
Aug 20, 23 6:21
Post #14 of 14 (1636 views)
kajet wrote:
A rice cake is 7 grams of carbs. If you’re going to use them for 3 hours and eat 84 grams of carbs per hour, that is 36 rice cakes you need. I also think they’re low in fructose, so you can’t absorb as many grams of carbs from a rice cake as from a more balanced source (which would have roughly the same amount of glucose and fructose).

A banana might have 30 grams of carbs, so we’re taking over 8 bananas.

They’re talking about home made rice cakes not packaged. This is what I’ve used in the past.

270g calrose rice (930 calories)
10 x 5g bags “sugar in the raw” (200 calories)
2 tbsp honey (120 calories)

You then compress the sushi rice in a baking tin, and wrap in foil so they can be quite compact. Easy to put into a bento box and bike jersey if they have a pocket.
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