Prepping for the first 50, Eating

Go Diego, Go!

As noted in yesterday's post - eating and drinking are a necessity in order to keep ourselves going down the trail. As riders, we often concoct very elaborate and well thought-out mixes and mashes for our horses, with a sprinkle of this, and a dash of that - ensuring that everything is to Shnoopykins desire - and then scrounge around for that 3 year old granola bar that's been riding around in our saddle packs as an afterthought for ourselves. While it may be entirely possible to get through a 6 hour LD on nothing but fluids, you are going to feel and perform much better with some fuel on board. This will just prove more true over longer distances.

There are some simple characteristics that foods must meet before I personally will consider them for rides. I have a sensitive stomach, and getting stuff down is sometimes a challenge.

1.
Some people are able to happily eat anything during a ride; I am NOT one of those people. So I have some guidelines that foods must meet for me:
Must be easy to eat with one hand, generally without utensils. I'm lucky to even take the time to wash my hands during a ride, the idea of dragging out a fork and knife to consume anything is not that likely. If for some reason I DO eat these kinds of foods, such as during a 100 when I have crew, I'll most likely still be seen sitting or wandering around near my horse doing stuff with one hand and shoveling food in with the other. Much easier to have food that I can just hold in one hand and eat.
2.
Must be moist. No cakes, cookies, chips, or crackers for this girl. I want something that's got a lot of natural moisture, or enough sauce and/or condiments to get down without a lot of additional assistance from chewing and saliva production.
3.
Along those lines, must be easy to chew and get down. Nothing that requires a lot of mastication before it's ready to be swallowed - save the steaks for after the ride.
4.
Not too sweet. I have a sensitive stomach during rides and too much sugar doesn't go over well. I generally prefer more salty and/or savory choices.

With that in mind, lets move on to what I actually like to eat, these are my own personal recommendations, as well as suggestions from several friends. For food to eat ON THE TRAIL:


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