Calorie consumption
Calorie consumption
Steady base miles at a slower pace mean that you will generate more of your energy from fat, but you won’t burn as many calories overall.
This may reduce your carbohydrate requirement to closer to 30g per hour versus the usual 60g, but you will still need to take some additional carbohydrate if your ride is longer than 90 minutes. Even when riding steadily you will still deplete your glycogen stores over time and could potentially bonk, so you need to take on some fuel, just perhaps not as much as when riding for longer and at a higher intensity.
You could also put your immunity at risk if you don’t adequately fuel with carbohydrate. Prolonged or intense endurance rides causes a slight drop in your immune system’s ability to fend off infections. Your immune function depends upon carbohydrate to work properly, leaving you more vulnerable to coughs and colds after training if you don’t take on enough carbohydrate fuel during and after a ride.
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