Here's my plan and I've tested it out many times on the long bricks.
Mix water and 3-4 scoops of Hammer Sustained Energy 3 hours before starting.
Take 1-2 gels before the swim.
Use Hammer Nutrition Sustained Energy and Perpetuem during the bike and run.
My stomach is very touchy so no solid foods.
Use the course energy drinks and add Endurolytes tablets.
Flat coke near the end (6 miles left to go) if needed.

Here's an interesting calculator. I personally don't think it's too realistic. (i.e. over-estimates how many calories you may need).
http://www.eload.net/...-calculators-p136109

For one reference point, I did the Esprit Iron distance race last year @ 150 lbs (5'10"), and here was my actual menu. (which I magically hatched the night before).

I set the countdown timer on my watch for 30 minute repeats – at each 30 mins, I would take a gel – whether I felt like it or not. Ultimately, the day’s nutrition went like this:

• Night before – decent meal at “Les Trois Brasseurs” – chicken Quessadillas with a half-pint of beer (prefaced with a sack of peanuts)
• Breakfast – very large bowl of 50% Fruit Loops / 50% Lucky charms with milk; coffee and a banana (guessing total of 400 cals)
• Before the swim: Cliff Bar (250 cals)
• Before the bike: Cliff Bar (250 cals)
• On the bike 7 gels, 1 cliff bar, 2 packs of chomps; 1 bottle of Gatorade + 2 bottles of e-load (hand-up from on-course nutrition) + 3 bottles of water (1600 cals +/-).
• On the run 3 gels + 2 x homemade Nutella/Jam sandwiches (Laps 6,7,8,9: 2 quarter sandwiches per lap) + water at every station + eLoad where available + 4-5 pretzels on laps 6-7-8, and a half a banana on lap 7. Approximately (1500 cals +/-). I had packed the sandwiches in the special needs bag, which I had access to each lap of the run if required.
• Total for the day (including breakfast) was about 4000 calories. – approximately 350 calories per hour.

I never once felt like I was close to bonking. I also could definitely feel a slight surge in energy shortly after each 30 minute “boost”. The other important thing was that my stomach felt absolutely fine the entire way – I never felt sloshing, and I never had “bowel issues”. In fact (turn away if you’re eating), I was constantly “farting” on the bike and the run – but good, “dry farts”, which lead me to believe that my stomach was working properly and digesting the food properly.

Other important factors - on the day I raced, the weather was cool and overcast (in the mid 70s max). The bike course is also super fast, with no hills - as is the run.

This was also my first time using so many "energy" products. I think my previous 41 years of scoffing candy had prepared my stomach for the onslaught of simple sugars.

To take care of my body I always choose good ingredients for my meal like Grapes, Cantaloupe and Honey Dew Melon. These foodstuffs contain level of caffeine and a chemical substance EGCG, both these substances effect metabolism and help my body to burn more calories.

These are a few of the race day nutritional strategies we've formulated which go into great detail...

Rappstar's 2012 IM US Champ Nutrition Report (8:11:18/1st o'all)

Ironman Florida Nutrition Report - 8:15:59 (1st Place O'all)


IM Arizona Nutrition Report (9:29 - 2nd M40-44)


There's a low of Q&A on each of them, but let me know if you have any questions about them.
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Brian Shea
http://www.PersonalBestNutrition.com
Open-Water/Masters Swimming at the Jersey Shore:
Monmouth County NJ Ocean Swim/Masters Workouts

I bought the neverbonk app for my iphone. Maybe like $5. Enter your data and expected times and it gives you quantities you should consume.

I have been planning using Infinit nutrition and a fluid only nutrition strategy. I have yet to race (doing Mont-Tremblant 70.3 & Mont-Tremblant IM this in June and August respectively) but training results yielded very positive outcomes. The most effective way to plan is get a general idea of caloric expenditure as well as fluid loss. For my race I plan on using a concentrate Infinit solution and chase it down with water form the aid stations that way I don't need as many bottles or food items, which should reduce weight.

I can go up to ~1000 calories/bottle so 2 bottles on the bike + 1 in special needs should be plenty of calories for the bike portion of the race. For the run I might have some concentrated run formula in bottles on a race belt, or use on course nutrition - it will depend how I feel and how the remainder of my training goes.

To plan adequately, I use a power meter to pace myself and also to accurately calculate caloric expenditure from work performed, and from this I get a good idea of how many calories I need to ingest. Literature seems to suggest to replace approximately 30-50% of calories during training and racing, but this is up to the individual to test and see what works best. I also performed a sweat test to give me a ballpark idea of how many fluids I need to consume hourly for optimal race performance.

I devised a small tool (spreadsheet in GoogleSheets) that calculates a calorie range dependent on how much work is performed, from there I enter the nutrition information of my Infinit (from the product's label) and how much I wish to concentrate. The tool then calculates recommended hourly caloric replacement, total calories that should be consumed, and how much water should be consumed with each "shot" of concentrated solution (as to maintain the original concentration "intended for" concentration of the solution - this is crucial to prevent dehydration or overhydration).

From the information entered and sweat rate calculated, the tool then calculates the optimal hourly fluid consumption to ensure proper nutrition and hydration.

Here is a link for the tool (you might need a gmail account to access GoogleSheets):
https://docs.google.com/...vy0/edit?usp=sharing

And here is a link just to see what it looks like (if the other link doesn't work)
https://docs.google.com/...76M2-IMa7vy0/pubhtml


If anyone else is employing a liquid only nutrition strategy and would like to use the tool, just let me know.


Joey

Have you tested your sweat rate? I had my best 70.3 nutrition wise after working with Nick Sufferdin for a plan. We tested sweat rate and he came up with a plan. The plan included all the possible tweaks and adjustments for different conditions. It was a small investment in my opinion. I am gearing up for my first full IM and nutrition was a big concern of mine.
Using help or not, if you don't know what you are burning per hour it is hard to figure what to replace. Then it falls to how to replace. Liquid or gels or solids. Get a good rate, figure what you need to replace, then start testing different replacement approaches. Take the race weather into account and see how your GI reacts. I have spent 6 months training my belly to accept the on course nutrition. Simplify!