Im in the same boat. I do like sweets etc but find the taste of gels dont sit well with me. I have tried a number of drinks Gaterade mix being the last one, Ordered a bag of scratch labs and will see how that goes. Another one I hear often is trailwinds or something along those lines.

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http://RoadID.com/...te/4HC4V-TAFQ9XPJDTX

I've had good luck with infinit nutrition. Do a search on infinit and you will see many people who use this.

Perpetuem is another powder-mix-in-water option. Long time satisfied user here.

I just use maltodexrin with a little salt, dissolved in water to a gel consistency.

your going to get lots of opinions here and that's great. I wanted something easy-ish this year as gels were too much finally for me after years of them being ok-ish for numerous IM before. So I switched over to Infinte exclusively on the bike and it worked really well. I went 10:55 and ran 35 min off my PR, where my past marathons were 4:20+ flat flat runs... so this year with the switch I was felt really on and started my run pretty fueled up versus pretty drained.. I did dial the taste back a bit...and just water and the occasional salt pills.

I followed their videos, can push about 280 calories an hour for a 6 foot 175 guy...can do maybe a bit more if I dont have to run post ride. For what its worth I still uses gels on my runs.

Check it out,I was pretty skeptical and then pretty impressed. It was easy and really just worked.

I switched to Tailwind Nutrition over a year ago and love it. I've since competed in two Ironmans plus a few 70.3's and other races with Tailwind being my one and only source of calories. I used to take gels and salt tabs, I find TW covers all my needs. I would give it ago!

Edit: Recently posted review on Tailwind: http://trailandultrarunning.com/...-tailwind-nutrition/

I have a bottle with 3 scoops EFS plus 2 scoops carbopro which is 500 calories plus all the electrolyte you'll ever need. It's all I need on the bike for a 70.3 and for a full I throw another bottle with the same in special needs and pick up any extra calories I need from aid stations. Downsides are having to carry an extra bottle of water to dilute it since that concentration is way too much for optimal absorbtion. In cold conditions I have to pee all the time. Also you literally have all your eggs in one basket - I have bounced my bottle out of my bta cage in several races losing all my nutrition for the whole ride.

infinit nutrition. i switched this year before CAC and it's been the best decision i made. also, there's no need to spend money on food to carry during events because it all goes to infinit now..lol. still buy roctane gels for the run portion and training runs.

I'm switching to Perpetuem and need to understand how to keep it from spoiling while sitting in the bike to run bag in the heat for several hours before I get to it?

Ice cubes in the bottle?

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/Howie Nordström

Raw honey and baking soda dissolved into warm water. Refrigerated overnight. It's a homemade energy drink that is sweeter than anything you can buy on the market.

If I need something slower burning for a longer race/workout, I bring stroopwafels on the bike. Not honeystinger. These. They're almost identical to honeystinger (and wayyy cheaper!). http://www.amazon.com/...-Ounce/dp/B001FA1KX0

I haven't bought a gel or official energy product in over two years. And I must say - I'm a richer man for it.

X2 on malto. Super cheap and it's quite mild, even with 3/4 or 1 full cup per bottle. A 1/4 cup is like 160 calories. I don't sweat much, but throw a couple electrolyte pills in the bottles for warmer races. Otherwise, it's just malto and maybe a gel late on the bike leg.

I'm in the same boat....I recently switched to an all, ok mostly, liquid diet (on the bike) and it has allowed me to comfortably take in more calories. My plan is a little strict and relies on aid stations. I'm 6'2" 153-156 pounds. I run a BTA bottle and 2 rear cages on my saddle. The BTA is pure water in T1 and I have a Snickers bar in my bento to get me going after the swim. The Snickers is probably more of a psychological boost that I discovered by accident and doesn't seem to upset my stomach early on. The pure water in the BTA is just to get some base hydration after the swim without the drying effect that I tend to get from my electrolyte beverage. Gets me up to speed and comfortable/focused in the pain cave. In my rear cages is the business. One bottle has a 4 scoop Carbo-Pro concentrate and the other has a 4 scoop Skratch concentrate. The Carbo pro gets mixed one serving at a time in my BTA roughly every hour-45 mins with water from the aid station and I just grab a big swig of the Skratch at my discretion. Sounds a little complicated and dumbly, but it has worked wonders for me. I don't tend to get GI issues on the run unless I stuff myself on the bike, which has been almost eliminated with my bike plan, so I switch over to mostly Chomps or whatever I'm feeling like from the aid stations to finish out.

Inifinit Nutrition. You can custom make whatever you need. All of your nutrition in a bottle, and the best part - its mindless for you.
Infinitnutrition.com

I have been hearing about this and NUUN lately.

I know there are tons of users on this but if anyone followed my last thread about bonking I am interested in everything.
Shoreman will be the test for changing nutrition again.

If this fails. its NUUN than infinity will have to be the follower.

PS

This stuff aint cheap...

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http://www.athlinks.com/athletes/208730390

I like NUUN and buy it in bulk. However, it contains very few calories. I think at most you get 12 or so out of every tab. If you want more calories try something else.

Well stated.

I would probably want something that is an all in one fix.

Infinity is my next test.

Just dont know how many more half IMs are this year in the north east.

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http://www.athlinks.com/athletes/208730390

Another vote for Infinit. Feel free to use "IREPinfinit" at checkout for a discount.

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I tok their quiz and it made a recomendation that has 280 calories per serving. So I asusme thats one bottle? How are you guys getting through an ironman on one 280 cals?

I, like most people, will use 1 concentrated bottle, let's say worth 1000 calories (however many scoops that is) mixed with water...sort of like a mush, sort of thick bottle. I personally mark it with a sharpie in sections so I know how much to drink per hour. So, for example, mark it in 4 sections, so you know each section is 250 calories.

Then you have whatever other bottles to wash it down, maybe one with water and one with gatorade or whatever.

I tend to prefer Gel when running and powder/drink on the bike. For longer rides (including 70.3 races) I use Hammer HEED mixed with Sustained Energy or Perepetuem, and HEED on rides shorter than 1.5 hours (and Oly races).

You can use my referral #227082 to save 15% off your first order at Hammer

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I use plain maltodextrin powder to get 250 calories per bottle. I also add a High5 tablet for electrolytes and a bit of flavour.

I just did an iron swim/cycle with that and had an excellent race with regards to energy. Add a package of chews every couple of hours just to make things fun and you're good to go. Downside- you pee a lot. Plus side of that- your lower back and neck can get stretched out a bit while you're off the bike.

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formerly but still a Run Snail...