sch340 wrote:
I've never had an issue with going #2 during any length of race, including IM. It's hard to nail down exactly why, but I think the biggest factor is training your body to go immediately when you get up every day during training so it's able to "empty" properly before the race. And especially the last few days leading up to the race, go whenever your body gives you any sort of signal so it continues to process efficiently. In terms of diet, I usually eat lean meat (fish) and simple carbs the days leading up to the race. Limit the veggies but don't go crazy. Limited amounts of nuts (which are usually a staple of my diet). I just eat 2 clif bars the morning of the race which is just double my normal 1 that I eat before my normal morning workouts. I don't think you want to make any drastic changes to your diet because it might help you poo less - it may actually make you more likely to go due to your intake being abnormal.
Just my 2c based on experience, not any formal knowledge/training. YMMV.
I have never gone to the port-a-potty in any triathlon race of any distance, except IMLP '16, when I took a lot of salt due to heat/dehydration and it accelerated my colon something fierce! Thought I lost my number in that toilet and I knew I needed it to cross the line. Took a minute of figuring out that my race belt flipped...
I second the idea about changing the diet in the days leading up to the race, but not much. For me, the big change is in dinner- to more digestible foods for 48 hrs prior to races. Chicken/pasta/rice is very easy on my stomach but I wouldn't go for my steak/filet until after the race. (There are lots of other ways to get your needed protein stores.) Try to avoid or limit any food that can sit in your GI tract for a long time-like high fiber foods-nuts/beans/corn/peas. Drink lots of water, of course. You don't want to change your diet too drastically, though.
Getting into a routine on race morning to go early one final time, is a must. I do this with my morning coffee. If you drink a lot of coffee, limiting it for a few days before, during the taper, will make you more sensitive to it's effect.
Eliminating apple sauce for the two days prior to the race may help a little also. It's also possible that the caffeine in gels is having an exageratted GI effect, but that is a good thing, as long as you've already visited the toilet, and the colon is clear, hopefully leading to no visits DURING the race and the performance boost/benefit that caffeine gives.
Conky wrote:
I've always heard start with solid foods and move towards "less-solid" food as the day goes on. This helps your stomach to digest everything. So I'd say skip the applesauce in the morning and eat a bagel or scrambled eggs or something more solid. Skip the blocks and Gu's and multiple power bars before the race and save those for during. Also, Gatorade gives me the shits. It's sugar water, find something else that is actual fuel.And this may be a good idea. Start with solids and go to semi-solids and then liquids as the race evolves. For me, I don't tolerate the sloshing and too much liquid gives me gas and an uncomfortable sensation, so I like pretzels and banana late in the race. We are an experiment of one, as you know.
mdtrihard wrote:
I also tried ensure. Not for me.Ah, but Ensure is one of my favorite pre-race foods! The 240 calorie Ensure HN stuff HELPS me 'move' that one last time before leaving for the venue on race morning.
Once you decide, practice it. Change your diet for a week that you have a planned Sat brick. Make Thursday/Friday diet changes and see how it goes, complete with pre-race meal/BR attempts and caffeinated gels during the ride or whenever you usually take them.
It's just silly to give up time on the course and you need to get this figured out. I'm actually quite surprised that you haven't worked a bit more on this 'cuz it seems like it's ... low hanging fruit
GL