Sean H wrote:
Just wanted to say congrats and well earned! And I also would like to know how you tackled the nutrition angle on your first IM attempt. Specifically what did you do in training to test the plan. Thanks.
Please see my other detailed post on nutrition.
In training, I deliberately use a wide variety of fuel to acclimate my gut to all sorts of abuse! For long rides and bricks, I tried to use at least 50% race nutrition, especially towards the end. I adjusted the blend I was using based on experimentation. One long ride per week would typically include a lot of "real food", anything from Martin's Apple chips to potato chips, candy, pastries, PB&J, cookies, seaweed... all sorts of weird stuff. During one six hour trainer ride, I had a little mental breakdown and slammed a huge piece of lasagna before getting back on the bike to finish the ride! Haha
I also did a couple glycogen depleted sessions per week. This was not carefully planned or intentional, necessarily. For a pro training 20+ hours a week, doing some sessions glycogen depleted is practically inevitable, even doing your best to stay on top of fueling. My longest runs (30-42 km) would typically feature little to no calories (0-300 cal). I'd also allow myself to get quite dehydrated. There are beneficial adaptions to training both glycogen depleted and dehydrated, though I have to carefully weigh those with the added recovery toll and potential impact on other sessions. In my experience, depleted training is really playing with fire and should probably be avoided for all but the most experience and meticulous athletes.
CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications