I'm eyeing Waco 70.3 this fall as my first triathlon (few springs planned this summer), and have been coming to the realization that I need a nutrition and hydration plan that is more complex than "stop at this rest stop for food and drink a bottle of water an hour". When I ride 1-4 hours, I'm normally taking a Gu every 45-60 minutes along with drinking a bottle of Cytomax or water every hour. Sometimes I'll pack a PB & honey sandwich. Note that I live in Southeast TX where it gets nice and toasty during the summer. This seems to have served me well enough, but I no doubt believe I'm NOT hydrating enough or taking in the proper amount of calories etc.
I've read and read and read about mixing your own sports drink using Gatorade, sugar, salt/sodium citrate, and God knows what else, but I'm having a really hard time making sense of how to even put these concoctions together and drink them at a rate that won't leave me either passed out on the side of the road from dehydration or doubled over in pain from stomach cramps. I'm also not a fan of JUST taking in nutrition via liquid. I honestly don't mind Gu's, and enjoy a PB sandwich or stroopwafel to wake up the taste buds. But, for the life of me I just can't find a simple straight forward recipe for A) mixing a cost-effective sports drink at home, and B) making sure it works with the calories I'm taking in from other sources. Seriously, something as simple as "24oz. of water, a scoop of this, 1 tsp of that, and a tablet of this pill" would be great, if it can be distilled down to something that simple. Otherwise I guess I'll have to get smarter? But any help is really appreciated by this hydration idiot!
I've read and read and read about mixing your own sports drink using Gatorade, sugar, salt/sodium citrate, and God knows what else, but I'm having a really hard time making sense of how to even put these concoctions together and drink them at a rate that won't leave me either passed out on the side of the road from dehydration or doubled over in pain from stomach cramps. I'm also not a fan of JUST taking in nutrition via liquid. I honestly don't mind Gu's, and enjoy a PB sandwich or stroopwafel to wake up the taste buds. But, for the life of me I just can't find a simple straight forward recipe for A) mixing a cost-effective sports drink at home, and B) making sure it works with the calories I'm taking in from other sources. Seriously, something as simple as "24oz. of water, a scoop of this, 1 tsp of that, and a tablet of this pill" would be great, if it can be distilled down to something that simple. Otherwise I guess I'll have to get smarter? But any help is really appreciated by this hydration idiot!