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Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People
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I weigh 117 pounds. In preparing for my first Oly tri, all of the nutrition guidelines I've read so far suggest what seems like too much fluid (two bottles!), too many gels (Three!). Since I am much smaller than the average man that these plans are probably written for, can I get away with one 750 ml bottle of sports drink on the bike (and maybe drink half) and then just one gel before the run (and one in my back pocket in case I need more?)

I've only done Sprints in the past and taken nothing but water (and then only a little).

I expect to finish somewhere between 2:45 to 3:00 depending on whether I can channel my inner Amazonian.

Please share your experiences. Thank you.
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [karencoutts] [ In reply to ]
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You might be able to. Nutrition is pretty specific to each person. That's 150 calories for 3 hours of pretty intense exercise.

Try it, but carry an extra gel on the bike and run. If you start to think you don't care about the race and just want to walk, you're probably bonking and need more. Or if you start to slow down and your heart rate is dropping even though you think you're pushing hard, you're probably bonking and need more. If you just want to sit down and wait a bit, you're probably bonkng and need more. Hopefully you've bonked in thraining and know so if it happens you can recognize it and eat.

FWIW, I drink on the bike 10-15 oz of gatorade and take a gel. Then on the run I take gel about mile 2 and take what they offer at the aid stations. I'm 135 lbs and usually finish about 2 hrs 10 min
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [karencoutts] [ In reply to ]
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I've done one Olympic distance. At 110 pounds, I did just what you're planning. One bottle of Gatorade on the bike (finished about 3/4 ~ made it a point to drink every 20 minutes), one gel on the run and water at a couple of the aid stations. I finished in 2:44 and ran a solid (for me, a 40 year old woman!) 47 minute 10K, so I don't think I had any nutrition issues. Good luck! As smaller women, we don't need nearly the number of calories recommended for the men.
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [ In reply to ]
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Thanks, Jaygee and Pirate Girl for your help. I'm at the start line in two hours and have been researching this for a few days, so it really helps to get some real advice from other women (and not 180 pound men!).

Pirate Girl, you are amazingly fast. With that time, you would have placed 8th overall (men, women, young and old!!!) in the field of 186 two years ago. Not comparing to last year, when the temperature was at freezing and much of the time was spent layering clothes in transition.

Jaygee, I am right there with you. I'm 44 and at the top of my age group :-( A time of 2:45 would place me at or near the top of my age group for this particular course.

I'm leaving now for my race... Thanks again for the advice.
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [JayGee] [ In reply to ]
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That sounds about right except I'd do one gel on the bike, at the beginning and one gel at the start of the run. Maybe a little more fluid on the bike if it's really hot.
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [karencoutts] [ In reply to ]
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I think the recommended carb intake during a race is 1/2 - 1 gram per kg of body weight per hr. If you are 117 pounds that's around 53kg. So that would be around 50-55g of carbohydrate per hour. You can take your nutrition in liquid form (Gatorade or similar) or though gels or energy bars. If you have gels, you have to have water with them. I'm no expert on nutrition, but that's what I work on.

Enjoy your race!
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [Mr + Mrs C.C.] [ In reply to ]
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It sounds like you are receiving really good advice on nutrition intake! Just remember to experiment during your training so you know how much to take and when to take it, come race day you should not be trying anything new (including flavors of Gatorade and/or gels) !


Good luck!
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [ In reply to ]
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Thanks, QRGirl, Mr. + Mrs. CC, and i-tri for the advice. Unfortunately, didn't get a chance to read it until after the race was done, but I will remember for the next tri.

Here's what I did: had a breakfast three hours before start time of banana, oatmeal with milk, and Endurance drink. 15 minutes before, took one Power Gel (with caffeine). Drank 750 ml of Endurance drink on the bike, sipping every 5-10k. Ate another Gel when starting run and another at 6k mark. Took tiny cups of Gatorade at 3k and 7k.

So... what happened? I felt great until the run. Soon after starting the run, got cramps in my quads! Never had THAT during a race before. I decided to try to ignore it and continue running, but slower and with smaller strides. Cramps diminished by 3k, then felt good again, then cramps again at 8k. The last 3k (the race was 10.86k, oops!!!) were slow going, but my legs kept moving. When I finished, I had salt crusted on my black trisuit and my face.

Time for the race, 2:53. 31 swim, 1:17 bike, 59 run for nearly 11K. Not sure if my slow run (normal time for 10K is 49) was due to not training enough for the Oly or the nutrition, but I think it was probably not training enough. I expected to be 8% slower since the 10k was part of a triathlon, so it was still in the ballpark of expectation. I did have a finishing kick of sorts, but only willed myself to do that over the last 200 metres... I'm happy I came under 3 hours but disappointed that I did not make 2:45. I realize part of that is the too long run.

I was afraid of bonking (thanks for the detailed explanation of bonking) which is why I kept taking the gels even if I didn't feel the need. Felt like I needed to empty my bowels at the 6k mark, but at the end I didn't have that feeling.

Thanks again for the advice.
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [karencoutts] [ In reply to ]
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You finished, period. Nice job! Disclaimer: I'm no nutritionist/dietician but my initial thought is that your cramping is a result of too many calories during the race and not the lack of training. My hunch is that your blood flow was allocated to digesting the calories consumed and didn't have enough to get to the extremities where you needed it the most.

Just remember to keep experimenting during with nutrition while training, figuring this out is a science and it took me handfuls of races to finally get it down for various race distances. Some of my tips: I typically don't take in full packages of gu (especially on the run) - upsets my stomach. And what gu I do take, I mix with water either in the cup or in my mouth. I also suck on jolly ranchers or peppermint lifesavers during my runs. It gives the sugar I need to sustain but doesn't really have to pass through my stomach to digest like gu. "Food" for thought :)
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Re: Oly Tri Nutrition for Tiny People [i-tri] [ In reply to ]
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Great advice. Interesting theory on the cramping due to too much food. Could very well be the case. I definitely will have to experiment with Olympic-type efforts, three hour practice runs with different kinds of nutrition, if I want to get serious about pinpointing the problem.

I don't think the caffeinated Gu upset my stomach because I didn't get stomach cramps or feel ill. I just felt like I needed to poop.

One thing pointing to a lack of conditioning is that my muscles are still sore, two days later. When I did the Sprint distance I had no soreness of any kind.
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