Dene,

I posted a similar Q a few months back and never received a reply. I've never used the product myself but a buddy of mine who was on the winning RAAM team a few years back recommended it to me. He swore by it saying it was the only way to get enough food into one's system while cycling. Mind you IIRC his goal was to consume 10,000 calories a day while doing the race. For me, I don't do Irondistance races so fueling that much has never been an issue. Also, let's be honest for me, nutrition is not my limiting factor! :)

Here's the link to their site if it helps:

https://www.adventuresports.com/...cure/spiz_order2.htm

BTW apparently Spizerinctum (the official name of SPIZ) is a word from the southern US lexicon for 'energetic'. I had never heard this word before on the left coast.

And no I am in no way connected with the product.

John

I would describe it as liquid food. It's got quite a bit of fat and protein in it compared to most race nutrition products. It could certainly be used as a pre-race meal. I had a 500 calorie bottle in my special needs bag at IMC and drank about half of it over the last 10 miles of the bike course to get extra calories in me before the run.

The chocolate flavor tastes similar to chocolate milk.

scott

I tried the chocolate and the vanilla. I preferred the chocolate. I agree that it tastes like chocolate milk, though not as thick. I know quite a few people out here in LA that use it as their primary calorie source in an IM. It's a good option if you have trouble consuming solids on the bike, or if you want an easy way to get all your bike calories in, as you can mix a bottle containing up to 1000 calories.

I use it as my sole nutrition source for IM. The max concentration I've been able to mix it to is 750 calories. Beyond that, it becomes too thick to flow through the nipple.

I haven't done an IM yet but I've had great nutritional results in my Half-IMs using a plan that rotates between chocolate Spiz (mixed at 500 cals/24oz), water and Gatorade (in that order). I also take 1 or 2 gels (with water). I weigh 150lbs. I use the same plan on all of my long rides too. If you're in search of a good liquid food for your Half or IM then I highly suggest you give Spiz a try.

Thanks, Chris