They have volunteers bring your bag to you and take it when you’re done. For the one IM I did and used special needs it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. Most of that time spent refilling my BTA. What you’re describing is exactly what I did in my first IM and am still considering sticking with that method

Tried this out today. It worked out pretty well. Thanks.

Yay! I’m glad it worked for you.
Something that helps me dissolve the TW at a high concentration is to use room temp water. Dissolve first, and then chill if needed.

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Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx

I put 12 scoops of tailwind into a 20 oz bottle. Filled it with tap water. I didn’t feel like it was very sludgy when I shook it up. I don’t tend to cool my bottles as they get warm pretty quickly anyway and the coolness ends up causing condensation on the bottle. I didn’t mark my bottles today just guessed at squeezing in 200-300 calories. And then added a maurten gel per hour. I’m also going to try clif bloks or gatorade gel chews. My 1st IM I tried liquid nutrition but I had to add in gels and clif bars as I was just too hungry.

Did you feel hungry at all today? I find that I tolerate taking in more TW on the bike and don’t get hungry at all.

I’d try to do the graduation lines next time, it helps tremendously with intake and timing especially if you’re still in a timeframe that you can experiment.

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Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx

I have one more long ride to experiment. I will draw lines next time. I did not feel hungry today. I did screw up with having enough water with me before the next stop so I went through 2 bottles and then had like 40 minutes before next water stop but I took in a maurtens which help. I just need to do my math to make sure I’m accurate on my calories and carbs. Fortunately for races I’ve had few GI issues which is ironic as in regular life I have a fair amount.

Go with what you know and experiment when you have more time during training.

I just did IM WI yesterday and had 2 bottles with 1300 calories each of Gatorade Endurance and only switched out water at aid stations for my 3rd bottle cage. Then on the run took in 14 gels for a total of 4200 calories. No GI issues and felt great with plenty of energy. Didn’t worry about anything being too concentrated since over time I was averaging 25-30oz water per hour in addition to everything else.

Agree. I’m sticking with tailwind and my experimenting is really small tweaks. I’m just likely switching to a concentrated mix and adding that to water rather than premixed

14 gels. Wow! I don’t know if I could stomach that many. My only full IM I took a few gels at the start of the run. At some point I started craving salt and sugar so just ate chips and pretzels and coke from then on out

How is this possible? You put over ten scoops of powder in each bottle? Isn’t that a boatload of sodium?

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

It dissolves easily. 4000mg sodium per bottle gives me 8g sodium by the time I start the run 7-8 hours into the race, right around 1g per hour which is an even replacement with a typical 1L per hour and 1g/L sodium sweat rate. I’ve had a lot more trouble not taking in enough electrolytes than taking in too many so I don’t risk anything.

It definitely started getting gross around 20 miles in. By then I was trying not to taste any of it, but I did run with a bottle of immodium just In case, didn’t use it though.

Have you tried the maurten gels? They don’t taste like anything.

That would be nice. I just use whatever is on course at each aid station but maybe I’ll keep a few for late in the run next time.

Respectfully as possible, how often did you stop for the bathroom? It was pretty cold yesterday and I can't imagine how many times I would have had to pee drinking that much per hour throughout the day. I was 120 oz for the bike and maybe a cup of Gatorade every other aid station.

Anyone here use UCAN? I'm trying it out in IMMD. One more long day to test it this weekend.

I hear people need way fewer calories to keep consistent energy levels with it as the primary fuel source. I hope this is true and that it makes it easier for me to pack in some more/better calories early in the run. Any experience that would validate this would be great. And if yours contradicts it I guess I'll listen but I'll probably convince myself you just did it wrong and that it's going to be my silver bullet anyway!

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Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4

We had about the same on the bike so that wasn’t far off, and I was getting thirsty by the end of the run despite having a total of ~110oz on the 3.5hr Run.

Admittedly though for the bike you are right. I had to pee badly once at mile 80 (went on the bike briefly before spotting an outhouse) and once in T2 but never on the run. I train in 90-100 degree weather and already dialed it WAY back for the cooler weather but should’ve had even less.

If you can drink nearly a gallon of fluids during a 3.5 hour marathon for a full iron race, you certainly don't need much questioning here. Wow.

Well thanks but I’m really astonished at how amazing you guys all seem to be on the bike. I thought I was a decent cyclist going in but got smoked on every part of the course, not just the hills.

I've used UCAN successfully many times and yes, you're able to take in less while still maintaining steady energy. I typically have 100-130c/hr in racing (50-100c/hr in training) and use it at my primary fuel source. When I get to the back half of the run, I'll typically switch to whatever high glycemic stuff is on course since the risk of GI distress is low and it's more convenient. I used UCAN first back in 2014 when my sports nutritionist recommended it and believe in it so much I now work for the company: https://www.generationucan.com/...res-journey-to-ucan/

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Matthew J Bach
Director - Triathlon Business
The UCAN Company
matthew.bach@ucanco.com

just following up on this strategy as at IM Chattanooga my pre-mixed bottles just got disgustingly warm in the heat. So I'm thinking for future IMs I'll just try to live off the course where I will at least get luke warm bottles as opposed to what happened to mine. Do you also just grab gels from the course as needed? G Endurance never seems to bother me but I would need to try it in training.

It is possible to drink a super concentrade mix direct from one bottle and water next from another? Like taking a gel and drinking water next.

It is for sure. I did a little of that in my training rides. It was okay. My concern with any method is when it gets super hot my bottles get really warm and gross. At least at aid stations, at worst the bottles are lukewarm rather than hot

How did UCAN workout for you?