tried searching some old threads, but wanted to get some feedback on my own situation.
i have done one full IM, back in 2019. i trained with and used tailwind concentrated bottles, but on race day it didn't go very well. i blame some of the cramping I had on some mistakes when it came to breakfast and not taking in calories in the wait before the swim, but let's just say i am not too keen to try tailwind again bc i got very sick of it during the race and am looking for another approach, at least on the bike. My approach is to live off the course either way for the run, that was about the only thing that worked for me in 2019. I'm doing IMFL later this year so looking to get some nutrition practice in starting soon. I want to maintain having liquid as my main/sole source of calories during the race for a couple reasons. i don't mind mixing in some "food" but I am not a gel-sucker nor do I want to mess around with eating a turkey sandwich lol. liquid is easier to store, ingest, and is just better. I have two possible options:
1) live off the course entirely for the bike and run. I like the simplicity of it, and can buy gatorade endurance to practice with, but i'm just concerned it doesn't have enough calories, and thus i'd have to drink a TON of it on the course. I feel i'd get very sick of it and the strong flavor by the end, and might have to pee constantly. And I don't see too much about people concentrating that stuff like other products can be (tailwind, infinit, etc.). even if i did concentrate it, the flavor would be a big concern, plus wouldn't it be way too much sodium and stuff?
2) go with a totally different liquid nutrition for the bike, and then live off the course for the run. my only concern with this is switching of brands/sources. For instance, if i go with concentrated infinit on the bike (or something similar, besides gatorade endurance), would that present problems if i switched to gatorade endurance on the run? I guess my plan would be to eat whatever i'm craving on the run anyways. I imagine practice is the only way to know, but it seems many people switch sources during the race and that works for people. To me this seems like the easier option, but for those that do this, any considerations I need to be aware of?
thanks!
i have done one full IM, back in 2019. i trained with and used tailwind concentrated bottles, but on race day it didn't go very well. i blame some of the cramping I had on some mistakes when it came to breakfast and not taking in calories in the wait before the swim, but let's just say i am not too keen to try tailwind again bc i got very sick of it during the race and am looking for another approach, at least on the bike. My approach is to live off the course either way for the run, that was about the only thing that worked for me in 2019. I'm doing IMFL later this year so looking to get some nutrition practice in starting soon. I want to maintain having liquid as my main/sole source of calories during the race for a couple reasons. i don't mind mixing in some "food" but I am not a gel-sucker nor do I want to mess around with eating a turkey sandwich lol. liquid is easier to store, ingest, and is just better. I have two possible options:
1) live off the course entirely for the bike and run. I like the simplicity of it, and can buy gatorade endurance to practice with, but i'm just concerned it doesn't have enough calories, and thus i'd have to drink a TON of it on the course. I feel i'd get very sick of it and the strong flavor by the end, and might have to pee constantly. And I don't see too much about people concentrating that stuff like other products can be (tailwind, infinit, etc.). even if i did concentrate it, the flavor would be a big concern, plus wouldn't it be way too much sodium and stuff?
2) go with a totally different liquid nutrition for the bike, and then live off the course for the run. my only concern with this is switching of brands/sources. For instance, if i go with concentrated infinit on the bike (or something similar, besides gatorade endurance), would that present problems if i switched to gatorade endurance on the run? I guess my plan would be to eat whatever i'm craving on the run anyways. I imagine practice is the only way to know, but it seems many people switch sources during the race and that works for people. To me this seems like the easier option, but for those that do this, any considerations I need to be aware of?
thanks!