here's what I do - works for me, but you'll get 10 replies and 11 methods:

3 days or so before: 2-3 1.5 liter bottles of water; salt bagels; other carbs (dinner before race - salt everything, but I'm a heavy sweater)

before race: bagel, banana, powerbar; gu 15 min before the swim

bike: 2 bottles of cytomax or whatever; 3+ of water; gu every 45 mintues; 1.5-2 powerbars; ibuprofen (taped to the handlebars with electrical tape) 30 min before getting off the bike

run: settle in, then gu; drink water every rest stop, usually two; everyother rest stop, replace a water with cytomax or equivalent. Gu every 30-45 min or so. I always take a salt packet (nothing fancy, swiped from a restaurant) as I start the run.

I always have pretzels in transition, magic for an upset stomach. I also always grab a banana when they have them. Listen to your stomach! Drink liquids like crazy on the run.

ibuprofen 30 min before getting off the bike? why? this is a very bad idea for any of a number of reasons (search past threads on this forum, or the internet for recent articles regarding endurance racing and the hazards of using this drug during them). but i digress...

did my first 1/2 earlier this year. here's what worked for me (i should point out, however, we were blessed with a cool, partly cloudy day on race day. that definitely helped a lot!)

race morning: peanut butter bagel, coffee, and kept sipping at water bottle right up to race start.

bike: 3 water bottles of e-load with 2 salt caplets in each (~1 every 45 minutes). gel shortly after starting bike and another ~1 hr. later, and one more about 15 minutes before the end.

run: gel about 45 minutes into the run. drank gatorade at EVERY aid station (~every mile). like the previous post said, be sure to drink lot on the run.

post race: stuffed head with bananas and donuts at food tent ;)

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____________________________________________________________
"I'm happy when life's good,
and when it's bad I cry.
I've got values but I don't know how or why."
- The Who

why would she want to do anything different on race day than what she has done during training?

Just finished up my first season, which included two half-IM races, so I'm certainly no expert.

Everybody's body reacts differently to different kinds of nutrition. In theory, you're supposed to learn your ideal mix in training. In practice, it's very difficult to really mimic race conditions for 5-7 hours during training without burning yourself out, so we learn during races.

I learned that I have to eat a more on the bike, because I have a very difficult time eating on the run. My stomach shuts down and can only process water & gatorade. So I gel every 1/2 hour on the bike and drink as much water as I can, then alternate between water & gatorade on the run. I've also taken to having a gel 10 mins before the swim start. I do carry a few gels with me on the run, but don't seem to be able to handle more than one.

I started off carrying "heavier" foods on the bike, like clif bars, bananas, powerbars, etc. The powerbars worked OK, but the clif bar got stuck in my stomach and screwed me up on the run. Learned that in my first half-IM, where the run was torture. Might have been better if I had the Clif bar first.

Guess I'll have to race some more to keep experimenting. :-)

Lee

My general diet is high enough in salt that I haven't had a problem during a half-IM. I'm sure if I ever get to the full IM distance I'll have to be a lot more conscious about salt.

Consider how long she's going to be on the course, then alter these recommendations accordingly. These are for a 3hr bike and a 1:45 run. Nice round numbers...This was adapted from what Gordo recommends on his site (

Breakfast - 2-3hrs before race start: 4 granola bars, 1 bagel, 1 banana, 1 water bottle.

Pre Swim - 1/2 a powerbar 10min before swim start, 1 water bottle sipped between breakfast and race start.

Bike - 0-30min water, 30-60min 1/2 a powerbar w/ water, gatorade every 5min -- continue this hydration pattern throughout the bike course, after 1 hour take a gel w/ water once every 30min. Continue drinking gatorade every 5 min until end of bike course. Totals (3hr bike): 2 bottles of gatorade, 1 bottle of water, 1/2 powerbar, 3 gels. If it's hot take 2 salt tabs (at 1:00:00 and 2:00:00 into the bike).

Run - Take a gel as you exit transition then every 45min thereafter. Drink water with gels. Drink gatorade at every mile marker. Totals (1:45 run): 3 gels, 26oz gatorade, 6oz water (assuming you get 2oz of liquid in you at each aid station).

This plan worked for me in both 1/2 IMs I did this year, but I practiced it in training. Good luck!!!

Ken