i've always used 2 bottles of concentrated liquid fuel. one to start, one at the 1/2, or special needs station. normally i take a couple of swigs of concentrate and then two or three from my water bottle, which i get replaced at every aid station. it's worked pretty well for me.
peggy

You make one bottle of super-concentrated mix.

Then when it is time for nutrition, you take a drink of the mix and then chase with straight water from the other holder. Refill the water bottle from aid stations as necessary.

Also remember that for most Iron distance races there is a special needs area - you can put your infinit refill bottle there. So you really only need enough nutrition for 60ish miles.

To echo what has already been said, one concentrated bottle and just switch out water bottles at the aid stations. I put an "extra" concentrated bottle in special needs as insurance in case I lose the one I'm carrying somehow, but I (fortunately) haven't had that happen. Then on the run I carry a small flask of concentrate and again use on course water.

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VDOT O2 Run Coaching
Team INFINIT Discount Code: RowanJones

Alex,

There is a few different routes you can consider - it comes down to what you are comfortable with and the combination you want to run on your bike.

I would recommend that you consider getting a BTA setup with a quick-fill valve and straw on it (I like the Xlab Torpedo), mix just a normal serving bottle in the BTA. The two other bottles you have on the bike make a concentrate in them so that each bottle is worth 2hrs so you will have a total of 5 hours of nutrition on the bike. When the BTA setup is depleted simply empty half of one bottle into it and at the aid station grab a bottle of water and fill it the rest of the way up.

The other route you could take is to have 3 normal serving bottles on the bike and at the special needs point have 3 (or 2) other pre-made bottles waiting for you there to grab.

That is two ideas you can do!

For training, I carry 3 bottles + powder to mix. For a race: Concentrated bottle with 2.5-3 hrs nutrition. 2nd bottle at special needs for IM. I squirt 1/3 into my BTA and top off with water at aid stations. I prefer to mix it together before I drink it. Mixing concentrate + water in my stomach has failed me in the past.

Here is a good blog on their site about concentrating the formula for race day:

https://www.infinitnutrition.us/...ing/post/INFINIT101/

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Strava

Exactly this.

I am one that doesn't go the concentrated route. I start with 3 bottles at 'normal' amount of Go Far and have 2 in a special needs bag. If there was no special needs bag option, I would probably try the concentrated route (after practicing it ahead of time). I can't go liquid only for 140.6 either. A couple Picky Bars or Clif Bars (those just work for me, everybody is different) in the middle couple hours and then +/- water depending on how arm it is (sweat rate). There's some amazing riders on this forum, but a true 5 hour ride that had time to stop and mix powder would be pretty impressive for most of us mortals.

Consider weight in your decision. 26 oz bottle would weigh about .8kg. 3 full bottles over 2kg. Concentrate (or powder or several gels in a tube) and mix up on course with aid station water is a lighter strategy.

Hi Rowan - Just saw this thread while searching the forum and wanted to see if you are able to get 6 hours worth of calories into one bottle of concentrate?

I’m struggling with my nutrition strategy because I can only carry two bottles on my bike (one BTA and an aero downturn bottle - can’t go BTS due to the way my saddle is positioned) and ideally would like to use the downtube bottle for a Infinit / Tailwind concentrate and the BTA for water (refill at the aid stations).

Problem is I can’t get 1800 calories of Tailwind to stay in suspension in my downtube bottle (Xlab aero bottle). A bunch of it just settles at the bottom, sticks and doesn’t mix in! Wonder if Infinit would be better in that regard?

Alternative in my mind is to stick 300 calories in the BTA to start and 1,500 in concentrate - that might stay in suspension.

Any thoughts would be great appreciated!

Never used tailwind but made very concentrated bottles with malto and EFS. What bottle do you use to mix the powder? I use one of those blender bottles with th metal ball inside and it works great.

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I just wanted to echo this statements. I use a different product for my calories, but I have similar concentrations and a blender bottle in the morning works wonders.

I can get about 1000-1100 calories of infinite in one 24oz bottle (filled pretty much to the top with powder!).

Then I carry 4 honey stinger waffles in my pockets which is another 600 calories. That gets me through a 5 hour IM leg in good shape.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Interesting. I hadn’t thought about doing that before. My initial instinct is that using a blender bottle wouldn’t really solve my problem, because while it might mix it up better at the outset, it wouldn’t prevent the Tailwind from settling towards the bottom of the bottle after a few hours (unless the metal ball does anything to change the properties of the powder to make it stay in solution better?). But I will definitely give it a shot - thanks for the tip!

Thanks - this is very helpful! Do you use a bento box for the waffles or keep them in the back pockets of your tri suit / top?

And out of curiosity, what do you do for the run?

Ahh that’s different then. I didn’t know it mixed then settled after. It might work because it could break it down more. Worth a try at least!

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Definitely worth a shot!

I think I’m just trying to cram in too much powder into a bottle - the water is already fully saturated and can’t hold anymore. Might have to accept that I can’t practically do a liquid-only strategy, as much as I want to!

I partially pre-open the waffle packages with scissors and I just put them in my back pocket in T1.

On the run I grab a flask with infinit grape tripwire with 300 calories. I'll have another waiting for me in special needs, but in the second half of the run I'll start grabbing more Coke and orange slices just for some diversity.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I mix 1800cal of malto into a 750ml bottle. You need to be patient to get it to dissolve. Mix the night before and all the clumps are gone by race start, might need to give it a few shakes on the morning.

Hi, Jonathan. I just did a 100 mile MTB race last month and had two 5 hour bottles of Infinit as my only nutrition. I'm sure I could get 6 hours if needed. I started with one concentrated bottle and put the other in a drop bag about mid way. I'll typically put a few scoops in, slosh around to mix it a bit, and then repeat until I get the required amount. I carried one other bottle that was strictly for water.

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VDOT O2 Run Coaching
Team INFINIT Discount Code: RowanJones

Got it. Thanks for the info!

Just to follow up on this, I tried using a blender bottle, and as suspected, it didn't really help. The blender bottle gets it mixed up a little bit better, but it still ends up settling on the bike after a while.

I think the solution for me will be to add in some honey stinger waffles, per RowToTri's suggestion above. Don't think this will be a big deal!

Hey Ed, just to confirm, you stuff these honey stinger waffle packages into the back pocket of your tri suit during T1?

Just trying to picture this in my head. Do you have any trouble stuffing four waffles into your suit's back pockets while wet? And no risk of them falling out during the bike as you're pulling them out?

I'm sure that I'm overthinking this. I think your recommendation is the way to go, so just looking to mimic someone's successful strategy!

that's what works for me, also....I do a concentrated bottle of 4 scoops of UCAN and then pick up another concentrated bottle at special needs. Just water in my aero bottle on the front.