Haven’t subscribed to Triathlete in a few years but bought an issue for a plane trip a few weeks ago. I read an article (advertisement) on page 38 (Aug issue) that stated an athlete shouldn’t consume more than 70 grams of carbs a hour to avoid stomach issues.
Seems low to me, I know my Infinite provides 65 grams a hour and I’ll take some gatorade or a gel as well without any issues.
Thoughts, experiences, etc. with taking more than 70 grams of carbs per hour???
My infinIT is at 81g/hr. I’ve been using it every Saturday and Sunday since March. Use it only for the bike, then switch to hammer gel flask for the run and get around 50g/hr. I’ve had multiple 5-6 hr training days and two 70.3 races with the 81g blend.
Only one issue but I attributed it to poor breakfast choice, and/or inadequate fitness for goals. Basically I finished a 4hr ride at 72.5%FTP on the first real hot day of the year and found a shade tree after 20 min of the run. Regardless of why, I wasn’t digesting anything.
That is probably a reasonable starting point. Some have the ability and you may be able to train the ability to handle more. Rapp does a bit more than that, but of course he is very highly trained. The key is to experiment and practice, practice, practice so you KNOW what YOU can handle.
New research seems to be showing that you can train your body to absorb more with some athletes necking up to 650 cals per hour. Think it was a featured article on Slowtwitch … if not then I can’t remember where. I’ll try and find it.
I take up to 350cal per hour on the bike. Around 250 on the run … or a liquid shot each 25 mins.
Just out of curiosity, I always look at calories, rather than just carbs. Any benefit to doing either way?
Nah, just saves you some math. Nutrition labels list both, but they break out carbs/proteins/fats by g, but only overall calories. It’s a wash for me since my race fuel is 100% carb.
Absorption is highly dependent on the individual and the conditions, but 300Kcal/hr is probably a reasonable rule of thumb…just like 220-age for MaxHR.
Reality is I can absorb far more biking moderately on a cool day than running a 10k race in 90deg.