Just got back from IM Cda after a DNF on the run (bad GI problems). I have always hated having a aero-bottle attached to my aerobars (rattles, looks stupid, easy to spill stuff on bars) but did so because of using my own nutrition formula in a concentrate which I add to the aero bottle and dilute with water. On the day before the race, I noticed that none of the pros used these and I presume then that they are using Gatorade supplied by the aid stations on the bike course, or they are sipping on a concentrate periodically and supplementing with water/gatorade. As I slowly learn from this process, I am sensing the “simpler the better”, and I just need to acquire a taste for gatorade. In retrospect I think my GI problems were a result of drinking a too concentrated formula that didn’t mix with the water I added to my aerobottle and it ultimately caused so much cramping I couldn’t keep anything down. Any suggestions from IM veterans would be appreciated.
You didn’t look hard enough… Seeley had an aerobar waterbottle…a really cool one I had never seen before.
I’m a short course guy who doesn’t mind Gatorade, but don’t they have special needs bags at IM races where you put whatever you want in them. Maybe the pros have what they need in those. I do think you are onto something with the “simpler is better” idea.
Bassey O.
I use the aero bottle for water only and have the CH in either GU form (flasks in my shorts for IM’s) or a bottle on the downtube (training). I carry the GU and just top off/refill the aero water bottle at the aid stations.
TriMD,
Sorry to hear about your CDA results. I was there and used a concentrated mixture from Hammer
Gel/E-CAPS and it worked pretty good.I still came
up short and was reduced to alot of walking. My
last 5 miles I ran my best miles and I do not know
if it was the HEED or chicken broth, but it worked.
I used Sustained Energy with Hammer Gel concentrate, HEED, Perpeteum, Endurolytes.
I like seeing Gatorade back with the races but I
cannot race on it. Too much sugar for me.
1214
13:22
Just a suggestion but it sounds like you need to drink alot more H2O, especially with high concentrated solutions we make up ourselves.
It worked for me last year at IMFlorida, had all my calories in 3 big bottles. Grabbed water as i went and dumped that in my front aero bottle, and the odd gatorade because my taste buds were not fond of my juice my mile 90 and it was cold.
Gonna use that plan again this year, 800 cal’s per bottle(Carbo Pro and hammer gel) and had 2 endurolytes per hour.
t~
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Bikes have had a very simple, and elegant way to carry water/drinks for years - it’s called the frame mounted bottle braze on.
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There is an aid station every 10 miles or less in most IM races. Therefore there is little nead to carry a huge amount of stuff on the bike( the pros know this), but for some strange reason many age-group triathletes leave T1 with there bikes looking like they are heading out for a week-long bike tour!
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Some pros make use of the Special Needs bags and pick up any proprietory drinks there.
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The aero-bar mounted bottles, while not a bad solution, do bounce around, cause noise, spillage and also comprimise the steering and handling of the bike. Pros know this and opt for other solutions or a simpler solution - frame mounted bottles.
If there is a way to make something more complicated - leave it to a triathlete and he/she will!
Fleck
Any pictures?
Fleck-
After my experience Sunday, I agree. One of the problems with the concentrated formula added to the aero-bottle is that you can’t mix it adequately so it settles to the bottom. If you wait until special needs for more of your own “customized solution” you are 56+ miles into the race and it is likely warm. What stood out is that the pros had minimal paraphenalia (?sp) on their bikes.
I’ve had really good luck w/ pure H2O in the aero bottle, and two 24 oz., 600 cal bottles in cages. Two more 600 cal bottles in special needs. Drink plenty of clear H20 w/ each intake of concentraded stuff. Sorry to hear about your dnf.
Freeze a bottle or two and put it into your special needs bag…by the time you get there, it will be thawed enough to be drinkable and still be cold.
“What stood out is that the pros had minimal paraphenalia (?sp) on their bikes.”
Indeed, take note of that.
Unlike many other people( many age-groupers), these guys want to actually take advantage of the lightweight and aero advantage of their bikes, by NOT loading the bike down with all kinds of stuff. It amazes me that many triathletes will spend thousands on a super light weight and aero bike, to then load it down with all kinds of extraordinary paraphenalia - much of this same stuff is available to them every 10 miles or roughly every 30 minutes or so on the bike.
When I was racing, I would start an IM with two small full water bottles and would drink what I needed at and between aid stations, mostly riding with one full bottle or less actually on the bike. Doing this I was able to consume 2 - 5 bottles of water/drink an hour as needed without carrying any extra weight on the bike during a typical just over 5:00 bike split. I am not sure why it needs to be more complicated than that, but for many it seems to be!
Fleck
- The aero-bar mounted bottles, while not a bad solution, do bounce around, cause noise, spillage and also comprimise the steering and handling of the bike. Pros know this and opt for other solutions or a simpler solution - frame mounted bottles.
My Jetstream Nxt bottle does none of those things. I have the original velcro straps (2) from a different bottle to hold it quite snugly in place on my Oval A700 bars. No bouncing, no noise; the sponge prevents spillage. I also have no issues with the handling of the bike (a P2K) either on the hoods or on the aerobars. It can be done.
Sorry, no… I know… I should never had said anything without pictures… damn it.
Trev
Good for you. Congratulations!
Fleck
Ditto Fleck. Keep it simple.
Fleck and others who use Gatorade on course only, I have a question. I am doing AZ next April and already trying to map out my nutrition so sorry to stray from the original topic but how can you possibly get enough calories on Gatorade and water? A 8oz serving of Gatorade Endurance is only 50 calories. A serving of Perpetuem is 260.
How are you guys replacing calories fast enough at only 50/serving?
Thanks
Fleck-
After my experience Sunday, I agree. One of the problems with the concentrated formula added to the aero-bottle is that you can’t mix it adequately so it settles to the bottom. If you wait until special needs for more of your own “customized solution” you are 56+ miles into the race and it is likely warm. What stood out is that the pros had minimal paraphenalia (?sp) on their bikes.
I am a sissy and have to have my drinks cold if at all possible. For IMF last year, I had two 550 cal. bottles of my “proprietary” mix at special needs in a small, cheap soft-sided cooler full of ice. They were still icy cold when I grabbed them from the friendly volunteer.
Ben
One of my questions for those people who have their own proprietary solutions is do you take it as a concentrate, or try to mix it up/dilute it during the race? I don’t know how you can do the latter using a aero-bottle while riding. Everyone’s input thus far has been helpful, thank you.
Everyone is different, but the bottom line is that you need to get 250 - 300 cals/hour into your body post swim. How you do that is up to you. I have known people to do an entire IM and do it well on Gatorade. What worked for me: One Powerbar an hour on the bike( that’s 230 cals/hour) and then I would top up the cals by grabbing Gatorade on the fly and/or bananas. Of course I would be drinking a substantial amount of just water that I would pick up at aid stations as well. The 5 Powerbars for the bike( assuming low 5 hour ride) would be carried in the back pocket of a tri jersey. I would eat one Powerbar duing the first hour on the run then switch over to Coke with about 90 minutes or half the marathon to go - again with a substantial amount of water. Worked for me, and others that I know, but realize it may not work for others.
Fleck