I have used this in the past on the bike for IM. Recently, I think the combination of CP and gels has been responsible for some gut problems post ride(green apple quickstep) Anyone use CP only?? What concentration do you use?? Thanks
I use 3 scoops (300 cals) per water bottle and drink as much as I can/feel like. It works for me. I do take in a few Gu gels for caffeine as well though.
you are supplementing electrolytes with something like nuun or endurolytes right?
i do mostly carbo pro plus 2 gels on the bike with nuun and endurolytes and really like the combination.
I used it at IMFL in combination with powerbar endurance sports drink mix (sun tea). 3 bottles of that combo, with 3 scoops of CP and one bottle with just water and CP, plenty of calories. I had no problems. I also drank plain water at some of the aid stations. i had 2 gel flasks on the run, concentrated, that I drank with water every so often. I had one Caffeine infused gel with about 5 miles to go on the bike. No stomach issues for me, the first time in 3 races.
I did AZ and KY last year with nothing but CarboPro; 2 bottles w/ 800 calories in each. (Also electrolytes.) Water in the aerobottle.
I used the CarboPro 1200 in combination with gels for my training last year. In IMC, I was on antibiotics and was only able to stomach the CP 1200(no gels)… I didn’t realize that the gels were my energy source and the CP was NOT being used well at all by my system, big bonk. I tested it out later to make sure this was the case and have discontinued use of both CP and CP 1200. I highly suggest trying out your fuels separately as you move along based on my experiences. I wish I had done this earlier for my race.
you are supplementing electrolytes with something like nuun or endurolytes right?
i do mostly carbo pro plus 2 gels on the bike with nuun and endurolytes and really like the combination.
Yes, I forgot to mention that I use either 1 Nuun or 1/2 Nuun in each water bottle as well.
I have 3 bottles on the bike (yes I’m aware I resemble a lunch truck):
-1 water, 1 Gatorade (rotate these out at aid stations as necessary)
-1 carbo-pro bottle. The carbo-pro bottle has 6 scoops along with some Gatorade powder for flavour in it, and I go through one for the first half and then have a second one in the second half of the course, which I pick up at Special Needs (I freeze it the night before so it doesn’t get too warm).
I also do a GU gel every hour, and a packet of Sport Beans every couple of hours. For Electrolytes, I use lava salts.
May seem like a complex process, but I have a crappy stomach. After a fair bit of experimentation, I realized this is what works for me, and worked well at IMLP last year.
What about combining Carbo- Pro with Nuuns - this from the Nuuns website:
“Loading energy drinks with carbohydrates results in much slower hydration. With Nuun, you get your water + electrolytes fast, and you can manage your carb intake on your own with bars, bananas, etc.”
Is that too much liquid…?
I have probably used CP for my last 10 IMs with good success. I mix two bottles with about 600 calories each and also add some salt. I also have a Carb-Boom gel every 60 minutes except for a Payday candy bar at the half way point. I have a Jetstream that I just top off with water as needed. I never had any stomach issues. Must be that Army gut I developed over 20 years;-)
Anyone else mixing CarboPro with Hammer Sustained Energy for IM race or long training? Seems to work for me.
I think that statement is purposely vague. I’m not convinced that you need to take electrolytes, but I digress.
I think an energy drink with a proper concentration will be absorbed quick enough that it shouldn’t matter and the calories will be absorbed much faster than solid foods.
CP was great for training. Actually, I mixed malto (carbo gain) with gatorade.
For the race and for race-simulated training sessions, I went with carbopro 1200 as the ONLY thing on the IM bike. It works great in a 22 (or 24 - the large polar bottle). That in the downtube, water in the aero bottle, and three accel gels were the right formula for the whole ride. No stop at special needs.
For my past couple training rides of 4 hours I tried mixing a combination of 400 calories of Cytomax for flavor, 1000 calories of Carbo-Pro, and then Endurolytes.
On another I tried adding a couple scoops of protein powder but could not really tell any difference.
I would just take a good swig every 15 or so minutes and then a few swigs of water. I carried a couple gels as backup. Worked very well for me. I can then just fill up the other bottle with water.
The consistency is a pretty thick syrup. My main concern is that all of my nutrition is in one place so if I drop the bottle, it breaks, it spilt, etc. I would have some major issues. The other drawback is you just have one taste for all nutrition, but since I can vary the sweetness easily it is not really bad. Much easier than trying to stomach all that gel.
I just got some bulk malto to try, since it is so much cheaper.
Tommy
With Carbo-pro 1200, every 20 minutes I would take a good swig and chase it with water. I had no problems with this at all.
Regarding dropping it - well, you have to go pick up anything you drop anyway per the rules. If you lost it, you could eat off the course or keep a backup in the half-way.
All of my training rides + IM’s are 3 scoops CP per 24 oz bottle mixed with Gatorade. I open up a couple of Endurolytes and mix into each bottle. I supplement with gels for extra calories w/ no problems.
Hi,
I have been liquid only in all distances since 1989.
CP or CP1200 since 2000. Bike and run, utilizing self-mixed concentration on both legs.
I digest thru an avg of 250Kcal/hr on bike. 175/hr on run
For ride I use 2 bottles of premix. The run I use FB 8oz flasks, 1 takes me to halfway, 2nd bottle gets me home
I do ingest 1 Saltstick or Thermolyte pill / hr on bike and run
No problems for me…
BUT: you absolutely must stay on target with the straight, fresh water intake along the way…
Otherwise your GI turns into a bloating, sloshing sugar-syrup hagus bag.
TP
Based on responses I think the carb concentration going in may be too high. 7 scoops per bottle, 1 gel per hour. Usually enough water goes in with the CP. i have been using gels with electrolytes as well and also wonder if concentration of elecrolytes is too much.
I think you may be right regarding the CHO concentration, but as TomP mentioned, that can be corrected by just making sure you consume an adequate amount of water.
I believe your strategy is a good plan, followed my many pros and amateurs alike and you may just need to make some slight adjustments. With that, I want to point out a few things… Mixing this as you suggest would put you in the vicinity of ~800 calories per bottle (~200g of CHO). My quick math puts this at around a 27% CHO solution (how to calculate this is posted here if you’re curious).
Generally, CHO solutions are best digested at somewhere around a 6-7% solution. Using CarboPro or Carb-Up (Carb Up is the same as CarboPro, but significantly less expensive) stretches this out a few % as it’s osmolality is so low, it’s ability to be digested is greater even at higher caloric concentrations.
With that, to get your 27% solution down into even the 10% range would mean roughly a 2:1 ratio of Water to your CarboPro solution (2 sips of water for every 1 sip of solution). Essentially what you’re doing is trying and create that <10% solution in your gut by taking in a high concentration solution (in this case 27%) and then watering it down to bring the solution down to the 10% or below range. I’m just taking a guess that you may not have been consuming this much water w/ your original CarboPro/Gel strategy and were probably trying to digest a 15-20% solution which may lead to some GI problems.
Really the only caveat to mixing the concentration so strong, is you need to be sure you’re chasing it with enough water each time you have a sip of it (or that an equivalent amount of water is consumed shortly before/after - doesn’t necessarily need to be consumed at that second, but in the vicinity). This is really not a problem at all, just something I want you to be aware of.
In summation, your plan is great - just remember to keep on top of the water.
I hope this makes sense, but let me know if anything is unclear.