Trying to solve nutrition issues on longer races. I am curious how people here use EFS Liquid Shots?
Here are my questions
1 - The product description makes it sound like there are lots of electrolytes in the shot. So are you still using a drink with electrolytes or water for bike and run?
2 - Each one is 400 calories…How much are you having per hour of this shot?
3 - Are you using this Shot for bike and run?
Ideally, I would like to move away from Ironman Perform. But I have been leaning on that for around 200 calories per hour and then eating either a Z Bar by Cliff or a Honey Stinger Waffle.I think I would
prefer to switch to Scratch or Osmo but can’t seem to solve the calorie deficit(each bottle is around 100 Cals) without eating way more food…which I don’t think will serve me on long runs…The same company that creates the liquid shot has a electrolyte drink as well. Anyone using that?
I used the mocha on the run three times (in training) and ended up sprinting towards the toilet every time. I’ve had it on the bike and it was fine but for some reason I can’t digest it on the run. I’ve never had issues with anything else such as gels, perform, gatorade etc. I liked the flavor though.
I’ve raced with them. I like the flavor (vanilla) and consistency, but developed an upset stomach on my last two 70.3s. I thought it might be due in part to their fairly high sucrose levels, and it has me a bit hesitant to use them during my IM later this year. So I’m experimenting with some other things. I used Perform and water with them.
I use a lot of the First endruance stuff and like it. I’ll take a flask (refillable) of the shot for a longer run or bike. I aim for 200 cal/hour on a run (1/2 flask) or 300-350 cal/hr on the bike (most of a flask). My plan for IMLP (in less than 3 weeks !, Holy Shit) is to bring 1 flask/hour on the bike figuring that I’ll leave some of the flask in the bottle. Its hard to get the last drops out. If I need more calories I’ll take a gel from the course supply. Then I drink water to thirst. You can also cut back on the EFS and drink perform. Scratch and OSMO don’t have enough calories in them for my needs
I used First Endurance products for IMMT last year and it worked well for me.
I put four liquid shots (vanilla) in a bottle topped up with water on my down tube (1600 cal), a 200 cal EFS drink behind the seat and one 200 cal EFS drink between the arms. Once the bottle between the arms was gone, I replaced it with water for the rest of the bike leg and sipped on the liquid shot bottle and the other EFS drink for the rest of the race for my calories.
On the run, I had a flask of liquid shot handy but was so tired of the sweet taste I just lived off the course with perform, water and coke.
I’m not sure if I’ll be using the liquid shots this year as I would prefer something less sweet. I will likely go with a high calorie bottle on the down tube as I did last year as it was just so easy to manage.
I put 3 vanilla and 2 mocha flasks in a bottle on my down tube for Peasantman last year, I find that mix pleasant- I didn’t use all 2000 calories but was also using Picky bars( half a bar on the :30. EFS on the hour) and it worked very well for me. I used about 3/4 of the EFS and took in about 2100 calories all told on the bike. I then took one flask with me on the run and took about a quarter flask every 6 miles while downing flat coke throughout. I am a heavy sweater and go about 170-175 on race day. Last week at the Vermont Tri Fest half I used an entire flask just on the run- it was very hot and again it worked well for me. I still use Nuun tabs in water with the EFS. I will go with the same plan for IMMT. Depending on the heat and humidity I aim for 300-350 calories per hour on the bike.
Man, this is so frustrating! Trying to find the right solution/combination seems to be really so hard and individual.
It doesn’t have to be Danny & from what I’ve seen w/ the the posts you’ve written, you’re making this MUCH more complicated than it needs to be. Over the last month I have had (2) athletes qualify for Kona using the following (+/-):
BIKE:
(3) EFS Liquid Shot Flasks(3) bottles Ironman Perform(2-3) bottles water RUN:
(1) EFS Liquid Shot FlaskCoke + IM Perform as needed
Start simple & go from there as there’s no reason to make things more complex than they need to be.
I remember a young fellow massively overcomplicating things whom you straightened out
Danny, you should give Brian a call!
Man, this is so frustrating! Trying to find the right solution/combination seems to be really so hard and individual.
It doesn’t have to be Danny & from what I’ve seen w/ the the posts you’ve written, you’re making this MUCH more complicated than it needs to be. Over the last month I have had (2) athletes qualify for Kona using the following (+/-):
BIKE:
(3) EFS Liquid Shot Flasks(3) bottles Ironman Perform(2-3) bottles water RUN:
(1) EFS Liquid Shot FlaskCoke + IM Perform as needed
Start simple & go from there as there’s no reason to make things more complex than they need to be.
I use the EFS and mix 1 1/2 scoop per bottle. I’ll also add a nuun to two of the bottles in addition to the EFS (I sweat a lot). I’ve used the lemon-lime flavor and had no problems with taste or stomach issues. I also will have one gu per hour on the bike. For the run I carry a concentrated EFS bottle and chase it with water from the aid stations and supplement with a gu every hour and coke as needed. I might give the EFS Liquid Shots a try for my next half in a few weeks.
Brain, I just got a link from Lava Magazine saying you need like 36oz of water per hour if you are taking in 300 calories per hour. Your bike seems to be enough calories but you seem short on the amount of water needed if you using the liquid shots. Base on the Lava article, 1200 calories of EFS, you need 144oz of water, about 6 bottles, about one per hour. 2-3 bottles on the bike seems short but I don’t know how the Perform ties in and the amount of water needed. Thanks
Man, this is so frustrating! Trying to find the right solution/combination seems to be really so hard and individual.
It doesn’t have to be Danny & from what I’ve seen w/ the the posts you’ve written, you’re making this MUCH more complicated than it needs to be. Over the last month I have had (2) athletes qualify for Kona using the following (+/-):
BIKE:
(3) EFS Liquid Shot Flasks(3) bottles Ironman Perform(2-3) bottles water RUN:
(1) EFS Liquid Shot FlaskCoke + IM Perform as needed
Start simple & go from there as there’s no reason to make things more complex than they need to be.
Brain, I just got a link from Lava Magazine saying you need like 36oz of water per hour if you are taking in 300 calories per hour. Your bike seems to be enough calories but you seem short on the amount of water needed if you using the liquid shots. Base on the Lava article, 1200 calories of EFS, you need 144oz of water, about 6 bottles, about one per hour. 2-3 bottles on the bike seems short but I don’t know how the Perform ties in and the amount of water needed. Thanks
I have a super booked afternoon, but will be sure to circle back w/ you in greater detail by morning.
The long/short answer to your question is yes & no. Science tells us that in theory, you would need that much fluid for a >300cal /hr plan, but in the field, we see time & time again, athletes performing at the highest level, off of considerably less fluid (especially when conditions are moderate).
I’ll fill in the blanks either later today or tomorrow.
I have not read the whole thread, but I use them exclusively for calories on the bike in 70.3’s. I put 2 shots into the bladder in my Shiv and fill the rest up with water. It gets it just thin enough that I can suck it through the straw. So that’s 800 calories in about 2:25 usually. I make myself finish it all before the end of the bike so I don’t bonk on the run. I have a water bottle between the arms and swap that out on course.
For the run, I just use whatever gels they have on course. I do not want to carry my own nutrition with me.
Edit (oops! I had too many shots in there at first!)
Last few IMs I’ve done have been similar. I have two EFS flasks (800 cals total) in my Torhans frame bottle, diluted 1:1 with water. I like the consistency and sweetness level of that dilution. I just have another 20 oz of that mix waiting on me at special needs and refill the bottle there. Other than that, I have water, a few Gu’s if I feel like it, and caps (salt stick, etc.) for my electrolytes. This has really cut down on my nutrition complexity and upset stomach issues. Good luck!
I just raced AC with it and trained for months with it. Loved it. No issues. For me (155lbs, 5’8", 40 yo) I took 1/4 of bottle every 45 minutes, with the first “shot” coming in the first few minutes of the bike. I took no water on the bike. All fluids came through Gatorade Endurance - one bottle per :45 minutes. I chose not to use it for the run because I hate carrying anything and decided to just go with on-course nutrition.
thanks everyone for the advice and sharing your plan. I am going to try and implement some of the plans above. I think one issue that I run into is that I am large in triathlon standards…5’9 and 190. and sweat a lot…so some of the above needs to be tweaked.
Man, this is so frustrating! Trying to find the right solution/combination seems to be really so hard and individual.
It doesn’t have to be Danny & from what I’ve seen w/ the the posts you’ve written, you’re making this MUCH more complicated than it needs to be. Over the last month I have had (2) athletes qualify for Kona using the following (+/-):
BIKE:
(3) EFS Liquid Shot Flasks(3) bottles Ironman Perform(2-3) bottles water RUN:
(1) EFS Liquid Shot FlaskCoke + IM Perform as needed
Start simple & go from there as there’s no reason to make things more complex than they need to be.
Thank you Brian for sharing! I am doing an IM next year again and was planning on calling you.
