How many calories do you need for a 70.3? In training, Ive been doing diluted Gatorade and gu gels, but im not sure how many i need for the 70.3 . For running marathons, ive always done a gu every 45 minutes. Id expect the bike to take a little under 3 hours and right around 1hour 30 minutes on the run. Maybe like 4 gus on the bike and 2 gus on the run, but that seems like a lot.
Have you done the math in terms of carbs an hour? Depending on what your stomach can sustain I would personally aim for around 100 grams/hour on the bike and 60 grams/hour for the run. But as said, that’s very dependent on what you can hold down without any GI distress.
For a 3 hour bike ride I’d be up to 6 gels on the bike. 1 to start and then 1 every 30 min. Most of the time in a flatter race I’m off the bike under 2:30 and I’ll do 5 to 6 gels for that.
On the run I’d have 2 in the first 40 min then 1 more around 1:10 but I’m more like a 1:45 HIM run guy.
Some people need more and can handle it. Some don’t need as much. Test it out in training. Try to over-do and under-do it and see how it goes.
I do better with constant fueling in small doses. I’m also a larger guy (6’6" 210#) looking to go right under 3 hrs. I shoot for about 300 cals/hr. For my 70.3 training I alternate clif shot blok and half a honey stinger waffle every 15 minutes. Ends up being about 10-12 shot bloks (300 cals), 2 waffles (300 cals). I carry a bottle of gatorade (300 cals) and water behind me and one water in the front between the bars. I’ll swap out for another bottle of gatorade during the race and I keep an extra sleeve of bloks in my front end and an extra waffle in my pocket in case I drop anything.
I go all-liquid until I hit ultramarathon or IM distance.
A good breakfast and gatorade throughout the bike(bottle per 10 miles) and run(diluted every mile) works for me. This assumes normal low 80s with some humidity.
I’m not a gel person at all as all I do is make a mess of it and feel disturbingly sticky.
Height? Weight? 1 hour power? Percent or IF power you intend to ride at?
Maurice
Everyone is different, but that sounds low for the bike. 130/hr calories is just over half of what I will be taking in in my 70.3. I would train to take in more during IM if you can take it.
Sounds fine for the run. At that point it’s whatever you can get down the hatch.
Keep drinking, and make sure you’re getting the electrolytes you need. GU and water won’t cover that.
good luck!
Keep drinking, and make sure you’re getting the electrolytes you need. GU and water won’t cover that.
good luck!
Im thinking ill do Gatorade endurance in my bottle. Is 28 oz enough during a 70.3 or do i need two bottles? Ill take water at the stations in the run
Have you done the math in terms of carbs an hour? Depending on what your stomach can sustain I would personally aim for around 100 grams/hour on the bike and 60 grams/hour for the run. But as said, that’s very dependent on what you can hold down without any GI distress.
Ive been reading and doing math. My current plan only works out to like 35 grams per hour. So, i know i need to up it a lot
Height? Weight? 1 hour power? Percent or IF power you intend to ride at?
Maurice
I dont know what any of that means, but im new to cycling and dont have a power meter. Im about 5’-10.5" and about 160lbs. Ill probably be 155lbs by race day.
I just bought a trainer. I want to start getting some high intensity workouts in. Hopefully, i can put more power down by race day.
Try it out beforehand. A typical gel is about 25-30 grams of carbs. Bars are all over the place (and might have more than just carbs in it). Also try to stick with the brand you practice with as the ratio of sugars varies quite a lot between brands. Personally I have good experience with Powerbar gells which have a 2:1 glucose to fructose ratio.
Hey Jimmy - good question.
I’m also 5-10 and 155 - ish.
What of the neat things about doing longer races is all of the fun experimenting with nutrition & hydration.
One of my “teachers” Gordo Byrne also made some good points when doing your experiments, make sure you do some of them at race pace to see how your gut can handle the load. As well, if you can do a race simulation in “race weather” - that will help you out.
Another one of my teachers - Lisa Bentley said, don’t over think this thing either, it really comes down to water, sugar, and salt.
Have fun on the experiments & report back!
I suppose i can experiment with thing other than gels, because i certainly haven’t, but im a fairly experienced runner and i know i can handle gu gels. They get pretty gross at the end of a marathon, but i think that has more to do with fatigue than time/amount.
Its easy to simulate a 1 hour hard effort and how id feel at the beginning of the bike ride trying to cram as many carbs in at the beginning of the bike, but itd be hard to simulate 5 hours of it
I go all-liquid until I hit ultramarathon or IM distance.
A good breakfast and gatorade throughout the bike(bottle per 10 miles) and run(diluted every mile) works for me. This assumes normal low 80s with some humidity.
I’m not a gel person at all as all I do is make a mess of it and feel disturbingly sticky.
This is so true. I WANT to like gels because they are handy but I truly hate the sticky mess of it all plus the wrappers you have to hold on to. “Disturbingly sticky” is exactly that feeling and is destined to be a new ST catchphrase.
I’ve always aimed for about 1g carb per kg of bodyweight per hour, through a mix of carb drink and gels. If you can take more on the bike without stomach issues then even better. A lot depends on temperature of race and how much fluid you need to take on though, so a better strategy is probably carbs from gels and fluid from water or an electrolyte drink. I did a 70.3 distance weekend just gone and ended up having to take a massive pee in T2 as it rained on the bike and I ended up barely sweating compared to usual, so wish id had a few more gels on board rather than being reliant on both carb drink and gels.
You’ll likely do some kind of race sim 2-4 weeks outs which is a good time to practice taking on the required calories.
I’m 5"10, 150 lbs. On the bike I take in two bottles of Tailwind 200 calories per bottle and water. Also do one gel per hour and one salt tablet per half hour.
On the run I alternate water/Gatorade each mile. A gel at mile 5. Salt tablets every half hour and coke if available from halfway on.
How many calories do you need for a 70.3? In training, Ive been doing diluted Gatorade and gu gels, but im not sure how many i need for the 70.3 . For running marathons, ive always done a gu every 45 minutes. Id expect the bike to take a little under 3 hours and right around 1hour 30 minutes on the run. Maybe like 4 gus on the bike and 2 gus on the run, but that seems like a lot.
For a 70.3, I carb load the day before with rice, veggies, and mac and cheese.
Race morning, I wake up at 3-4am and usually just lay in bed all night that night. I pop a 5hr energy and have a small sugar free Redbull in the shower. I might have some chips or something if I’m a little hungry.
45min before the swim I have a preworkout (Nitraflex 325mg caffeine) and maybe also a double shot espresso and 16-32oz of coconut water.
I like 100mg caffeine Clif Gel Expresso gels and have 2 before the swim, then 1 in T1, every 10mi on the bike, then 1 in T2 and maybe a couple on the run, but if the run is hot I typically might get zero caffeine gels on the aid stations.
I start the bike with 2x 24oz Gatorades and then drink 1x Gatorade endurance on every aid station.