So, I recently ran the Ironman Ohio 70.3. I did well on the swim, for me, and also on the bike. I was on pace for a 5:30 finish overall but caught a cramp at mile 8 and pretty much had to walk the last 5 miles, although I could feel it coming on prior to this and had to slow my run way down. I practiced my nutrition during my training, and switched to Gatorade endurance since this was what they used on the course. One thing I do for my biking is to add my gels to my liquids so I don’t have to come out of aero. Each 20oz bottle has 4 scoops of Endurance and 3 gels, approx 700 colonies per bottle, and I use 3 bottles during the biking portion. Prior to the race, I consumed 800 calories at approx 4am-430am, Honey stinger waffles and a cliff bar, along with a regular Gatorade. I took one gel 20 min prior to my start time, 750am. I stayed hydrated the week prior to the race and stuck to a carb diet Thursday thru Saturday up to the race. My prior 70.3 was B2B and I used this plan, but used EFS instead of Gatorade with no problems. I have another half coming up next month at White Lake, and am planning on my first full Ironman at Louisville in October. Thinking of witching back to EFS. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Unless I’m interpreting incorrectly, you’re consuming 2100 calories on the bike, which is way too much. Assuming a 2:30-2:45 bike time, you’re taking in almost 900 per hour. Most people can stomach 250-450 calories per hour at 70.3 intensity. I would wager that your body was having difficulty absorbing the calories and any water you were consuming was being allocated to digestion, hence the cramping. I would slash your calorie intake in half and see how you feel.
Way too many calories.
Mix gels with water, not Gatorade/EFS, or the concentration is too high. Too many calories and electrolyte will lead to dehydration. Try 200-300 calories/hour and see how you feel.
Thanks for the input guys, will dial back the caloric intake and see how that goes. The White Lake half is really a warm up for the full, so will be a great time to test it out too, along with trying it out while training.
The White Lake Half will be hot as blazes. I cramped at Augusta last year…but, I also over-biked (didn’t account for the heat).
You have time to decipher this.
I think you’re looking for a solution to nutrition when you should look at your training & fitness.
-J
I think you’re looking for a solution to nutrition when you should look at your training & fitness.
-J
I may pretty confident in my training. plus like I said, I’ve I’ve run a previous 70.3 with no problems, not to mention sprints, olympics, half marathons, and recently my first full marathon with no problems