I heard people all the time talking about their nutrition mixtures and in-take timing and strategies, I realized I never take any of this into consideration. The question is, How does I know how many calories I need per hour during a triathlon race?
It is not so much about how much you NEED as much as how much your body can handle, since how much you burn (probably 500-600 or more per hour) is much more than you can process. For a regular joe, the number you can process is about 300 calories. per hour at the max. I think this might go up or down by 50 calories.
It all depends a lot also on what length of race… in a 1.5 hour sprint, you might only be expending 1200 calories, you don’t necessarily need to take in 450 calories (1.5 hours * 300 calories).
It is not so much about how much you NEED as much as how much your body can handle, since how much you need (probably 500-600 or more per hour) is much more than you can process. For a regular joe, the number you can process is about 300 calories. per hour at the max. I think this might go up or down by 50 calories.
It all depends a lot also on what length of race… in a 1.5 hour sprint, you might only be expending 1200 calories, you don’t necessarily need to take in 450 calories (1.5 hours * 300 calories).
+1. I’d say start a little lower (250-275 cal/hr) but we’re quibbling. Better to be under fueled than over fueled since the former can be easily rectified, the later not.
I agree.
But I also have a follow up question.
At the IM distance I know a lot of people take a single bottle of calories in a very strong mixture. And then one aero bottle which is water only.
So if you’re doing a 6 hour IM ride…assuming you can stomach 300cal/hour we’re talking about 1800 calories. Are you really putting 1800 calories in ONE water bottle? Thats like 18 scoops of HEED…does that even fit? At that point it’s a nasty thick and crunchy soup…right? So you take measurements on that bottle and sip on it as you go. While using the aero bottle to wash it down.
Or are you splitting your calories in two bottles of 900 cal/per and leaving one in special needs? I just don’t see 18 scoops of HEED fitting in my water bottle…and then adding water. Maybe I need a bigger bottle.
I’m not really all that worried about my race…since 6 hours is about right for me. I don’t have a problem carrying 2 bottles of calories and 1 aero bottle. But I am curious as to what the really fast guys do…and I know some people who really don’t want to be carrying a lot of stuff (2 bottles = a lot of stuff).
PJCAMPBELL was quite correct. You’ll never get what you need, but you need to figure out what you can manage. HEED is an electrolyte, not nutrition. If you use Perpetum or Sustained energy, even that won’t really fit, but if you blend it in a blender race morning, you can get a lot in there. I usually use 1200cals liquid and add some other cals for variety. After 3-4 hours, I am done with Perpetum.
You have to practice your nutrition and see what product and how much you can tolerate. It will be different depending on your exertion level–the higher your level of exertion, the less you can tolerate. Average size males should start with 250 to 300 per hour (washed down with a full 24oz bottle of plain clear water) and adjust as necessary.
Good luck!
HEED has 100 carb calories per serving. How is that not nutrition? It doesn’t have the protein as perpeteum does…but protein isn’t vital to have on race day…it can help assuming you can tolerate it. Personally I do mix some perpeteum into there too…I just didn’t want to confuse the issue.
In theory someone could get through the race on gatoraid only…it has calories, electrolytes, and water. Personally I’d throw it up pretty quick, but to each their own. And they’d have to carry a whole lot of it.
I’ll try the blender…the max I’ve upt into a bottle is 400 calories…and that was not problem. I’ll just have to measure accurately. I have flasks for Gu which I can take pretty easily too. One flask is worth a good 500 calories and fits in my jersey real easy. helps to mix things up. Althought I rarely take the perp straight up as it’s a dry for my tastes. mixed with a little heed and we’re good to go.
Quick answer: Trial and Error.
Until you have bonked, dehydrated yourself, and then done both at the same time you will never know what not to do. From there you just work up until you start puking. Then, back off a little and you have your answer.
Good luck on this one. It is very personal.
Calories per hour is as said a trial and error situation. Too little, you can bonk, too much you puke.
The actualy calories per hour is a bit humorous to begin with as our gastric emptying rates and intestinal absorption rates are also affected by strenuous exercise. So despite taking in 300 cal/hour, none of us are really absorbing all 300 calories in an IM for example.
Definitely something to sort out in training.
To answer the concentrating a bottle question. I have not done 1800 calories in a bottle, but I have done almost 1000, and I was using First Endurance EFS, which is a mix of carbs and not ‘just’ maltodextrin like HEED or Carbo pro.
I started with about 8 ounces of water that was heated in the microwave. I added that to a blender and slowly added the scoops. The blender kept it mixed, and the warm water helps it dissolve. Once I got the right number of calories, I added a little more warm water, and filled up the bottle. Make sure though that you don’t start with too much water because 10 scoops of anything is quite a bit.
Another option would be to put gels in a water bottle and mix those with water since they are already kind of concentrated. I also use the First Endurance Liquid Shot, so you could easily put a few of those flasks (400 calories each) into a bottle and then dilute with water.
As far as cal/hr intake most people recommend starting with 200-250 calories/hour. One of the more recent quoted studies showed that somewhere around 350 calories/hour could be absorbed if the carb sources were a mixture and not just one single source. Whatever you chose, it certainly helps to train as you plan on racing.
Lots of variability to consider as mentioned, some additional thoughts:
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Calories are important but fall in a close second to hydration, keeping carb (grams) to water (mL) to less than 9 or 10% is critical, the hotter the day and faster the pace the percentage should drop. So keep in mind that your 1800 calories of whatever (assuming mostly carbs) would need to be diluted with at least 4500mL of water. Your ability to absorb fluid is increased with some carbs (to a point). I think many people put too much focus on calories and forget about sweat rate, hydration… Everyone has their own ceiling of absorption so try to find the balance to maximize both of these (nutrition/hydration) with tipping the scales slightly in the way of hydration via lower dilution percentages to maximize fluid uptake. (Of course I have to state that over-hydration, even in the presence of carbs and electrolytes can be dangerous, so have a plan to match your individual needs and test it!)
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I would caution on the one bottle of anything over 1200 calories as I have found the contents being that rich leaves you more prone to a bolus of carbs that can cause stomach upset and some time of diluting with water to get balance. This can cause some peaks and valleys in your nutrition plan. I go with 2 bottles of 750 calories (one at special needs) that allows for easy “thinning” of the mix with a couple of mouthfuls of water to one hit of the mix. Others can certainly go with the rich mix.
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You really need to experiment, preferably mimicking some race conditions and pace.
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What works on the bike may or may not work on the run. Calorie uptake per hour usually less when running with HR, core temp, and sweat rate higher. Take home; dilution ratio lower and fluid intake equal or higher.
Cheers!
In HIM I go solid foods for half of the bike. I really enjoy a great chocolate chip cookie!!! 750 for a 22oz bottle sounds terrible. Consider a 20oz coke is only like 210 calories.
If you are using Hammer products talk to them about why Perpetuem is a better product for events over 2 to 3 hours. The people there are best placed to inform you and help you work out a nutrition plan. If you don’t want to talk with them, their website has heaps of information there on nutrition priciples in general which will help you tremendously.
HEED is electrolyte with some carbs. Perp is carbs with some electrolyte
We use Perp mixed into one bottle for the duration of our bike ride in any event over 2 hours. That means we put between 6 to 10 scoops into water, mixed into a thick paste into a standard bottle. Water is collected at aid stations and drank at the rate of approximately 1 bottle per hour. Simple works.