When I got to the run, I was mildly cramping from the start, so I just stuck to water the whole way. By mile 5 the cramps were gone and I felt better. I did not want to eat anything, I think if I would have tried to suck down a gel it would have come right back up.
How the heck are you guys getting down 300-400 calories an hour in a race? I took in 900 total for 5+ hours of racing and could do no more. In fact, I didn’t feel like eating until 5pm last night, the race was over at 12:30. I did not feel like I bonked, I held my same pace per mile for the entire run (although my legs felt like tree stumps by the end).
Oh, regarding the thread from the other day, peeing on the bike is not cool…
The ones that can successfully get that many calories in per hour seem to practice it quite frequently. I don’t practice taking in food during workouts and usually suffer when I try in races.
Also, that coke for breakfast. That’s kind of odd. I love coke. But, I don’t think I would try it as a prerace meal.
You might want to try a maltodextrin based sport drink for the bike to get the same amount of calories but avoid the solid food and gels. You’d probably have less cramping issues. (I’m assuming stomach cramps).
Everything after my pre-race breakfast til the time I finish is liquid.
is that including ironman distances? Just curious. I’ve had run stopping stomach cramps at long distances and have considered going with something like carbo-pro in accelerade for all my nutritional needs…just wasn’t sure if that would be enough.
Yep. No solids during IM at all for me.
I do Perpetuem, Hammer Gel diluted with water, and endurolytes for the bike.
Coke and water with Endurolytes on the run.
I do not like straight Accelerade… too much protein… diluted with carbo-pro you might be ok.
HOWEVER, if you are a 13+ hour IM time… then some solids probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.
good to know…it’s something I’ll have to play around with in preparation for next year. The one thing I noticed during a half this year was that my stomach was really growiing towards the end of a race.
For halves, I finish breakfast 2.5 hours before the start, and nurse a bottle of sports drink the rest of the morning. I take 300 cal/hour on the bike, and run out of T2 with 200 cal in a flask or bottle. I down that before the half point of the run, and take only water from there on. The intensity level over that last 6.5 miles is too much for me to handle any calories.
breakfast at least 2hrs prior to the start is the last solid food I ahve. otherwise it’s maltodextrin mixed with cytomax, or gels and water but never both gels and sports drink at the same time. For a half, I only try to get about 250-300 cal in per hour prior to the start of the run. from there the odd aid stations are gatorade, the evens gel and water or soda through the first 7 or so. Thats usually only leaves 5k or so left and if the nutrition is going well by that point it doesn’t matter. if I’m cracking, like yesterday, I’ll continue the gatorade or soda.
