Being new to IM distance, what are the sorts of things you experienced IM’ers put in your bike/run special needs bags? I don’t have a clue what to put in there…
Spot
Pringles, sport drink concentrate and cliff bars
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For the Bike - more of what you are already eating/drinking at that point.
For the run -
Eats: Something salty and fatty. I agree with the Pringles. You can get the mini-cans (aka “truck stop size”) and that is the perfect amount.
Drinks:Take a 20 oz. caffeinated beverage in a plastic twist top bottle (I used Mountain Dew.) Three days before the race, open it and let it sit out on the counter and go flat. THis is important! Then, the night before the race, put it in the freezer and freeze it solid. If there is any carbonation left, leave the top off! The next morning, put the cap back on and wrap the bottle in aluminum foil and put it in your special needs bag. The foil will keep it insulated just enough so that when you get to it on the run, it will be cold (usually slushy).
Then, at 13.1, when you are super bummed, you’ll hit that Mountain Doobie like it was the last thing you will ever drink. The sugar and caffeine will send you to the moon. Add in the salt, fat and carbs from the Pringles and you’ll freaking negative split the run.
I used this damn-near-illegal witches brew of nutritional ecstasy at IM WI last year and was 2 minutes off a neg. split and was as happy as a clam for MILES.
Good luck!
I love pringles on the bike but can’t stand them on the run. The slush is a great idea for the run.
I saw a guy whip out a Quater pounder with cheese at IMF…it sure looked good!
BIKE - peanut-butter and grape jelly on whole wheat sandwich; red licorice; pretzels (I may try Pringles, mentioned above); baby boiled potatoes in a baggy with lots of salt; protein-based drink.
Note #1 - If your race is close to home, boil the spuds the day before; otherwise, they’ll get too mushy.
Note #2 - If you’re using a protein-based drink (Sustained Energy, Perpetuem, Accelerade), have ONLY the powder in the bottle and add water at the time from a separate water bottle. If you’ve already made the drink and it’s a hot day, fermentation may have progressed to the horrific stages.
RUN - extra gels; extra drink (the slush idea is great); licorice; something salty and new (that is, not eaten during the previous 127.5 miles); new socks - just in case!; a dab of Vaseline or Body Glide - just in case!; Nip-Guards or bandaids - just in case!; boiled potatoes (very small this time); Endurolytes or salt tablets.
For the run bag you may want to put some Biofreeze or heat rub, just in case. I needed heat rub at Brazil and was very glad of it when I got there.
spot,
IMHO try to cover all the bases:
Lots of food options, variety is key.
Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Chamois cream, extra bike tubes or tubular, CO2s, a small tube of sunscreen.
Zip-locks with sports drink/fuel.
At the end of the day, everything in the bag is a throw-away so pack a pre-stretched/used tubular if you are concerned about the cost.
What ever you put in the special needs bags… these are fundamental rules that will apply.
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NEVER put new foods or drinks in the bag… ALWAYS train with the food and/or drinks. ALWAYS try the food/drinks BEFORE the race.
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Drugs (commonly considered) that can cause problems if included:
A) Caffine - can be a handicapp if the drug produces a dehydration side-effect. Caffine is a diuretic. It’s diuretic side-effect affects some more than others.
B) NSAIDS (i.e., Aleve, Bextra, Mobex, Celebrix, Asprin, (to a lesser degree) Tylenol) - Possible kidney damage… totally dependent on prior useage in both dosage level and longevity… as well as, dosage level on day of race or within 48 hrs. period. You can not hydrate to a level to reduce a NSAID toxicity effect once the problem of NSAID toxicity induced hyponatremia occurs. NSAID useage during a IM is a “russian roulette” game being played with your kidneys. There is no definative research that indicates who will have higher probabilities of suffering from problems… nor, has the degree of threat been determined. There are only studies indicating a correlation between hyponatremia and NSAID useage during endurance events.
NSAID’s (OTC or Rx) drugs were never designed for use as doping during a race but rather they are a recovery drug use to reduce inflamation.
FWIW Joe Moya
You want to follow the KIS rule, keep it simple. Put in your bag the same stuff you have been training with. During the race is not a good time to try Pepsi when your doing the Dew.
As for the caffiene, the duiretic effect is not that great and nothing to worry about. Personally I’m a real big fan of snickers and pepsi. But at IMAZ when I picked up my bike special needs on lap three, the snickers wasn’t really appealing.
Put in the bag only what you need, tires, tubes etc IMO are not needed unless you get real lucky and flat right there. You better off carrying the spares. You don’t want to be sorting through bunches of stuff your not going to use at 20+mph while trying to ride. Same for the run, only put in what you need for your long runs, grab and go, getting rid of what you don’t need as you run. You may not even need a run special needs bag.
You drink the entire 20 ounces? Doesn’t that take a while to do? And don’t you get a side ache from drinking some much liquid at once while running? Other than that, the slush is a great idea!
Definitely socks for the special needs bag. Last sunday, in humid weather, I went through 3 pair on my 20 mile run, and I wished I had another. The amount of sweat my feet generate is remarkable.
-Colin
For both bike and run I did tortilla chips, because they’re bland and salty yet they actually taste like food. I’m worried I’ll pig out on the Pringles and eat my way out of an Ironman, though they do sound yummy.
For Wisconsin, I think I might do the second half of the run in one of those foam cheesehead things. Or maybe not…
For the run you may want a long sleeve shirt for after dark (it may cool down). A change of shoes and socks if it rains.
For the bike I threw in an extra tire just in case I had a flat in the first lap I would still have one for the second.
Plus all the food & nutrition stuff.
For the bike bag, I duplicated everything I carried on my bike…3 bottles of nutrition, gel flask, 1 Clif Bar…2 tubes, 2 CO2, inflator, and spare tire.
For the run, 4 gels, bottle of Gatorade EHF, spare socks and shoes.
All I used out of all of this was one of the bottles of my industrial sludge outta the bike bag…but it was nice to be prepared.
G
I am doing IMC in two weeks so I don’t have the “race experience” yet but on my second training ride of the course at the beginning of July I discovered peppermint gum!!! This stuff is a godsend. My wife was driving the course supporting me and two friends and I got to the Special Needs area with the “Gatoraide coating your teeth” feeling. I told her that I thought I was going to hurl at the thought of more Gatoraide and she said “Here try this gum for 5 mins” - Wow, what a difference! It settled my stomach and it felt like I had just brushed my teeth. It was great! I don’t know what else is going in the bag just yet but you can bet that the peppermint gum will be there.
Train safe,
Grant
If someone were to put a tire or other “valuable” things in a special needs bag, will you be able to recover your items or is it once you throw the bag its gone??
It is gone for good…or at least that is my understanding.
Yeah, I lost a pair of moderately used running shoes, some cute socks and a tire with a bunch more life in it…not to mention water bottles, tubes, CO2 and the like…but IMO, a small price to pay for insuring, at least to a large extent, that I would cross the finish line.
Nobody ever said doing an IM was an inexpensive proposition.
G
Also, M & Ms or Reeses Pieces - love those crunchy coatings!
As stupid as this sounds, I put a freebie toothbrush with some toothpaste on it in a baggie and brushed my teeth to get the “sugar bugs” off. I just threw it away after, but it only took a minute and made my mouth feel so much better.
Bernie
Not really stupid at all. How my mouth felt at the finish was the worst thing about my IM experience by far.
I had two conscious thoughts upon crossing the line…
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I really want to brush my teeth
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I want to do that again…only better.
G