Hi
I did my first Tri last summer (IMUK) and failed to execute my nutrition/hydration plan on the bike (dehydrated, stomach shut down, threw up, fell off bike etc).
What I’m looking to achieve is have the majority of my nutrition in one aero bottle so only have to rely on water from feed stations (supplement with a few solids).
Can anyone recommend a home made ‘cocktail’ that’ll be drinkable out of the bottle and only needs water to wash it down?
Many thanks
I used diluted gels, just work out how many you need based on how long you’ll be on the bike, put them all in, fill with water. I personally find 2 gels per hour plus gatorade or water every the on course energy drink is works well for me.
with warm water you can put alot of carbpro into a bottle and flavor with your choice of drink. I have had good success with this and you can get upwards of 2000cal into a bottle. it will make a runny gel like drink so you will have to wash it down with some good ole water.
I 2x the carbo pro. I used carbo pro with some clif shot to get my nutrition and it worked for me. If you are really having trouble contact me or or personal best nutrition to really get a plan that works for you.
Carbo Pro seems your best, high calories option, but using one bottle is going to be tough. As it warms it’ll get thicker and you won’t want to drink it, thus you’ll be in the same caloric hole you were before.
Here is my setup:
Downtube: 2x 750 calorie bottles of EFS and Powerade. (Bottle swapped at special needs)
Aerobar: Water swapped every 10-20 miles.
Other: Bonk breaker bars, gels, and Clif Shots (1200 calories)
Bob
Make sure to do the ultimate test with your concoction though. Leave t in the car for a day when it is hot. Then take it out and try drinking it on a training ride.
Dave,
Many of the athletes we work with, opt to make a very concentrated bottle(s) as their primary nutrition on the bike & then chase them w/ water. We’ve posted a few of those athletes’ nutrition reports on ST & these may help when developing your own strategy:
James Cunnama - IM Florida (8:15:59 - 1st place)
Ian Mikelson - IM Lake Placid (9:15:58 - 7th place)
Let us know if you have any questions about them.
Thanks for the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it.
The reason I want to go down the ‘home made’ and self sufficient route is because of the quality of the race provided nutrition. The first five bottles of Gatorade were: 1st, too concentrated (undrinkable); 2nd Foul tasting water (no Gatorade & undrinkable); 3rd, weak & half empty; 4th ok; 5th really strong (barely drinkable but I was desperate).
When HR Z2/3 I sweat a lot and lose a lot of salt so I think I’ll be more confident if all I need is plain water from the feed stations; hence my plan of one bottle of concentrate/slurry.
My inexperience/naivety cost me about 30mins on the bike and at least 15mins on the run (plus my confidence) so I’m determined to get it right before my next IM.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Brian, really interesting, thanks.
To max out carbs go with either straight maltodextrin and water or vitargo and water. All of the endurance products, almost without exception, use maltodextrin as their source of carbs. Some add fructose as well. Maltodextrin is a long chain glucose polysaccharide which allows more glucose to pass through the small intestines for a given volume of water (basically prevents bloating). Vitargo is a VERY long chain glucose polysaccaride. I think the Vitargo is a superior product, but it is patented and expensive. I reserve Vitargo for race day or long training rides where I’m really trying to dial in my nutrition. Also, the Vitargo has zero sweetness at all. It is very easy for me to drink unflavored. Pure maltodextrin will have a varying degree of sweetness depending on its characteristics given that the term maltodextrin covers a fairly wide range of products. Essentially, the longer the chain the less sweetness the product will have.
My preference is to fuel with malto or Vitargo, hydrate with water and replace electrolytes with salt sticks. I can pack about 1200 calories in a 20 oz. bottle. It will be fairly thick at that ratio, so you will definitely need to wash it down with water. For shorter rides, 600 calories in the same bottle also provides a fair amount of hydration as well as nutrition.
Serious question: How do you guys limit youself to one bottle over the course of 5+ hours? I can’t imagine taking small enough sips to make it last that long.
For my last IM (IMTX last year) I had one large water bottle. It was one of the Camelbak Chill bottles and I think it’s 22oz. Anyways, I poured 12 Powerbar gels into the bottle, added some water, shook it up and put it in the fridge. Throughout the day I took small sips about every 15 minutes and chased with water from my Profile bottle. I also took some salt tablets every 30 mins or so. I simply refilled my Profile bottle at the aid stations along the way. Every other aid station or so I’d grab a bottle of Perform and suck down as much as I could (usually about 1/3 of the bottle) by the end of the aid station and toss it. Ended up with a new PR and had no nutritional issues throughout the day.
I have not done a full iron distance race yet. Longest training ride so far is 70 miles which I did with the one nutrition bottle with no problem. I just plan out what I want my calories/hour to be for the ride and then I take a swig every 10 miles which, for me, comes to about 30 minutes. Really, the unflavored variety is not calling out to me, “drink drink.”. It’s not gross but it’s also not good. It’s basically neutral. Having separate hydration really helps because a lot of times I just want a drink of water and I can do all that I want without worrying about screwing up my nutrition.
Surprised there is not more love for Infinit Nutrition. You customize your entire drink mix and can completely eliminate the need for additional salt pills, perform, or anything else like that. You choose how much sodium, caffeine, carbs, etc per serving.
I carry one bottle with me on the downtube for Ironman. One for the first half and swap in a second bottle at special needs. I also carry an aero bottle with just water and drink every ~5 minutes. Simple and very easy.
They have free phone consults to help you with your mix.
Brian from PBN posted this a while ago. Thought it might help you out.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=3656615;search_string=sean%20reilly;#3656615
That’s just the kind of idea I’m looking for. Basically, I want to make it myself and avoid (if possible) the off the shelf gels etc. I’m experimenting with a honey/agave/blackstrap molasses/rice syrup mix, which tastes fantastic… but it’s a bit thick and quite difficult to get out of the aero bottle.
Maybe I should just go with the maltodextrin.
Thanks for the link. Brian had also been kind enough to give me a couple of pointers.
I would think that mixture might be loaded with a lot of fructose. That might cause some stomach issues.
I would think that mixture might be loaded with a lot of fructose. That might cause some stomach issues.
The rice syrup is brown rice syrup which is allegedly very high glucose(?). I’m working towards a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose (I hope I’ve got that the right way round!).