I am fairly new to this forum, but notice lots of good info floating around so I figured I’d see if I can get some help.
I recently completed my first Ironman in Lake Placid. I felt great the entire day until I got to the run, where I suffered from GI issues and practically walked the last 13 miles of the run. I know for a fact that I messed up my nutrition on the bike. I planned to drink Infinit every 15 minutes along with some potatoes along the way to add some more calories. Due to the heat and poor planning, my Infinit had a horrible taste that I could not stomach, so I relied on water and food for about 40 miles of the bike. I’m not looking to disregard Infinit completely, I just want to see if something else will work better for me.
I’m looking to experiment with something new for my next Ironman (Next year). I’ve heard great things about Carbo Pro and want to give it a shot. I noticed it doesn’t have any protein though. Is protein something I should look to add into my nutrition, or will the Carbo Pro formula mixed with some EFS work fine?
Any ideas or guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
I use Carbo Pro mixed with Powerbar Endurance without any issues at almost 3 calories per body weight pound per hour. I take along gel packets in my so-called Bento bag and use them as desired or needed but wash them down with water only. Only you can determine what will work by trying it in training sessions.
Jeez, you sound like me- first IM in Placid, Infinit and potatoes on the bike…
I find Infinit a bit tough to handle on an empty stomach which to me makes it taste worse. A little bit of solid food does the trick for me. At IMLP I started with a powerbar in the first hour, and spaced out a little bit of food all day on the bike while consuming 4 bottles of Infinti. In HIM I usually take 4-6 fig newtons in a bento box.
You should always have a plan B. When the infinit didn’t work for you, get rid of it and switch to Perform or something else. You should know in advance how many calories/electrolytes/fluid you were planning to get from Infinit, and how you can get those from a different source. Check the product labels months before the race, and map out what you will do if plan A falls apart.
If you are really keen, try plan A and plan B in training.
I get sick of any sports drink after a while, so I stuck to Infint on the bike and switched to Perform on the run. Both were tolerable over that race segment, and I used the coke and water as a delicious treat.
My first Ironman was Lake Placid as well and I feel as if my nutrition on the bike was perfect. I owe this to the consultation I received from Brian at Personal Best Nutrition. We were able to try lots of options beforehand in training and nail down my calorie/electrolyte needs. On race day, I felt confident in my plan which is probably half the battle. I was never “bonky” nor did my stomach ever “revolt” or shut down. Cramps were non-existent as well. I would highly recommend you give him a shout…
Strangely, I had the opposite problem - didn’t resolve my GI issues until I stopped eating solid foods and started relying on Infinit exclusively during the bike. I never found it to be distasteful (even when warm). I just take a shot of concentrated Infinit (3x normal strength with flavor dialed all the way down) and chase it with water.
Bottom line is that everyone is different. You’ll have to experiment and when you find something that works for you, keep doing it.
A lot of people measure their nutrition and take in exactly x amount of calories per hour. I’m not like that. I prepare 3 ~500 calorie bottles (the 3rd bottle is usually not fully consumed and is more of a “back up” if one gets launched) of Infinit and then use the course provided stuff to supplement if needed. I may or may not drink all the Infinit, I may take a couple bars/gels, I may drink 1 - 2 bottles of water, etc. It all depends on how I feel which is dependent on the course, the environment, etc. The one thing I do not do is consume much during the last hour of the bike. Maybe a couple of sips of Infinit and/or water. Never and solid foods. I learned all this about myselft by trying different stuff in training. That’s the only answer. I figured out the minimum that worked for me and then added a bit for back up and that was it.
I’ve tried Gatorade, Gu, Powerbar, Hammer, etc., etc., and they all worked. Infinit seemed to keep me feeling a bit “fresher” at the end but that could of just been a placebo or dependent on the numerous external factors involved.
In my experience, it’s not WHAT you eat during your race, it’s HOW MUCH you are able to pack away while you TRAIN on the bike for the months leading up to it.
You didn’t mention if you ate potatoes and Infinit while training on the bike, and targeted the same rough calorie intake on training days as race days.
EDIT: I meant, the same food types and calorie intake rate on the training rides, not overall calorie consumption. As clearly you will need more on Ironman race day, vs. normal training day.
potatoes?! wow. I don’t know what’s the point of counting calories. Rather, the amount of carbonhydrates matter. I usually try and take some 50g an hour. Mostly energy bars, preferrably Power Bar, since they contain less hard-digested fats and fibres than many other products, on the bike, then energy gels on the run.
EDIT: I meant, the same food types and calorie intake rate on the training rides, not overall calorie consumption. As clearly you will need more on Ironman race day, vs. normal training day.
I drank Infinit during training but for whatever reason I did not enjoy the taste during the race and was giving me an upset stomach. Not sure if it was the warm water I mixed it with or I just got sick of it from training with it so much.