I’m hoping some of you can shed some light as to what you eat and drink and how much you pack onto your frame for a race.
A bit of reading on the web has provided me with a general rule of thumb: approximately 60 grams of carbohydrates per 1 hour of cycling which looks a bit like this:
I start with two bottles of sports drink, mixed to about 430 calories each. Try to make each bottle last 1:15-1:20 (I am slow on the bike by ST standards…)
I pick up two more of the same at Bike Special Needs.
Water from the aid stations as needed depending on hydration status.
It has been more than enough for me for the last four (first IM was very different nutrition plan with “explosive” results).
No solids/gels for the entire race. Just sports drink on the bike and cola on the run.
I am 5’ 7" and wiegh around 146-48 on race day.
ETA: KISS. I don’t want to be juggling bars and gels and liquids and all that other stuff. Yes I get sick of flavor of the sports drink… I also get sick of cycling and running… but I don’t veer from the nutrition/race plan unless something happens, and then I adapt.
There are a lot of threads on here discussing this, with lots of advice.
It’s highly personal - what works for somebody else might not work for you. You also need to practice it. I used to do on-course Perform and gels, but had GI issues in races. So I switched to Infinit and now go all liquid, about 275 cal/hr (at 140lbs) on the bike. Water in my BTA bottle, refilled as necessary. I definitely don’t miss having to mess around with a lot of loose items like gels, etc. but some people make it work. You could concentrate your gels and mix them with water, and use special needs to stash some stuff.
1 BTA bottle cage
1 aero bottle on frame as my reserve. Water for hot races, sports drink for cooler events.
Bento box for cool races gets 6 gels (all I can fit) and I have 2 waffles in my pocket…around 370 calories per hour for ~5 hours.
For hotter races, 5 gels and 1 waffle in bento box since I’m drinking more calories. Around 370 calories per hour just under 5 hours.
I’m 5’11" 160-170lbs. I’m done 2 IM’s, one hot, one cooler, never had an issue with the plan. I do the same for 70.3, but less of course, slightly lower intake rate and no waffles. I might stop even carrying a reserve bottle in a major 70.3 race, you have 3-4 chances to grab something at each aide station. I’ve only dropped maybe 5-8% of the bottles in the last 6 major races I’ve done.
I don’t really get sick of eating gels or sports drink. It tastes good because I’m thirsty and hungry, I crave it and I get a energy boost not long after eating a gel.
I used to use concentrated Hammer perpetuem, but it started giving me bad intestinal issues. I have settled on using Honey Stinger waffles. I break them all in half, and put them into a Dark Speed Works top tube bento box. I also have a Fuel Belt “aero” bento that I put on the top tube and seat post and have it face towards the front of the bike. That way I can carry 10 Honey Stingers, broken in half, for a ~5hr predicted ride. I eat one of the halves every 15 minutes on the dot, which puts me at 320cal/hr. The advantage I have found to this approach (vs the all-liquid or all-gel approach) is it gives my stomach something to “digest” even if it’s mostly just sugar. It keeps me from getting that “I am hungry” feeling
I am 5’7", 145lbs and try to ride around 200 watts for an IM (FTP at 280)
For fluids I go with straight water. I have a Profile Design FC25 between my aerobars and I can also carry two water bottles on the frame. Whether or not I actually do carry all that water depends on the weather and if I will need more than I can usually grab from aid stations. I supplement the plain water with Base Salt, which I have stashed in a “pocket” on the leg my tri shorts. I also will grab on-course gatorade (or whatever it might be) if I somehow feel I need it.
I start the day with a full BTA bottle and a couple of gels. I train with the on-course nutrition (usually GU), so I don’t need to pack a whole bunch. I just grab what I need at the aid stations and I’m good.
I start with two bottles of sports drink, mixed to about 430 calories each. Try to make each bottle last 1:15-1:20 (I am slow on the bike by ST standards…)
I pick up two more of the same at Bike Special Needs.
Water from the aid stations as needed depending on hydration status.
It has been more than enough for me for the last four (first IM was very different nutrition plan with “explosive” results).
No solids/gels for the entire race. Just sports drink on the bike and cola on the run.
I am 5’ 7" and wiegh around 146-48 on race day.
ETA: KISS. I don’t want to be juggling bars and gels and liquids and all that other stuff. Yes I get sick of flavor of the sports drink… I also get sick of cycling and running… but I don’t veer from the nutrition/race plan unless something happens, and then I adapt.
^^^^ People that do much better than me on the run tell me to quit putting all my fuel into one or two bottles and do this instead. ^^^^
I use Skratch in my BTA… i target 1 bottle an hour (electrolytes + 20gm carbs / hr) I carry concentrate and mix it with water on course
I have 3 packs of Perpetuum mixed in a single bottle (a sip ever 5 miles for another 20gm carbs / hr)
I’ll eat half a Honey Stinger waffle or a banana every 40 min or so (another 20gm carbs / hr)
In my bike special needs i have pickles (in case i am cramping), pringles (salty goodness) and beef jerky (because yeah) in case i need more real food
I am not a huge fan of gatorade (too sweet for me) or the other on course food. (I may take a gell if i feel like i need additional energy early)
My bike is setup with 2 behind the seat water bottles (one for the perpetium and one for empty water bottles in case i don’t get my BTA filled before the final trash line)
I’ll keep the waffles and concentrated Skratch in my bento box
Thanks for pointing that out Maurice, not sure how I overlooked that.
With that said, every rider must depend on aid stations for hydration resupplies because a frame can only hold 4-5 bottles, but do riders pack all their nutrition (gels, bars, tabs, etc.) on prior to a race or do they also depend on aid stations for those?
Also, I should have been more specific and mentioned that I’m looking for figures to give me an idea how much storage my frame will need.
If you are looking for specific fuelling strategies (total calories) for IM here is my opinion….keeping in mind that there are a lot of other opinions on this board (good and bad) see post 26:
In terms of technical set up, lots of good advice on here but this is what I do:
BTA at 400 calories (cargo pro mixed with salt stick at 800mg/hour)…first hour at aid stations I will grab water at the start, chug and ditch the bottle by the end of the station. (this was a strategy from scott bowe “sentania” who IIRC only has one bottle holder) after an hour I have an empty space for water.
Behind the seat 800 calories concentrated, another 4-5 gel strategically placed) and then 2-3 bottles of Gatoraide on course
No special needs for me…plan B is pretty simple (always have a plan B) if I lose a bottle make it up with gels on course.
5’9" 145lbs, pretty conservative 5:30 split followed by 3:27 run
DarkSpeedWorks aero bento:
2 Clif bars cut into sixths, eat one piece every 0:30
6 gels, only 2 with caffeine, eat one every hour as needed
Base Salt, one lick every ~two hours
Mini Tums, took one every ~two hours, just in case
SOLID ~200 calories per hour
Frame:
3 bottles lightly mixed Infinit (1 BTA/2 frame — I will condense into 1 concentrated BTA for next race)
Replaced bottles with water at aid stations, additionally took a bottle of PowerBar perform – so almost 7 bottles total liquid, maybe a little too much, but didn’t kill me. Just had to pee a lot.
For IM Florida this past weekend at 6’ 3" 175lbs with 80s and humid conditions, I started with a BTA full of water and 7 gels in my speed concept bento. I got 1 more gel and 7 bottles of water along the way so 800 calories for a just under 5hr split.
i run bta with 1-2 scoops of scratch and refill with water. i run concentrated 500-700 calories of scratch in aero bottle. i carry 5 gels, 2 waffles, 1 power bar and 1 kind bar.
i also bring 5 salt tabs. lots of this depends on race and temperature.
i tend to try and get 550-800 mg of sodium per hour (more if it’s warmer). water is about 24-32oz of water (temp dependent as well).
ftp is 205, im np/ap is 150watts.
so roughly 200 calories. i’ll generally grab 1-2 bananas on course. (yes, i eat a lot, i’ve done as little as 2k calories, as many as 3k calories, sometimes i’ll have pizza at special needs).
So for the cycling portion of an ironman (approx. 5+hours) one would need:
10 gels and 1.75 bottles of sport drink, or
5 gels and 5 bottles of sport drink, or
5 energy bars and 2.5 bottles of sport drink
Do these figures make sense? Do you pack all of this onto your frame prior to a race or do you resupply at some
I can “keep inside” about twice as much, so I do it.
I pack a bottle with 17 powerbargels (mixed with a little water) on my bike. Additionally two powerbars. I take water and electrolytes underway. The water to drink the gels with, and the electrolytes to drink when thirsty.
IM: aim is 325-375 cal hr goal
– down tube x-lab aero bottle 1500 cal with mix of 800 cal infiniti, 400 cal first endurace, 150 cal of Honey, 150 cal power gel. Used this same mix 3 months leading up to IM.
– 5-6 power gels in trek frame box, 1 stinger waffle.
– this give me 200-300 extra cal then i need should something fall off or i just want some flexibility with how i am feeling.
– i drink water only, Xlab front hydration, rear seat water bottle, and pick water up on course as needed, knowing i need 15-30 oz a hr depending on race day temps and humidity.
I start the day with a full BTA bottle and a couple of gels. I train with the on-course nutrition (usually GU), so I don’t need to pack a whole bunch. I just grab what I need at the aid stations and I’m good.
This. For me, instead of gels, I make Krusteaz non-fat brownies. Gives me something to actually chew and helps mitigate the “Gatorade mouth”.
Intriguing. How many of these do you carry and how? How many calories? What is your strategy for consuming these? I am all for solid food on the IM bike, but other than Honey Stinger waffles I haven’t found anything that really works from a ease-of-transport perspective as well as “nutritional” content (essentially I want all carbs).