In Sams post race video he takes us through his nutrition plan for CDA. He consumes 2500 calories on the bike. Based on his 4:18 bike That’s just shy of 600 calories per hour which seems very high.
Is anyone close to this high with their calories during their IM bike?
I do 400/hr which I assumed was the upper limit.
Mark Allen also claimed 600 Cals per hour.
Any of us can eat 600 Cal’s per hour sitting around watching TV so the key is keep heart rate down. It really is helpful if there are long downhills to put back some decent calories at low heart rate but you still need to pedal with a full stomach rest of time at low heart rate. The higher the threshold and lower percent of the threshold you can race at, the easier to absorb.
also hes like 17 years old, so his body is at its “peak” performance in pretty much everything.
From memory there’s some fairly recent research supporting carb consumption up to and potentially exceeding ~140g carbs per hour, which would work out to about 600 calories.
No idea whether that’s feasible for the majority of people, but especially given these numbers seem to be continually increased with more research into optimal nutrition strategies, I think it’s very likely that at least some people are pulling it off- particularly when it comes to pro athletes, who are both more likely to aim at the upper end of the spectrum and also might benefit from some level of selection bias where athletes able to tolerate that amount of carbohydrate are more likely to reach a higher level of performance.
Preach, Sam, preach!
I have not done 140.6 or 70.3.
I have ridden for 4-10hrs on countless occasions, and routinely end up >500kcal/hr. I have on rare occasion exceeded 600kcal/hr.
As has my 63kg wife. She prefers closer to 500kcal/hr.
We both do this exclusively through carbs in beverage form.
More info here:
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=last-7417228#first
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=last-7444621#first
And here:
When and How to Use High-Carb Fuelings
90-150 grams of carbs per hour during exercise may be beneficial. 90 is not the limit.
https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/i-carbs-and-so-should-you/33210/583
Really spelling it out: HOW TO:
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/At-Home_Hydration/Nutrition_for_an_idiot_P7452851/#p7452851
Further info in my book in signature below.
I think I’m most impressed that he was able to tolerate those amounts with the heat. Dehydration and heat independently reduce gut tolerances and absorption rates. If he’s capable of 600kcal/hr at CDA 2021, he’s capable of at least 10% more in cooler temps.
He said he will grab more gatorade on the course if he needs it
.
I’m now up to 120g/hr of liquid carbs during the 70.3 bike and will try upping that to 130-140g/hr through off season training. That is all in one 750ml bottle, 1:1 maltodextrin and fructose.
You won’t know what you can hold until you try it, much like how some people can’t stomach certain gels.
*hot tip for young players: a decade in the infantry will mean your stomach can handle anything
Young guns killing it. I use to be able to eat anything when I was younger. Closer to 50 now and my body developed allergies and intolerances to things. Good for him to be able to get it done. No way I could do it. My body has changed.
What do you add to get the fructose?
What do you add to get the fructose?
Water. I run a second bottle with electrolytes and grab water at each aid station, couple of gulps and throw the bottle.
Sorry, I was not clear. I meant that you are making a maltodextrin/fructose mix. Are you using fruit juice for the fructose or do you use fructose powder?
He mentioned on his Strava that he took in 3500 calories. So that ends up being around 900 cal/hr.
Sorry, I was not clear. I meant that you are making a maltodextrin/fructose mix. Are you using fruit juice for the fructose or do you use fructose powder?
Fructose powder
In Sams post race video he takes us through his nutrition plan for CDA. He consumes 2500 calories on the bike. Based on his 4:18 bike That’s just shy of 600 calories per hour which seems very high.
Is anyone close to this high with their calories during their IM bike?
I do 400/hr which I assumed was the upper limit.
I saw in his video squeezing 14 gels into the bottle. There’s no way he will get 14 gels out of that bottle. Some of the gel will stick to the inside and never come out, so he will get 12 or 13.
I know it because I put UCan concentrate in the aero bottle and I got half of it because it got thickened big time due to hot weather. I switched to Tailwind and it works better.
Sucrose is also a good option for adding fructose. Cheaper too.
How concentrated can you make Tailwind and still ensure it mixes well? I’ve been using it in normal, 3 scoops per bottle form for a couple of years, but tempted to try it super-concentrated letting me pick up water off the course for my other bottles.
How concentrated can you make Tailwind and still ensure it mixes well? I’ve been using it in normal, 3 scoops per bottle form for a couple of years, but tempted to try it super-concentrated letting me pick up water off the course for my other bottles.
I put 3-4 scoops in the aero bottle and I give it a good shake before I drink on the bike. I know it worked well because I see not much stuff left in the bottle when I clean it afterwards.