I’m trying to create a single drink for the bike (1/2 IM) that contains all my fuel and electrolytes. Assume the duration is 3 hours. According to the e-caps web site, I should take 1-6 e-caps per hour. Lets settle on 3 per hour, so I would need 9 total e-caps. I’m trying to create this myself so I’m trying to determine the appropriate amount of Morton’s Lite Salt (contains Sodium, Potassium, Calcium and a very little Magnesium) .
According to the USDA nutrient database, 1 tsp of table salt contains 2325.480 mg of Sodium! That is the equivalent of 23 e-caps! So if I were to use straight table salt, I would need 1/3 of a teaspoon. Is my reasoning off here or does this sound right?
Here is my cheap man’s approach that I have used for several sub 4:30 Half Ironmans. Three large bottles each with 2 scoops of Gatorade with 20 “shakes of salt” from my kitchen salt shaker. I drink two bottles on the bike and have either two gels or a powerbar on the bike (powerbar stuck in pieces to top tube). In warmer conditions, I just go with gels. On the run, I start with my third bottle that I leave in T2 and drink the whole thing in a mile or two and then ditch the bottle at an aid station. After that, I don’t drink much at all for the rest of the run and consume a couple of gels max with a small sip of water at aid stations so my mouth is not sticky. This has worked well for me. Please not that the gatorade, gels and powerbar all do have some sodium to start with.