I looking for any info or previous discussions, on ironman race day nutrition. I know everyone has their favorites. I am need ideas. I can not do Gatorade and gels due to stomach issues. also, I need something with extra salt as I tend to end longer races covered by salt, like McDonald’s fries
I am currently mixing powerade with perpetuem for fuel and hydration with good results. Straight sports drinks give me mild stomach problems, none with this. Gels have never affected my stomach but I feel my present mix hits my system faster and isn’t as sweet.
Read this:
http://www.e-caps.com/downloads/fuelinghandbook.pdf
It pushes e-caps and hammer products, but the basic ideas are what is important.
It’s most no-nonsense guide to endurance fueling I have read. You can order a paper copy from the e-caps website:
http://www.e-caps.com/
Your going to get a hundred different answers to your question here. Mostly anecdotal “this worked for me in this race, blah, blah, blah”.
Wanna learn how to fuel? Do a 5-6 hour ride every weekend… you’ll figure it out.
“Wanna learn how to fuel? Do a 5-6 hour ride every weekend… you’ll figure it out”
I understand your intent with this statement, but its misleading. I do a 5-6 hour rides every weekend on little or no nutrition. IM is a dramatically different event…meaning you must prepare yourself to run afterwards and can’t allow your body to deplete itself.
I’d head over to Gordo’s forum and do a search…very good stuff out there. If possible, take advantage of on-course nutrition as you have time NOW to prepare. Nothing worse than dropping your Carbo Pro and/or it not showing up at the Special Needs. I’m not saying you must use the IM needs, but should at least understand how you can make the best use of what is available so you’re not packing for a 3 month trip.
Always have a plan B.
Yes, I know it’s slighlty misleading.
Nutrition for a big cycling day can be much different
I never really dialed my nutrition til I started consistently training and having to get in enough calories so I wouldn’t be cooked the next day. Which taught me a lot about my body and how much fluid/calories intake I can handle.
I think some of the caloric intake recommendations on Gordos forum are way to high. Some dudes over there are packing 500-700cals/hr. I think Gordo says he does 400. I think even close to 400 is pushing digestion problems for most athletes. 300-350 is probably ideal. I’m a nutcase who seems to function best on about 250-300 though, but i’m 125lbs and 4%bf.
Was reading some physiology the other day… interestingly, it said the fatter the athlete, the WORSE they use thier fat stores. Since I’m so lean, my body must be very efficient. An athlete with higher %bf might need to pack in a lot more calories…
I do agree on one thing though, if your stomach is upset, you’re likely going to hard.
Hi. I took a ton of nutrition courses in undergrad and was going to become a nutritionist however I ended up going to med school instead. As a way to make money during my residency I began personal consulting for athletes with regards to nutrition. Ironman nutrition is one of my specialties. If you are interested in getting more info email me at sportsdoc@gmail.com
Hi. I took a ton of nutrition courses in undergrad and was going to become a nutritionist however I ended up going to med school instead. As a way to make money during my residency I began personal consulting for athletes with regards to nutrition. Ironman nutrition is one of my specialties. If you are interested in getting more info email me at sportsdoc@gmail.com
Just a suggestion: anonymity is not a great way to attract clients.
I’ve had good luck with Brian Shea’s Ironman Coctail. Its not hard to find on his website www.personalbestnutrition.com .
The fourth discipline in long course is eating. You have to figure it out. Just learn to eat a lot on your longer efforts to get used to eating Don’t believe all the hype about the potions and products. Every bit of info from a manufacturer is designed to sell products. While the ecaps/hammer paper is a good educational read, it is them-centric (do the math and they’d have you eating 10 Enduorlyte tabs an hour for ten hours in Hawaii…you’d be spewing pellets!). If you don’t think it is mostly commercial noise/hype, see what the ultra folks do…often a lot more exercise and a lot less concern about buying the most advertised products The carb + protein is another classic example of junk science. Not that it is wrong, but no one has proved it to be right Gordo actually tries to take in 600 cals/hr on the bike and he’s certainly been successfull, while other “doctors” swear a human can’t possibly abosorb more than 240…