I am thinking about just one bottle on the bike and relying on aid stations. is it a stupid idea? In the last 3 half IMs I did this season I had 1 frame bottle 1 aero bottle and kept drinking only half of it.
I am thinking about just one bottle on the bike and relying on aid stations. is it a stupid idea? In the last 3 half IMs I did this season I had 1 frame bottle 1 aero bottle and kept drinking only half of it.
I don’t think you are, but if you are talking about only taking one bottle of fluid on the entire 56 miles, you are insane. But since I think you would be dead at this point if you tried it in three races, you must be talking about taking one bottle on the bike, chucking it once you are done and getting another bottle. You can do it, but it really depends on the race. I just did the same thing at Vineman. I have raced other races where you can’t count on getting aid all the time or there might be just one or two, and if it is a really hot day, you are going to want to use water to cool the core as well as drink, so you may need multiple bottles from aid stations. That being said, if it is a well supported race, go for it!
what’s the point on relying on them? bring the second and then if they have 'em, great and if not, you’re not screwed. I will often just put a commercial bottle of water in my cage and then chuck it at the station. So not wasting a real bottle.
On a very hot day, one 70 oz. camelbak, and I dont stop at any aid stations. Saves loads of time, and any possible accidents.
Kind of depends on how long you are planning to be out there and how big you are, but I have been experimenting with gradually reducing my intake for halves.
The last couple I have done on one bottle of Industrial Sludge (2 scoops Gatorade EHF, 2 scoops CarboPro and 1 dissolved Succeed capsule = approx 400 cal, 800 mg sodium) and an aerobottle of H2O that I refill from a mid-course aid station. I will generally take either a gel or a few Clif Blox on the ride and another gel, or maybe 2 on the run depending on how I feel and the timeframe.
I shoot for 700-800 calories for the deal, which is about 150-ish per hour. FWIW, I weigh 118 and will race about 5:15.
This help?
G
I can only underline what rinconryder said with: you might need 3 times as much fluid on a hot day as a cool one, and depending on the size of the race and your position in it aid stations have been known to run out. A hot race is going to require more calories too, and you’ll require a lot of calories if you really hammer the bike, to have any hope of not bonking in the run. Having said that I’ve still not quite managed to find optimum nutrition for the 1/2IM for my own MoP self. j
.
Whats is in that bottle on your frame when you start out? Water, sports drink, nutrition? Is it regular strength or concentrated? What else are you taking on the bike? How many calories/hour do you plan to consume on the bike? What is your plan for electrolytes? Where are you electrolytes coming from and how much do you think you'll need? What is your plan if its really hot?
This question is almost impossible to answer without some more info…