I can only assume this has been covered before but I couldn’t find it.
I’m doing IMLP (1st IM) and I have a tried and proven nutrition plan going into the race (but then again, I’ve had practiced nutrition plans fail in races before – during Mooseman, my body froze up and I did the race on a lot of water, one G-aid and three gue as my natural reaction is stop ingesting if my stomach turns sour which I know will prove fatal to an IM race strategy).
Therefore, if my IMLP plan is 2 and 1/2 bagels, two cliff bars breafast (I’m 200lbs.) over the three hours before the race. During the bike, 2.5 cliff bars, a gue every 45 minutes with salt tablets, H2O and G-Aid thrown in which will vary based on temperature/ humidity (in general a salt tablet every 45 minutes and 2.5 bottles of water for every bottle of G-Aid). During the run, a gue every 45 minutes, water, G-aid first 13 before I add coke on the 2nd lap. Please criticise this as well.
Nevertheless, regardless of one’s nutrition plan, what do you suggest as a recovery plan for nutrition plans gone wrong? Either I become bloated and can’t ingest or I realize I’ve not eaten enough. I’d rather cross the finish line in 20 hrs. if not 16:59 than have a DNF.
Let me preface this by saying I haven’t done an IM and I am no expert…but eating 5 cliff bars is almost a days worth of fiber. I would think that would cause some GI problems and restrict how much you can eat throughout the race. Your stomach may be stronger than mine, but I would have some bathroom issues if I had that much.
Sounds to me like your taking in a hell of a lot of salt if you’re going to take one every 45mins for the whole race. I couldn’t tell if you’re going to keep taking them on the run.
Also, do you use Gu or some other gu pack? I’ve found it easier to digest some types of gel over others. (I use Carboom)
I use GU but also have used Cliff Bar shots. Right now, favoring GU for IMLP. I started doing tri’s after getting a real job after backpacking for a year – when I used to hike 15 hours a day and consume 8+ Cliff Bars with no adverse affects.
I appreciate all the thoughts, please keep them coming.
Therefore, if my IMLP plan is 2 and 1/2 bagels, two cliff bars breafast (I’m 200lbs.) over the three hours before the race. During the bike, 2.5 cliff bars, a gue every 45 minutes with salt tablets, H2O and G-Aid thrown in which will vary based on temperature/ humidity (in general a salt tablet every 45 minutes and 2.5 bottles of water for every bottle of G-Aid). During the run, a gue every 45 minutes, water, G-aid first 13 before I add coke on the 2nd lap. Please criticise this as well.
First of all you should practice your race plan AT RACE PACE to see if it works. It’s not enough to go out on a long latte ride with the boys and if nothing happens say you have a plan.
IMHO you should have your big breakfast down 3 hours before the race not leading up to the race.
Not getting into the solids vs liquid debate. But I would go with more liquid cals on the bike but you decide.
However if I read correctly your bike nutrition:
2.5 Cliff Bars = 600 cals !
1 Gu = 100 cals !
water and G-ade cals !!
That’s over 700 cals an hour?
Have you tried this at RACE PACE on the bike for 112 miles after a swim? I think you should shoot for a lot less (from everything total) and hour. In the 300 to 400 cal per hour range.
You seem to be missing the pace part of the equation. Just about any food strategy will work if you go easy enough. So as someone else menitoned and I will second, try your nutrition plan on a long ride of race intensity. I find you can fake the nutrition on most things of about 4 hours and under. Over 4 hours and you need to start to pay attention, so it would be best to do on a ride of around 5 hours. You should think aout finishing those long rides at race pace with race nutrition not feeling like death.
Figure out what your intended race day pace, hr, power, rpe will be and then do a big ride at that level and try your nutrition out.
You can do the same thing for the run but it is much harder to get yourself in a race-like state to mimic the run, short of a massive brick I don’t know how you can do it.
Try to mimic the race terrain as well, doing your nutrition on big climbs with big descents is different than on a totally flat area where your hr goes up and stays up.
i’m planing to consume about 2500 calories on the bike at LP, maybe a bit less.
One thing that you haven’t mentioned that i think could prove to be important is timing your feeds. IMLP as you know has a number of nasty climbs. It can be much more difficult to digest solid food while you are at an elevated heart rate. Do a search on the forums, there is an article written by Gordo that details the IMLP bike course. In it, he gives specific times that he recommends for taking in solid food. Eg: the flat section after the decent into Keen and the first part of the “back” on haselton road.
might be a key consideration for your nutrition plan since you are eating a lot of bars.