Personally my schedule is driven by the household.
During the week:
AM workout fasted then eat breakfast.
Lunch workouts after light 10am snack then eat lunch.
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This is pretty close to my schedule. 4am workout, light snack at 7am. Breakfast at 9am. Workout again at noon. Eat lunch after, about 1pm.
When it comes to actually participating in Endurance events, I am a weirdo who only eats solid foods. I eat bars, sandwiches and fig newtons on the bike. In the runs, I eat zone bars, cookies, pretzels and anything else solid.
I’m trying to switch to solid foods for my nutrition as by the time I get to the run I have no desire to take in any more gels/Gatorade. What kind of bars and sandwiches do you eat on the bike? How/where do you store the solid nutrition over the course of an iron distance race?
I just leave my food with my bike on race morning and slip it into my tri top pocket in T1. I’ve never bother with special needs bags on the bike and the food is with me when I need it.
I’ve used a variety of different fueling options in IM and way too many to count in longer tris, ultras and ocean swimming.
When I started racing IM, the aid stations even supplied jam (jelly sandwiches), though I prefer something savoury. Favourites have included cheddar cheese, basil & hummus (plenty of hommos keeps it moist and it slides down easily), Vegemite (hey, it’s a national delicacy) and the stinkiest gorganzola I can find.
Needless to say, I have a fairly robust stomach when it comes to taking on nutrition.