Still Confused With Bike Nutrition...

This one is tough and very personal.  I'm doing an HIM - so I'm trying to dial in nutrition now ...

On a 3hr ride I take:
- Aero bottle filled with water
- 1 24oz bottle of water
- 1 24oz bottle of Accelerade (This has protein.  4:1 Carbs:Protein)
- 2x Sport Beans
- 1x Power Gel (trying to get used to these)

I don't like to feel "full" but I'm trying to eat everything I take with me.  So based on what I carry I'm looking at about 300 calories in gel/beans and 240 in Accelerade.  Based on reading here and formulas I'm trying to take in between 150-200 calories per hour and I'll try to increase that a little over the next couple weeks.

This being said - I have never done an Olympic distance race - so I have no idea.

Accelerade works for me.  It has protein in it.  I like it.  That's all that matters as far as I'm concerned.

In my oly last weekend I drank 2 water bottles of electrolytes w/ a tbl of sugar in each and nibbled on a clif bar on the bike.  Seemed enough to me.

On training rides I mix it up so I don't get tired of eating the same thing all the time, but clif bars are the easiest to eat, imo.  PB sandwiches, fig bars and bananas seem to be the most popular.  I like pb on a tortilla so I don't inhale breadcrumbs, but it's kind of messy.

in long training (over 3 hours), and HIM racing, i take 300 cal in hour in the form of gels and HEED from hammer, in training in the 2-3 hour range, and in olympic racing, 200 per hour in the form of HEED or gels, or both depending on how i feel.

under 2 hours nothing but water.


protein in the drink hashelped me feel a bit fuller, but thats about it really, no noticable diff in training, HEED has worked the best for me, i dont always like the flavor, but it is one of the few drinks i can stomach 3 hours into a ride when the bottle is 90 degrees. what you like the taste of at home when its cool is not gonna be the same as once you have been moving for hours and its hot and nasty;-)

A good rule of thumb is 1 gram of carbohydrate (1 gram = 4 calories) per kilogram of body weight per hour of exertion. For me at 195-200 pounds (90 kilo), that's 360 calories.

Keep in mind that you're going to have some stores prior to the event. So for an olympic race of 2.25 hours I would take a gel 15-30 minutes prior to the swim. ~100 calories. I would have a bottle of maltodextrin at 200 calories for the bike, and I would carry a gel on the run that I might or might not take. So I have potentially 400 calories, plus what I've stored from the night before and breakfast.

For a HIM or IM, I would have a gel prior, and then shoot for 360 calories an hour on the bike using a mix of maltodextrin and gels. On the run I alternate between gels (every 2-3 aid stations), gatorade and coke.

Personally I don't use any protein or solid food.

YMMV. As others have posted, be prepared that what taste good cool or at room temp, may not taste good in the heat. Also what goes down easy when tooling around in zone 1 or zone 2 effort may not be as appealing when going hard (as in an olympic distance race), or after 8+ hours of effort.

scott

In my personal opinion gels, beans, etc are overrated. Not in flavor but in trying to get in X number of calories per hour of only gelatanous stuff. Your stomach needs something solid (fruit, pretzels) to help digest the goop it's getting fed. How many people have stomach problems in their races? Could this be part of the problem? Maybe.

For a 3 hour ride or Oly, I'm not sure you need solid food, maybe grab something in T1/T2 gels might be ok, but you need to test it out and see what works for you.

I recently was reading something about a former pro (don't remember who) that drank pickle juice after his runs/rides. Lots of people started doing it, why, because so and so was. Why did he? He liked the taste and it helped replenish the salt his body needed.

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Edited by PennState 2009-07-16 8:30 PM

I probably won't go down the gel route, as they are comparitively much more expensive than say, a banana.

So if your taking in 2x bottle of an electrolyte drink and had to take solid food (not gel or any other expensive sports fuel) would you take bananas, muesli bars, etc?

Maybe in 2.5 hours I may not even need it in an olympic distance race?

I like bananas and will take them on training rides.  I like candy in general and often have a selection of gummy bears/jelly beans/etc. in my Bento Box.  I like Mars bars and I also have been known to take roasted potatoes.

I answered based on what I'm trying to figure out for myself.  It's an expensive route - but also really precise and with my first HIM coming - I need to have that comfort level.

For 3 hour rides, you don't really need much protein (certainly not a protein shake, at least in my opinion). Your body is running off of carbohydrates mostly when you exercise, so it is most important to replace your glycogen. Bananas are always good for good carbs and quick and easy digestion. I would say bring a bottle of gatorade (as much as you can - or some sort of sports drink), a banana, and a Clif bar/ Powerbar / something similar. That is likely to hold you. And I'd say wait until after an hour to start eating, but I think many people will deviate from this advice.

Also - bring some cash with you if you are around an area where you could stop in at a store to refill gatorade or something, incase you are feeling weak.

For Olympic distance races, I usually just eat a bar (240-300 cal) and a waterbottle full of gatorade (and water of course), and sometimes a little more gatorade if they give it on the run.

Most importantly, do what you do in practice!!! Don't change what you do on race day!

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For a three hour training ride I will typically take a bottle of Gatorade or some gels.  I will aim to take in 200-300Cal during the ride unless I am specifically testing out my nutrition for a longer race.

For an Oly distance race, a good breakfast and maybe a gel 30' before the start.  I will often carry a gel on the bike but rarely use it and just stick with water.

Shane

Um...no.  Solids are more difficult to digest.  What do you think happens to solids in your stomach?  They are turned to "goop".  That's why fluids & gels are so popular.

How are you going to eat a banana in a race? I guess it could be done. But please video it for us

For Olys I do one gel on the bike and sports drink on the run. That's it.

For HIMs and 3+hour rides I take a pack of shot bloks and a bar of some sort (Clif, Larabar, Kind bar) and a gel for the end if I'm running afterwards. Also have GU20 on the bike, plus water.

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On my 3 hour slower bike ride on the IM WI hilly bike loop, and depending on temperature, I can do with one 24 oz aerobottle of water, one 24 oz waterbottle of a mix of InfinIT (about 3 scoops), maybe a banana, and a coupe of Hammer Gels, and a handful of Gel "bursts".  I think I may need more somedays.  I usually carry one extra 16 oz waterbottle of either water or InfinIT mix, depending on heat.

Edited by 1stTimeTri 2009-07-17 11:32 AM