IM Pre-race feeding

I went to bed around 10:00pm, woke up at 12:30 to pee and since I was up, drank a Walgreens brand ensure (250 calories).  Up again at 3:00am to each my 1,400 calories bkfst (Gordo's advice), then dozed back off until 4:30 with a COMPLETELY full to the brim stomach....aaaahhh.

got up and drank only liquids for the rest of the morning and downed about 20oz of gatorade 10 min before swim start to alleviate any anxiety induced hypoglycemia.

madcow - 2005-10-29 7:22 PM I found a diet plan for the 10 days before an IM. I'll have to dig it out for you. As for me I slept pretty good the night before the race, but I kept a bottle of Gatorade by my bed and tried to finish it during the night. Because I had been drinking so much the days before, I was waking up for bathroom breaks anyway. I think if I got up just to eat, I wouldn't go back to bed either. Once I woke up for the race I started eating, if that helps  

Thanks Madcow and Steve.

Madcow, if you find your 10 day diet plan please send it to me.  Thank you in advance.

Mike,

IM nutrition is specific to the individual, the goal is to try and cram as many calories as YOU can tolerate prior to race start. If you eat dinner at say 6pm the night before your race and then you don't eat again until right before the swim start at 7am (for most IM races) your body has fasted for 13 hours. That is a long time to go between feedings not to mention that you will have that "empty stomach I am hungry" feeling. Also if you get up at say  5am for your race and eat a full breakfast then you are more suceptable to GI distress as your stomach won't be able to digest a full breakfast that quickly.

oipolloi - 2005-10-30 5:56 AM

madcow - 2005-10-29 7:22 PM I found a diet plan for the 10 days before an IM. I'll have to dig it out for you. As for me I slept pretty good the night before the race, but I kept a bottle of Gatorade by my bed and tried to finish it during the night. Because I had been drinking so much the days before, I was waking up for bathroom breaks anyway. I think if I got up just to eat, I wouldn't go back to bed either. Once I woke up for the race I started eating, if that helps  

Thanks Madcow and Steve.

Madcow, if you find your 10 day diet plan please send it to me.  Thank you in advance.

I can't believe I actually found it. It was still in my car from April

http://trinewbies.com/printpage.asp?ArticleID=100

madcow - 2005-10-30 4:55 PM

oipolloi - 2005-10-30 5:56 AM

madcow - 2005-10-29 7:22 PM I found a diet plan for the 10 days before an IM. I'll have to dig it out for you. As for me I slept pretty good the night before the race, but I kept a bottle of Gatorade by my bed and tried to finish it during the night. Because I had been drinking so much the days before, I was waking up for bathroom breaks anyway. I think if I got up just to eat, I wouldn't go back to bed either. Once I woke up for the race I started eating, if that helps  

Thanks Madcow and Steve.

Madcow, if you find your 10 day diet plan please send it to me.  Thank you in advance.

I can't believe I actually found it. It was still in my car from April

http://trinewbies.com/printpage.asp?ArticleID=100

Thanks Tom.  I printed it and will review and keep in my training log.

Yes Brett, I'm aware of the individuality of diet.  I was looking for examples of what others were doing.  The 10 day plan Tom spoke of seemed interesting.  I have a sensative stomach to begin with, so I need as many diet examples as possible.  I know what works for me on the bike, or on a marathon, but all combined is going to be new.  Can you offer any suggestions?  What was your diet like?  What do you think caused your DNF in FL?

As for my DNF I have no idea, I don't think that it was diet related. I did nothing different on the bike than I did during my training rides, but who knows maybe I swallowed too much lake water.

My diet doesn't vary too much during the season. I try to stay away from processed foods and junk. During the lead up to a race I eat a lot of pasta, baked potatos, add salt to my food and drink lots of water and sports drink to stay hydrated. You really have to find what works for you though, I stumbled on the fact that a good steak works for me before a race, who would have thought that? Good Luck.

Speaking of lake water...I swallowed a fair bit of the Hudson River during the NYC Tri.  It didn't make me sick right away, but a couple days later I had serious problems.  I had to start taking Culturelle to get my stomach and GI track back in order.  Whatever I drank it stripped the good bacteria out of my system.  Very bad.

Steak?  Racing or not, if I ate a steak dinner I'd feel like crap the next day.  Funny how people can handle such different foods.  A steak would kill me.  I'm also a big fan of potatos.