HIM race nutrition

merlin2375 - 2009-09-15 9:54 AM I think with HIM, you want to start by figuring out what your caloric needs should be roughly based on your weight or even sweat rate. Once you have that then you can come in from the other side. I think it's good for a long course to have a well thought out plan with the attitude of adjusting it on the fly. The problem with over planning is you might eat too much because "well I planned it" but the problem with not planning enough is you might not take in enough "because I feel fine".

And lastly, whatever you decide. Make sure you practice it heavily (not just the amounts, but the products). Find out what the course is offering and see if you can live off the course or if you need to bring your own stuff.

tri_d00d - 2009-09-15 9:39 AM I've been experimenting with PERPETUEM lately and like it. You can make bottles that last however long you need, and that's pretty much it. no gels, bars, or anything else to worry about.

you just follow their chart, which goes according to weight and number of hours...and mix the powder with water.

If you are going to participate in a shorter event, use HEED instead...

newbz - 2009-09-15 10:24 AM if you like HEED, its easy to find cheap online. i use it for most of my longer races now, and pretty much rely on course support for HIM because if i drop/spill something i dont want ot be screwed by not having something i can use. i've found i do best with apporx 300 cal an hour, mainly from gels. my plan looks like this. 6 gels on the bike. (2:25ish bike time). using hammer gel so 540 cal water or heed on course as needed/how i feel. the heed at races is normally mixed very light, so i doubt its more than 50 cal a bottle. i'll go through 2-3 bottles of heed/water on the bike, depending no how hot it is. run 1 gel about 4-5 miles in, heed and water alternating at each aid station (or course drink of choice). coke in the 2nd half if they have it.

newbz - 2009-09-15 11:36 AM its not really similar. two things i would consider doing. take/grab the gels you want on course. start wit ha bottle of heed, and just finish with course water for the bike. or you can try out the accelerade and see waht you think. its a lot more like gatorade.

zionvier - 2009-09-15 11:12 AM

I just finished a HIM on Saturday. Thought I had the nutrition worked out and followed my plan, but looking back I'm pretty sure I should have had more. Pre race I had 32oz of straberry/banana smoothie, cliff bar, and half a pack of shot blocks, and 32oz of Gatorade. On the bike I had about 40oz of Gatorade (~300calories), ~10oz of plain water (no idea how many calories might be in plain water), 4 Cliff Shots (400calories), 2 packs of Shot Blocks (~400 calories). For roughly a total of 1100 calories in 2hrs 45 minutes.... so my intake rate was around 400calories/hour during the bike.

I weigh 165lbs, but don't know my sweat rate, but I know I tend to sweat out a LOT of salts. During the run I used about 8 of the 12 aid stations, taking in about 3-4oz of gatorade at each. I skipped the first aid station to make sure I found my rhythm and then started using them, skipping one every 3-4 miles basically. So I took in around another 200-250calories during the 2 hour run.

Now like I mentioned I thought I had it all worked out, that was my plan and I did a great job sticking to it. I ate/drank consistently like I wanted, never felt like I was trying to play 'catch up' or anything, but with about 4 miles left in the run I realized I had made a mistake. I bonked. I just had nothing left in me and it took everything in me mentally to continue to run, but my muscles were done. I finished the entire race >20minutes faster than what I thought was my goal time and only 5 minutes slower than my 'far fetched' goal time, but those last 4 miles proved I did something wrong.

I offer this story to help if it can. But perhaps my race nutrition was perfect... Maybe I went too hard on the bike? or perhaps my early morning nutrition wasn't enough? Maybe it all started 2-3 days before the race and I didn't eat enough then? Maybe it was because it was colder than we expected and my body used more energy to keep warm that I didn't anticipate needing to replace?

What I do know is that after cross the finish line I could barely hold myself up and was in an obvious daze from complete lack of energy and nutrition, but immediately (within 5minutes) felt much better (better is very relative minutes after a race obviously) when I grabbed a plate of food from the lunch provided by the organizer. I was still sore, but that plate of food solidified that my fuel tank was completely empty during those last 4 miles.

Hope that helps a little.

ouradventure - 2009-09-15 10:53 PM I'm sure you'll figure it out though and it will all come together for your race! Good luck!

qrkid - 2009-09-16 8:58 AM Trix

I have my first HIM in 7 weeks as well. I have never done anything that has required nutrition so I can't really offer real advice, but this is what I am planning at the moment.

Pre Race (about 2 hrs) Muscle Milk Shake (~400cal) and 2 eggo waffles (~300cal)

On the bike I will start with a 24oz bottle and a 20oz bottle of HEED (200cal each) I then plan on swapping out bottles at aid stations (3 in total) but those bottles at stations seems like they will just be 100 cal each. I will also have 4 hammer gels with me 400cal) I will have about 1100 cal avaiable to me, but I am guessing I will use about 900. I will also take 3 salt stick tabs on the bike.

On the run I will just take fluids at the aid stations and maybe a gel half way.

Hopefully that works.

zionvier - 2009-09-15 12:12 PM

I just finished a HIM on Saturday.  Thought I had the nutrition worked out and followed my plan, but looking back I'm pretty sure I should have had more.  Pre race I had 32oz of straberry/banana smoothie, cliff bar, and half a pack of shot blocks, and 32oz of Gatorade.  On the bike I had about 40oz of Gatorade (~300calories), ~10oz of plain water (no idea how many calories might be in plain water), 4 Cliff Shots (400calories), 2 packs of Shot Blocks (~400 calories).  For roughly a total of 1100 calories in 2hrs 45 minutes.... so my intake rate was around 400calories/hour during the bike.

zionvier - 2009-09-15 12:12 PM
~10oz of plain water (no idea how many calories might be in plain water

trix - 2009-09-16 7:45 AM



i hope so, thank you all.

stil with 7 weeks left i have good amount of time to and at least 4 long rides 3+ hrs and runs to get my act together. this weekend i actually plan on trying what was suggested.

and like newbz said i would much rather prefer to live off the course.