Food & Hydration Strategy Help Needed! - Olympic

Adam!!

I'm doing the Wildflower as well--this will be my second year. I'll tell you my strategy, and you can take what you will from it:

First--have you had a chance to go to the location and bike/run the course??

pre-race M through W: Slightly lower carbs, but don't drop calories too much
pre-race T through S: Increasing carb intakes, peaking on Friday. On Saturday, make sure you eat things that are familiar to you--you won't to baby your stomach as much as possible.

Morning of: fiber/granola mix cereal with soy milk (I drop the reg. milk the week before a race) and a banana. I drink about 12-16 oz of water, but try not to overdue it.

pre-swim: gel at about 30 minutes before swim

T1: another Gel

Bike: 2 waterbottles--one with gatorade (not a fan of accelerade as it is chalky to me, and doesn't quench my thirst--despite whatever good stuff it does for me), one with water. I DID take fluids (gatorade at the turnaround) on the bike ride, as it is a bit arduous and it was super hot. I didn't drink much of it--but it made me feel better to have it. I didn't even have to get off my bike, as one of the very helpful volunteers gave it to me on the fly. I also had a Luna bar broken up into pieces. I ate a couple little nuggets. You really are pouring yourself into the race and I needed the energy. Just before I came down the hill into the transition area, I took one more gel (with water). I didn't want to deal with it in the transition area--cause I wanted to jet out of there, but after 2 hours on the bike, I knew I'd need some energy (I'm not fast)

T2: nothing...

Run: Carried a gel, but didn't use it. Although I could have... just for a final push. I just forgot about it! It was very hot, and I could feel myself 'bonking', so I drank at every opportunity, even if it was only a small sip.

Post-Race: Protein bar ASAP and water, of course.

A good friend of mine cramped a lot at the Wildflower. At subsequent Olys he started to take a salt pill and hasn't experienced the cramping again. I don't really know the pros and cons, but it could be an electrolyte shortage. If that's the case, keep the gatorade flowing. Look into the salt pill. I believe he takes it before the race begins.

I really hope you enjoy the race! I certainly did, and plan to do so.

It is very hot when the sun is shining and very little relief from shade!!

Dana

Thanks for the input! I will definitely alter my planned routine as a result of your comments.

1) I think I won't fuss with the gels in the transition area. At Ralph's 1/2 IM this weekend (watching a friend) I saw lots of gels taped onto bikes by the tear-off top - that way you simply rip the gel from the bike and the top is already torn. I can do that a few miles into the ride.

2) I will look into giving salt tablets a test run. Suggestions anyone? Perhaps I will test them out prior to my long run this week if conditions are hot enough (so I can mimic race conditions).

3) I am going to try to take small sips of fluid at more regular intervals rather than chugging when I feel thirsty and am most likely already on my way to a cramp. To aid this plan, I picked up an "aero drink" bottle from Profile Designs that goes between the aerobars and will make taking more frequent sips convenient.

4) I will certainly make sure to add the post-race nutrition, but supplement my "T3" with a cold beer or two.

FYI - I use accelerade and endurox because I picked it up on sale. However, I tried GU powder mix for the first time this weekend and found it to be WAY more mellow - sort of like lightly flavored water rather than the chalky accelerade. Might be worth a test for you if you haven't tried it.

-Adam



Edited by Eightman 2004-04-05 4:54 PM

Sounds good, Adam--

Since it's a madhouse there--I won't expect to see you, but I look forward to hearing about your experience. Enjoy it--4 weeks!!

Dana

Thanks. I've put in the hours all year, so I'm hoping I can feel relatively relaxed on race day - and getting the food/drink thing sorted out ahead of time will allow me to have one less thingon my mind amid all of the hoopla.


As if the task wasn't big enough, I'm also in a wedding the night before in Carmel, so that ought to keep things interesting!

Good luck. Have a great race!

-Adam