kaburns1214 and UHCoog's Mentor Group-Closed (Page 13)

I always advise against taking in plain water in endurance events.  It dilutes the sodium concentration in your blood and contributes to cramping. 

This is very interesting -- WTC is changing the swim starts for its North American Races. CDA and Lake Placid will feature rolling starts, Mont Tremblant will have a wave start and Florida and Tahoe will involve athlete seeding and swim corrals.





http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/05/swimsmart-initiative.aspx#axzz2SnhE5WWu

So happy to hear that.

There's a big misconception that you can "save" calories for later by not eating/fueling before, during and immeadiately after your training sessions.  Unfortunately your body doesn't work that way.  Your body needs fuel to perform and the calories you take in fueling before, during and immeadiately after your training session are used to fuel and repair your body, do not spike insulin levels and do not cause weight gain (unless your taking in something unbelieveabley crazy).  If you deprive yourself during training sessions, the sessions will suffer and you're likely going to be ravenous later in the day and the massive amount of food you may end up consuming later will spike insulin levels and may lead to weight gain.

How soon before your workout do you eat this? I am lucky if I eat a banana before a workout early in the morning. coffee yes. perform yes. I am not sure if my coach knows about this. I think I need to alter this habit.

I generally make my athletes do a sweat test to determine exactly how much fluid and sodium they are loosing, that being said I do have a basic formula for HIM / IM fueling plans:

Swim:

Gel 15 min before swim start

Bike:

1 - 2 24 oz bottles of sports drink per hour (depending on athletes sweat rate and the race conditions)

1/2 Bar at 30 min (I like Power Bar but you can also go with Bonk Breaker bars or Honey Stinger Waffles -- which are so Delicious)

1/2 Bar at 60 min

1 gel every 30-45 minutes depeding on the athelte's body mass (I like Power Gels because of their high sodium content, GU Roctane are also good)

Run:

1 Clif shot blok or 2 honey stinger chews every other mile (the honey stinger chews are AWESOME)

Sports drink at every aid station (aim to take in 4 - 8 oz)

A gel at mile 7 and mile 18 (if a full IM)

As much coke as you want over the last 40 minutes of the run

You just need calories in the morning.  If the easiest way to do it is a cup of coffee and a bottle of Perform pre-work out that's fine. 

I generally have first breakfast and second breakfast every day.  First breakfast is my pre-training meal -- its pretty much always 2 slices of homemade honey wheat bread, a little peanut butter and decaf coffee or green tea.  My second breakfast is then after my training.  This morning it was greek yogurt, 1 TB of chocolate chips and a mango.

You're body is adapting to the training load -- that's a really good thing!

To further drive this point home I add hydration tablets to my water the morning before the race.

That sounds awesome. I love frozen berries too. I'm going to have to give this a try. Just the fridge or the freezer?

That was going to be my question as well.  How long before your workout do you have your first breakfast?  (I love this, I get to feel like a hobbit!)

It depends on the workout.

This morning was hour on the trainer with intervals then I drove to the gym stretched out, ran an hour then did a half hour of core work. I had a banana before the trainer then I had another banana as I was getting off the trainer and an apple driving there. After the workout was done I had a shake made of almond milk, OJ and protein powder that works out roughly to 400 calories.

Yesterday morning was a recovery workout with 30 minutes trainer, 45 pool and 20 running followed by 30 core work. I had a banana before getting on the trainer and an apple driving to the gym. After the workout the same type of shake but only 250 calorie portion.

Sunday when I have my long bike planned I'll have a banana, apple and half a multi-grain bagel before I start with gels and sports drink along the way and a 4-500 calorie drink after because that will be 2.5-3 hours.

Usually I'm up at 5 a.m. and eat right away.  If my workout is a bike or swim, I'll start by 5:30 or 5:45 a.m., if its a run I may need to wait a little longer for my stomach to settle or drink lots of hot liquids to help my stomach settle.

Fridge.  The berries are usually semi frozen by the time I eat. 

I'll eat this 30 min to an hour out.  I generally have an iron stomach.  It will keep me full for hours and the only thing I need to take in is scheduled fueling on long training days.

I would use the Camelbak for the race if that's what you're comfortable using.  You sound concerned with using it.  If you're looking for a podium spot at this HIM, then no, it's probably not the best choice. If you're going purely for comfort and this is something you use all the time, then why not?  I think Skratch is better than Nuun, but you'll have to try different things to find what will work for you. 

I still have my crazy hungry days (like pork rib day), but there are fewer of them now.  I have also tinkered with nutrient timing like you suggested.