70.3 Nutrition

Like you've probably read many times before....practice, practice, practice your nutrition LONG before race day.  What works for me doesn't mean it will work for you.

That being said....for the 70.3 distance you need a more consistent application of calories than you would in an Olympic distance race.  The "general rule of thumb" is to consume between 200 to 300 calories an hour.  I can only tolerate around 250 an hour.  For 70.3 races I stick to an All Liquid diet.  I have two 350 calorie bottles of Hammer HEED and Hammer Perpetuem blend and 2-3 gels.  I supplement this with plain water at aid stations.  I'm a 5:30 to 5:55 finisher so I plan 6x250 calories and 3x22oz of water, which is included in the calorie bottles.

If you're not familiar with Hammer products visit here for info.  Perpetuem has protein in it, which is pretty import in races lasting more than 2-3 hours.

Any other questions just ask.

do you need to use anykind of salt tablets? gatorade has salt in it, but i don't think heed does. I think GU2O does.

anyone?

Good question.  Reading back to my earlier post I found I left a lot of stuff out...like electrolyte replacement and fuel during the run.

I use Endurolytes, which are a Hammer Nutrition product.  This is probably the most popular salt/electrolyte replacement product and you'll see these little white capsules at a lot of events.  They contain a lot more than just salt.  Depending on temperature I'll consume anywhere between 1-3 caps per hour on the bike and 1-2 per hour on the run.  If it's really hot I'll use the high end amount because I'm a salty sweater.

Fueling the 13.1:  I have a fairly weak stomach so I lean towards the bottom end of calories for the run portion of a half ironman.  I drink straight water at the water stops and take in 2-3 gels throughout the entire run, which is about 180-280 calories total.

I personally stay away from Gatorade because it makes me sick and gives me the trots.  It's basically just sugar water with salt in it.  Not a very advanced product but it works for most people, just not me.

HEED (High Energy Electrolyte Drink) does have salt in it, as does GU and Gatoraide and most sports drinks. The difference is going to be how much. Hammer reccomends 300-600mg of sodium per hr, some people need more/some less.

I just finished my first 70.3 last Sunday, I've been using Gatoraide Endurance, because that was what was going to be available at the aide stations, Hammer Gel, Endurolytes and water. Planned on taking in 3 bottles of GE on the bike, took a gel flask as well. Ended up taking in only 2 but drank a lot more water than I thought I would and used almost the whole gel flask (about 4 gels). For the run I brought 4 gels and relied on the aide stations(every mile) for water/gatoraide. Plan worked well, finished feeling great.

I like Hammer Nutrition for their gel and endurolytes but just couldn't get used to Heed or Perpetium. For sport drink I try and train with what's going to be on the course because if somthing ever happened and don't have your drink you need to be able to stomach what they have.

Good luck on your race!

-Dave

Yes, I try and keep them cool.  Nothing more disgusting than a warm bottle of Perpetuem.  Ichk!

I'll mix the bottles early in the morning filling the bottle with ice and water then put them in the freezer before I go out for a ride.  This only lasts as long as the temps outside allow.  Typically within an hour or two they're warm.  Just have to deal with it.
On really long rides I'll carry the powder with me in a zip-lock bag and stop at a gas station for cold water and ice and mix new bottles there. 

Not sure if this will help, but Guncollector posted something similar last year, and it helped me figure out my plan. You have to personalize it for you and what you like to eat.  But it helped me get some structure around figuring out what I really needed.