Nutrition Question

Doug,

I'm going to give you the simple, and usually best, answer.  That's a good starting point.  Try it in training and see how you feel.  Not just on your long rides, but every ride.  If you go out for just an hour, consume the 240 Kcal.  See how your body responds.  You may need to increase later on. 

I've got some guys that can take almost 500 Kcal/hr and another that can barely keep down 250 Kcal/hr.  They are the same build, so it really depends on your body.  The sooner you nail down your nutrition, the better.  Trust me on this one!

Especially for your first Half.  The longer the race the more vital nutrition is.

Doug,

You and I are the same build and about the same weight.  Here is my fueling strategy; it might be a good place to start.  Worked very well at Steelhead and I plan to use it as a baseline for Kona (might through in an extra banana on the bike and try cola/broth on the run).

1. 2 gels 15 minutes prior to swim start
2. After 15 minutes on the bike, 8 oz of water (1/3 water bottle or 3 mouthfuls)
3. After 30 minutes, 8 oz of feed bottle (1/3 of bottle) followed by a few mouthfuls of water
4. After 45 minutes on the bike, 8 oz of water (1/3 water bottle or 3 mouthfuls)
5. After 1 hour on the bike, 1 gel followed by a few mouthfuls of water
6. repeats steps 2 to 5 for rest of bike ride
7. gel every 3-4 miles on the run (about 2 gels per hour) followed by water

Feed bottle contains:

• 4 scoops of Carbo-Pro
• 1 Salt Stick (open capsule and dump in during prep)
• 1 scoop Gu20

The feed bottle will put you at 270 calories per hour and 167 mg sodium per hour.  If you need less sodium, you could drop the Salt Stick (which would take you down to 95 mg sodium per hour).  Similarly, 3 scoops of Carbo-Pro in the bottle will take you down to 232 cal per hour.

The 2 gels per hour will put you at 200 calories per hour.  If you want less, you could do 1 gel per hour (about every 6 miles) and alternate water and Gaterade.  

I stay away from Gaterade (too much sugar).

Brett follows a similar plan.  Greg uses Accerlade and Accelgels so maybe he will post his protocol.   

My stomach would BLOW UP if I took that much salt in.  I've read a ton of articles on the internet and there is not conclusive guidance on how much one person needs; Sodium is so individual that no one really can give any guidance. 

I have found that liquids only works best for me. As everyone has said, nutrition is very individual and I would suggest trying different things on your long bikes to determine what your body handles best.

I have personally settled on Infinit this year as my nutrition, which worked wonderfully at Steelhead. I think their website tool to build your custom mix does a fantastic job suggesting a formula based on a survey that you fill out. You might want to give that a try - they have a 100% money back guarantee, so it can't hurt! I like not having to mix different things together, this is a comprehensive mix.

Thanks for the info!

I've been training with anywhere from 200 - 500 calories per hour with no problems.  I am at the part of my training where I am going to do my longest workouts and therefore I am finalizing the plan.  All of your advice has helped me get a good idea of where I need to be.

Thanks.

Doug,

Jonathan has a very well thought out and researched plan, you might benefit from at least experimenting with something similar. That being said you may or may not be anywhere close to his uptake levels due to the fact that he has been training "long" for the better part of a year.

The 1-1.5g per kg of body weight is also a good starting point, you should really strive to use the LEAST (yes I said LEAST) amount that you can get away with. A lot of people think that they should stuff as many calories as possible down their throats, when in reality the more you take in the more you risk GI distress. As far as hydration goes, drink when you are thirsty and stick to water. Like Jonathan and others have said Gatorade has too much sugar and will make you cramp.

Good luck!

OK, I'm piggybacking on Doug's post.  Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question - but what do you do if you are on the bike for 3-4 hours?  I currently use GU20 and it seems to work well for me, but bought some Carbo Pro for comparison.  Gels are great for me on the bike, but not as much on the run.

So if you are avoiding the Gatorade on the course, how do you carry enough of the Carbo Pro bottle? Do you carry the mix and add water at water stops?

I've got 2 bottles on my downtube and an aero bottle in the front.  Alternatively, I have a behind the seat carrier that I haven't mounted yet that I might swap out for the aero bottle.  

Sarah,

How many ounces do you plan on drinking during the bike leg?

I'm planning on a larger size bike bottle per hour (what are those, 24 oz. or so?).  That generally works for me now. 

The GU20 is what I'm drinking on 1-2 hour rides right now, along with one gu.  It is about 125 calories per bottle, so I definitely need to add more calories in, either liquid or gel form. 

This is what I did at St. Anthony's and it worked fairly well - 

Run 1:15 or so - Alternated gatorade and water at each aid station, 2 endurolytes.

I guess the smartest thing is to figure out what my needs are and then a few possible setups for how I would make it happen? i.e. one extra strength bottle of fuel and then swap out the water? What do most people put in their aero drink holder?

I found that I got really tired of the way accelerade tasted and hated it warm, hence trying the GU20 instead.  But maybe the GU20 isn't mean for going longer?

If it were me, I would NOT get rid of your Aerobottle.  The main reason being that it allows you to drink while not moving out of your aero position.  Also, with a straw in your face, you are more apt to drink and not forget.

I've been using two strategies (before and after Infinit).  I get in one aerobottle (~22 oz) every hour

Before Infinit:
I would use gels and Nuun.  Started with 3 bottles (AeroDrink, 2 rear with down tub open).  I would refill my AeroDrink with my rear bottles.  If I needed to pick up an extra bottle, I would put it in my downtube.  If I ran out of prefilled Nuun bottles, I just toss a tablet in my AD and fill it up with plain water.  In regards to fuel, I took a get from my Gel Flask every 15 min.  I carried 2 flasks in my Bento Box.

After Infinit:
Depending on the length of ride or race, have what I need onboard.  For Steelhead, I had 2 rear and my AD filled and that was it.  I picked up a water bottle at the last aid station to pour over my head and take a brief swig.  I ditched it before I left the Aid station.

BUT, I still carry a gel flask just in case on the bike.

You are on the right track as far as determining what you need and what you can carry with you on the bike. Your fluid intake is a direct function of your sweat rate. The 20-24 oz per hour is a good starting point, but depending on how much you sweat (and the climate) you may need more or less per hour. If you need more you have to train your body to take in more fluids without the GI distress and bloating that accompanies over drinking. Secondly as far as calories go, liquid calories are easiest for the body to process due to their osmoality (i.e whether the substance is hypertonic-more dense than the body's fluids, isotonic-the same density as the body's fluids, or hypotonic-less dense than the bodies fluids) you can achieve your caloric intake goals by experimenting with Carbo Pro, Gu2O, Acellerage, etc., just be aware that whatever you choose to use you have to get used to drinking it when it is nasty warm (it's just the nature of the beast). As I have said before find a formula that works for you and practice, practice, practice to make sure that you can handle it at different temps and intensities.

Good luck

Awesome, thanks for the feedback. 

I think where I get lost is that there are sooo many products and sooo many combinations, that it can be overwhelming!