Long run nutrition

I steer away from solid, even gels and stick to fluids.  However, the last 10k during my IM, I was famished and had a couple cookies.

I stuck to a cup of broth and water on the even miles and a cup of gatorade and water on the odd miles.  I switched to flat coke for the last 10k (plus water) and i LOVED it!  The sugar and caffein got me to the end...

When I trained, I usually tried to get in about 250 colories per hour, and took drinks from the bottle every mile, to simulate when i would be drinking on the course. 

Great feedback - thanks guys.

My last 2 long rides have been 4 hours each and it was the first time I think I took in sufficient nutrition (3 bottles sports drink, 4 gels, 1 banana or museli bar and about 1.5 bottles water). I felt fantastic throughout both rides and easily ran for 1/2 hour straight off the bike. Guess I'll get the chance to test longer in the next couple of months

By comparison 2 or 3 gels on a 2 hour run felt so light but I guess there's only so much a stomach can handle when being jiggled all day long.

A 2 hour run is the most I've every done and I was feeling ok at the end them but not feeling as great as when I've come off the long rides. I guess running is just harder!

Cheers
Gerrard

Hi Gerrard,

It can be surprising what can happen to your taste buds on race day.  Sometime you'll train with and love a particular product, then on race day you almost have to force it down.

A good point to keep in mind is that your run will also be influence by what you eat the day before the race, and certainly how well you fuel yourself on the bike. 

Once on to the run have your favorite nutrition ready to go, but don't fret if you need to switch it up.  Like some other mentioned... Coke can be a life saver when your stomach starts to turn and you still need calories.

Here's a sample race nutrition plan should you care to have a look.  Perhaps you'll find something that may work for you as well:

http://ironmantriathlontips.com/2008/12/08/count-your-race-day-calories/

Trevor

So what backup plans have people used?

I've got my first choice plan well nailed now but have no idea where to start for a backup. Do you mean different brand drinks / gels? A switch to solids rather than liquids? Any suggestions?

Cheers
Gerrard

During traning I used Infinit on the bike and also threw in Crank gels, Sport beans and pita chips. Initially i was aiming for all liquid nutrition but realized my body could not deal with all liquid. I would alternate every hour between Infinit and using solids with water. 

On race day, my plan was the same as training and my alternate was to go with all liquid (I train in a much milder climate here in No.Cal vs. KY) figured more sweating in KY so maybe my body would be more tolerant of all liquid.  I had stomach issue on the bike immediately (feel free to check out my RR) and the Crank gels would not go down, Sport Beans were a no go, Inifinit was not sitting well and my pita chips almost made me gag, so there goes plan A and plan B.  Here's the part of changing on the fly.....I wound up eating bananas on the bike course with water and Gatorade.  Not nearly enough calories, but it was better than nothing. 

A surprising reason to have your nutrition plan blow up on race day is 'flavor fatigue.'  I had never even heard that term before IMKY but became well aware of its rammifications by the end.   My longest workouts were a little over 6 hours, so I never had the experience of long runs and long rides with Infinit for 10+ hours.

 I had been using Infinit nutrition as my main source of calories for both the bike and run, but I knew I needed to have additional sources so I packed Oatmeal Creme Pies, Powerbars and Fig Newtons in my bento and special needs.  About halfway through the bike though, I started to get burned out on the flavor of the Infinit.  It had never happened during training which surprised me, but I needed to have plan B now.  I switched over to GE and Water for a little bit to give me another flavor to think about which helped out. 

For the run I was able to keep putting the Infinit down, but it helped to take in a little bit of everything at each stop.  It helps to have a good model to understand what your body requires for calories, but be prepared to fly by the seat of your pants and start grazing at every stop.  I was worried that if I didnt stick to my plan of ~200 calories per hour that I would end up bonking.  I think you just really have to listen to your body by this point and negotiate whats best.  Go in with a well laid out plan, but be prepared to improvise and put treats in your special needs bags you can look forward to!