Nutrition Issue/Question

I've always found that support on the run is more than sufficient for me. I usually carry a gel or two and take water at the stations. On the bike, I've never felt the need for anything more than water with a nun tab dissolved in it if its warm

even for 70.3? i cant imagine racing 4-7 hours with only water?

Plenty of people use only liquid nutrition, on the bike or the whole thing, for HIM and even IM. I'm not one of them, though, so not qualified to advise you on specifics. I've heard good things about Infiniti; you can create a custom formula with the amounts of energy, electrolytes, etc. that you want/need as well as flavor, caffeine, etc.

I don't use Infinite personally as it's not available here in Vietnam, and other, non-customized products are difficult to get; they also tend to go bad in tropical heat/humidity. Tried a liquid nutrition product once in an Oly in SE Asia, and it actually separated out into sludge and liquid in a race with extreme temps--yuck. For HIM, I generally use a mix of dark chocolate and gu on the bike, water and Nuun to drink, plus a few gus on the run.

Everyone's gut is different. Some people do best with liquid nutrition; others, like me, have issues with taking in liquids that are too concentrated and do better sticking to mainly solid foods or gu plus water and electrolyte drink on the bike. I have trouble even wth Gatorade that is too sweet/concentrated. I think if I was to take in enough calories using liquids, the concentration or volume of drink I'd need to take in would upset my gut. But this is really an individual thing.

I'd recommend buying a couple different products, ordering some custom Infinite if that's what you want to try, and doing plenty of experimentation on your longer rides/runs before the race. Make sure to test them on some brick workouts--it's been my experience that nutrition that goes down well on the bike can still come back to "bite" you on the subsequent run--things get more sloshed around at that point!

As other have said, nutrition is such an individual thing. For HIM and IM, I am liquid and gels on the bike. EFS sport drink and GU. On the run, I switch to EFS liquid Shot. 2 of these get me through the marathon. At about mile 10 of an IM, I start taking in some solids...usually pretzels. HIM, only 1 EFS Liquid shot and water.

It took a few months to train my stomach to handle this. Both the liquid shot and sport drink are very sugary, so it can mess with your GI system.

I have not used Infinite, but know others who have.

Trial and error.

Good luck.

For a half I'll eat a gu before the swim.

On the bike I use one bottle with Perpetuum and another two with either cytomax or just water. I load up the perpetuum bottle with ice... or, if possible, freeze it before the race. Then I sip in throughout the bike for the calories - but using the water/cytomax to hydrate. Perpetuum isn't for everyone so try it out a few times to make sure it works for you. I like it though.

On the run I use whatever they have.

If it's going to be hot, I'll add endurolytes to the mix throughout the race.

Frank

Well.....nutrition for the day starts before ....just before the swim. I am an infinit liquid-only ('til the run) nutrition example (albeit a slow example).

I have a bagel with peanut butter about 2.5 hrs before the swim start. I also have a bottle of ensure +. I figure I have +/- 700 calories in my stomach before I leave for the venue. I typically have a GU before the swim start.......then.....it's a bottle of infinit/hour on the bike (that's right at 3, for me). If it's hot....I'll take water or gatorade from the course to supplement. At Choo, this year, it was just those 3 bottles (320 cals/bottle....with 3 scoops of base salt/bottle).

On the run, I have a GU pretty quickly.....and another about 40 minutes later......and then I switch to Coke for the remainder of the race. You're going to have to try a few things to see what works for YOU, though. The above works for ME.

For IM....I'm planning 2 Ensure + in the AM......and the same basic premise for the rest of the race. I'll likely switch to Coke at mi. 16 or so. I don't plan to eat a solid bite the entire race. I've never done an IM....but the above is working in my training.

Good luck.

Not just water, but nothing solid until after the race. It just doesn't sit well with me. Forgot to mention that I will stick some EFS liquid shots in my pocket at the beginning of the run and usually have them down before first or second water station. I walk the aid stations and will take water, gatorade and anything else I think my stomach can handle. Mostly for me, its not an energy issue as much as it is keeping my electrolytes where they need to be.

I find that Salted Nut Rolls hold up better in a jersey pocket than Payday. For some reason...even though SNRs are made by the same company as Bit O Honey, which you can find eveywhere...SNRs can be harder to find. If that's the case, Paydays work just fine.

I'm just hoping I can find a good cellophane wrapped ham sammich that'll hold up in a special needs bag.

Also....im not recommending any of this.

After extensive testing, I have determined that it works magnificently for me.

I tried a rollerdog from a gas 'n' sip once on a 75 mile. No bueno. Sticking to cellophane sandwiches.

Here in the south you can find gas stations that sell fried chicken. The Yankee in me just keeps me from pulling the trigger on that.

Not recommended as race-day fuel for HIM! Though maybe after??