nutrition/hyration

I did the SOMA half which was my first. My plan I kept it simple, had a PB&J around 430 am and two gu's 10 minutes before the first of the swim. On the Bike I relayed on my Infinit drink through out with one Gu at each water station. I also had a bottle of Nuun on the bike with a bag of Sport beans, that was all of the solid I had. Made it to the run switching everother aide station water/poweraide/coke. Ahd some sport Beans and Gu at mile 9-11. That did the trick for me. No solid other than the beans. i felt great after the race 7.5hrs and wasnt to hungry until around 6pm

But what you have to understand if you dont trian that way you will be putting you body into alot of pain. Thats just me and my .02

Good luck

I meant to have a GU right before swim but I forgot it!!!

Usually when I train, I have a GU halfway through my long run which is currently 6 miles and seems to do the trick. I usually don't have much on the bike other than water and some GU20 when I train.

I guess I have to try different things to figure it out!!!

I started at 7:42 as well. Did you kick me?  Just kidding!  :>

I had a few shot blocks and a banana before starting.  I had a bottle of Infinit on the bike and forced myself to drink almost the whole thing.  I also ate some more shot blocks on the bike..almost a whole pack I think.  I sipped water at the water stations on the run and had one or two more shot blocks.  I probably did not need the shot blocks but I wanted to try a race where I had plenty instead of not enough.  It all seemed to work pretty well as I think my energy was mostly consistent throughout. 

I am a huge fan of Infinit now that I have used it for a few longer events.  

Edited by Javamom 2008-10-27 10:46 PM

Ok, here is what I've come up from my reading and experience:

* When you wake up before an event you need to take in calories before
you get to the event. A few hundred to deal with what you've lost
during your "fast" (i.e. sleeping)
* Drink some dilute calories (watered down powerade is my choice)
until right up before the swim.
* For 15 minutes after the swim, stick with water only.
* After that start taking in calories.
* When you're exercising you can only digest between 200-300
calories an hour. For me, I find it tends to be on the low end of
that. Here is how I do it:
**Aerobottle starts with water
**Concentrated Infinit (~300 calories per hour) in a water bottle. For a half
I can get 900 calories, which is more than i really need for the bike.
**Squirt some InfinIT into the water bottle after 15 minutes. Drink that when
I'm thirsty or hungry.
**If I start to feel a little sick, add water to aerobottle. When I feel better
and hugry, add InfinIT.
**Repeat.

You could get the same affect by alternating gatorade and water. It's what
I did at SOMA when my InfinIT bottle wasn't thawed enough. Worked fine.

I go with course support on the run. If I start sloshing I take in less water. I'll
take gatorade (which is really a pretty small amount) every other aid station. Maybe
once an hour I'll grab a gu. My stomach is pretty solid on the run.

HTH

-Jot

This was my first Oly/QrtMan. I had 2 bananas at 530 and a cup of coffee at 0500. I had two packs of hammer on the ride and then 3/4 a bottle of gatoraid on the ride and 1/2 bottle of water. I then had water and gatoraide at every aid station. I collected the gel Packs at the aide stations but didn't eat any. I just don't seem to get hungry and I have a hard time drinking on the bike. But I am like a camel.

Congrats on the Oly.

Thanks everyone!! That really helps

Javamom--I might have kicked you if you were the one grabbing my feet and pulling me down!!! LOL


Congrats to everyone representing this weekend!!

Bottom line = EXPERIMENT! What works for one will cause horrible problems for another.

Jots guidelines are good. Some people may need solid foods though, and some people cannot handle it. Solid training, solid nutrition = feeling MUCH better next time.

CONGRATS on completing your first Oly (ish)

Moving to longer racing you need to pay attention to your nutrition. It really is the fourth leg of a Tri.

I will not go into pre-race. That is a very individual thing. I always like to take some solids 2-3 hrs before. I like low glysemic foods like Oatmeal. You want to limit your fiber unless you like the inside of a Porta Potty.

Bike, target 2 calories per pound of lean body weight. Liquids are easier to absorb. Food really is difficult to take durring a race effort. The bike is where you should take the majority of your calories durring the race (your HR is typically lower so it is easier to process).

Run, dial back the calories by 20% or so.

The big mistake I see people do, is to try and do too much. I am a firm believer that less is better in most cases.

Keep it simple, repeatable. Race day you loose about 30 IQ points. If it is complicated, chance are you will screw it up some where.

My 2c

So true.

Never inroduce something new on race day. And keep everything stream line and easy.

Like it was said too experiment with long bricks. Try and use different gels and drinks and solids to see what works for you. I tryed every brand out there before staying with Hammer. It is just like the other three disaplines. You will need to practice practice practice.

This user's post has been ignored.

I did my first half over the weekend - in my experience, keeping things as simple as possible has worked well for me.  I ate two Powerbars in the hours leading up to the race.  After the swim, I drank one 24 oz. bottle of InfinIT per hour through the race, supplemented with water during the run.  It was my longest day either training or racing, and I didn't have the hydration/nutrition issues I have had in previous sessions.