IM Fuel Belt or no Fuel Belt... That is the question! (Page 2)

I always get a kick out of this pic...

reminds of the "worst race photo" cept that he won.

I don't feel comfortable leaving bottles of water/ gatorade around baltimore city.

they would either
1. be gone
2. be pissed in

during races I don't wear them, but I do for runs over 12 mi

I have one but I don't' always use it during training,, I do have a couple of different length training routes so i can stop back home, to grab a quick drink and gels.  but on those 100+ days I'll sometimes take a bottle or two as just in case, since there are no fountains on my route.

for an IM,, my goal was to eat the equivalent of my entry fee on the run course..  there is plenty to eat on the course,,  

Preach...  I love paying for gatorade with sweaty bills or dripping sweat over their counter!  Sucks to be them....

That or I do loops in my area.  I can stop and get some premaid bottles at the house every45min to an hour or so.  It only takes a minute or two to run in and get the new bottle.

As for races?  No need IMO.  They have a buffet table every mile.

I saw several people wearing four-bottle belts at the Sarasota Half Marathon on Sunday.  Seemed like a bit of overkill to me since they had aid stations every two miles with both water and Gatorade available.

I do think it might make sense for training in hot weather if there is no water available on your route.  But it does look a bit nerdy to me...

Mark

There are people that wear them in 5k's ........

Not trying to stir anything up, but even the slowest person walking a 5k is still going to be at most an hour (or a little over).  I just want to yell, "C'mon people, it ain't needed in that short of a run!"  But it is their choice and their extra weight to carry around, so who really cares?

F YEAH!!!  let's judge those that do things how they want and tell them they look like dorks!!!Stupid 5K runners  walkers!   

Just taking the pi$$ , Rick, but sheesh, to post about it, someone apparently does care

If you don't have access to the fuel you want while running, use it for training.

I train with either a hand held or a Nathan waist belt with one bottle for runs of 1:30 or longer, which are pretty few and far between.  I trained with Infinit for my IM, funny the local 7-11 didn't carry my Infinit.   Bastards!

I used the waist belt in the IM until after a few sips I realized I couldn't take it anymore.  I still love my Infinit, just ont hat day my stomach went bad on me.  I wouldn't use one in a HIM or IM again, there's enough on the course.

If it bouncing your running form needs work

I live in FL and 1/2 the year having water is an absolute need, more to dump on my head than to drink!

I recently got one of the Amphipod's Runlite2+ for training runs, two 10.5 oz bottles and also got a 4 oz gel bottle to give me some flexibility since all the pieces can be removed.  The 3x5 pocket easily holds my cell phone, gels, bar, anything I want to put in it.  Did my 1st run with it last night and like it a lot better than my old Fuel Belt 4 bottle holder.

I only did one tri race with my old FB holding 2 bottles (avatar), it had a 15k run and I planned to not slow down or stop for fluids.  One bottle had water and the other water and a gel mixed, perfect for that day.

When I did the Miami Man HIM in 06 there was this guy with an 8 bottle FB all loaded up with some colored fluid of his choice, at least 4+ lbs!  It was 84F during the run in full sun, no way would I have had consumed one of those after 30-40 min, yuck!

When you train in the heat of the summer, I don't know of many ways to stay hydrated and keep up the steady pace that I like to keep on long runs during IM training.....BUT......

there is NO WAY I race with one...both too much of a headache to pack/plan in my T bag and the race is "pretty well stocked" on nutrition.......in order to make do with G-Endurance I just get used to it during my training build up....and from there I let WTC earn the money I paid them! 

[hijack on] 

As an aspiring coach, I actually DO care.  I want to offer my opinion on it to them, but the reality is, they won't listen as they don't know me and are not one of my athletes or they simply feel the need to bring everything including the kitchen sink along for their adventure and nothing I volunteer up of my knowledge is going to change that.  Some people simply do not want to hear what would be a better approach to something.

I am actually running into this with my wife's friends who are signed up for their 1st tri (along with my wife) and listening to their concerns and questions.  You have to have a lot of patience with someone just starting out as they have a lot of pre-conceived notions of what they are supposed to be doing because of something they read or heard from someone else who may have done one or two events.  It is the main reason why we are having a little pizza party over at my place this weekend for them and their kids - so I can offer my experiences and suggestions as a coach and athlete.

On the forums I am fairly blunt and straight forward.  But everyone who has met me at races knows I'm a bit opposite of that in person ..... I'm pretty laid back and mild mannered.

[end hijack]

I did my first IM last year.  IMLou.  I used a fuel belt because I use Infinit Nutrition.  I don't necessarily like the bouncing around, but I like NOT having GI distress, so I use INFINIT.

If I didn't use Infinit, I would graze on the "Smorgasboard" on the course.

I did my first IM last year.  IMLou.  I used a fuel belt because I use Infinit Nutrition.  I don't necessarily like the bouncing around, but I like NOT having GI distress, so I use INFINIT.

If I didn't use Infinit, I would graze on the "Smorgasboard" on the course.

I have a 45 oz fanypack style camelback for long runs, say 9 miles + and throw some gu's in there, etc.  When it is 90+ out I need water with me, that is all there is to it.  The bounce can be annoying, but you get used to it and after you drink a bit of the water bounce is minimal and you can snug the straps a bit. 

I did my first marathon last month and they had water, but no fuel and the water stations were 3.5 miles appart .... so I put a pouch on my race belt that held the gu's I needed and drank water from the stations.

First IM will be this Fall, I plan for Infinit on the bike and will probably use my pouch on the race belt for the run with a few, just in case gu's in there (triberry yummm).  But live mostly off the course for the run. 

I have the 4x 6oz fuel belt from Nike.  I bought when I started training this year.  As I was in base I needed it for anything over 7.  Now I don't carry anything for up to 10 (until summer) but after that I have shed the fuel belt and use a camelback instead.  I don't get any of the chaffing issues or sloshing around that people talk about.  I really think the camelback is the better option for me.  For a 20miler I can fill up my 70oz pack (mostly full) with heed and I'm off. I suspect this summer I will need more but 70oz being completely self suffecient and running anywhere...I love it.  x2 on the bike for over 50miles.

For my upcoming HIM in April I don't plan to race with a belt or camelback, just cos' I have nutrition dialed in through the run and there I will use gels and the water/whatever they have at pit stops.

I used a Nathan waist pack with one bottle, had a little pocket in there.  I had one small baggy to remix in there, I had a fresh bottle and baggy in SN.  Each had 1 hour mix, to get me through at least 4.  But I abandoned it pretty quickly

Ditto on this, I can go for an hour without water on runs unless it is very hot. So since i've only done HIM training there are few runs when i need to plan out water. I do normally carry 2 dollar bills in my key pocket to get a gatorade when i run for around mile 6-7 on longer runs. I normally only use gels when i am practicing nutrition on my longest run.