Coke on the run

Coke is the nectar of the gods...it's also called Ironman Crack for a reason....

Definitely try it out beforehand, but part of the point is that it's easy pure sugar that hits your system quickly and doesn't upset most folks' stomachs.

Sometimes on really long rides if I stop at a gas station to refill fluids I will fill a bike bottle with icy cold coke...DELICIOUS.

The only problem with coke is that once you go to coke you usually have to stay with the coke...you have to keep that sugar rush going to your body. :D  My goal was to get halfway through my IM run without resorting to coke so that I wouldn't be drinking it all day.  I made it to mile 8 or so and then had to start hitting the coke...I drank coke at every aid station from there until the finish.

Mmmmm....coke....

Coke will likely only be available on the run, so try it out on one of your training long runs.

SOME races will open it early in the day so it's intentionally flat by the time you drink it on the run. My most recent races it was being opened on the fly so it was super fizzy (and rarely cold). If that's the case, you might want to only take a few sips and don't overdo it. I burped a lot on my last Ironman due to this.

Recent races I've done the "brand" has varied from Coke to Wal-Mart off-brand Cola to RC Cola.

Chocolate chip cookies and coke around mile 17 for me

x2

I completely agree with everything socks said.  Part of the fun (well, maybe fun isn't the right word) of the IM is figuring out on the fly how to fuel yourself towards the end of the day.  It's pretty easy to stick to your nutrition plan through the bike and early on in the run, but there's probably going to be a point where just the thought of one more gu or gatorade or cliff bar is enough to make you want to vomit.  That's when you have to start experimenting, and why they offer so many different things. 

I don't know how you could train for it.  In my experience, you never know what's the food or drink that will work at the moment.  It doesn't just vary from race to race, it'll change from one aid station to the next.  You might find at mile 20 coke is the greatest thing ever.  And by mile 22 you can't keep it down but potato chips are amazing.  

Reading this gave me the realization that the last 10K of Ironman is the closest I will ever get to knowing what it's like to be pregnant and not knowing what food will be palatable at any given moment.

Aaaahhhh, someday, perhaps.

Had a coke after a long bike/run recently (testing out the Timberman course and, like an oasis rising from the desert, there was a store right at the beach where we finished and went for a refreshing dip).  Hadn't had a sugared tonic in years, I think.

Best. Drink. Ever.

Even beat chocolate milk as an after, and that's high praise.  Had it not been such a long day, I'd likely not have even thought about trying it.  I'll definitely consider it on the run if I'm flagging.

Matt