Nutritional strategy

Is it useful for people to share their nutritional strategies?

Reading all the race reports, dodgy guts and poor nutrition seem to be a common theme. Everyone spent a lot of time training in the individual disciplines, but there didn’t seem to be any real strategy as such (correct me if I am wrong!)

There are a number of approaches such as “eat as much as you can”, “keep the sodium levels up” etc. etc., but did anyone actually work out the calories they would take in, at what points in the day, contingencies, etc. etc. If so did it work? If not why not?

Just a thought as for many it was not really the physical or mental challenge other than the problems brought on by a weak nutritional strategy, and it strikes me that if you get that right then times will be much faster and the day far less uncomfortable……..

………..but then I wasn’t there so I could be talking cr@p.

What do you reckon? With all the experience on here now we must be able to come up with a very robust strategy that can be fully tested before you all hit Germany next year……….
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Comments

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭
    I actually had no problem on the day Grizz apart from wind on the 3rd lap of the run.............so my nutrition strategy worked fine...........


    I had 2 bottles with SiS Go made up at 12% on the bike - each with 2 Nuun tabs in fro electrolytes - and I had 2 more in my special needs bag which I collected on lap 3. In my Aerobottle I had plain water with 2 Nuun tabs and I kept filling this when empty with more water and dropped 2 more Nuun tabs in.

    To eat - I had a SiS gel about every hour interspersed with a Torq bar every hour i.e gel on the hour, bar on the half hour........

    I also picked up some coke on the bike on the 2nd lap to give a different taste......

    apart from some transient cramp on the final stage of the bike I was fine - this carried on a little bit into the run but a firtsaider sorted that out with some cream and a swift massage.......

    I walloped a gel down just before T2 to set me up for the run, and put a couple more in my trisuit pocket but dicthed them to Petal on the 2nd lap after taking one more as the aid stations had loads of stuff which I culd use - water/Powerade/Coke/Chicken Soup (marvellous stuff)/Bananas/Crisps/Nuts etc - even Powergels but I avoided those as I had never used them so didn't trust them.............

    for me - I never felt sick or hungry - and kept going well without any problems...........the biggest problem was heat so had to make sure I kept well hydrated although judging by the colour of my pee when I had to go three times on the run I should have taken more but it didn't cause me problems............


    I set that bike startegy up in training and it worked - the run strategy was simply to take as much as I could at any one go to be comfortable and keep going!

  • I take it back IB - sounds like you had it sussed!
  • I only got a dodgy stomach that sometimes comes from distance running...runners trots, I guess you call it and that's mostly, I think 'cos it;'s difficult to just 'go' at 4am...apart from that, I kept well hydtrated..(Nuun tabs are great) I had 3 x aero bottle filled with water and 2 Nuun tabs...(that is i started with it full and filled it twice (maybe 3 times) more....adding Nuun tabs whilst riding is an art that I hadn't practised but I didn't crash...I had 2 750 mil bottles with Luco Sport and 2 x Nuun tabs...I drank the first and substituted it for their powerade but that was very diluted so I held back my other bottle for in between sips...I had 2 x powerade and 2 x coke on the bike as well as 3 x harvest power bars and 2 x flapjacks....that was all on the bike...for the run, I just had occasional coke, more water some powerade (yuk!) and then bouillon (life saver as I was sick of the sweet stuff by then)...I carried gel for an emergency but didn't need to use it...

    The run wasn't very scientific but it worked for me...
  • I eat a good breakfast about 3 hours before the start, then a bar about an hour before. Calorie-wise, men need more than women, but as a rough idea I reckon to eat 7 or 8 bars or gels on the bike, Mr. IW takes 11 or 12. We use Excel gel which is a bit more runny than most and has a ratio of 4:1 carbs to protein, very easy to swallow and digest. Both of us also carry jelly babies and salted pretzels. I also prefer gingerbread to power bars. Drink about a cup of fluid every 15 or 20 mins if possible.
    Then on the run I don't eat at all, just drink when I need to and take in some cola after 30km if it's available.

    Afterwards, I get showered and changed, then make sure to start eating inside an hour.
  • everyone is different...I didn't take any solids at all (well 1/2 a banana on the bike) but had solids as back-up.

    I think the important part is to realise when things are going wrong, i.e stomach not emptying and what to do about it.

    It's all down to practice and seeing what works for you.

    Personally I had a plan of sorts using gels / salt tablets, water and nuun, sports drink and gels for the run. Pretty much stuck to it except taking 6 hours worth of gels in 3 hours and then switching to coke. But there was lots of "how do I feel, what have I had, think I need?" on the day.
  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭
    I should also say I had 700ml of SiS Rego after the finish to load some carbs and protein back in quickly as well as some other food (spaghetti, crisps) and had no after effects unlike a few who keeled over in the finishers area (Cartman, Pebble)........
  • I couldn't eat properly for 3 days but couldn't give a rat's arse!
  • AvalafAvalaf ✭✭✭
    Other than emtying myself 4 times before the race I think my nutrition went bang on to plan.

    The bike was 14 soreen go bars and 3 gels, 1 lite isotorque+ with 2 Dioralyte in it. Started with my areo bottle full of lucozade and replaced that with 500ml of water every aid station.

    Run I took a gel every 3 to 5 miles and some water or coke at aid stations.

    So apart from clenching my butt cheeks for the first few hours things went prety well nutrition wise. Don't think theres anything I would change next time.
  • I was just thinking that we should have a thread to record what we all ate on the day, and what we would change for next time.


    I had 3 school bars in T1, 4.5 Torq bars and one power bar on the bike plus 3 bottles Go electrolyte and about 6 bottles from the feed stations probabally 3 water and 3 powerade - I actually picked up far more bottles than that but most of the water was being squirted into my helmet to keep me cool.

    On the run I was having water and powerade at ever feed station for the first 2 laps, then I started having some problems and switched to soup and watered down coke.


    The only thing I would have changed would be to switch to coke and soup for the whole run.

    I certainly felt a lot better than quite a few people looked and I put this down to staying cool and very well hydrated.

    I only had bread and tea at the end, couldn't face more spag bol as I'd had it for the previous three meals!
    But felt fine afterwards and the next day.

  • What are the nuun tablets? Where can they be purchased?

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭
    www.nuun.com - they are electrolyte tablets you can drop into drinks.........

    buy online from The Tristore - not listed on their website so give them a call on 01323 417 071..........£3.95 a pack plus postage
  • Apart from taking my gels more slowly on the bike I wouldn't change my plan either.

    Coke worked for me on the bike but spat it out on the run, didn't even notice the soup.
  • rubbish!

    nobody would go into an ironman without a pre worked out nutritional plan, gleaned by trial and error from their long bike rides. 60-100grams per hour of carbohydrates, as much fluid and electrolytes as YOU individually need (typically 500-1000ml/hr and 0.5-1g/hr).

    that's what long rides are for.
  • if anybody tried to 'each as much as they can' then they deserve to crash out. above 300-400cals per hour of carbs, fat metabolism is interfered with and you actually have less energy.
  • i have a hot and a warm weather plan. wouldn't change either. warm is to use maxim or high5 bars (half every 20 minutes), hot is to use gels. i prefer the bars, but they dont work in hot weather.
  • If you have done the training then to a large extent you will just know what you need - up to starting the run doing the race was the same as every other weekend had been for the past couple of months, with a little added support!
  • precisely. its what long rides are for. well, that and to give the local chavs something to aim their cars at.
  • JjJj ✭✭✭
    I am still in awe of Cartman's capacity for malt loaf.

    :o)
  • didn't realise you needed support Lindi.. ;-)
  • Believe me - I need much less support since Ironman training!
  • tee hee (TM cougie)
  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭
    there was a German guy next to me in transition who was sticking bits of Powerbar to his top and down tubes so he could just rip a piece off the tube as he needed it - no fiddling about with wrappers etc..........

    but we all know how hot it was on the day..........so you should have seen the state of his bike after the ride..........covered with sticky bars - looked like he'd crapped all over it.......what a mess..........

    I'm glad I decided to wrestle with unwrapping my Torq bars but my plan had been to open the wrapper slightly before packing the bars in my top tube bag to make them easier to open ........but I forgot so had to do this sitting up hands free on the bike..............not the best strategy
  • i unwrap bars and slip them in a bento. that's why its not a hot weather solution - the chocolate melts!!

    in one race, ironman austria i think, i forgot to unwrap them - but one hand and teeth works fine.
  • I just split the ends of the packets so it is easy to get the wrappers off whilst moving.

    Not sure why but someone always takes photos of me sorting this out in transition - sure I don't look my best ripping open a powerbar with my teeth!
  • I cycled past a guy with his bars stuck on to the frame....made me sick just looking at them. I had 3 stinger bars unwrapped in my bento in case I wanted solids but for me it was too hot to eat them.
  • a food box that sits on your crossbar
  • Ooh I've got one of those :-)

    A very kind friend who completed IM Germany this year (her first) gave me one that I think they were giving out as freebies...

    Phew, one less thing to buy then - sure is a pricey business this tri lark!


  • a bit like that, but those ironman ones are RUBBISH

    i got one from Trisports in letchworth, i think it was called a "SUXES" rather than an ironman, much better.

    bigger, better made, fastens more securely and doesn't scratch your legs to **** like the ironman one.

    i ordered an ironman one for IMCH and it was pants. i was only thinking last night that i hoped i'd thrown the old one in the back of the garage somewhere, not in the bin
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