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Can you post your Ironman Nutrition programs?

nyfan21's picture
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started by nyfan21 on January 11, 2009

Just wanted to look at peoples Ironman nutrition plans for the day of the race, I just want to get a feel for it and try different things.

Thanks for everyones help
-Mat

kylie's picture
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kylie posted 1 year ago.

I feel like we just did this a couple times...

During the ride I go with a two bottles on my frame with concentrated carbo pro (I think I do about 600 cals in each) and half a nuun (just for flavor). I have a couple gels taped to my bike in case I want something more solid, or some blocks.

During the run I go with what is on course, or sometimes have a gel in my pocket just in case. I usually alternate chicken broth and cola at the aid stations, and sometimes a gel. I mostly just listen to my body on the run since it's pretty good at telling me (through cravings) what would work.

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kylie's picture
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kylie posted 1 year ago.

Found a couple:

http://www.trifuel.com/forum/16233/im-him-solid-nutrition (from Oct)
http://www.trifuel.com/node/8168 (from longer ago, but still some good info on things to try out)

Best of luck figuring out what works best for you :)

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nyfan21's picture
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nyfan21 posted 1 year ago.

thanks kylie.
-Mat

PJT's picture
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PJT posted 1 year ago.

For the bike--Infinit, gels, and water. I used Infinit's recommended IM mix tweaked to remove all protein (which in training gave me stomach problems). I mixed 2 900-calorie, 24 oz. concentrated bottles for the bike. One was in my in bike special needs bag to grab at the halfway point. I then tried to consume each bottle in even increments every 15-20 minutes chased with water from my aero bottle (you can't digest the stuff in concentrated form without extra water). The aid stations all had water, so I would just slow down there, grab a bottle, and top off my aero bottle as needed.
I also had 2-3 gels each loop during the bike to break up the monotony and get some extra calories down.

For the run--gatorade, gels, water, and maybe a salt tablet or two. I also had some flat coke on the second half of the run. I carried a few favorite gels and salt tabs and mostly relied on the course offerings. I don't like to carry bottles while running in a race so that ruled out Infinit--even though the IM mix for the bike worked very well when I tried it during run training.

gfd's picture
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gfd posted 1 year ago.

I relied on the aid stations during the run. I do not drink soda, unless there is rum in it, and all I craves was flat coke and water. My stomach was so upset all I could swallow was E-caps.

Figure out the calories you need on the bike and experiment with what your stomach can handle. Have a plan to drink and eat at predetermined times so you don't wait too long and get into trouble.

"If we help someone else up a steep hill, we get nearer to the top ourselves." ~Unknown~
~Garen~
http://baldhungariantriproject.blogspot.com/

TryScott's picture
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TryScott posted 1 year ago.

Race reports are good place to look for examples of nutrition plans. I've read some HIM race reports by Kitkat that are very nutrition detailed. Here's the nutritional highlights from a friend's report.

Nutrition:
-“Iron Cocktail” (8 scoops of PowerBar Endurance mix + 6 scoops Carbo Pro + 4 scoops Perpetuem, + 14 Endurolytes) in the 27 oz chamber of the Profile Design AquaCell (the other 17oz chamber was used for water – the entire aerobar bottle is one unit) for approximately 1752 calories, 346g carbohydrates, 0 grams protein.
- Pill supplements: 16 Endurolytes in mini M&M tube for bike, 18 Endurolytes in another tube for run, 5 BioBuild tablets in a mini container for bike, and 5 in a mini container for run.
- 5 PowerBar Gels – all caffeinated – in my bike jersey back pocket
- Will talk about rest of nutrition at end.

Recap:
1:00AM (Alarm Clock goes off)
-Drank 784 Calories from water and Carbo Pro mix. I’ve done this now for three Ironmans and it seems to work! Again, no problem going back to sleep.

4:00AM (Alarm Clock goes off again!)
-6 hours of sleep or so. Felt fine, but tired.
-Breakfast: Banana = about 100 cal. + an additional 784 calories of Carbo Pro/water mix. Also 1 cup coffee and lots of water.
-Supplements: (2) BodyHealth Complete + Detox and 2 Endurolytes.
-Took 10 BioBuilde tablets + 2 Endurolytes 1/2 hour before start of swim + 1 PowerBar Gel 10 minutes prior to start.

Run:
..., I began to mentally start to fatigue. I started to think that there’s no way I could maintain this pace (8:00 m/mile). Up to this point, I had taken 1 PowerBar Gel every 3 miles and Gatorade and water every mile. So I immediately decided to start getting more sugar into my body. At the very next Aid Station, I grabbed a cup of Coke – it was AWESOME! That was all I needed. For every mile after that, I got Gatorade and Coke or water and Coke.

Nutrition:

I think I nailed the nutrition for this race. I ate a ton of pasta the day before – probably too much, but I was hungry. My morning routine seemed to work. I took on the most calories on the bike during this race than I have in the past: 2,252 calories. By not having to stop and change out my bike bottle because I was using the duel chamber Aquacell bottle, I saved some time on the bike. And the mix tasted better throughout the entire bike segment since I switch MET Endurance with Perpetuem. Also, I made sure I took all five Powerbar Gels – guaranteeing that I got an additional 450-500 calories. I was well hydrated as I pee’d twice on the bike. The run nutrition seemed to work too. The key was realizing that I needed a shot of energy in the form of coke! Now all this wouldn’t be possible without taking the Endurolytes that helped keep my stomach in check. I took all 16 on the bike and wish I had more as my stomach was just OK near the end. I took all 18 on the run and wish I had more there too! The only issue I had during the run was stomach pains from trapped gas. The Endurolytes combined with the Biobuild protein supplements were key for me.

nyfan21's picture
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nyfan21 posted 1 year ago.

Thanks for the addtional help guys.

JohnieTri's picture
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JohnieTri posted 1 year ago.

On the Swim: I prefer the "crystal clear" water of the Ohio River. Haven't done any other IM except IMKY so don't have any other water to compare it to. Although, salt water from the Gulf of Mexico probably isn't that bad and it's a good way to get started on your sodium intake.

On the Bike: I had a gel in T1 with about 3 oz of water. Then I started with the Fig Newtons. I had 4 Fig Newtons per hour along with alternating sipping on water and Gatorade End. This put me somewhere in the neighborhood of 440 cals with the Fig Newtons and about 100 calories with the (8-16oz)GE for a total of 540 calories/hour. I had no GI issues doing this in '07, but I will probably add 1 additional newton/hour this year for an additional 110 calories/hour just because they're so easily digetible and a few more extra calories wouldn't hurt me.

On the Run: I had plans to start with gels and continue on until about 18-20 miles, but I soon realized that the pure taste and WARM consistency at that time of day just didn't work for me. So I just stuck with whatever was on course. Most of the run it was pretzels and water/GE.

Experiment with many different things and see what works best for you. I like the Fig Newtons b/c they're easily digestible and taste pretty good. Also since they're cookies they taste good when they're warm unlike those gels that have a few hours to sit and cook in your back pocket. I just can't get them down when they're warm like that. Good luck and don't forget, after the race you can eat and drink whatever you want for the next 6 months!!!!!

-Johnie

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forzagto posted 1 year ago.

Johnie,
540 calories per hour and looking to add more, that's huge! Are you a big guy and what is your pace for IM?