Olympic Distance Triathlon

hi there!

I'm struggling to get enough nutrition to finish my bike ride and to start my run.

Surgery date: 11/2009

I have a 1mile swim/30mile bike/10k run on June 25th in Colorado
and I have tried and tried, but I do not get enough nutrition on the bike..

Any suggestions?

 Howdy!

Are you using gels?  On my half ironman, I used perpetuam chewables, which were great because I could basically chew on one every 20 minutes or so, and used perpetuem in my speedfil.  Obviously I'm a lap bander so its probably a bit different.

I am sure others with more experience wil speak up to!

Best of luck!

I don't have more experience but how often are you takin in gels?  Also GU has chomps which are like gummies and you could probably chew them a bit more often rather than doing 4 at once.

If you post your nutrition plan I am sure lots of people here can chime in with hepful advice.

I have just switched to Accel Gels from gu gels (the gu did not last long enough for me) and love them most have 5 grams of protein in them they have really helped me in training for my tri this weekend.

It would be most helpful if you posted what you are currently doing for nutrition. As the above folks have said, there are gels, nutrition drinks like perpetuim, accelerade, infinit etc, chewable gel blocks, I poersonally LOVE the Stinger Honey Waffles. They taste like a honey dipped Churro, except they have no high fructose Corn Syrup and all natural even vegan ingredients. They pack 160 calories and taste and go down like a little bit of heaven. You may be dehydrating, which can lead to excessive fatigue. Studies show that with as little as 2% drop in body weight during excercise, you can experience degredation in output and performance. Best of luck...

I like to drink my caloriesI use Infinit and suppliment with Gels

I have also made up a peanut butter sandwhich or two and cut it into 4 pieces so it's snack size.

I also set the timer on my watch to make sure I'm eating and drinking.

I try for at least a bottle of fluid every hour so 20 oz or so every hour is 3 + ounces every 10 minutes.
The drink provides 300 calories per bottle, so I'm taking in 300 calories every hour via the drink, then a gel for 100 or a piece of PB sandwhich for another hundred.

Could you share with us what you are doing now?  What are you eating pre-race and how far before the start of the race.

I also switch about two days before the race to eating more carbs.  I don't carb load, but I do change from protein being the main source of my calories to carbs being the main source.  This decreases every meal until my last meal where it is almost back to my normal routine.

Perfect recommendation Scott. "I also switch about two days before the race to eating more carbs.  I don't carb load, but I do change from protein being the main source of my calories to carbs being the main source.  This decreases every meal until my last meal where it is almost back to my normal routine."

In other words, good solid complex carbs to top off your glycogin stores prior to an endurance event. 

"In endurance sports such as cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by sudden fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glycogen levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity."

"Complex carbs (carbohydrate) foods are basically those in wholegrain form such as wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice. Complex carbs are broken down into glucose more slowly than simple carbohydrates and thus provide a gradual steady stream of energy throughout the day."

Hope all is well for you Scott!

Doing great, long time no see.

I hope things are going well for you too.

Scott

Thank you so much for the great information.  Its wonderful to see so many post op active triathletes!!!


Current Race Nutrition: 
Pre race-
3oz greek yogurt (torani sf)
oatmeal plain with peanut butter mixed in
Durring race-
Bike-
1/4c crasins
pure protien bar 200calories
33.8 oz smar****er
23oz isopure
Run-
jus****er and gatorade

I love the idea of Infinit, I was told about it before but I didnt get the go ahead from my nutritionist.

Also the peanut butter sandwhich sounds perfect, cut into peices. 

I just discoverd Hammer gels and plan on putting one of those in my wetsuit for the trek to transition (the swim is 1/4 mile from transition).

Of course we are physically different than the typical athlete, but this article was timely so I thought I would share it with you.

http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/eat-light-your-bike?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-Bicycling-_-Content-Story-_-BackAction

At a recent cycling camp, I was talking with Dave, a 42-year-old -father of two who was training for an annual cycling weekend with his buddies. He was making progress, but was frustrated with his performance during long rides--once he passed three hours, he started having stomach trouble. As he rattled off a list of what he consumed each hour on the bike--half an energy bar, one gel, a bottle of sports drink and a bottle of water--I realized he was eating and drinking too much.

 

 

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour of exercise, but few athletes understand the reason for this amount. The average person can process, or oxidize, only about 1 gram of carbohydrate per minute, no matter how much is consumed. The bottleneck isn't your muscles; it's your intestines, which can transport glucose from the food you eat into your bloodstream only so fast. Dumping more carbohydrate into your gut doesn't necessarily increase the absorption rate, and it can increase your chances of an upset stomach.

 

 

It's easier than you think to overload on carbs. Take Dave as an example. His half an energy bar (23 grams of carbs), one gel (27 grams of carbs) and bottle of sports drink (about 50 grams of carbs) meant he was taking in about 100 grams of carbohydrate every hour. Early in his rides, he was doing great because he was getting all the fluid, energy and sodium his body could handle, but after a few hours the excess carbohydrate sloshing around in his system was making him nauseous, bloated and ill.

 

 

One of the easiest ways to optimize your carbohydrate intake during rides is to drink plain water while you're eating carbohydrate-rich foods such as energy bars and gels, and then drink a sports drink by itself later. Two PowerBar Gels and one bottle of water provide the same amount of energy and electrolytes as a bottle of PowerBar Endurance drink. Simply separating these two categories--sports drinks and energy foods--typically brings people back into the range of 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, while also ensuring they're getting adequate sodium and fluids.

 

 

Also, new research suggests that by consuming energy foods that contain a mix of sugars (such as glucose and fructose, or glucose and maltodextrin) instead of just one type, you can bump oxidation to as much as 1.7 grams per minute.
 

Over the course of three days at camp, Dave made subtle changes in his on-bike eating habits. He set an alarm to beep every 15 minutes as a reminder to drink, instead of guzzling an entire bottle at once. He added granola bars and fig bars to his stash of energy bars and gels for variety. As we rolled past the four-hour mark, Dave was taking long turns at the front and chatting happily in the paceline as if the ride had just begun.

 

 

The Moving Feast

One of the first things a new cyclist learns is that without on-bike food and fluids, you can't pedal very far or very fast. Here's what to eat and drink on rides of various lengths for stronger rides.

 

 

SHORT RIDES

RIDE DURATION: 1 hour or less

 

PRIMARY CONCERN: Fluid replenishment

 

WHAT TO DRINK: Plain water

 

WHAT TO EAT: Most people start with enough stored energy for a 60-minute workout, but carry 1 PowerBar Gel, which has 27 grams of carbs and 200mg sodium, just in case

 

BONUS TIP: For optimal recovery, eat a full meal within an hour of finishing an intense workout.

 

MEDIUM-LENGTH RIDES

 

RIDE DURATION: 1 to 3 hours

 

PRIMARY CONCERN: Carbohydrate replenishment

 

WHAT TO DRINK: 1 bottle water and 1 bottle sports drink per hour, at least

 

WHAT TO EAT: 30-60g of carb per hour from bars, gels and sports drinks--up to 80g if you're consuming glucose and fructose together

 

BONUS TIP: Don't dilute the sports drinks--your body absorbs them most efficiently at their correct concentrations.

 

LONGER RIDES

 

RIDE DURATION: 3 hours or more

 

PRIMARY CONCERN: Carbohydrate and electrolyte replenishment; food boredom

 

WHAT TO DRINK: 1 bottle water and 1 bottle sports drink per hour, at least

 

WHAT TO EAT: 30-60g of carbs per hour, total. Digestion can get harder as rides get longer, so eat more solids at the beginning of the ride, and rely on gels for quick energy in the last third of the ride.

 

BONUS TIP: Supplement bars and gels with carb-rich, low-protein, moderate-fat "real" foods. Don't worry about specific amounts of protein or fat; just eat what tastes good so you keep eating.