Nutrition/drink on OD tri
dhcm
Posts: 67
in General Chat
First OD tri in July, and I havn't a clue on how much gel/carbohydrate/sports drinks/water to take on or what part of the race to do it. I am used to SIS gels, powerade and Lucozade sport since I use them all in training. But how many and when to take them on?
I had in mind something like:
Gels:
- gel at T1
- 2 x gels while on bike
- gel at T2
sports drink:
- gulp at T1.
- 1litre on bike sipping all way through
- gulp at T2
- drink on run course accoring to how feel.
Any views on whether this sounds sensible, or other suggestions, most welcome.
many thanks,
I had in mind something like:
Gels:
- gel at T1
- 2 x gels while on bike
- gel at T2
sports drink:
- gulp at T1.
- 1litre on bike sipping all way through
- gulp at T2
- drink on run course accoring to how feel.
Any views on whether this sounds sensible, or other suggestions, most welcome.
many thanks,
0
Comments
Hydration depends on how much you sweat out and weather, but I'd say something in the region of a gel 30min before start, within first 5min on bike, and one last 5 min of bike, and if youre having a bad day, one for the last half of the run, although that might just be a psychological thing.
Two bottles on the bike is somethimes too much, but I lose a lot of water so need it. Bottle of nuun and bottle of PSP or something works great for me. Then a sip of water on the run froma drinkstation.
But thats just me.
Maybe one or two gels tops for the full race.
Bman has it pretty much spot on.
It also depends on how fast u are.....I did an OD with 1 bottle of sports drink on the bike and one gel while running out of T2 in 2:35 two weeks ago. If you'r over 3 hours maybe you need more.
I've taken gels with me but never felt the need for them. Usually the run has an aid station where I can get something if I need it.
I had two gels on the bike (High5) and 750ml of High5 drink. I have a tribar mounted drinks thingumy which keeps the straw in your face all the time, which is great because you keep sipping.
I felt in much better condition for the run having had a drink along the way, and sipping meant that I was topping up gradually. Gels are good for me because I depend on my sugar levels staying pretty high, or I bonk and things get generally unpleasant.
Perhaps you should try it out if you can, or go and do an OD cycle and 10k brick. See what suits you, basically.
However, on my one marathon attempt I had taken 3 gels and a decent amount of drink in by the 18-mile-mark (about 2:10 in) and then hit the wall badly, ended up walking for about 20 mins and was only able to get going again by drinking vast quantities of the horrible sweet orange juice stuff that they were serving at the drink stations, to finish in 3:33. Didn't feel sick, just that legs stopped working. Since then I have always thought that it might have gone better if I had taken alot more fuel (and perhaps a bit more training...) and that is my worry for the OD tri.
So maybe I should err on side of too much for OD? Or is OK triathlon not as bad as a very long run? I.e. is it less likely that you hit the wall after 2:10 on the OD triathlon (hopefully will be well into the run by that time) than 18 miles into a marathon?
Think I will try a long bike ride and take too many gels and drink too much and see how my stomach handles it.
But any further thoughts in meantime would be very welcome as always.
Race nutrition: do exactly what you do in training.
Seriously, don't ask... give it a go. It's the only way you'll be sure you're not going to end up with an empty tank or with gatorade and lumps of Soreen all over your shoes.
For OD I have one 750ml bottle of lucozade sport on the bike and will also have a snack bar if I'm worried that the run will be tough. I'll take a couple of gels on the run for a booster, which I slurp as I'm coming up to a water station.
That does me for the 2:40-ish that I'm usually out there.
Thinking about it, I should have known - sprint distance tri at Blenheim in June did not feel like a half-marathon, even though it took a little longer than a half-marathon; more like a 10K.
Thanks all for comments.