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Nutrition/drink on OD tri

dhcmdhcm 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,

Comments

  • BmanBman Posts: 442
    Woaw tiger, too much!

    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.
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    Take it from experience.... you'll head for stomach cramps if you follow that plan.....

    Maybe one or two gels tops for the full race.

    Bman has it pretty much spot on.
  • okennyokenny Posts: 231
    that's if u even need gels.....some sports drink in your bottle(s) on the bike, a good breakfast before hand and a bananna just before the swim start should see u finish in good shape too.

    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.
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    good point. I've done an OD and not taken anything other than water + nuun.

    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.
  • nivaghnivagh Posts: 595
    On a sprint I haven't up until now generally bothered with anything but a sip of something from an aid station on the run, but may change this tactic to drink something on the bike, or a gel, after my experience in my first OD in May and the positive effect this seemed to have for me.

    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.
  • dhcmdhcm Posts: 67
    Thanks for the comments, sounds like I should reduce the amounts.

    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.
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    I'm surprised Conehead hasn't wandered by and chipped in on this...

    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.
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    Running a marathon and an OD tri are such different beasts you can't compare them. I find that a half mara is more similar in terms of effort to an OD tri. My OD routine last year was: well hydrated and good brekkie, bit of sports drink before the start, gel either in T1 or ~10mins into the bike, a sip of sports drink about halfway on the bike - water and a gel just before the end (last 3k or so)of the bike/in T2 if i forgot, then a gel about 4k into the run - if i felt i needed it.
  • dhcmdhcm Posts: 67
    The half-marathon comparison helps alot, so now I have a better idea of what OD is like. So will tke it easy on the glucose.

    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.
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