Defizzed Coke
Tried Defizzed coke on my RR brick run and I tolerated it well. Just wondering when others use it during IM and HIM and if used with gels. I know Coach P likes it but didn't see how often. Do you guys start at first aid station or wait till mileX to give a final boost? Coke every other aid station or every? Perform also? Thanks for your help.
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IM -- I use perform and gels up until ~ mile 13 (gel every 4 mi, perform every mile) then switch over to perform and coke, where I take a little of each every mile. It seems like a huge reward at that point to switch, and its just about the point at which my body would revolt if I choked down any more gels. If it had enough calories I'd be happy to take coke the whole time, but that much coke might be playing with fire.
@Robert, for me, Coke is the nuclear option, the crash-and-burn Hail Mary, the very last item on my list of nutritional options. I've used it a couple of times late in HIMs when Gatorade/Perform is no longer going down, gels aren't a remote possibility and I need one big sugar/caffeine jolt to take my mind off the pain. I pretty much have to feel like crap to drink it during a HIM.
For IM, I'm usually quite sick of Gatorade/Perform and gels by Mile 15, but I try to push off the Coke hit until at least 20, 22 if possible. But I'm usually pretty psyched to see Mile 20 ahead and know that I can go to Coke, so I usually do. I absolutely love the stuff at the end of an IM, but the surgar rush and stomach-calming effects usually only last me 3-5 miles. And once I go nuclear, gels and Perform are a thing of the past. I may substitute water at one of the last AS, but generally once I go Coke, that's my sole dance partner until the finish.
Again, just me. I know others go to it earlier/more regularly. Hopefully they can chime in with their experiences.
I've had problems where the combinations of Perform, GUs and PowerBars is just too much sugar which leads me to be even more dehydrated. Mostly because all the sugar requires water to break down and if I'm consuming more sugar than water needed then this leads to dehydration for me. So instead of Perform, I start with water and GUs on the run and as the need arises will switch to water and coke for the rest of the run.
The earlier I need it, the worse the day!
don't start on it too early.
for me, no earlier than miles 16-18.
What else do you do on the run to mix things up when getting another Power/Gatorade and gel down would just make you throw up?
When my mouth, throat and stomach say no to more Perform, I continue drinking the Perform anyway, but chase it with some water. Perform at the front of the AS, chase the flavor out with water at the end of the AS. I always chase gels with water. But once I'm at Mile 20, I can safely turn to Coke until the finish, usually along with some water + salt pill to keep electrolytes up. But that's just what works for me. Practice a lot before your race, as everyone's likes, tolerances and reactions are different.
This is pretty much my attitude. I start out using Perform and water. I usually dilute the Perform, to allow for more fluid intake and help control the # of calories I'm taking in. Same thing with the Coke - I put ice and/or water into it to aid in the digestion in line with the complaints that Mike Roberts mentions.
As to timing, I start with Coke whenever I begin to get intolerant of the Perform and/or start to get fuzzy headed. That usually happens around 2 hours into the marathon +/-. After 20+ IM marathons, I'm pretty much going by feel, rather than a pre-determined plan. My stomach and my head (alertness) are telling me what I should take in at the next aid station.
I DO have a set plan for gel. I carry a bottle of EFS with me, and take a swig, hopefully 1 oz/90 cal, @ miles 6/12/18, and MAYBE 24, though by then, putting anything besides H20 into my stomach is problematic.
I DO NOT practice this in my RRs; since the Coke doesn't come into the picture until after the 1 hour time limit on the RR run. I don't really know how one would train for what happens to your GI system in the second half of an IM marathon - it's a unique experience that you can only get by going through the 8-12 hours required to get there, something we are not going to do during training.
Robert...I had the exact same questions/concerns before my first, IMTX this year. As Al pointed out, there is no way to "test" or "practice" the latter part of the IM Marathon. I trusted what the vets recommended basically, and it worked just fine for me. Perform on bike + 1 gel every hour. Perform 1 cup at every AS (early on, I took 2 at a couple of aid stations....reminded of Coach P's saying "if you feel good early in the run, eat/drink instead of trying to speed up) until mile 20. Switched to coke (which tasted great), but ended up taking perform again at 2 of the latter AS (my hands were tingling/numb and I didn't know why so went with Perform for electrolytes). I took one salt-stick cap about every 3-4 miles on the run, and an extra when my hands went numb. That went away quickly....whatever it was! I did not drink any water all day....none. I have found that it tends to sit in my stomach longer than Perform (or I tend to drink too much to fast?). Lots of veterans dilute perform on the run....haven't tried that, but makes sense and seems to be popular. I tolerate Perform very well, but wasn't really "pushing the pace" at all. I think that if you're going hard/pushing at the latter part of the run, that that probably makes your gut much more sensitive to what you put in it. This late marathon nutrition issue seems to be the one part of the IM race that it is impossible to test ahead of time.
the issues i have run into is that it is TOOO much sugar.... I cut proform first then gels, and then Coke (has nto happened yet).