Liquid v. Solids (gels, gu chomps) at end of ride

kbaker1966

I use 95% liquid nutrition on my rides. I always carry GU chomps and gels (and fig newtons) just in case I feel weak and "fainty" - but b/c running with too much liquid in my stomach gives me slosh stomach which leads to cramps, I started thinking this weekend....

Should I finish my ride with more solid nutrition? Is there a general rule and/or what do you guys do to combat slosh stomach on the run? I've done some runs after rides but none in HOT weather (thanks polar vortex) and b/c I'm nursing an old foot fracture which has limited my running a bit.

Ironman Louisville will be my first Ironman distance.  I am feeling strong and ready, and I just want to EXECUTE on race day!I've done half distances and olympics, but as you all know, the Ironman is a beast like no other.

Thanking you in advance, Kay Baker

Robert Sabo

I lean toward eating early and throughout the ride but there was some talk in the IMLP race plans of stopping solids in the last hour of the ride to have more easily digestible calories going into the run. I personally avoid gels early in the ride because I don't want to be sick of them before the run even starts. chomps or the gator chews are kinda in between. I have been training and racing with powerbars and perform and have been supplementing with bananas on the course with good success. I think for IMMT I will stop Powerbars about 45 min before the run but continue the bananas all thru the bike. When I used to drink just Infint for the whole bike with no solids , I definitely got that sloshy stomach and have since given it up. Good luck.

Mike Roberts

Hi Kay, good luck with your race. A couple of general recommendations: (1) read up on the nutrition info in wiki if you haven't - RnP have strong opinions/good advice; and (2) make nutrition a key focus during your RRs (or RR if you've already done #1). It's ultimately an individual thing, and practice is the only way to know for sure what works and what doesn't.  On race day, you'll likely find that eating is more challenging than in training and can become pretty difficult the last couple of hours on the bike and/or throughout the run, and you're almost guaranteed to be really sick of Perform and gels by the end of the day. But no one said it would be easy  I've pretty much eliminated sloshing by (1) consistently drinking Perform on the bike every 15 minutes (audible Garmin beeps) or more often if thirsty, but never chugging a lot at once and (2) not drinking much if any water (unlike H2O, Perform has good carb and sodium ratios to allow pretty rapid absorption). I eat a Clif Bar the first 90-120 minutes on the bike because my stomach is at 100% and . . . it's not a gel.  I then mostly eat non-sticky blocks like the ones PowerBar makes, moving eventually to caffeinated gels for a kick and easy digestion. I also like salt pills, especially during hotter, more humid races.  If I err on quantity on the bike, I'd rather overhydrate (by a very small margin) and under-feed.  I can't easily fix dehydration 7 hours into a hard day, but I can load up on some calories at the aid station just down the road on the run and fix that "low calorie" feeling. So, would I start eating solids at the end of the bike? No way. But that's just me and my stomach.  Hope you nail your nutrition and have a perfect day in Louisville.

 

 

robin sarner

And consider official Core Diet consultation.

rlh2000

I'm another one for no solids at the end of the bike, though I don't consider gels to be solids. I trained for IMWI last year with Perform, some gus, and powerbars. I found that if I followed my powerbar schedule and did the full 6 hrs + 1 hr run race rehearsal, my stomach was a brick. I ended up taking maybe 1.5 powerbars in during the first half, but none after that. I do think not all solids are created alike. Bananas are way easier for me to tolerate than a big ol power bar.

kbaker1966

Mike, did you mean you eat the Cliff Bar in the first 90-120 minutes of the bike and then just perform...?  So then on the bike it's mostly Perform and adding "solid" (gels, blocks, etc) on the run?  Maybe I confused myself.  I also use the salt pills. Thanks for sharing your experience! 

Kay

Mike Roberts

Hi Kay, sorry if I confused.  I don't consider gels or blocks to be solids.  I can and do eat solids (i.e., bars) for the first hour or two because my stomach is strong at that point, it postpones the time I'll be consuming gels, and it tastes good.  Below is the exact bike nutrition plan I followed at IMTX, with a goal of a 5:15 bike @150lbs.  It turns out my plan was almost identical to Tim Cronk's, which is a good sign because he's a jedi of the sport.  I've followed this plan my last 4 IMs without any GI issues.  But, again, this is just what I've learned works for me after many, many years of doing this:

"Assuming it’s warm/humid (it will be), I will target 2 bottles of Perform every hour, with early hydration being one of the keys to a good race. Audible alerts on the Garmin every 15 minutes remind me to drink every beep, supplementing between beeps according to thirst. If it’s very hot and I need more liquid, I’ll add water + salt pills between the bottles of Perform to keep the calories and sugar under control. I’ll eat a quarter Clif Bar (60 calories) every 30 minutes for the first 1:30 starting right out of T1. After that, I’ll eat 3-4 blocks/chews (60-80 calories) every 30 minutes for two hours. At 4:00, when my hunger usually starts to go away, I’ll eat a caffeinated gel. I’ll add another gel at 4:30 or 4:45."

If you are just now developing a nutrition plan, I woud consider a couple of things:  First, read RnP's last-second nutrition plan advice in the Wiki - http://members.endurancenation.us/R...ion+Review  Second, if you still feel like you need help, do like Robin said and get a quick consult with Core Diet.

kbaker1966

Mike:

 Thanks for the info...I've read the nutrition guides and am on target with calories etc,I just starting thinking about sloshing stomach and getting a stitch (it's never been a full blown cramp). By way of height/weight, I am 5'8" and only 122 lbs....when i first started doing this i would drink my infinit formula PLUS gels/GU chomps/fig newtons every 15-20 minutes and it was WAY too much junk in my stomach (Like Rachel I would feel like I had a brick in my stomach). I'd gone to that grouping of nutrition b/c I was bonking a lot on the rides. But it was clearly too many calories.

After reading the nutrition guide i adjusted my Infinit formula (also adding a small scoop of perform - more for taste and sodium) and that's all I have on rides....but I have gotten these little annoying 'side stitches' when i start running (only a few times - and I'm not THAT concerned). 

The other interesting thing is that on the last two rides or so I've got this very tiny feeling of hunger. I keep drinking (also use water when necessary and am doing a salt tab every hour) and it goes away - so maybe i'm not drinking enough of my infinit early enough in the ride. i still carry the gels, GU chomps and fig newtons for the ride just in case.

So that brought on the question about solid or liquid at the end of the ride b/c of side stitches (which could become cramps in extreme heat - hello Louisville).

I was more curious from a "what works generally for most people"  - lean towards liquids late in the ride? or does it matter?

Y'all have helped a lot and if I'm hearing correctly most people stay away from solid "food" (which does not include gels, bananas, GU chomps etc) at the end of the ride....yes?

Happy training!  K

Mike Roberts

Unlike training rides, on race day you're going to have had a huge breakfast (600-800 calories) in the middle of the night, a couple of gels and sports drink before the swim (300-500 calories), and then a minimum of 200 calories of Perform every hour on the bike.  You simply will not bonk on the ride.  I would eliminate under-eating from your list of concerns and replace it with under-drinking and over-eating.  Is eating a PowerBar at Mile 90 going to ruin your day?  Probably not.  But it certainly could.  I eat nothing after Mile 100.  At every IM ever run, a good % of the field has suffered from GI issues, and many an IM dream has been crushed by nutritional blunders. When in doubt, less food is better than more, liquids are better than solids.

kbaker1966

Thanks a bunch Mike. I really appreciate the info.

Kay