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HIM pre-race nutrition questions

Kristen_OlsonKristen_Olson
in General Training Discussions

Hi all,

This is not my first HIM but it is my first HIM EN-style, and I'm obsessing over getting everything just right. 

On the wiki for HIM nutrition, the instructions are to have 600 cals about 2 am, liquid preferred, and then wake up about 4-4:30 and have a very light second breakfast.  My questions are:

1) As a lil'peep, is 600 cals still the number to shoot for on the first breakfast?

2) What is a good liquid breakfast?  Something like Ensure, or should I custom-make a smoothie the night before?

3) Please define "very light" breakfast for meal #2.  My very light and someone else's may be completely different. 

4) As for the timing, my wave won't go off until 8:10 am.  Should I still be knocking back liquid calories at 2 am, or should I change that to a little later?  Same for meal #2 - how many hours before start should meal #2 be?

Thanks, gang! 

Comments

  • WisemanWiseman
    Good question Kristen...My wave starts at 7:52, so similar situation. I plan to work backwards from swim start and do a standard pre race breakfast that I know i can digest easily, 3 hours before start. Nght feeding, I'm probably awake sometime during the night anyway, and will drink 2x Ensure and back to bed.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    Ensure is disgusting, but it does do the trick as far as easily digested and not much to accumulate in your innards. Can't figure out how those guys stay in business with such an awful-tasting product, though! :-)

    I think "very light" again means just a few hundred calories and nothing that's going to make you want to stop along the way.
  • ginagina

    I  think 500-600 should be good. I did a combo of Boost, oatmeal and banana. Only words of advice, give it a try before race day!

  • mattsullmattsull

    I don't do the 2:00am feeding for a HIM. I do for a full IM. I will have a smoothie and a banana when I wake up and then sip some sports drink right up until the swim start. I've used Ensure before also with success but prefer smoothies. I shoot for for 2-3 hours befoer start fo the meal.

    What Gina said about trying it in training first!

  • Beth_SBeth_S
    I drank Naked Juice instead of Boost/Ensure. One with breakfast (granola, yogurt, banana). I put another one on ice by the bed, with the thought that if I woke up to drink it? Awesome. If not, hooray to more sleep. (Of course, I woke up.) Remember fiber is not your friend on race day.
  • HayesSanbornHayesSanborn
    Posted By Matt Sullivan on 15 Apr 2010 06:13 AM

    I don't do the 2:00am feeding for a HIM. I do for a full IM. I will have a smoothie and a banana when I wake up and then sip some sports drink right up until the swim start. I've used Ensure before also with success but prefer smoothies. I shoot for for 2-3 hours befoer start fo the meal.

    What Gina said about trying it in training first!

     

     

    I don't do the mid evening wake at all....Pre Ironman 2 pop tarts and Inifnit mix. That is my pre race breakfest for all races from sprint through IM. I would do your normal breakfast unless the race is far away and you have several weekends to play around with alternatives. 

     

  • Michele CellaiMichele Cellai
    I usually can sleep through pretty well before a HIM. But if the eyes peek open at 2 or 3 AM, then I take 200-250 calories protein shake- Odwalla or Isopure and 8 oz water. When I get up at 4:30-5, I take in "breakfast"- 400-500 liquid calories- same stuff. I can not do solid food.

    This is all for a 7 am start. For an 8:10 start I would not eat after 6 AM. Liquids are usually gone from my stomach within 2 hours.

    I am never hungry through all of this, I do it because I know I should. Hunger is a bad guage for me.
  • KitbooKitboo
    For a HIM, I'll take in about 500-600 Cal. I'm a lil peep too (though lately I feel like I'm becoming a fat lil peep. Ack!)

    I'll typicall get up at 2am and drink about 300 Cal of Naked Juice. It's quite calorie dense, made of fruit, and very yummy.

    Light breakfast for me is white toast or english muffin with jam or Nutella and OJ (about 250-300 Cal). I'll eat this 3 hours before race start. About 30 minutes before the race start I'll sip on some Gatorade.

    ...And what Gina said. Practice this before race day. Race rehearsal is a good time to test it out.
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