Gatorade on IM run question -- powder?

[Deleted User]

Question re how the Gatorade is mixed on the IM run course:

Today I did Toughman AL (1/2).  It was ... tough!  I'll do a post mortem on it when I get home (and there's a lot of "what went wrong", very little what went right, but anyway!).  But one thing that bothered me during the run was the on-course nutrition, and I wanted to get this question out there before I forgot about it.

Toughman had Powerade, rather than Gatorade Endurance.  No worries, just adapted my nutrition plan, which I think was off, but that was the planner and the executor, not the plan itself.  But ... as a back of the pack runner, I could tell I was getting watered down Powerade.  The volunteers were trying to stretch the powder they were given and/or were adding ice to the mix to keep it cold.  Either way ... watered down.  So it didn't really matter what I had planned -- I have no idea what I was getting at each aid station, and it got worse as the 1/2-marathon went on.

I know I'll be bringing up the rear at IMCHOO.  Is this something else I need to be worried about/planning for?  If so, I'll tote my own powder and bottle and just get water from the aid stations.  I'd rather not do that, it's one more thing to keep track off, but today I was killed by not enough electrolytes.  

Thoughts?  Ideas? 

Thanks!

Juan Vergara

@Catherine, personally I've had no issues with Gatorade Endurance at IM races this year .... definitely did not taste diluted to me. I rather live from what's available at aid stations than carrying weight and "thinking" what should I drink ... versus an automatic: walk every station, get your Gatorade in, pour some water, grab some ice and go for the next station.

Robert Sabo

I wouldn't worry about that. The other thing is that Powerade is lower electrolyte to start off with vs GE. Bring a source of salt anyway as you might need it as back up if you switch up to cola or get sick of the test of the GE and want some water.

[Deleted User]

Thanks!, y'all  I was carrying salt capsules -- I had planned for the lower electrolyte level of Powerade.  But with it diluted, I realized pretty early that I didn't have enough to get through the race if I stuck to my plan.  I think I ended up taking in too much fluid relative to salt, based on my hands swelling towards the end of the run.  Lesson learned, I guess, though I'm not sure what lesson it was.  Is it possible to take in too much salt?  Maybe I'm focusing too much on my salt levels -- I thought I had my run nutrition pretty well dialed in ... 

I didn't help matters on the bike -- it was cooler than I had expected, and I ended up doing my "hot race" nutrition plan for the first 1.5 hrs or so.  Of course, THEN it heated up!  

Maybe I'm overthinking this.  I was already trying to figure out why I was imploding while it was happening.  Yuck.

Juan Vergara

@Catherine, FWIW my race nutrition issues were solved when I made use of THE CORE DIET (EN partner) and purchased a race nutrition plan from them. Worth taking a look at. www.thecorediet.com

Discounts: 

• 1-1 Nutrition Coaching - 5%
• Mission Nutrition - 5%
• Nutrition Plan - 10%
• Race Fueling - 10%

Code: QT2-EN

The Core Diet  Website: www.thecorediet.com Discounts:  1-1 Nutrition Coaching - 5% Mission Nutrition - 5% Nutrition Plan - 10% Race Fueling - 10% Code: QT2-EN

drjohnson08

Catherine, at IM Lake Placid the Gatorade Endurance at the run aid stations actually came out of gallon sized bottles. The volunteers didn't do any mixing. I would assume that it will be the same at Chattanooga and therefore it should be full potency.