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UCAN Users

fittodofittodo
in General Training Discussions
I've been using UCAN for my longer training efforts, but wonder about using it for a 12-14 hour effort in my first Ironman (IMAZ). Really just trying to get away from gu's and gels. Any experience out there?

Comments

  • morpheusmorpheus
    When's the IM?

    Try real food. It's a long day. Just keep up with calories per hour and make sure you stay hydrated to digest.

    PBJ
    tin foil wrap of 1/3 sweet potato with cinn & sugar sprinkled in
    The Feed Zone portables like the rice cake or the brown rice/nutella(or alm butter) waffle sandwich
    Alm butter/agave/banana pieces on a single slice of white bread rolled up like a burrito (or a flour tortilla) (White bread is ok in this scenario!)

    I've had terrible GI stuff in my last few races. Swore I would find a way to minimize the sugary drinks and gels for the next time. I haven't race a full IM since but I'm very comfortable eating like this on long rides and at a pretty good intensity....which brings up the next point....

    If you race at the appropriate IM intensity, you can digest all of this. Not all day, but def for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the bike. Get it on board early, keeps you from gelling ALL day. Then, think of the last 1/3 of the bike as the time to clear it and use it. That last 1/3 of the bike and the rest of the run is very individual, IMO. But, it is clear that the input needs to be digested quickly and burn evenly, like the gels. We have a good webinar or podcast or something where QT2 broke down the different gels. Maybe in the wiki under Nutrition?

    Just keep in mind that my statements about the real food are thrown out there b/c I'm trying to get away, or at least drastically minimize, from gels and sugary drinks. Others may disagree with this.

  • fittodofittodo

    Thanks for the input. I am really trying to get away from gels and gu's. I'm trying to mix UCAN with food and something else to get my sodium right. I just did my first Big Day and then did my sweat test. UCAN claims (including Bob Seebohar) that UCAN completely changes your calorie needs. But I still can't figure the sodium.

    Anyone else have experience with this product?

  • Marvin KarlowMarvin Karlow
    I have used (and experimented with) UCAN quite a bit over the last couple years.

    I have tried it for 'daily use' and find that it really balances blood sugar and curbs hunger. 1/2-1 scoop in the morning and I'm good for the whole day.

    My training/racing experience is more mixed. I have not found that I can rely 100% on UCAN for racing or long training. (I know several people personally who do, though). I find that UCAN provides a good 'base' but that I need to add real food also.

    I believe that if I used UCAN consistently over 6-8 weeks that I would adapt more, but I have not tried that experiment.

    To sum this up for me - UCAN absolutely works. In my experience, the more you use it the better it works. Conversely, don't try to use it for racing or long training unless you 'ramp into it'. Finally, I would want minimum 6-8 weeks of consistent training/daily usage before I trusted it for a race.

    For sodium, I've used scaps or nuun, both work great and are easy to manage.
  • fittodofittodo
    Thanks, Marvin. that makes sense. I'm going to mix the UCAN with real food, stay hydrated and make sure my sodium stays up. I only take two bottles on the bike. Do you mix some UCAN into water while riding?
  • Betsy KantorBetsy Kantor
    I agree with Chris-real food. (We have an acronym-GERF-just eat real food). I use all of chris' suggestions. Last IMAZ I left my feed zone rice cakes in my day bag (only thing my checklist failed me on). I did just fine with bananna on the bike from the course without resorting to any processed stuff. I think I did have a Justin's nut butter in my pocket too
  • Trish MarshallTrish Marshall
    Kevin, I trained with Ucan in 2013 and had no issues leading up to my 70.3 at all, but was super bloated and didn't do well on race day. Coach P promptly had me switch back to on course nutrition to race 70.3 worlds one month later and IMAZ. I had great runs at both races. I had minimal stomach issues at IMAZ (I had had three long course races with gut issues prior to my 2013 season).

    I was good at IMMT last year (good enough to actually eat the poutine at the end of the race) and ha a bad gut again in IMCHOO this year. Only change was from perform to gatorade, which I do not like at all, but used. I will be looking at nutrition once again, but don't think I'll try UCAN again. I have a friend who uses is in Ultra running and likes it. I think like most nutrition, it is kind of an individual thing. Good luck!
  • fittodofittodo

    Thanks Trish,

    I think I'll have everything figured by the time I get there. I appreciate the input!

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