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Fuel Belt: Training and Racing

At the suggestion of Coach P, I purchased a fuel belt yesterday, as I am terrible about carrying fluids and nutrition on outdoor runs (where to carry and what, etc), I have nutrition with me on the treadmill of course as that is easy... but outdoors was a different story...

Questions, I have read a lot about concentrated GE and other fluids, but when to comes to racing 1. Would you wear your Fuel Belt and 2. instead of fluids would it be beneficial to fill them with the Gels of your choice instead of fluids?

Just a thought, as I was watching the 2016 Kona race on Youtube while on the bike the other night and I noticed on the run that a few of the Pros had gel flasks (like what EFS makes) in their hands when running at a specific area of the race, and then they took fluids at the aid stations...interesting idea.
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  • Hi Brian - I use a fuel belt that secures your bib and has an elastic zipper pouch for gels and salt. It doesn't have flask holders. I personally don't like carrying anything on the run (except my Coach P race saver bag made by Mile 18). I like my hands to be free when running. Great thing about IM runs is the aid stations are usually spaced a mile apart. Take advantage of them, walk for 10-20 seconds, hydrate and get back to your TRP. I personally never have an appetite on the marathon, it's always fluids and salt. I usually carry a few gels with me more as a mental tool "in case of emergency, break glass".

    For training I really wanted to embrace the fuelbelt and bought a Helium for my long runs a few years ago. First time I tried it, I ran about a quarter mile and said "this isn't going to work". They bounce and just don't feel great (just MHO).

    For my long runs, I'll stash a bottle of water in my mailbox or in the ditch, and carry a tube of BASE salt in my running shorts. Seems to work best for me. Hope you find the perfect setup to achieve your best! 

          
  • Thanks for your input @brianharding I appreciate it.  I personally never ran with anything, hence the question, I appreciate your feedback.  I am going to try the fuel belt this week and see how it goes, will keep you posted....See you in Louisville!


  • Like @Brian Harding said, during a race I don't like to carry stuff in my hands or bottles around my waist.  Plus, it's added weight.  I carry gels and salt tabs in my Fuel Belt and use water/GE at the Aid Stations.  For training runs, I'll carry water in a hand held water bottle and/or use a fuel belt with two 10 oz bottles around my waist.  During IM builds I will carry GE Lime flavor and water as that's what the race will serve. 

    I do not concentrate anything...I like the keep it simple approach.  I've thought about using gel flasks filled with gels, but then I would have to be careful to consume the right amount each time...that sounds simple but at mile 18 my thinking/calculating abilities are very limited to where I need my fingers to add 1+1.  :#

  • When I first got into long course, I also tried the fuel belt. It worked, but I wasn't crazy about it, all that bouncing and carrying around empty items when I was done with them; just seemed silly. Obviously, function supersedes form in a lot of places, so I dealt with it. 

    After I started "living off the course" a little more, as EN prescribed, and worked for me, then the only thing I needed to deal with is if I could actually stomach what's on course. As I mentioned in another thread somewhere, I feel long course nutrition is not a matter of what you like for an iron-distance/duration of a day, it's what you can TOLERATE for that long. Nothing at the end of an iron-distance race tastes good to me, except a toothbrush and some mouthwash.

    With that said, I switched to a single flask (4oz maybe?) with maple syrup in it, with water and coke for hydration. Now, for being a bigger dood, I can surprisingly survive off of minimal calories on a marathon, so YMMV.
  • For long training runs, I have used the fuel belt bottles(2) in the back pockets of my EN Tri singlet.  It is way more comfortable for me then using the belt.  I refill at water fountains or my office which is conveniently located 5.5 miles from my house on my long run circuit.  I also wear Desoto Tri Shorts with pockets on the leg for gels.  It doesn't make sense to carry fluids on the run for the race as there are always more aid stations.
  • Thanks @Robert Sabo , @Scott Alexander , @Derrek Sanks

    I figure I will definitely use the fuel belt for the local runs and the longer runs where I do not have easy access to refill, etc.  Living in a city it is easy to stop places and get more to drink, but I always rather not stop and keep pace, or at least try too..ha

    Appreciate the feedback...


  • edited August 16, 2017 2:34PM
    Something I learned from @tim cronk which has worked well for me in races:

    I carry a small gel flask in hand during races, filled with the equivalent of a regular bottles' worth of sports/electrolyte drink, i.e. 1 hours worth of electrolytes and about 150-200 calories worth of carbs - you could also dissolve 2-3 gels in water but I use powdered Garneau sport drink since it has 700 mg  of Na per serving.  Since I complete the 70.3 run in about 1:30-1:40 I take 1 flask.  For last years' full at Tremblant I carried 2 flasks, 1 in each hand.  I take a sip of the flask every 20-30 minutes and when it is empty I chuck it in the trash (they are cheap- 3-5$).  This is just to supplement what is on the course for nutrition.  For fluids I will take what they offer on the course, switching between water and gatorade or whatever depending on how I feel.  As always- if you are thinking of this practice it in your longer runs first. 
  • Racing - everybody works hard on their body comp to get down to "race weight". Why sabotage that effort by then carrying 2 # of fluid around the course with you when every 8-10 minutes there is an infinite supply? I do carry a gel flask with me, partly for "something to hold onto", and partly to know I have instant calories early on without having to fight crowds @ an aid station. @Satish Punna, why not put the second flask in Special Needs (I used to do that before I discovered I used very little gel second half of a marathon)

    For long training runs, I used to lug 60oz of fluid in a fuel belt. But that got old, and I gravitated to doing laps on my local recreational path, on a part which is 1.75-2.6 miles long, with 1-2 water fountains along the way, and my car at the other. EG, today I did my last run before a race next week, 8 oz @ 15, 30, and 45 minutes worked well in the 80F temps. At my car, I leave a bottle of gatorade for calories. No water fountains on your local trail? Stash a bottle @ one end, park at the other. Added benefit - I don't need to worry about sharing my run with cars.
  • @Al Truscott Thanks- looking back I think that is actually what I did, and I didn't stop in special needs since I had switched by then to coke and gatorade.  Agree starting out with 1 flask is enough. 
  • I gravitated to doing laps on my local recreational path, on a part which is 1.75-2.6 miles long, with 1-2 water fountains along the way, and my car at the other. EG, today I did my last run before a race next week, 8 oz @ 15, 30, and 45 minutes worked well in the 80F temps. At my car, I leave a bottle of gatorade for calories. No water fountains on your local trail? Stash a bottle @ one end, park at the other. Added benefit - I don't need to worry about sharing my run with cars.
    This is precisely what I have done as well, and plan to do later today on my 3Hr run before IMWI. The shorter the lap, the more boring the run gets to be sure, but... most IM courses are loops anyway, so in a way, running laps is good mental training. I wear a fuel belt for gels and bib number only, when I can remember - when I cannot, I just put gels in my pockets. 
  • I'm probably not adding much here, but like just about everyone else, I live off the land during a triathlon run.  I just don't see the point of dragging extra weight with an aid station every mile (or sooner in some races).  I do use one on long training runs when I know there will be limited water stops on the course.
  • I'm going to piggy back on this conversation.  What if you can't tolerate Gatorade?  Plain water is not a good choice either.  Short of running the race with your hydration belt and drink of choice, what do you do?
  • @Ellen Sauter I too have a trouble with Gatorade, but I have been slowly adding it to my work outs to get my stomach used to it.  I am more of a scratch labs guy, but so far so good on the slow introduction of GE to my work outs...the issue for me was finding what my stomach could tolerate, and how much so far in training...I don't know how it will be on race day, but I have started the integration about a month ago with GE....I buy the powder and mix it myself, a little less than the directions say in the beginning to try it out...but everyone is different that is just what worked for me so far...


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