2nd Ironman RR
So 2nd ironman RR was definitely not a success.
So I basically made a complete mess out of my nutrition which resulted in stomach shut down. I definitely stuck to intensity on bike and run which i am pretty confident was not the issue.
Bike total 5:40 for 101 miles avg HR of 141 which is low Z2 for me. Miscalculated my distance and i wasnt about to head back into central park and circle a couple of laps at the end of a long day just to hit 112. I decided to use IM Perform this go around, ive been messing with it on training rides with success. I planned to take GU along with the IM Perform. My plan was to take a GU every 30-40 min and sip on IM perform to round out the cal. Well I realized early that i had been falling behind on my water, no specific reason i think i was just focusing more on getting calories in. After about 4 hrs I noticed that i could barely stomach the IM Perform or much else for that matter. Stomach began to feel weird which later in the ride i would realize was a whole lot of gas. Probably 500-600 of those cals came at about 3.5 hr mark, after that all i could get in was the 2 bag of sport beans and some water.
- 3 GUs, 2 bags of sport beans, 2 IM perform, 850 cal
- 1 1/2 water from aero drink 30 oz= 45-50oz total
I made it off the bike still able to hold my pace just fine but stomach just didnt feel well.
I headed out for run with perform, coke, water. Gassy stomach actually felt better initially as i began to work in an upright position. Run legs felt just fine but the stomach was doing turns on and off throughout with a lot of gas coming out both ends. Even though i was able to run through the discomfort, my ablility to get any cal in were pretty much non existent. I know in the race a couple more miles and it probably wouldve been game over.
Was able to get in:
- 6 oz coke, 3 oz water, no IM perform.
After i got home from run stomach actually got worse making me really nauseous and still lots of gas. Pre RR weight 163 lbs, post weight 156lbs. Digestive system was definitely shut down cause i had no bowel movt since 5 am yesterday till 8 am this morning (over 24 hrs). I was acutually quite worried.
So obviously things were a mess. I should have definitely hydrated more and defintely earlier in the ride. The thing that puzzles me is that during my training rides of 4.5 hrs i absolutely destroy myself in the intervals with nutrition consisting of:
- 2 Gus
- 1-2 sports drink lately been IM Perform, usually dont finish entire second bottle.
- 2 aero drink 30 oz water
even with this low cal consumption i feel just fine except for some leg fatigue but never stomach issues. Im thinking two things, one is that the IM perform just didnt sit well with me on a longer ride. Second is that i didnt hydrate enough which shut down my stomach.
Please any feedback would be great, tear into me i know i have a lot of adjustments to make.
Comments
Sorry to hear about the problems.
Looks like you actually did not take in enough calories on the bike and those that you did got too concentrated in your gut because you didn't take enough water.
What is your goal calories per hour on the bike? It should be around 250 cal/hr give or take. Depending on conditions I shoot for 24oz. of water per hour as well - more if it's hot. Also, when I take a gel I try to drink at least 6oz of water with it and not just a couple sips.
What were you using before?
Don't wash down gels or salt tabs with a sports drink---it's too concentrated and your stomach will react by diluting it by secreting more water into it. If you are low on total body "water" (as in dehydrated), your stomach will delay or completely stop emptying because having a concentrated solution in the small intestine will make you have Dumping Syndrome (no kidding on the name) which is dizziness, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
For gels, I agree with Matt--->6oz of water following it. A sip of water for me is barely 2 oz (yes, I'm OCD enough to have measured)---so at least 3-4 sips following a gel.
What Matt said.
Plus -- what was the weather like? If it was hot, you may need additional electrolytes. S-caps are your friends.
If it was hot -- I know I hate, hate, hate drinking Infinit/gatorade/anything sweet when the temperature rises -- even though I know I need to do it to avoid misery. I have actually drawn lines on the Infinit bottles in indicate how much I should drink in an hour.
I was shooting for at least 1200 cal for my RR bike however once my stomach issues came up i couldnt get much calories down. Sorry for the mix up the water in my aero drink i would use to wash down my gels during the RR. however i was definitely short on fluids/hr. I guess its a good reminder that hydration and calorie consumption are equally important. i"ll need to be diligent about the water.
@beth- weather was mid 80s so hot but nothing i havent been in before, i usually take endurolytes but for some reason didnt this go around.
P