Nutrition.....period.
I was told to jump in with questions...so here goes! I am a 5x Ironman. I still do not get how to do nutrition. My first couple years I just tried gu and bars with gatorade, but I was told I wasnt getting enough protein. So this year I decided to try perpetuem, and I ended up puking after a 60 mile ride (did NOT sit well). I feel like Ive tried so many different things, but I always completely run out of energy OR find myself eating anything infront of me on the run because I get so hungry! Any suggestions??? I am 5'0, roughly 125 lbs, BMI roughly 16.5. Thanks! I want to work on this EARLY so later in the year I wont be stressing 
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Hi Lauren, welcome to the Haus! I'm terrible with it too, but my reason is laziness. Someone here pointed me to Bob Seebohar's book Metabolic Efficiency Training, I wish I had it earlier in my season as I started what he preached and felt pretty good about it. I'm no expert, and probably not much for advice, but its worth a look, it is very simple, limited calories which gives you a clean gut and works off of your own fat for energy with your own supplementation of whatever you need during the race, but just not as much as you used to. Anyway, that made no sense, but its a great book, easy to read, and it seems to work well. www.fuel4mance.com
Good luck.
There are alot of good resources on the wiki starting with the EN Long Course Webinar: http://endurancenation.us.dnnmax.com/Resources/Wiki/tabid/108/Default.aspx?topic=Wiki+Table+of+Contents It's all the way at the bottom of the table of contents under Nutrition.
There's also my article about Monitoring Hydration and Sodium: http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/108/Default.aspx?topic=Monitoring+Hydration+Status
The puking with the perpetuem could've have been from being dehydrated or using a concentrated solution.
Hope that's helpful.
You'll find the general guidelines on nutrition focus on both your pacing and what you are consuming. When you start reviewing the 4 Keys and Race Execution stuff in the Wiki and podcasts you'll get more detail. But in general the guidance is to only consume what your gut can process, and that usually means fairly low calories (I'm roughly your size and I target 200 cals/hr, unless it's hot and then I'll lower that a bit). The other guidance is the pacing. Often you can get the nutrition "right" but you mess it up by going out too hard. So what you perceive as a GI issue is really just a symptom of a bigger pacing issue.
I'm still learning. I had a GREAT race at IMWI in 2008 and then ended up with GI issues at IMWI in 2010. That's just to say that even when you think you've got it "right" you can still screw it up!
PS- I've found protein in my nutrition (like Perpetuem) gives me gas and bloating on longer distance stuff. I now only have a very small amount of protein in my Infiinit mix - just enough to help me from feeling hungry.
Lauren,
I for one am impressed that you were able to actually even swallow the Perpetuem!! I almost hurled the first second it touched my lips!
You will find that many of us are committed to Infinit - because it works! I have used protein in my drink for the last couple of years, and while it does foam up a bit, Infinit's drinks are waaaaaaay more palatable than other drinks I've tried. They also have the ability to change the flavor concentration if you plan on using concentrated feed bottles (which many of us do). So if you're going to use one bottle for 3 hours, you can tone down the flavor so that it's not a concentrated, super sweet gu.
Mike
I used to use Perpetuem and was fine with it . . . until I let it get warm once. Nasty! I'm also an InfiniT convert and love it.
I've used Perpetuem with reasonably good results, but I'm not entirely happy with it and looking to try something else. I guess it won't really matter until Spring, though.
I have my own Infinit mix (teeny tiny amount of protein, 650mg sodium per serving)---on the slider page, I turn the flavor WAY down--almost to zero. So at regular concentration there's hardly any taste, but at 3X concentration it tastes as strong as Gatorade Endurance. At 6X concentration, it tastes as sugary as a gel.
Who told you that you weren't getting enough protein? Protein is one of the harder things to digest.
I use Infinit with very little protein (about 1.2g per serving). If I get that hungry feeling, I just eat something simple like a poptart. It's more or less a bunch of simple sugar and digests easy (for me anyway) and is about 190 calories. I eat one of those and don't take in any more calories for about 40 minutes. It usually subsides the hunger pangs.
My formula looks like this:
Supplement Facts:
Servings Per Container (25)
Serving Size: 2 Scoops (71.46 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 270
Calories from Fat: 0
Total Fat: 0g - 0% of daily value
Saturated Fat: 0g - 0%
Sodium: 500mg - 20%
Potassium: 145mg - 4%
Total Carbohydrate: 66 - 22%
Dietary Fiber: 0g - 0%
Sugars: 13
Protein: 1.11 - 2%
Vitamin A (Beta-Carotene): 0 - 0%
Vitamin C: 0 - 0%
Vitamin E: 0 - 0%
Selenium: 0 - 0%
Calcium: 40 - 4%
Magnesium: 30 - 7%
Ingredients:
Maltodextrin
Dextrose
Sucrose
Citric Acid
Natural Flavors
Sodium chloride
Potassium chloride
Magnesium gluconate
Calcium gluconate
Whey Protein
Isoleucine
Valine
Leucine
Caffeine
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
First, your BMI scares me. Although that doesn't tell anything about body composition, when you drop below 18.5 you are considered underweight. There is a balance between speed and a healthy weight. Just something to think about.
I know some people can use Perpetum, but I know a lot more who can't.
Great info already in the thread. I like, use, and recommend Infinit.
If you need other help, holler!