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ironman training bike nutrition.

robin sarnerrobin sarner
in General Training Discussions

Now that i'm into the ironman prep, am back to ironman nutrition on the bike.

Perpeteum works well for me.

Last season I tried to do 400 cals/hour training and racing.  (I am 185 lbs).   Did tolerate this ok.  

Reading EN materials, lower amounts are recommended.   So for the long bikes this weekend, I tried to diall back to 300 cals/hour.  

Had some problems getting the bikes done (but did).  

Mainly mental as I was all indoors?           Or too little nutrition?

Should I go back to the big man 400 cals/hour?

Comments

  • GMAN 19030GMAN 19030
    Try the 300 cals/hour again next week and see how it feels. There could have been other factors in play other than nutrition that affected the quality of the ride.
  • kurshingkurshing
    I would recommend working your way down towards the recommended amounts. If it was tough at 300 this weekend, then do 300 the following weekend and start conditioning yourself.

    Yeah, riding inside like that HAS to mentally beat you up! That is SO much trainer time, I can't even imagine that!
  • mattsullmattsull

    Also keep in mind that 300 cal/hr is a suggestion. If 400 works for you and you tolerate it well, that's ok. That being said, I would continue to experiment with less.

  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    What Stephen said. It's not so much a matter of conditions, it's trying out a plan (200-300cals/hr) that's worked for many, many people. If you do find out that you "need" more, that's fine, but try it our way first. And on race day HIGHLY recommend you think less is more. Don't suck down cals because you're bored or something. I've managed hundreds, thousands of IM finishers and I can't think of a single legimate bonk -- poor performance caused by too few cals. I can think of many folks who've gotten into trouble cuz they ate too much. 

  • GMAN 19030GMAN 19030
    Damn straight, Rich. I ended up vomiting 50 times and in the hospital for 9 hours from eating too much at a 70.3. The 9 hours didn't count med tent time at the race site either. Still crossed the finish line in 6:20 after walking and barfing half the run. Apparently, 600-700 calories/hour on the hottest day of the year up to that point was too much (no, that wasn't a typo).

    Tough lesson learned that day.
  • Tom GlynnTom Glynn
    Also, don't confuse hydration with calorie needs. Sitting on your trainer indoors may cause a lot of sweat loss. Drink the 300 calories and have water the rest of the time. See what happens.
  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    I'm not sure what "had some problems" on the bike means. Low energy? GI distress?
  • robin sarnerrobin sarner

    Yes low energy.

    Thanks all.  Will try at lower calories for a bit.

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Something else to consider, as a bigger guy you might have the gut for more caloric bandwidth (like you can eat a chicken in a single sitting if you want, so too can you take in 400-500 cals) but you might not actually _need_ it to race. I am 6'2" and 185 on race day...and I used to do 400+ cals/hour, now down to 250 and am fine (and faster). That said, I DO eat a pint of ben and jerry's the night before race day and many beers after.... image
  • robin sarnerrobin sarner

    @ coach.

    Ok.  thanks for the same sized advice.

    Though not sure about the pre-race icecream.    image

  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    As CoachP said, since you are bigger, you may be able to handle more calories. There is at least one person in the haus that can handle 700+ cals/hour.

    It could be the Perpetum. I know several people who have developed an intolerance over time to it. Just another thought.
  • kurshingkurshing
    I was playing around with different nutrition options, and I wondered...has anyone ever used fruit snacks as part of their bike nutrition? They look like they have 10 kcal/morsal, and they look to be easy to use.

    In fact, the nutrition table on themm looks similar to Hammer Gel.

    Thoughts?
  • jwpicciottojwpicciotto
    One caution with the fruit snacks is to verify the amount of fiber in them. I went to a training camp one time and a guy's kid kept eating the raisins that the coach had in his van for a quick energy boost for the cyclist. He ate a lot of raisins. He did not have a happy ride home that night after the camp.
  • NortonNorton
    I'm well aware that I'm at one end of the bell curve, but I've found repeatedly that at IM pace (training and racing) I need 350-400 cal/hour or I fall apart. So my advice is to know thyself. Try out different combinations and find what works for you. The EN guidelines works for most folks, no doubt.
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