Those who use Infinit on the bike and NOT the run...

trigirl1203

While swimming today, I was thinking about how great discovering Infinit was-it really simplifies so much when out riding.  No more salt pills, gu wrappers, bars, etc.  Then I got to evaluating my run nutrition- currently, on the IM course, I go with a gu every 3 miles (30ish min) and water...extra salt if its hot, coke later on.  Last year at IMWI was my first year using Infinit on the bike-by mile 13 or so, my stomach was not agreeing with me.  Now while I realize this is probably way to late in the game to change up my run nutrition plan (IMLP is about a month away) I'm wondering if the Infinit on the bike/gu&water run plan is not a great idea.  I've read up on many nutrition experiences from athletes within EN-but I'm curious as to who else does a similar plan and if you have any GI distress from going from all Infinit to the gu/water plan.  The gu/water works great for me on my long runs-I do a gu every 3 miles for all long runs to simulate race day-and did it for my 1st RR-but at IMWI-the GI distress didn't start until much later than mile 6.  Again-I realize I should've tweaked this a few months ago-but of course I didn't start putting too much thought into it until now (when the bib numbers were posted )

Any experiences/thoughts/advice on this would be great.  Again, I have one last long run and my 2nd RR to tweak something...Thanks!

Bruce Thompson

@ lauren - I can't comment about Gu/water on the run for an IM, but I have used that combo successfully for an open marathon.  For an IM, I have 2 formulas of Infinit.  Bike has 283 calories, 424 mg of sodium, 124 mg of potassium, 4g protein per hour.  Run formula has 240 calories, same amount of salt & potassium, no protein and small amount of caffiene.  This works great for me (I weight 162 lbs).  Simple and I have no GI problems on the IM run. 

My only suggestion is that you may need to take in more water when you take in a gu.  Help dilute it slightly.  Hope this helps.  Good luck @ IMLP.

Peter Greagg

Lauren x2 what Bruce said. I try and have about 250 mls of water (a cup) with each gu which seems to work for me — I race around 144 ibs)

John Withrow

Lauren, I do Infinit only on the bike. The gu's also tend to make me sick. I recently switched to the Infinit Napalm for the run and had a great race with no GI issues. Check out the race report I recently posted or the Napalm discussion in the Nutrition forum. Might be an option for you.

Scott Alexander

I do inifinit on the bike (usually less than 200cals/hour, less than full strength for my formula), and gel/water on the run (currently using Accel Gels squirted into a flask, until I run out of them or they expire). At the halfway point on the run, IMO, there's NOTHING that functions "correctly" (body, GI tract, etc), so it's just a matter of putting up with it long enough to get you to the finish line.

Beth_S

I did Infinit on bike Other for run for IMWI 2010. It worked out quite well. The only word of caution is that gels seemed like a horrid idea once I actually got to the run, even though they worked beautifully in training and on race rehearsals: Perform became my new best friend.

Coach Patrick

Great feedback here, esp the fact that on race day your PLAN faces REALITY and you have to do whatever it takes to get fueled and keep moving.

I personally use Powerbar Gels as I find them so much easier to digest than Gus.

I think the inifinIT plan is hard because we don't know how much water you are taking in over time...and as I mentioned, water is only there to dilute your infinIT, it's relatively useless otherwise....but since you are on infinIT, I suggest that you update your plan as follows:

Option 1: Gel + Water on the run, but you are having 1 cup of perform at the other aid stations. So #1 = Perform, #2 = Perform, #3 = Gel+Water, Repeat. At some point you'll do more coke / broth instead of the other stuff, but you get the idea.

Option 2: Get the Infinit Gel product and do the above, but with infinIT stuff as that might work better.

Either way, be ready for problems across the board....know that a handful of pretzels is the same as gel, and know that early calories on the run are better than later ones!!!

trigirl1203

Thanks all for the feedback-Several years ago I remember doing that much sports drink (that was when it was gatorade, not perform on the run) at nearly every aid station and I always had a sloshy feeling in my stomach. Is there a way to avoid that?

Also-I have one last long run (2.5 hours) next week-would it be overkill to try that strategy (#1-Perform, #2=Perform, #3 Gel/water) on that long run? Or recommended? Thanks again for the feedback!

dotcatlin

I do infinit on the bike and gels on the run. I do a concentrated version of infinit and chase with water. I've tested for a long time, but it's basically 2 swigs of infinit and 10 sips of water from my speedfil. on the run i do a gel every 30 and water, but a full cup, and i take ANOTHER cup and put that on my head/body--so don't be taking half the cup and then using the rest of the cup to get the stickiness off or douse yourself, ya know? I've only had one volunteer look at me and say, "Two?!" I said, "Yes, please. GIVE IT TO ME!!!"

jwpicciotto

Lauren to pile on to what Coach P said. You shouldn't have problem switching when you get to the run. However, be mindful of what you are taking down. The Gu's have some electrolytes, but I am not sure how much by product. You will want to look at this and suppliment as necessary. This is why Coach P, mixes in the Perform and Chicken Soup. Also, you will have to stay on top of you water intake. Taking down a Gu and then a swig of water is a recipe for GI issues, you will need to make sure that you balance it with enough fluid at the time of ingestion.

selinah

I am a huge Infinit fan - use it exclusively on the bike and what worked great for me @ CdA a couple weeks ago was to use it on the 1st loop of the run and then I ditched my fuel belt (with friends en route) and switched to water and coke from the aid stations. I hate gels of any description with an absolute passion - the taste, the texture, you name it, so this approach worked great for me - 1st time ever during an IM (or marathon for that matter!) I didn't have to porta potty at all