Long Distance Triathlon: Race Fuelling & Hydration Planning

[@jagrutirathod]

Could you do a nutrition guide for those thinking it will take them closer to 17 hours to finish an IM? Do we eat solid food (like a sandwich) or just stick to gels and bars etc? This would be super helpful!! :)

[@adamfergie87]

The easiest way to find this out is trial and error in practice. No one person is the same so it would be very hard to guide.

[@wmyers4769]

Precision Hydration has been by far the biggest game changer for me as an athlete. I’m a salty sweater and after testing and supplementing with PH it’s a whole new world

[@danmartin9086]

Save yourself some cash and use sugar and salt instead rather than wasting money on 20 gels each IR

[@wmyers4769]

@@danmartin9086 it’s not a waste I promise, this isn’t my first rodeo.

[@scotttindal9893]

Great job Andy explaining this difficult topic. Fuelin is proud to work with Andy and the Precision Fuel & Hydration team to bring personalised nutrition programs for Ironman, and 70.3 athletes. Syncs with Training peaks, Todays Plan and Final Surge!!

[@lauramorris4632]

Extremely helpful video! This compiled a ton of info I had to read and gather from various sources and answered some burning questions i had. Thanks GTN.

[@chrisstrider]

Triathlon training and racing is an experiment

[@Ghyrtan]

Thanks! Great video! Trying to learn as much as I can about nutrition before my first IM on Aug 21st. Of course, I'm validating with a specialist nutritionist just to make sure I nail the nutrition plan. Not simple at all, even in training!

[@jlsabinas8578]

I did not do nutrition well at all when I did my first few Ironmans and it amazed me how in the days after the race, despite eating whatever, I'd still lose weight.

[@markbphilip]

I stepped up from sprint to Olympic distance this year. As part of that I planned having energy bar on the bike, I cut it up into small chunks and popped into my bento box. On the ride I just coundn't eat! I think where I was pushing hard it made eating harder. Is part of the technique to slow down a little to make eating easier?

[@miguelsaez340]

The information is priceless but I can’t avoid hearing a seagull

[@p.mike8618]

From my experience, i begin to have strong aversions to gels and energy bars towards the late stages of a race. What would you suggest?

[@OmahaTonyG]

By the end of my last marathon I had to force myself to swallow the gel because it was absolutely not something I wanted to eat.

[@nightsfalling]

I try to swallow the gel and then drink just regular water to rinse the sweet flavor on my mouth.

[@jamiefuhrman403]

Salty snacks like peanuts can work

[@Thomas-qy4dm]

Coke at every aid station

[@79devo]

@@Thomas-qy4dm and inbetween 👌🏻

[@alisontriathlonlover]

Very interesting, thanks 👍

[@sebh670]

Really liked the video so I did the little questionnaire and ordered a personalised pack and some goodies. I have one question though: why can you only get the carb drinks in powder pack but never the "just electrolyte" ones, they seem to be only available in tab-tubes? No matter what brand. Can't be just about "dosage" ...

[@o0oSM00THo0o]

I suggest keep looking because I've seen plenty of brands offer powdered electrolyes

[@precisionfandh]

We do have a powder version of our PH electrolyte drink mixes (all-natural electrolyte powders on the website). They're in single serve packets not large bags at the moment simply to keep the dosing simple and because a lot of athletes like to carry extra packets with them and refill on the move

[@nightsfalling]

The Martin gels that are given at the Ironman races don't work with me caffeinated or not. I have to carry my behold nutrition. I hear other athletes have the same problem. I tried them in training but could not get used to them.

[@WittyTzipporah]

"It's pretty hard to eat that even when you're not racing an IronMan" ... paging @Erik the Electric here 🤣 GTN should really collab with him

[@str8shooter-talk116]

Ha! I was just thinking the same thing! Let’s not rattle Erik’s cage here…he may take the “hood my beer and watch this” approach! 😂

[@OmahaTonyG]

I believe he is doing Ironman Knoxville.

[@WittyTzipporah]

Is he? That'll be great. I hope he has a better experience than last time, someone who was mad about the race through thumbtacks on the bike course and he had multiple flats.

[@The_BigBookClub]

This is very interesting. Could you provide details or a recommendation for diabetics, given the difficulty of loading with energy gels… ? I’m sure there is a lot of us who can benefit from that. Thanks!

[@precisionfandh]

Thanks for the question Santiago. Before getting into the detail it’s important to highlight the fact that we are not medical professionals so what follows cannot be taken as medical advice. You should definitely consult with your doctor before making any changes to your fuelling strategies. With that in mind, there are a couple of things we’ve picked up on working with or talking to diabetic athletes in the past that may be useful for us to pass on. Firstly; during the carb loading phase before a race - when you’re trying to top up your muscle and liver glycogen - it’s important to take extra care due to the combined effect that tapering down your exercise regime (something that I’m sure you’re aware has a direct effect on blood glucose regulation) and eating more carbohydrate-rich foods can have. This has the potential to cause more extreme fluctuations in blood sugar (particularly hypo’s) than you’d normally see, especially at night. Secondly; when racing many diabetic athletes we’ve talked to have said they are able to fuel in a pretty similar way to non-diabetics (i.e. aiming for an appropriate grams per hour of carbs based on the duration and intensity of activity from sources like gels) as the carbohydrates will be utilised very quickly and efficiently to maintain high blood glucose availability without causing large spikes and drops. That being said, there is always a level of individual variation in blood glucose response to exercise and fuelling so some personal experimentation is usually necessary to get this right. Real-time glucose monitoring could be a helpful tool in this area and one that is getting more readily available with products like the Abbot Libre and Supersapiens sensors that I’m sure you’ll have seen on the market. We hope that helps somewhat and you are able to start to get your own fuelling routine optimised.

[@The_BigBookClub]

@@precisionfandh thank you for your reply and great insights. I’m actually doing a 6 day XC race this week and everyday has been different (in terms of blood glucose levels) despite having the same eating plan. It will certainly be useful to use real time monitors. I will do that next time!

[@precisionfandh]

@@The_BigBookClub No problem, it's a super interesting topic, although the huge amount of individual variation makes it pretty complicated. Best of luck for the rest of the big week in the saddle!

[@Hillzy96]

Does anyone know when Fraser left GTN and why? Or has he not left?

[@bikeanddogtripsvirtualcycling]

someone forgot to feed the gulls. heard them a few times 🤣🤣

[@nagarajbathada29]

Hi I’m a cardiac and diabetic person I’ve 85kgs of weight with a 164 cm height I need to lose my weight and belly fat too Daily I’m doing 12 minutes of slow running 5 minutes of walking like 3 sets doing My trainer is insisting me to do 45 minutes of workout at gym other than this running with walking Is it need to do that I can get 90 minutes for my morning workout, is that slow running with walking is enough me to lose weight and fit to be Please suggest me Thank you

[@lisajenkins7692]

Just started the swim bike combo as part of my training and well, how do you deal with the shoulder burn post swim while biking? My first time experiencing it it was excruciating. Any advice for training to not experience this on race day? I should note my bike is a hybrid road bike with flat bars and not a TT bike or a bike equipped with aero bars. #coachescorner

[@ngdawgs1]

Hi Lisa. Just sharing my experience. This is my 2nd year doing triathlons. Learned most of my skills through GTN. I had similar issues with my shoulders at the beginning until I saw a GTN vid that talked about crossing over the center line on entry during the swim stroke. That puts a lot of strain on the shoulders. I widen my entry and focused on proper form, so the lats and core (bigger muscles) are doing the heavy lifting instead of just the shoulder. This has solved my shoulder issues and increased my speed. Of course.. one of many things that could be causing your issue, but maybe a place to start. Hope this helps and good luck on you Tri journey 🤙🏽.

[@lisajenkins7692]

@@ngdawgs1 thanks for sharing. I went to find the vid you mentioned and am now practicing some of the drills. Guess I didn't notice I was doing that. Or had an issue on that particular day or something. Anyway, hopefully will try it (swim + bike) again next weekend. Wish me luck!

[@ngdawgs1]

@@lisajenkins7692 good luck 🤙🏽. Fun journey ahead. The more and more you watch GTN vids, the more you find the things you are doing wrong and how to correct them. They pretty much have a vid for every situation.

[@jamiefuhrman403]

How far can front loading get you? I don’t like to eat much on the run but wondering how long I can reasonably expect to be sustained by fueling on the bike.

[@precisionfandh]

Great question Jamie. Loading up your muscle and liver glycogen can be very effective for races under 2hrs but when you race over ~5hrs you really want to start fueling as early as possible as you will always be fighting a losing battle with energy out vs. energy in and holding off on the fuel early in the race can bite you in the butt in the latter stages

[@jamiefuhrman403]

@@precisionfandh thanks for the response! Was more asking about front loading fuel (more on bike to compensate for less on upcoming run) rather than delaying if you have further insight there?

[@precisionfandh]

@@jamiefuhrman403 ah, my mistake! We see athletes doing this more and more but exactly how far it can take you is specific to your trained, and goal, carb intake. I.e., if you're aiming for a 70g/hr average across the bike and run, and can stomach 100g per hour on the bike, you could take ~40-50g on the run (depending on how long the bike and run take but you get the gist). For a 70.3 this might mean you take as little as 1, maybe 2, gels on the run but in a full IM it will still leave you with quite a bit of fueling to do on the run. Does that help?

[@jamiefuhrman403]

@@precisionfandh That's great, thank you so much. I've enjoyed reading about you guys, particularly your race reports from the pros.

[@precisionfandh]

@@jamiefuhrman403 Thanks, that means a lot. Don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything else we can ever help with. Train hard 🤘

[@osmandmrtr7]

what about protein?

[@savagepro9060]

Very interesting video AFTER watching --->>> What Do Pro Triathletes Eat In A Day: With Sarah Crowley!

[@youngy76]

I sampled baby food pouches on my 70.3 ....never again it went straight through me

[@MrEsPlace]

Coffee and extreme caffeine "stimulates" my guts, guaranteed. I've heard people talk about putting coffee or energy drinks in their Camelbaks. That's BEGGING for trouble, to me.

[@michelleharnett1351]

It's all about get used to it in training.

[@lexington476]

So does that mean I can eat a beef & bean burrito on the bike 😀?

[@stephenneal23]

You sure can, but you'll be wearing it on the run.

[@lexington476]

@@stephenneal23 😀.

[@precisionfandh]

Maybe....

[@lexington476]

@@precisionfandh 🥰 imagine the glory.