Ironman Nutrition Plan

Training
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Bumping this thread as probably the most appropriate.

Following on from the Wales thread, I keep getting nutrition wrong and really need to address it if I’m to improve my times. May I ask for some advice please?

I’ve read a fair bit about it and each time think I have a decent plan and each time I obviously don’t. I guess my only question right now is, how do people test their nutrition plans? What sort of sessions/results do you do in training that provides confidence you have it sorted?

Picking up on @Matthew_Spooner’s point (thanks Matt) about hyponatremia, my fluids for Wales were:

Friday/Saturday, sipping 1 x 700ml water with High5 electrolyte tab plus general daily fluids.

Race day. Pre-race, 500ml of water with High5 tab plus 1 coffee with breakfast. I started on the bike with 700ml of water and High5 tab in my bta bottle and 2 x 500ml Maurten 320 mix. From aid stations I picked up 2 water bottles that I added 320 mix into and 1 water bottle that I put in my bta bottle. I had half a bta and half a 700ml bottle left so that all calculates to 3.1 litres over the 8 hours bike leg with only 350ml being plain water without any form of electrolyte.

That doesn’t seem excessive considering the weather and sweat rate? If anything, possibly dehydration? Looking at some bike photos, I already had salt on my trisuit before the run.

I took on 80g of carbs each hour throughout the bike (the exception being the last hour when I had just 40g from a gel) and that felt fine at the time. Apart from the cramp in my right quad, I was feeling great until the run. My weight is 74.8kg. It’s usually ~70kg but a combination of greedy boy and not racing for a while meant it’s crept up a bit. I didn’t want to cut calories this year as I was already struggling for energy so took the weight penalty hit instead. I’m 1.78m.

So I guess my other two questions are, once I was in a nutrition hole was there anything I could have done to recover it? I also did everything possible not to be sick as I didn’t want to lose further fluids. Good or bad decision?

I was seriously dehydrated by the end though once I couldn’t consume anything on the run. The next morning at breakfast I discovered I’d cracked my inner cheeks, tongue and roof of my mouth through dryness. It also took until Thursday to feel properly hydrated and that’s with drinking electrolytes for a few days.

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203

Quick reply, I was told that it’s worth putting a bit of salt in your bottle if possible.

And have a dioralyte the day before if possible.

FWIW I had a bottle at special needs with a fizzy vitamin tablet and another hydration sachet which I necked.

Having said that my day didn’t go well and I don’t usually suffer from salt loss.

Hyponatraemia is usually more deadly than dehydration as the body isn’t aware from what I’ve read, whereas with dehydration you’ll probably blackout first.

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Somebody once said Ironman is a bit of a science experiment - they had nutrition clearly in mind when they said it.

Long runs and long rides are good and long bricks certify it.

I’ve varied each year basically, most years I’ve fuelled my bike sessions as they were all indoor quality. Long runs I’ve tended to do high5 gels every 20mins as prescribed, but after experience one every 30mins suits me better. This year 70g sugar carbs, pinch of salt and half a lemon in a 750ml bidon on the trainer per hour. Sometimes I use protein shake recoveries, depending on how much I’m eating and training that day.

I suppose that’s not prescriptive enough to be directly useful.

Race day I take two bottles at every station - Ideally one electrolyte and one coke/powerade, neck one and sip the other. I grab bars if I can but I think I prefer liquid carbs.

On the run repeat training, one gel every half hour. Electrolytes in the mouth, cup of water to the head.

The reason I’m not caked in salt these days is not because Ive sorted my nutrition, it’s because I pour water over my head at every station :grinning:

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I tend to carry these around if its likely to be a sweat fest. The saltiness also breaks up the sweetness of gels and such too.

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I’d be about double that. Maybe more.

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I normally have salt caps but couldn’t get any this time. One of the downsides of where I live you can’t always get quick deliveries and by the time I remembered I needed to buy them it was too late.

Thanks @joex. Lots of food for thought there (sorry). Clearly I haven’t taken nutrition seriously enough so something to focus on.

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208

I started the bike with 3L of fluids - all with Maurten 320 - so 6x sachets pre mixed.
At each feed station (6x) I grabbed a bottle of water that I drank and chucked at the end of the feed station - I consumed around 3L water (possibly a little more)
At the end of the bike I had no fluids left on the bike
With a pretty high degree of accuracy I can say that I consumed 1920 calories and 6L fluids on the bike - took me 6 hours to complete the bike.
I did not consumer any salt of electrolytes

Near the start of the run I had a pee, was pretty clear, so I knew I was hydrated well.

I was drinking 1L fluid per hour, while @bob was drinking under 400ml per hour. Your numbers would point to dehydration

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209

Thanks, that makes (obvious) sense. I did make a mistake with picking up fluids this time but I’m not sure I still would have consumed enough. I don’t think I’ve ever considered a fluid plan, I’m usually focused on food. That’s a big improvement I can make.

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Cycling through the Balkans and Greece in 40 degree+ heat for 10 days really helped my to tighten up my hydration plan. I don’t think that in the past, even in Kona, that I consumed as much fluid on the bike. Its a good example that no matter how long we have been doing this sport for, there are always areas to improve

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