Nutrition Crisis....

Okay not in the real sense as in world famine or what should I eat...but in fueling for Kona!  In my best IM ever I had 1100 calories in one bottle- highly concentrated with lines 6 lines striped around the bottle.  Every 30 minutes I took a swig and that was approx 100 calories and on the hour made sure I drank to the appropriate line.  200K an hour and then at special needs I ate an entire PB Honey sandwich and ran  well and had my best IM to date. That was IM CdA 2009.

Okay so next race was Kona 2009....same nutrition plan BUT it was 100 million degrees, I was sick and my HR was hovering at 165 vs 140-145.  I stuck to my nutrition plan but someplace after the turn around in Havi I puked up what seemed like gallons of Preterm and Carbo Pro.   And lets just say the race went downhill from there.  Could not keep anything down and hit the pavement on the run...literally.

So I figure that was a fluke due to weather, sickness and the Queen K I made fun of when I saw her  photo in a Hotel.  I jinxed my race- island lore is for real.

Oceanside - same plan for for a 1/2 and had major stomach issues on the run!  Okay something is not right.  Hired a nutritionist who told me the osmolality of a highly concentrated drink was the issue. I was not getting enough water down with the intense calories and that was my issue.  Hmmmmm okay.

IM SG- filled my speed fill + one bottle with 60 oz of Infinit (special blend for my sweat rate and personal issues- how the figure that out online I am not really sure- but just go with it)   That was all fine and well but come special needs, which was on a descent (thank you very much) so I had to slam on my breaks and slow down and they handed me my bag which really should have been a roller bag on wheels as it has 3x24 oz of Infinit.   The idea of filling the speed fill and dropping the other bottles in my rear cages seemed doable but it was not.  So after peeing on the bike to save time I am now stopping to refill and manage my luggage.  Argh! And I still had to use the porta pottie on the run.  Issue NOT solved.

So here we are 8 weeks away and I am having a dilemma.  I was never able to take Gatorade on other IM courses as it does not stay in my body long enough (you get the picture)  but now Power Bar has a new drink Perform that they are using on all the courses.  So I learned that everyone doing at 2010 IM was send a case of Power Bar Perform to train with before their race- very cool!  Well everyone racing an IM unless your IM happens to be Kona- WTF.   So I have been meaning to order some to give it a try, but thanks to super fast Beth  who is on the Power Bar Elite Team I have some coming to give it a try.

Assuming it work....then I have to figure out how much to drink an hour to get the right number of calories.  Seems easy right- well sure it is sitting in your office but 2-3 hours into a 10+ hour race well let's just say the math skills start to slip.  I want to take off the rear cages and just use the speed fill.   Once I get the Perform I will have to start the training rides that simulate race nutrition to see if it works.

The good news is that I think I am more metabolically efficient!  Based on what you ask?  Well I use to take in and need 230-250k hour on long rides ( if I wanted to run well off the bike) and now I am taking in 150 and feeling great.  I have stuck with the wheat free and simple carb free lifestyle and it seems to work just fine.  The goal of that is if I need less calories per hour that will reduce my risk of gastro upset during Ironman.

I have been training with bananas and Cliff Shot Roks  which are low in carbs and high in protein and it works great.  My body respond well, I love the Shot Roks but well cannot imagine juggling the bags and eating them in the heat. So I have to go back to liquid as I test out the Perform.  My back up plan maybe to tape 9 GU Rocktane to my top tube take one every 45 minutes. But that too will require testing as I have never had that many and that too may give me issues.  

So that is what I am thinking about today!