NicoleInstead of boring everyone on my personal blog with my race nutrition details, I thought my coaching blog would be a more appropriate place for this information.
Nutrition details for Boulder 70.3
I’ve been using Generation UCAN as my primary source of fuel during my training so today I put it to test in a real race. The nitty gritty….
Day Before
The day before I tried to eat as normally as possible and not let myself get too hungry. I had a chocolate UCAN prior to my “race prep” bike workout. After the ride I had yogurt with banana and peanut butter. I did a short run a bit after this. On the way to Boulder I stopped at Chick-fil-A and got a char-grilled chicken wrap. At the expo I was a little hungry and didn’t have a snack with me, so I grabbed a few PowerBar Bites. (I’ve had them before and know they are fine for me). Before dinner I was still a little hungry so I had a packed of Justin’s Nut Butter – honey peanut. Then dinner was a lot of water with salmon, rice and veggies (broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini). And a couple garlic knots because they sounded oh-so good!
Race Day!
Pre-race nutrition:
3:50am – wake up. had ~10oz water while getting ready.
4:45am one packet of Chocolate Generation UCAN in about 16oz water, a banana, and a packet of Justin’s Maple Almond Nut Butter. (total cals, ~500)
6:50am on packet Cran-Raz UCAN in about 8oz water. (~130 cal)
Nutrition on the bike: One bottle filled with a mix of two packets of Generation UCAN – one chocolate and one Cran-Raz. Oh YUM! This is a good combo!! Mixed in about 16oz of water (was in an 18oz water bottle). I took a few sips about every 15-20 minutes during the race. I also had a broken clif bar (peanut toffee buzz) and only took one bite when my stomach started to growl on the 2nd lap.
Total calories on the bike: about 300, as I didn’t quite finish the UCAN.
Hydration/electrolytes on the bike: On the bike I started with the fluid in the UCAN, about 22oz in my aerodrink in which I put 2 tablets of Endurolyte Fizz, and another 22oz bottle of plain water. At about mile 22 (the aid station at the out-and-back leg) I refilled the aero drink with water and 2 more Endurolyte Fizz tabs. I got water again at mile 40 in the aerodrink to top it off, filled about half of it. Only drank about a third of the plain water. Some of it I used to cool myself off since it was hot out. The UCAN also contains sodium and potassium.
Total fluid consumed: About 70oz.
Bike nutrition/hydration comments: Except for a bit of a growling stomach, which subsided after I ate the piece of clif bar, I felt really good. Your legs do get tired when you average about 20mph over 56 miles, but energy was good! If we add swim, t1 + bike time, that’s just over 3 hours and 30 minutes. I haven’t calculated my fluid loss rate in the extreme heat, but it’s probably at least 20oz/hr. So if my estimations are correct (hard to really know exactly when topping off an aerodrink system), I did consume enough fluid. But considering the heat of the day, I maybe could have consumed a little more.
Nutrition on the run:
In T2 I grabbed a pre-made flask of Chocolate UCAN in gel format. This was actually easy to carry and put in a pocket when needed). I sipped at this every other aid station (~120 cal) and almost 2 Hammer Gels (~140 cal) – one chocolate, one espresso.
Hydration on the run: I’m estimating about 3oz at about 10 aid stations, so approimately 30oz. Water only.
Electrolytes on the run: I’m estimating I went through 20 endurolytes spaced fairly evenly across the entired course, about 2-3 at a time at about. I still need to do the calculation on total electrolytes consumed.
Run nutrition/hydration comments: Since I did feel a bit “zapped” and needed the gels as a pick-me up, I probably needed a few more calories on the bike. Probably eating more of the clif bar early on to keep the growling stomach at bay would have been plenty. I probably lost more than 20oz/hr on the run so I was definitely lost way more fluid than I consumed. And the slight feeling of having pee went away (except for when I dumped cold water/ice on me to keep cool at the aid stations!)
Total calories during the race: approximately 600 (rounding up if my run estimates are wrong). Wow. Not a lot – around the 100 calories/hour. I probably could have used a few more on the bike, maybe 150 more to set up a stronger run. But except for perhaps swallowing a bit of air, no GI issues what so ever. I was definitely ready to eat once I was finished, and even though I couldn’t eat a lot, I could eat. The last time I did this race in the heat it took me quite a while to be ready to put something solid down. And several other racers were sitting in the shade with that “don’t talk about food” look. So success there. Just need a few more calories. I was pretty dehydrated (after 3 bottles of water, I still didn’t have to pee.) Forced myself before the drive home and heading home I drank another liter of water. Then a couple more 16oz bottles before bed.
Race Splits: swim: 45:21, bike 2:49:01, run 2:10:15
Overall lessons learned – A few more calories per hour on the bike, and when it’s hot, fluids and electrolytes as well. I’m going to have to play with this in the upcoming months getting ready for IMAZ so I have it nailed down!
Full race report here: http://bananadeath.blogspot.com
Nicole
