In the picture above I am about to take a yummy treat out of my bento box. Hurray for good nutrition! I realize that just because I did not have any issues in Vegas does not mean this is always going to work. But for now I have it somewhat figured out and so I want to write it down and remember for next season. And maybe give you some ideas. Only problem: I am already forgetting... I shouldn't have postponed this post for so long...
Starting on Thursday, I put even more emphasis on staying hydrated. In addition to drinking plain water, I took a couple of electrolyte capsules a day. Not a fan of taking pills but I do as Coach says. I prefer MetaSalt because each pill is loaded with the good stuff and that means less pill-swallowing for me.
I also loaded up on electrolyte tablets. Can't have enough of those. Drinking plain water gets old sometimes and I like to spice up my drink with these little fizzies. I would drink a bottle of plain water, then reward myself with a bottle of orange, lime, or peach mix. I don't really care which brand but lime is my favorite flavor.
While setting up my bike on race morning, I had a package of shot bloks. I did not mean to eat the whole thing right then and there but they were so yummy I could not resist. It is like candy!
I also drank a bottle of water and a bottle with Gu Brew before the start. More yummy-ness.
Speaking of yummy-ness: I have realized that I need to like what I drink/eat while racing. No matter how good a product sounds or how many other athletes are using it, if I don't like it, it's not gonna work. For me. Race-day nutrition is so individual and nobody can tell me what will work for me. Unfortunately.
I think First Endurance products are awesome. I like the idea, their product line, and their athletes. I had been training with it all season long. EFS drink on the bike. EFS liquid shot on the run. Good deal. But then I had nutrition issues at the Boise 70.3 and at the MountainMan Half. Clearly a sign that something was wrong. But what? Well, it turns out that I just don't like how EFS tastes. Especially when concentrated. And the liquid shot is too sweet. Makes me gag. Not during training but in a race. In short:
I need to be excited about what I am drinking/eating while racing.
I need to want to take it in. I need to crave it.
So I put a plastic water bottle with GU Brew on my bike. Drink it. Toss it. Grab water at aid stations. My aero bottle had only 2 scoops of EFS in it because I did want some protein on the bike. Grab more water. Dilute it even more.
I was mostly looking forward to be feasting on my mint/chocolate gels. I love anything and everything containing mint and chocolate. Best combination ever! I did have a variety of flavors in my bento box though. Some with caffein some without. I took a gel about every 30 minutes. That's 5 gels in 2.5 hours and then I took one right before getting off the bike. I also sipped on my EFS and took 2 MetaSalt pills every 45 minutes or so. It worked well. Looking back I think I would take in a few more calories since I was getting tired and grumpy during the last 10 miles of the bike. Not good.
I was definitely working the aid stations on the bike and even more so on the run. Coming into a bike aid station, I knew exactly what I wanted: water. I would pick a helper that looked like he/she knew what they were doing, pointed at him/her and then grab the bottle while they were running next to me. Worked every time. No more missed water bottles. I would put it in my empty bottle cage and grab another one. Fill my aero bottle, dump the rest on my head, dispose of the 2nd bottle before the end of the aid station.
I took a little more time going through aid stations on the run. It's so fun! I love being catered to after every mile. It goes something like this: water on my head, more water on my head, ice on my head, ice in my tri top, a few sips of coke, some water, more ice... It's really one of the highlights of a very well-organized race. No surprises!
I pretty much started drinking coke right away. Since it was only a half-marathon, we figured I would be ok. I sort of planned on taking my EFS liquid shot with me but decided otherwise. We had to give them our run gear bags about 24 hours before we would actually need them and I was worried the EFS would go bad in the heat and taste even worse. So, coke it was. No regrets here. I also carried a little tube of electrolytes with me and popped one every couple of miles. I was not too worried about salt because I knew I took in plenty on the bike.
After the race, I consumed a big plate of watermelon, chips, and not much else. Cheese pizza in 95 degrees after a race does not sound good to me! Ice cream at WholeFoods sounded much better! Thanks, Colleen!
There you (and I) have it! Sounds like a whole lot of calories, doesn't it?
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