nutrition in a sprint - Triathlon Week

05-13-2005, 10:13 PM

I am doing my first tri on Sun and need help. First off I am competing I am
completing.

What and when should I eat the night before?

I know I should eat a light breakfast a couple of hours ahead of the race
but when should I have fluids during the race and when should I have food,
if any?

Should I have a 50/50 mix of accelerade and water on the bike?

Some folks say I should have a bottle of water my 1st km or so the run, how
can I do this without losing a water bottle (they're getting expensive)?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Brian

05-13-2005, 10:29 PM

"B" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in news:BVehe.1344295$8l.926486@pd7tw1no:

> I am doing my first tri on Sun and need help. First off I am competing
> I am completing.
>
> What and when should I eat the night before?
>
> I know I should eat a light breakfast a couple of hours ahead of the
> race but when should I have fluids during the race and when should I
> have food, if any?
>
> Should I have a 50/50 mix of accelerade and water on the bike?
>
> Some folks say I should have a bottle of water my 1st km or so the
> run, how can I do this without losing a water bottle (they're getting
> expensive)?
>
> Any and all help is appreciated.
>
> Brian
>
>
>

What are the distances?

05-14-2005, 12:46 AM

> but when should I have fluids during the race and when should I have food,
> if any?

I don't know what your body requires.

For a sprint I would drink a bottle of sports drink:
1) an hour or two before the race

and another bottle (or 1.5 bottles) over the rest of the race broken
down as follows:
2) 10 minutes before the swim
3) in every transition
4) on the bike
5) and on the run.

> Should I have a 50/50 mix of accelerade and water on the bike?

You say that you are doing a sprint, so you may not need very much.

I like to have a scoop of Accerade per water bottle, but I may not drink
an entire water bottle's worth on the bike in a sprint. I may try to
drink an entire water bottle's worth of accerade sometime between the
transition just after the swim and just before the run.

> Some folks say I should have a bottle of water my 1st km or so the run, how
> can I do this without losing a water bottle (they're getting expensive)?

You can get water bottles that strap onto your hips at many running
stores, try the Running Room online if you can not find one in your area.

Your race may not have liquids available, and even if there are liquids
availalbe they may not always be made available where you need to drink,
and they may be offering something that you do not want to drink.
Therefore a strap on water bottle is a nice choice.

For instance you may like to drink Accelerade but be offered only water
or Gatorade. Try and find out what product will be available on the
course and use this product before the race to see how you will respond.
A friend of mine could not stomach the sugar free low carb drink offered
at a recent race and there was no water available so he didn't drink
anything at all and suffered greatly.

A race that I was recently in did not have sanitation in the porta
potties but had volunteers handing out liquids at these porta potty
stops. It really turns me off to see volunteers put their fingers in the
glasses and I would rather skip the drinks in this case. I sometimes see
volunteers use gloves and this may or may not be more sanitary depending
on their use. I have worked at aid stations and I know from experience
of watching other volunteers that these aid stations are not always as
sanitary as I would like them to be.

Good luck.

05-14-2005, 05:46 AM

On Sat, 14 May 2005 06:46:05 GMT, Triathlete
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

> A friend of mine could not stomach the
> sugar free low carb drink offered
> at a recent race

Sugar free low carb drink? What and where was that?

JT

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05-14-2005, 12:42 PM

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
> On Sat, 14 May 2005 06:46:05 GMT, Triathlete
> <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>A friend of mine could not stomach the
>>sugar free low carb drink offered
>>at a recent race
>
>
> Sugar free low carb drink? What and where was that?

I want to say that it is Ultima, because I know that to be free of sugar
but it does have carbs. I will have to ask.

Would you drink something sugar free and low carb? My preference is the
exact opposite when I am competing.

05-16-2005, 04:12 PM

metallifried wrote:
> Water is sugar free and low carb, so yes.
>
> Given the choice between that and nothing, I would take that any day of
> the week.

I agree with you.
I can't believe he didn't drink anything either.

05-16-2005, 08:16 PM

In article <IErhe.1351003$8l.589143@pd7tw1no>,
Triathlete <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>
> I want to say that it is Ultima, because I know that to be free of sugar
> but it does have carbs. I will have to ask.
>

Yecch! Ultima is awful.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

05-16-2005, 11:35 PM

Harold Buck wrote:

> In article <IErhe.1351003$8l.589143@pd7tw1no>,
> Triathlete <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>
>>I want to say that it is Ultima, because I know that to be free of sugar
>>but it does have carbs. I will have to ask.
>>
>
>
>
> Yecch! Ultima is awful.

I know, I know!
I bought it, tasted it, and gave the rest away.

05-17-2005, 06:05 AM

Triathlete <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>Harold Buck wrote:
>
>> In article <IErhe.1351003$8l.589143@pd7tw1no>,
>> Triathlete <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I want to say that it is Ultima, because I know that to be free of sugar
>>>but it does have carbs. I will have to ask.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Yecch! Ultima is awful.
>
>I know, I know!
>I bought it, tasted it, and gave the rest away.

Fred Sommers used it at The Great Floridian one year. I don't know how
anyone could stomach that stuff. (Indeed, most didn't.) The forum
really blasted it after the race.

On the current subject, I'm not sure a sprint tri lasts long enough to
worry about nutrition except for pre-race. Hydration with water is all
I consider.

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"

05-17-2005, 06:20 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
Mike Tennent <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>
> On the current subject, I'm not sure a sprint tri lasts long enough to
> worry about nutrition except for pre-race. Hydration with water is all
> I consider.
>

People often point out that if you use sports drink, it tastes better,
so you're likely to drink more. For me, I think that alone makes a
difference.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

05-19-2005, 06:43 AM

Harold Buck <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
> Mike Tennent <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>>
>> On the current subject, I'm not sure a sprint tri lasts long enough to
>> worry about nutrition except for pre-race. Hydration with water is all
>> I consider.
>>
>
>People often point out that if you use sports drink, it tastes better,
>so you're likely to drink more. For me, I think that alone makes a
>difference.
>

I guess it's a personal preference thing. I'll drink water much more
readily than Gator-whatever. None of it can be described as tasty. <g>

And though we're talking about sprints, I've found that on an IM, I
will drink much more from my Airstream if there's water in it than I
do if there's Gator-whatever in it. My last two I've switched to water
in the Airstream, sports drink in the bottle cage and that has helped
forestall the dehydration I've typically experienced.

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"