I've had quite a few questions in regards to my race day nutrition from Hawaii...so I thought I'd put it out here as it's really no secret because everyone is different. So what works for me may not work for everyone. I do believe that the more fit and "realistic" you are with your goals the better off your nutrition plan will work. I knew exactly what I was capable of throughout the race, and stayed true to my plan both from a pacing perspective and from a nutrition perspective...and it paid off.
Before I get into race day, Chad and I were fortunate enough to represent L3 Endurance at the GU House a few days before the race to watch a recording of Mirinda Carfrae and Magdalena (2008 US Olympic Marathoner) along with Bob Babbit from Competitor Magazine. One thing that really stuck with me from that interview was something Rinny had shared. She tries to front end load her calories starting 2 days out from race day. And the way she does it...through the GU Roctane Drink (she did slip and mention carbo-pro too...whoops)! Her logic behind it made complete sense...and I'm not going to lie if it's good enough for a 2 time Ironman World Champion it's good enough for me.
Leading up to this race I was relatively strict with what I ate, I made sure that almost everything was "fresh" and really limited the amount of sweets that I had, which helped me to stay healthy and fresh. I kept things super clean for about 4-6 weeks out from race day, and it's not that I eat poorly, but was just that little extra push which helped. Race week was more of the same, really nothing new, I stayed away from all of the stuff at the expo and tried to eat as if I were at home. Though I did miss the Vitamix and my awesome smoothies including massive amounts of baby spinach.
The Thursday before the race I took Rinny's advice and started pounding GU Roctane drink (I opted for Grape flavor since it was not caffeinated). I probably drank about 2,000 calories alone through those drinks each on Thursday and Friday. Needless to say I was definitely hydrated, which was something I had struggled with in earlier races.
Friday morning after my quick run, bike, swim I ate a monster breakfast which Brit made for me...scrambled eggs with peppers, oatmeal, dragonfruit, GU Roctane Drink, and a glass of orange juice. I wanted to make sure I was refueled from those last efforts and that I was set up for the day. After a quick meeting with the Zoot folks Brit and I were walking back to our condo and I ducked into grab a quick turkey sub sandwich, and I of course had GU Roctane drink with me. You'll see that's a common theme. Friday night we went to the house my Mom rented and she made my typical go to lasagna for dinner with a great salad and garlic bread...not to mention dessert! Yes I did indulge in a little dessert the night before the race.
RACE DAY
Pre-Race:
3:45 a.m. - Breakfast
5:30 a.m - Banana & GU ROCTANE Drink (Tropical Fruit w/ caffeine + "Pre-Race")
6:00 a.m - Water in Transition
6:30 a.m. - GU Roctane Strawberry Kiwi (New and awesome flavor) before getting in the water.
Race:
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - nice salty mix of fresh Pacific Ocean & the taste of blood from the beating you take in the warm waters of Kailua Bay
T1 - I grabbed a cup of water to rinse my mouth out
Bike - **For starters I set my bike up with 3 bottles (which is something I haven't done in the past. But through training I have found that the GU Roctane Drink does suit me quite well, and I also had 2 bottles of it left in special needs as well pick up when I got there).
15 minutes into the bike ride is where my nutrition plan starts and starts with a GU Roctane Island Nectar which I have in a GU Flask (they had these a few years ago and are talking about bringing them back once again). Then it's a GU Roctane Island Nectar every 30 minutes until about the 90-120 minute mark (that elapsed time on the bike). Then I try to take in something solid (sorry GU...its just needed and I eat a Clif Bar - White Macademia Nut flavor). From there I continue with my GU Roctane every 25-30 minutes. Depending on how I am feeling I may go back to something solid about 3.5-4 hours into the ride if I need my stomach to settle down. I also try to drink about a full bottle every 45 minutes. It's much easier to gauge this early in the ride, and at about the 40 mile mark I do start to reach for cola (which is a luxury that only the Kona course offers...I have not seen it on other Ironman bike courses) about 40 miles or so into the ride. The reason for this is because in training our "pop stop" is often about 40-60 miles into the ride...so my body is used to a pop at that point in time, and I have found that mimicking that on the race course works quite well. I did grab my special needs bag for my two other bottles of GU Roctane drink and depending on how I felt I would either drink Roctane, Cola or water. If my stomach was sloshy I would lay off of drinking for 10 minutes, and then return with water in small quantities.
T2 - I typically grab a pop that I leave in my T2 bag...but I didn't leave one in there this year, I think it was a good choice.
Run - I had my pockets filled with GU Roctane Strawberry Kiwi...but I will admit that I only ate one of these. Each aid station I would drink water and cola...and I ended up walking the aid stations to ensure I was able to get the hydration and calories in. This seemed to be a smart solution and I ran really well. Zero stomach issues at all.
For the first time since I can remember my mouth wasn't "burnt" when I was done with the race...and I was able to eat that night.
Sorry for the "all over the place" nutrition report...I crashed my mountain bike this past weekend and I think my brain is a bit off. I did crack my helmet pretty good and Brit has been treating my nasty wounds and will have the pleasure to rehab me back to full strength once the swelling in my knee goes down.
Before I get into race day, Chad and I were fortunate enough to represent L3 Endurance at the GU House a few days before the race to watch a recording of Mirinda Carfrae and Magdalena (2008 US Olympic Marathoner) along with Bob Babbit from Competitor Magazine. One thing that really stuck with me from that interview was something Rinny had shared. She tries to front end load her calories starting 2 days out from race day. And the way she does it...through the GU Roctane Drink (she did slip and mention carbo-pro too...whoops)! Her logic behind it made complete sense...and I'm not going to lie if it's good enough for a 2 time Ironman World Champion it's good enough for me.
Leading up to this race I was relatively strict with what I ate, I made sure that almost everything was "fresh" and really limited the amount of sweets that I had, which helped me to stay healthy and fresh. I kept things super clean for about 4-6 weeks out from race day, and it's not that I eat poorly, but was just that little extra push which helped. Race week was more of the same, really nothing new, I stayed away from all of the stuff at the expo and tried to eat as if I were at home. Though I did miss the Vitamix and my awesome smoothies including massive amounts of baby spinach.
The Thursday before the race I took Rinny's advice and started pounding GU Roctane drink (I opted for Grape flavor since it was not caffeinated). I probably drank about 2,000 calories alone through those drinks each on Thursday and Friday. Needless to say I was definitely hydrated, which was something I had struggled with in earlier races.
Friday morning after my quick run, bike, swim I ate a monster breakfast which Brit made for me...scrambled eggs with peppers, oatmeal, dragonfruit, GU Roctane Drink, and a glass of orange juice. I wanted to make sure I was refueled from those last efforts and that I was set up for the day. After a quick meeting with the Zoot folks Brit and I were walking back to our condo and I ducked into grab a quick turkey sub sandwich, and I of course had GU Roctane drink with me. You'll see that's a common theme. Friday night we went to the house my Mom rented and she made my typical go to lasagna for dinner with a great salad and garlic bread...not to mention dessert! Yes I did indulge in a little dessert the night before the race.
RACE DAY
Pre-Race:
3:45 a.m. - Breakfast
- Oatmeal w/ sugar
- Banana
- GU ROCTANE Drink (Tropical Fruit w/ caffeine)
5:30 a.m - Banana & GU ROCTANE Drink (Tropical Fruit w/ caffeine + "Pre-Race")
6:00 a.m - Water in Transition
6:30 a.m. - GU Roctane Strawberry Kiwi (New and awesome flavor) before getting in the water.
Race:
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - nice salty mix of fresh Pacific Ocean & the taste of blood from the beating you take in the warm waters of Kailua Bay
T1 - I grabbed a cup of water to rinse my mouth out
Bike - **For starters I set my bike up with 3 bottles (which is something I haven't done in the past. But through training I have found that the GU Roctane Drink does suit me quite well, and I also had 2 bottles of it left in special needs as well pick up when I got there).
15 minutes into the bike ride is where my nutrition plan starts and starts with a GU Roctane Island Nectar which I have in a GU Flask (they had these a few years ago and are talking about bringing them back once again). Then it's a GU Roctane Island Nectar every 30 minutes until about the 90-120 minute mark (that elapsed time on the bike). Then I try to take in something solid (sorry GU...its just needed and I eat a Clif Bar - White Macademia Nut flavor). From there I continue with my GU Roctane every 25-30 minutes. Depending on how I am feeling I may go back to something solid about 3.5-4 hours into the ride if I need my stomach to settle down. I also try to drink about a full bottle every 45 minutes. It's much easier to gauge this early in the ride, and at about the 40 mile mark I do start to reach for cola (which is a luxury that only the Kona course offers...I have not seen it on other Ironman bike courses) about 40 miles or so into the ride. The reason for this is because in training our "pop stop" is often about 40-60 miles into the ride...so my body is used to a pop at that point in time, and I have found that mimicking that on the race course works quite well. I did grab my special needs bag for my two other bottles of GU Roctane drink and depending on how I felt I would either drink Roctane, Cola or water. If my stomach was sloshy I would lay off of drinking for 10 minutes, and then return with water in small quantities.
T2 - I typically grab a pop that I leave in my T2 bag...but I didn't leave one in there this year, I think it was a good choice.
Run - I had my pockets filled with GU Roctane Strawberry Kiwi...but I will admit that I only ate one of these. Each aid station I would drink water and cola...and I ended up walking the aid stations to ensure I was able to get the hydration and calories in. This seemed to be a smart solution and I ran really well. Zero stomach issues at all.
For the first time since I can remember my mouth wasn't "burnt" when I was done with the race...and I was able to eat that night.
Sorry for the "all over the place" nutrition report...I crashed my mountain bike this past weekend and I think my brain is a bit off. I did crack my helmet pretty good and Brit has been treating my nasty wounds and will have the pleasure to rehab me back to full strength once the swelling in my knee goes down.
