INCURABLE DATA GEEK
RSSSami - great blog post on IM training. I own my own business and didn't want to jump back into IM because last time I did one I was training 20+hrs a week. You've given me the confidence that it is possible to compete on less training. Question for you on nutrition - what is your approach to it during an Ironman? What do you like to eat and how many calories do you like to consume per hour? I'm sure with your love for data you've tracked this aspect of performance and I'd love your thoughts
Re: Nutrition. That’s probably worth a post of its own, but all my triathlon race nutrition (regardless of distance), follows these three principles:
- all calories from liquid and 100% carbs (combination of glucose and different simple sugars)
- there’s a lot of research re: maximum carb absorbtion and typically the results range from 240kcal/hr(pure glucose) to about 360kcal/hr(glucose+fructose). I’ve also done various tests of my own(which I can write about later) and I can say that for optimum performance I take even more per hr. Your goal is to absorb the maximum amount of ingested carbs in an Ironman, since it’s an “energy constrained” race, unlike e.g. Olympic distance race. If you can make your glycogen stores (in muscles) last longer at the same race pace, you will finish faster. Simple.
- I try to replace all lost fluids on the bike and let dehydrate some during the run, whether 10K, 21K or a marathon
- I also have a special 24h pre-race nutrition cycle I have followed for the last ~10 years and have never had GI issues in any race despite very sensitive stomach
About INCURABLE DATA GEEK
If you can measure it, you can improve it. Yes, I have a spreadsheet for everything.
You can contact me at sami (at) samiinkinen (dot) com.
