Race nutrition during IMSA

[travisza]

Hey guys,

 

Wanting to know from the guys who completed IMSA this year (or 70.3), what drinks did they hand out at the aid stations?

 

And if you could choose what they had what would your choice be?

 

I'm assuming water is one and coke for the run definitely, but what sports drink would you prefer to have or did you just drink your own?

[sluiper]

They handed out Coke, water and GU Brew.

 

The GU Brew is supposedly quite good as it contains electrolytes (it's got what plants crave!).

 

I didn't have any complaints, but then again I'm not too fussy when it comes to drinking or eating. I train with pretty much anything and my stomach seems to be happy with anything I can stuff down my throat.

 

Most advice is that you should train with whatever's going to be dished up during the race, so I know a lot of people that train specifically with GU to ensure they can keep it down on race day.

[mr_stig]

They used GU products this year. The gels were fine but I did not enjoy the GU sports drink at all. In future I will use my special needs bag to keep extra drink on the bike leg. I did some training on GU but in retrospect, not enough - after a while I got bad stomach cramps on the bike leg and had to stop a few times.

 

On the run I stuck to water, had some coke, and ate marmite sandwiches.

 

In general though, GU products are good. Something in the electrolyte drink didn't agree with me but I reckon if I spent more time using the drink in training, I would either have adapted or at least known not to use it.

 

If you are aiming to just finish before cut off, then take sachets, stop at the water points and mix your own muti.

 

If you plan to beat a certain time then train with the sponsored nutrition or plan your special need bags accordingly.

[travisza]

Thanks. Its a little different for IM I guess.

 

Normally you would train with what you are going to race with and this would be whatever drink you preferred. But I guess for IM its different cos you cant carry your own drink the whole race.

 

So not a bad idea to train with the sponsors drink

[travisza]

They used GU products this year. The gels were fine but I did not enjoy the GU sports drink at all. In future I will use my special needs bag to keep extra drink on the bike leg. I did some training on GU but in retrospect, not enough - after a while I got bad stomach cramps on the bike leg and had to stop a few times.

 

On the run I stuck to water, had some coke, and ate marmite sandwiches.

 

In general though, GU products are good. Something in the electrolyte drink didn't agree with me but I reckon if I spent more time using the drink in training, I would either have adapted or at least known not to use it.

 

If you are aiming to just finish before cut off, then take sachets, stop at the water points and mix your own muti.

 

If you plan to beat a certain time then train with the sponsored nutrition or plan your special need bags accordingly.

Definitely planning to beat a certain time.

 

Planning special needs bag properly will be the way forward for me I think. Especially since I enjoy the drink I'm currently training on - no stomach problems this far

[davem]

I thought the GU drink was so watered down that the taste was rather unpleasant. Bounced my 32Gi bottle out the cage on a speed bump so had to use GU for a lap. Yuck.

 

On the other hand, the GU chomps that were handed out were awesome.

 

They also had Power Horse energy drink (think that is the name). I think they were struggling to give it away.

[Grantc]

I thought the GU drink was so watered down that the taste was rather unpleasant. Bounced my 32Gi bottle out the cage on a speed bump so had to use GU for a lap. Yuck.

 

On the other hand, the GU chomps that were handed out were awesome.

 

They also had Power Horse energy drink (think that is the name). I think they were struggling to give it away.

 

was probably the smell of that Power Horse that put everyone off..

 

and the GU chomps rocked...

[travisza]

Looks like I'll have to start training on marmite sandwiches and GU chomps

[davem]

I do not eat white bread normally. But a white bread marmite sandwich is like eating lobster half way into the run.

[Red Zone]

I thought that the Gu brew was pretty good, I did the run on a Gu washed down with a brew at each aid station and was fine, no GI problems and felt pretty good

[mr_stig]

I thought the GU drink was so watered down that the taste was rather unpleasant. Bounced my 32Gi bottle out the cage on a speed bump so had to use GU for a lap. Yuck.

 

On the other hand, the GU chomps that were handed out were awesome.

 

They also had Power Horse energy drink (think that is the name). I think they were struggling to give it away.

 

I didn't touch that stuff. I'm not sure having something that is pure sugar, caffeine and guarana is good for an endurance event.

[shawnvan]

Whenever I passed the Power Horse table I ran faster, just so I could avoid the promo girls/boys battling to give the stuff away.

 

I just had visions of it tasting like Jager, and it coming back up (like Jager) if I drank any...

[shawnvan]

I do not eat white bread normally. But a white bread marmite sandwich is like eating lobster half way into the run.

 

+1

Wern't they Bovril sarmies? Whatever they were seriously good. After all that sugary drink and GUs the savoury sarmie was like the best thing I had ever tasted... Seriously considering taking a Bovril sarmie or two on my long rides in future.

[dracs]

Re special needs bag - can someone explain exactly how much access you have to this on the bike and run? Think I heard you can only access it once during the ride - which seems stange to me?

 

Also is it correct that family cannot give you warm clothes etc later on (for those of us who would be running well into the April night) so you would have to leave this in special needs bag too? (which would be fine as long as you can access it during the run...)

[banna]

We moslty had GU (the brew and the sachets) through out the day and then on the ride we took along some biltong just to settle the stomach with something solid and also to get that sweet taste out of your mouth. Was surprised how great the biltong worked.

[mr_stig]

Re special needs bag - can someone explain exactly how much access you have to this on the bike and run? Think I heard you can only access it once during the ride - which seems stange to me?

 

Also is it correct that family cannot give you warm clothes etc later on (for those of us who would be running well into the April night) so you would have to leave this in special needs bag too? (which would be fine as long as you can access it during the run...)

 

You get one bag for the cycle leg, one for the run and you can only access each bag once. You're correct about receiving outside help - you are not allowed to get food, clothes, spares from spectators. If you do put clothes in your run/cycle bags, be sure to collect them even if you don't need them on race day. Special needs bags are all thrown away. You will not be able to track your bag down.

 

Don't forget, you can keep your warm top in your run transition bag and take it at the start of the run if you wish. If you decide to leave it, you will not lose your warm gear as you still get your transition bags back after the race.