I raced my second IM @ Florida this year. From racing my first IM I learned I really didn't prepare properly nutrition wise in training or execution. I finished a little over 11 hours but almost with 4.5 hours of that on the marathon.
One thing of note about me is that I'm a very heavy sweater with a lot of mineral content. I don't love the Gatorade Endurance stuff, especially the orange flavor but it is what they hand out on course.
Leading up to this years IM Florida I ate gels/used Gatorad Endurance to prep for the actual race in training. I found that on my run taking a (Sis) gel every three miles with a little water worked for me on long runs. Bike wise I found a (SiS) gels every 10 miles with a bottle of Gatorade Endurance per hour worked well for me with a bottle of water. I also wanted some easy metrics to key these feeds times as I somewhat experiemented with what worked on my long rides/runs/bricks. I really thought I'd dialed it in.
IM Florida take 2 started off with a better swim although I'd prefer to swim closer to 1:00 vs the 1:08 I swam. Honestly I swim so infrequently in open water it takes me a few minutes to get comfortable... I popped a SiS gel on the Aussie exit with a cup of water.
Bike went well pedaling a not too hard 4:47 although I messed up not turning off my bike computer a day or two prior and it died 28'sh miles in. Course is marked well for mileage and I took my gels on 10 mile increments as planned, hydrated with Gatorade Endurance and water like I'd trained.
Got off the bike feeling good other than my hips feeling super tight but that all loosened up pretty quick within a quarter mile or so. Was running sub 7 so backed off of that since the plan was to run easier than that. Popped a gel at 3 mile increments with a little water. Ran the first lap feeling okay and made the turn to run the second 13.1 miles and then my stomach just felt like it was knotted. As I approached 15 I decided to hold off that gel increment since my stomach felt so terrible and pushed it to 16.
From this point on it was if my stomach had shut down and it was just a sloshing nauseaous mess, then the vomiting started. I couldn't keep water down and that continued to the finish line unalbe to keep anything down, insane stomach ache, walk/run/job to the finish @ 10:14
Made my way to the med tent for that walk of shame. They tried to rehydrate me orally, gave me Zofran to help with the nasea, but the vomiting continued. Finally they hooked me up to an IV and that really got me sorted.
I digress, I'm really wondering if anyone has some advice that might be of use if I try and attempt IM #3. I'd really like to at least run/jog my way to a finish without vomiting my way there. Seems like I hit a dehydration wall at 7.5-8'sh hours that turn my race into a survival thing.
One thing of note about me is that I'm a very heavy sweater with a lot of mineral content. I don't love the Gatorade Endurance stuff, especially the orange flavor but it is what they hand out on course.
Leading up to this years IM Florida I ate gels/used Gatorad Endurance to prep for the actual race in training. I found that on my run taking a (Sis) gel every three miles with a little water worked for me on long runs. Bike wise I found a (SiS) gels every 10 miles with a bottle of Gatorade Endurance per hour worked well for me with a bottle of water. I also wanted some easy metrics to key these feeds times as I somewhat experiemented with what worked on my long rides/runs/bricks. I really thought I'd dialed it in.
IM Florida take 2 started off with a better swim although I'd prefer to swim closer to 1:00 vs the 1:08 I swam. Honestly I swim so infrequently in open water it takes me a few minutes to get comfortable... I popped a SiS gel on the Aussie exit with a cup of water.
Bike went well pedaling a not too hard 4:47 although I messed up not turning off my bike computer a day or two prior and it died 28'sh miles in. Course is marked well for mileage and I took my gels on 10 mile increments as planned, hydrated with Gatorade Endurance and water like I'd trained.
Got off the bike feeling good other than my hips feeling super tight but that all loosened up pretty quick within a quarter mile or so. Was running sub 7 so backed off of that since the plan was to run easier than that. Popped a gel at 3 mile increments with a little water. Ran the first lap feeling okay and made the turn to run the second 13.1 miles and then my stomach just felt like it was knotted. As I approached 15 I decided to hold off that gel increment since my stomach felt so terrible and pushed it to 16.
From this point on it was if my stomach had shut down and it was just a sloshing nauseaous mess, then the vomiting started. I couldn't keep water down and that continued to the finish line unalbe to keep anything down, insane stomach ache, walk/run/job to the finish @ 10:14
Made my way to the med tent for that walk of shame. They tried to rehydrate me orally, gave me Zofran to help with the nasea, but the vomiting continued. Finally they hooked me up to an IV and that really got me sorted.
I digress, I'm really wondering if anyone has some advice that might be of use if I try and attempt IM #3. I'd really like to at least run/jog my way to a finish without vomiting my way there. Seems like I hit a dehydration wall at 7.5-8'sh hours that turn my race into a survival thing.