Pete — Sample nutrition on race day. Note: I have special circumstances because of my stomach issues. I also sweat a lot, so I need more electrolytes than most. What works for you may be different. Most people do not have issues. I also have a plan for meals three days prior to the race. This is my current plan for half/Full Ironman on race day. Despite my issues, my plan is based on caloric and hydration/electrolyte totals we’ve discussed during training –250-350 calories/hour, 500-1000 mg of sodium/electrolytes/hour, 16-24+ oz of water/hour (depends on your body size and sweat rate/could be more on a hot day).

 

• Breakfast: 2.5-3 hours prior to race… 500 calories (a combination of carbs and protein/eggs/shake and wheat toast). 90, 60, 30 minutes pre-race– 20 oz of sports drink total during this whole time and a Thermolyte every half hour. 20 minutes before race: gel, five ounces of water and Thermolyte.
• Non-nutrition reminders: Soak it up/Fire it up/ Live in the moment/Listen to my body/Think-Adapt/ Race with joy…all day.
• Swim: During the swim, I eat lobster, wrestle alligators and say “how you do’in” to mermaids.
• Transition 1:  100 Calories of sports drink or gel, 2 thermolytes and 5 oz of water. I wait to eat and drink more until 10 minutes into the bike – letting body/stomach adjust after being horizontal and keeping heart rate down during first 1.5 hours of the bike.
• Bike: 350 calories of Carbopro per hour. Thermolyte every 8 minutes. 24 oz of water/hour. I’ll eat three or four very small pieces of banana during the bike. I will stop eating/ingesting 15 minutes before the end of the bike.
• Transition 2: I’ll have only a few oz of water and another thermolyte. I’ll wait until about six minutes into the run to let everything settle before taking in more fluids/food.
• Run:  Small sips of gel or carbopro concentrate and water every 5 min. 8 thermolytes per hour.  (Per hour =24 oz H2O, 8 thermolytes, 250 cals Carbopro or gel). Will try some grenades of concentrated carbo pro or gel. If all goes to hell, Plan B consists of what’s on the course… Think/Adapt…Gatorade/water/coke, gels, banana slices, thermolytes …doing the math to make sure I get the needed calories and electrolytes from those items (250-350 calories/hour, 500-1000 mg of sodium/hour, 16-24+ oz of water).
• Recovery: Make sure I’m hydrated using a recovery drink with calories, nutrients and electrolytes. Pick a brand.  Eat real food later. Make sure pee is relatively clear before going to bed/sign of proper hydration.
• Post Race: Celebrate with team. (Adjust plan as needed for next event/major workout).

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