Saturday my husband competed in his first ½ Iron Man!!  Wow!!  The only word I have to describe the environment is HARDCORE.  There were some serious athletes there!!  After talking to several competitors, I found out that a lot of them were using this as a training race for the full Iron Man.  For those that don’t know what’s involved in a ½ Iron Man, it’s a 1.2-mile swim followed by a 56-mile bike ride, and finally, a 13.1-mile run.

We had to figure out how to fuel him during his workouts.  There was a lot of Gue’s, Cliff Shot Blocks, Power Bars, Bananas, PB&J Sandwiches, Cytomax, Gatorade, and Endurolyte Tabs (sodium/potassium tablets).  Packed fuel for the race were three 1gallon jugs of water, 4 PB&J Sandwiches, 5 Bananas, 12 Gues, 5 packs shot blocks, and cytomax mix.

Fuel before the race was a big dinner, which consisted of a beef burrito, Spanish rice, and beans.  Before bed he ate a power bar, and consumed copious amounts of Gatorade the entire week leading up to the race.  Morning of the race we were up at 4:30am.  Here is his nutrition breakdown for the race.

5:00am Pre-race (before 1.2 mile swim)

•       32oz bottle Gatorade
•       16oz bottle water
•       PB&J Sandwich
•       Banana
•       2 Endurolyte tabs

After 1.2 mile swim (transition from swim to bike)

•       PB&J Sandwich
•       1 Gue
•       2 Endurolytes

During 56 mile bike ride:

•       30 minutes in – 1 Gue
•       1 hour in – Power Bar Harvest Bar, 2 Endurolyte tabs
•       1 hour 30 minutes in – 1 Gue
•       2 hours in – Pack of Cliff Shot Blocks, 2 Endurolyte tabs
•       2 hours 30 minutes in – Gue
•       3 hours in – Cliff Shot Blocks, 1 Endurolyte tab
•       Hydration: 6 bottles of water, 3 bottles of cytomax

Fuel During Bike to Run transition:

•       1 Gue
•       2 Endurolyte Tabs

Fuel During 13.1 mile run:

•       4 packs of Gue
•       8 Endurolyte tabs
•       All the water he could drink

The important this to know is that he did not introduce any food or supplement into his body that he did not train with.  PB&J sandwiches and bananas were a daily staple pre-workout.  They sat well in his stomach and gave him the energy he needed.  During his actual workouts he fueled with Gue, Shot Blocks, Cytomax, Gatorade, and Endurolyte Tabs.  Hydration is extremely important during these endurance events.  The high temperature the day of the race was 91 degrees… the temperature reached it’s highest during the bike ride and stayed there for several hours throughout the run.  The endurolyte tabs were essential to replace the sodium and potassium the body was losing through excessive sweat.

All together, we were both pleased with his nutrition during the race.  He said he wouldn’t change a thing.  Immediately after the race, he said he would do it again! Even though this is an extreme sport, he said this felt better on his body than a marathon race.

Question for Readers…

If you’re a triathlete and have competed in these races before, how do you fuel during the event?  I’m really interested to hear what others do!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 7:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.