Ironman Nutrition Thoughts

Ahhhh, the last day in Tempe. We went miniature golfing and walking around town and hiking in some mountain things. Luc swam and we ate pizza and yogurt. Big fun. Tempe kid of reminds me of Austin in some ways.

I have been thinking a lot about IM nutrition ad the lessons I ave learned about it through the years.

Ironman nutrition is the biggest enigma and by far the most difficult part of the training program for many athletes. As I watched athletes come off the bike and make their way through the run course. yesterday .... it was quite evident that GI distress..... as it always is...... was the number one reason for "failure to reach one's goals". Including my husband's.

I don't coach my husband, I'd say I consult on his program. There was part of his Ironman nutrition plan I worried about, and although I voiced that concern.... no one knows him better than he does, so I have to let what works for him work, and what doesn't doesn't. He has been at this much longer than I have.

Now I am not a nutritional expert. I am an RN, coach and athlete who has spent years of her life barfing and experiencing all sorts of GI distress issues on courses. Which has launched me into a very long and extensive study of nutrition and distance events. In addition I get to work with one of the best coaches out there.... Jesse Korpelnicki who really sealed the deal on nutrition and taught me much more than I could possibly imagine in this area.

As I was in the merchandise line this morning I overheard a conversation between two guys ahead of me, and ones tale of GI issues during his race.

Guy 1: dude, I think it was all of the sugar that I had yesterday that really shut me down.

Me in my head: Probably not. I wonder what this guy had for breakfast and has eaten for the past 3 days.

Guy 1 continued: I had a HUGE coffee at starbucks with starbucks oatmeal and a packet of sugar. I think that packet of sugar totally F-d me up.

Me in my head: Nah dude, it wasn't the sugar. You had a giant cup of strong coffee..... plus you are nervous, you just added beats to that HR which slows digestion a bit. Then you had a bowl of oatmeal which is full of fiber, which slows down your gut. Without knowing the rest of his am routine I would then assume this was where his GI issues began.

Guy 1 Continues: Then 5 min before I got into the water I chugged a powergel and like 2 sips of water and got in.

Me in my head: Man, step two on your GI debacle. with your caffeine induced high HR and nerves, you down a gel 5 minutes before the start with not enough water. Plug number two of your GI system in place.


Do you see where this is headed? Most issues relating to GI distress in an Ironman happen before the gun ever goes off. In the days leading up to the event we carbo load, this should mean eating easy to digest things such as bagels, pasta,focusing on good proteins and doing everything possible to rid your system of potential irritants. Believe it or not this includes vitamins, and roughage. Think simple, easy to digest.

Your race day breakfast should be the same. Jesse taught me that the breakfast of oatmeal and peanut butter will slow your gut down on race day. He taught me they are great for daily nutrition but on race day that can serve as the first "plug" to your GI system. Assuming that you ate simple and easy to digest foods up to this point........ now you have set the GI slowdown in motion, and the gun has not gone off yet.

The next thing I see time and time again is failure to execute race day nutrition in training. A lot. I practice my race day nutrition every single long workout I do, including breakfast. Race day..... there are no surprises. Believe it or not, we have even removed coffee from the morning routine. Why? Again another Jesse lesson. More on that another time.

repeatability counts for a lot.

I also see athletes just have too many things on their Ironman menu. In my experience working with Ironman athletes, those who complicate the menu tend to have a lot of GI issues. People are terrified to be hungry so they choose a lot of items to combat boredom, fear of being hungry, etc. Keep it simple/ Make it stupid proof. Repeat it in training first.

Another area... calories versus carbohydrates. Many people calculate their needs using calories, but they are not all created equal. Carbohydrates are really the important thing here, and that as anything else is highly individual.

These are all just random thoughts that I will spend time developing over the next few months. In the past 5 years I feel that we've been able to nail nutrition with our athletes. I feel like I know my Ironman nutrition well, I welcome to questions and the collaboration and the things I can learn.

The biggest point: one size never fits all.

Now onto Curt.

The reason curts plan failed is a good one. This is very simplistic, and variable to the individual. The numbers i use are just for example. not for actuality.

Blood takes fluid to keep it's consistency, and fluidity. When we sweat we lose fluid. blood becomes thicker, the heart works harder to pump it through the body. To correct this and keep blood perfusing vital organs, it will slow GI function and pulling water from the gut to restore the consistency of the blood. This GI slowing and fluid pull leaves us in a state of reduced digestion. Now the stomach has less fluid to digest with. Then it stops digesting. The nutrition you take in backs up, sits there, causes pain and bloating.

Adding insult to injury Curt takes in GE + Carbo pro. GE itself is a perfect isotonic solution. The perfect balance. By adding carbo pro he creates a hypertonic solution. Now he needs more "fluid" to help balance that. The stomach tries to pull fluid from the system, that is pulling from it. Stomach loses.

It worked in Florida because it was not hot. AZ was hotter, and that includes the dry heat,

If he took out the carbo pro he would have been fine. He may have had to add more water to that plan. He could have tried to correct this situation by using water only for a while, but by that time it was probably too late!

So realize that if you have GI issues during a race, the issue was probably set in motion before you ever put on your timing chip. Spend some time this season researching and practicing. Just like you put the time into training..... put it into your nutrition.

You won't be sorry!