Ironman Lake Placid Nutrition Report

For those of you not interested in the amount of Powerbar bars, gel and Ironman Perform I consumed at Ironman Lake Placid, ignore this post.  BUT, I've received many emails asking for nutrition advice for triathlons, so for those of you just starting out or doing your 20th Ironman, I'm hoping you might find some insight in what I did. REMEMBER, you should always test out your nutrition plan before race day AND the food you eat the few days leading up to the race is almost as important as what you eat race day :)!!! 

Breakfast (done by 4am)

I have a standard pre-race and pre-long workout breakfast of a gluten free bagel with peanut butter and a banana. It's one of my favorite combinations that I don't otherwise eat, so I rarely have trouble getting this down in the wee hours before a race.  IMLP was an exception and I had to force it down.  I am incoherent until I've drank at least 1 cup of coffee, so 2 cups is a must before a race.

I always sip on either a bottle of Nuun or an Ironman Perform during the morning hours.  No, it's not a huge amount of calories (500ish), but it works for me and gets me some extra sodium.

Pre-Swim

One Powerbar Raspberry Cream gel (Yum - new flavor for me!) & a salt pill

Getting ready for 140.6 miles of fun!

Swim

Lots of mouth fulls of Mirror Lake.  Awesome.

Mirror Lake before the race - how peaceful :)

Bike

I struggle with cramps, so I took five Succeed caps during the bike (one / hour).  This worked perfectly and I didn't have a cramping issue at all for once :)  It's hot and humid in Winchester, so I've tested this out training session after training session.

Beautiful scenery

I eat half a Powerbar (peanut butter is my fav') every 30 minutes for the first half of any ride, then switch to gel so my stomach has time to settle.  At IMLP, that meant I took in seven gels.  I planned on taking an eighth gel, but I was already getting tired of it, so I drank approximately one bottle of Ironman Perform. I had two gels with caffeine; I'd like to learn to take more, but it tends to upset my stomach if I take too much.

Heading back to the school, done with the bike

Total Bike Calorie Count:  Bars (600) + Gel (770) + Ironman Perform (180) = 1550 (281/hour). That works out to be approximately half of the kj I burned during the bike portion of the race.

Run

I had my first gel 10 minutes in and planned on taking another six gels every 30 minutes or so. Unfortunately I was tired of gel and only got down one more before I was done with gel.  I tend to do well with Ironman Perform on the run and 220 calories was not going to get me to the finish line, so I took cups of Ironman Perform at almost all of the aid stations and started taking coke at mile 21. 

Both Feet off the ground :) - the finish!

Total Run Calorie Count:  Gel (220) + Ironman Perform (10ish cups @ 40 cals) + Coke (1 cup @40 cals) = 660 Calories (165ish/hour)

Post Race

I've found a glass of Sprite after a race tends to calm the nausea and then I had many scoopfuls of Ironman Restore once we got back to the room.  We headed back down to the VIP tent after I showered, and I had two pork chops and two plates of race, then followed that up with some delicious Ben and Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt.  Apparently I was hungry :)

While Chris and I were at Ben and Jerry's, my Dad called.  They had told the hotel manager I was the top amateur female, so he gave them a bottle of champagne for us to share. Very fun and a perfect way to end the evening. 

I typically eat a lot of fried crap after the race, then feel awful the next day.  This time around, I really focused on getting some nutrient dense food and I feel ten times better than I expected one week post Ironman.

I did have an Apple Cider donut though :)

Post-Race Nutrition Thoughts

Do not drink the Pacific Ocean at Kona.  Of course that will be dependent on how many times I get punched, kicked, dunked, etc. 

I am hoping to use Energy Blasts on the bike at Kona so I am not tired of Powerbar gel by the time I get to the run. I tested these out while I was working the Powerbar booth, and they were awesome. I also plan on incorporating more variety into my gels, which should help as well.

Powerbar booth with Caitlin Snow :)  Tim was also there - both of these pros are awesome!

Please email me if you have any questions.  I don't pretend to be an expert, but I can definitely provide you with insight of how my nutrition strategy has evolved over the years and how much better I feel during and post training sessions because of it. I don't remember where I read the statement, but for those of you starting this journey and frustrated with how you look, 'Get Fit, Get Fast, Thin will come,' really is true. . .

Ironman Lake Placid 2012 - 1st Amateur Female

Ironman Louisville 2009 - YIKES - 16th AG