Reply To: Nutrition for long bike / anyone doing masters

#16838
CoachAJ
Participant

Great feedback, Pat!  A few thoughts in regards to Pat’s feedback.

Infinit can be a great option.  However it can also be a double edged sword since it acts as both your calories and your hydration.  If you get it in, great!  If you do, you are not sabotaging both key areas to your nutrition.

 

In addition, most of you are likely going to be on the course longer than the faster athletes or elites.  For this reason, this is why I recommend whole/real foods.  While honey stingers are an acceptable options, they are still simple sugars.  If you fill up your sugar limited on the bike and have nothing left for the run, it’s going to be a long day and potentially an unsuccessful one.  Whole food options give you more salty, savory but most importantly, complex carbs options.  With Infinit and honey stingers (like any simple sugar that hit your bloodstream quickly however they also expire quickly), you need a constant feed.  If you miss even a few calories, a potential bonk could be around the corner.  With whole foods, while they do take longer to hit your bloodstream, they are much longer acting and this is what provides a longer burn for the hours that you will be out of the course including on the run.

As you can see, there are a lot of options out there and you need to figure out what works for you, your needs, your expected time on the course, etc.