Over the course of the 140.6 miles of an Ironman race, triathletes burn thousands of calories. During this weekend’s training, I burned approximately 1,800 calories on the 15 mile run on Saturday and burned another 3,800 calories during today’s 60 mile bike. Extrapolating those numbers out to the full Ironman distance (without taking temperature and terrain differences into account), I expect to burn about 11,500 calories over the course of the Ironman Switzerland race in Zurich (1,200 in the water, 7,100 on the bike and 3,400 during the run).
In order to maintain the energy needed to complete the race, it is necessary to replace some of those spent calories. Fueling up while exercising can be tricky. It is important to choose things which are easily digestible and won’t upset your stomach. Imagine trying to eat will exercising full bore. It’s a bit like trying to refuel a car at highway speeds — one wrong move, and things could get ugly.
There are many different products on the market to help athletes fuel up while competing. In addition to Gatorade (which has 150 calories per bike-sized 24 ounce bottle), there are numerous energy gels, bars, jelly beans and other products on the market. Of the energy gels (GU, PowerBar, Hammer), most have about 100 calories per packet serving – which is about a one ounce mouthful. They all have slightly different amounts of sodium, potassium and carbohydrates.
My favorite is GU Energy Gel in the “vanilla bean,” “lemon sublime” or “just plain” flavors. Last year, GU Energy launched a new gel called Roctane. It has more of some ingredients (like sodium, potassium and caffeine) designed to help ultra endurance athletes stave off muscle damage and recover more quickly by adding Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (made from amino acids). I can speak from experience, these Roctane gels really work. Right now, they only come in two flavors (Blueberry Pomegranate and Vanilla Orange), neither of which I’m wild about. So, I tend to use one Roctane for every two or three normal GU packets.
I also mix in Clif Shot Bloks and Jelly Belly Sport Beans to add some variety. They also have 100 calories per serving and provide a mixture of sodium, potassium and carbs. Both can provide a nice departure from the gels, but can also be a bit sugary.
During the race, I plan take in approximately 250 to 300 calories per hour. Most of those calories come in form of Gatorade Endurance Formula, which is essential for hydrating and replacing the electrolytes lost from sweating. (See: Chris Legh Gatorade commercial) Approximately every 45 minutes during the bike and the run, I’ll have a packet of Gu Energy Gel, Sport Beans or Shot Bloks. From time to time, I’ll also have a banana (which are handed out by volunteers at aid stations and are about 100 calories), a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (300 calories) from my special needs bag at the halfway points of the run and the bike or even some pretzels, chicken broth or flat soda (also at aid stations and can really hit the spot late during the late stages of the run).
Even with all of that ingesting, I’ll still only take in between 3,000 to 4,500 calories during the race. That leaves a deficiency of approximately 7,000 to 8,500 calories, which is why pre-race meals are so important. Eating well by taking in carbohydrates and proteins in the days prior to the race is essential. A pasta feast the night before the race? That’s fine, but loading up two days prior to the cannon going off is more important.
For assistance with muscle recovery, immediately after most long workouts I drink a Boost Nutritional Energy Drink. I prefer the vanilla-flavored high protein version of the drink. It provides 240 calories of protein, potassium, sodium and other vitamins and minerals to help get some fuel back to those muscles that are still in a bit of shock from the hours of testing.
Finally, as a reward for completing a long workout, I tend to down a whole pizza. A Hawaiian from Belltown Pizza is my Seattle favorite. Eat up, folks. There are many miles to go.
