It was only after my road to ironman in July 2009, I got to understand it better. Nutrition while on the move.
My first encounter was a book I picked up and read a couple pages at Borders, believe it was written by Dean Karnazes, entitled Ultramarathon Man. In it, he recalled how he called for pizza while on the run, specific place and time to pick up the delivery, with extra cheese and god knows what. It was thereafter, I attempted to chew on a baguette while on the move and found it pretty tough to do. (Of course, now I find it easier with more "practice", not a master of it, but not as daunting.)
After I engaged my Coach, I was taught to refuel at a gel per 20min while training - be it bike or run. It was really tough to squeeze every drop in because that would be 3 gels to the hour! However, it did me real good because comparing the race I did at AVIVA 70.3 and Desaru long distance triathlon (Malaysia) in 2009, I was much better fueled at the latter race. The run was not sluggish and I did not feel that exhausted, till the last 5km of the run, when I decided that I had enough of the gels.
Gels in Singapore are really expensive. The popular ones are PowerGel, Gu and Hammer. They cost in the range of $3-$4 per packet. During promotions, they will cost like $2 each? Coach advised to try other sorts of nutrition. Last year while training for IMWA, I worked with Rold Gold pretzels. Worked well with me then. I broke them into smaller bits so that they can fit into the water bottle. Every ride I went out, I would have a bottle filled with it and couple of gels with me. This helped to cut down the costs from expenditure on the gels. Yes, I will be munching while spinning away during the short breaks in between the bike sets.
While joining the bike gang for long rides to Desaru, 140km, 200km, 240km, I realised that I needed salt tablets to keep the cramps from rearing its ugly head. The initial few times, I had painful cramps on the inner thighs. The terrain to Desaru was rolling and under intense heat for some strange reason, though Malaysia and Singapore are both near the equator. In any case, I got smart and bought some salt tablets to help me pull through these rides. In fact, they also came in handy while racing in Western Australia. The heat, the wind, although a very flat course, sent the cramps in. I do not have the exact medical explanation, but I do know that perspiration will result in salt loss and this in take is for replenishment. Again, these salt tablets do not come cheap. I suppose we can bring packets of table salt but will risk getting them wet during the race.
This year, I was quite determined to find an alternative source, both for the gels and salt tablets. Stumbled upon LAVAGEL and they have served me very well since. I dont feel the pinch as much and have solely depended on this brand for gels this year. So much so that my taste buds have stopped trying to decipher the different flavours (good or bad, I dont know but it gives me the energy during my long runs and bikes). In fact, this is also true for my sports drinks consumption. 100+ or H20 or Gatorade. They all taste the same to me. Only the occasional Coke and Pepsi provides some change for my taste buds.
I have heard of how a few triathletes simply refuse to consume gels. "Gels taste like shit and I dont eat shit...". Sadly, he had to DNF the race. My other friend, sipped on the gels and kept saying that he hated it. I suppose that it is a mindset barrier that they will have to overcome? If one keep having negative thoughts about the gel, how can there be any positive outcome. Hopefully sooner than later, we will all learn the need for proper nutrition. The body can only take so much bashing only. It is either refuel for the energy required for the distance, or the body breaks down and gives up.
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