Secondly trying to consume 70g or more of carbs per an hour will most likely only lead to
digestive issues if you haven’t trained your gut to adapt to it. Keep it simple. Ultra distance triathlon
for most is a controlled paced event not something that you are racing at a high speed
anywhere near your anaerobic threshold unless you are an elite level athlete.
How do you use fat as a source of fuel?
Simple keep those insulin spikes lower so that the brain taps the fat stores and not just keeps
trying to use the readily available glucose in the blood stream. Excessive glucose in the blood
stream mitigates fat usage as the body will utilise it first. Overloading on glucose leads to what’s
known as the roller coaster ride. Feel good, feel bad, feel good, feel bad an eventually feel
nausea, fatigued and flat. You need to understand that the rate or effort at which you are
performing at needs to be in line with what you are consuming. If you are racing at an extremely
high intensity, by all means flood the system with glucose. If you are racing at a controlled pace
take in carbohydrates which provide a little more stability and weigh in the option of taking in
some protein through the event. Save those sugar rushes for the last part of the race when
needed.
FUELLING CONCEPTS
The carbohydrate volume we suggest aiming for is around +-60 grams of carbohydrates per an
hour during the event. There are some athletes who go higher and some who go much lower.
Again make sure you test this in training.
The best way to test ultra-distance triathlon fuelling is to go out hard for 3-4 hour ride eat as u
would pre-race and then fuel during the ride as you would during the race. Run off the bike for at
least 5km’s at a hard effort with no fuel just what you used on the bike and if you finish strong and
stable at the finish that nutrition should be pretty spot on. Make sure when testing the nutrition,
you look out for digestive comfort, energy level stability, and of course brain comfort so no nausea
or dizziness and ensure you are feeling in a good head space from beginning to end.
When fuelling through food ensure not to overload the digestive system. It’s far better to eat more
frequently as opposed to everything at once. Rather eat 2-3 times in an hour and not every hour.
This is called drip feeding and is extremely effective in keeping your energy levels very stable.
If you have a 50gram food bar split it into 2-3 pieces and eat a piece every 20-30 minutes rather.
If you have a gel ensure to hydrate with it and don’t overdo the gels as they can cause GI distress
with excessive consumption rather split the feed or save the gels for the second half of the bike
leg or run leg.
Keep your eating consistent at all times, do not miss a feed and keep drinking to thirst only. If you
stick to this on the bike you can be assured your energy levels for the run wil
be really awesome. Once heading back into transition, try and consume a final snack before the
run. If on the bike in the form of food try 5-10km’s before transition so the stomach is settled.
Once on the run, you don’t really want to carry much with you. Generally we will advise on taking
something small to be able to carry in the form of food and combining that with what is offered
on route. Try to hold off the major spiking products until you are in a comfortable run space.
THE PROTEIN FACTOR
Should you be consuming protein during your ultra-event?
Our answer to this is most definitely. A protein / carbohydrate combination has been shown
scientifically to delay the onset of muscle fatigue by quite a nice percentage. 32Gi Recover uses
a 1:3 ratio of protein to carbs. We advocate a concentrate of 2 x 75gram servings in a bottle, and
when drinking the standard hydration energy drink we suggest a rotation of 2-3 sips from the carb
drink to 1 sip from the protein bottle. This will give you an excellent hourly ratio of protein % intake
to carb intake which will assist in keeping you feeling stable, full and comfortable on the bike leg.
It also diversifies taste.
ENDURANCE FUELLING DURING THE EVENT | FUEL GUIDE