Friday
Oct102008
Ask the Experts: Tips from Joe Friel for Ironman Hawaii Competitors
Friday, October 10, 2008 at 10:29AM
The Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii are tomorrow! Watch the race on IronmanLive, and read on below to learn more from Joe Friel about how these incredible athletes will keep themselves energized all day long with proper refueling and hydration!
Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. Read on to learn what Training Bible author Joe Friel has to say about nutrition for Ironman triathletes, and submit a question of your own below!
Question: Considering that Kona is so hot and humid, are there any special nutritional considerations for triathletes?
Answer: For this race, I'd suggest treating hydration and refueling as two separate and (mostly) unrelated issues. In other words, for a race of this duration and intensity using a sports drink to satisfy both needs is not a good idea. This is likely to cause stomach "shutdown," or, even worse, hyponatremia. So let's briefly examine them separately.
Hydration is really quite simple. Merely drink water or sports drink to satisfy thirst when you are thirsty. Drinking to a schedule is likely to set you up for problems far greater than mild dehydration, which is to be expected. For more details on hydration including whether or not you should use sodium, please go to my blog.
As for refueling, what is most needed is carbohydrate - not protein or fat. If you are going slowly enough it's not a problem to take in some protein or fat along with copious amounts of carb, but the faster you go the more your fuel should shift toward carbohydrates only. Most Ironman athletes take in between 200 and 400 calories per hour depending on body size and personal experience. Again, most of these calories should come from carbohydrates. Good sources, besides a sports drink, are gels and blocks. The faster you go, the more easily digestible the fuel source should be, mostly meaning that you should avoid fiber and anything else that slows digestion, such as protein and fat. And, conversely, the slower you go the less you need to be concerned with this.
About the author:
Joe has trained endurance athletes since 1980. His clients have included elite amateur and professional road cyclists, mountain bikers, triathletes, and duathletes. They have been from all corners of the globe and included American and foreign national champions, world championship competitors, and an Olympian.
Joe is the author of The Cyclist’s Training Bible, Cycling Past 50, Precision Heart Rate Training (co-author), The Triathlete’s Training Bible, The Mountain Biker’s Training Bible and Triathlon: Going Long (co-author), and The Paleo Diet for Athletes (co-author). He holds a masters degree in exercise science, is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach, and is the past Chairman of the USA Triathlon National Coaching Commission. He is a featured columnist for Inside Triathlon and VeloNews magazines, and writes feature stories for other international publications and websites. He is also the founder and President of Ultrafit Associates, LLC and Training Peaks, LLC.
Ask a question of your own! If you have a question for the experts, submit it here either by emailing asktheexperts@peaksware.com or by posting it on our message boards. Your question could be featured in our next blog!
Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. Read on to learn what Training Bible author Joe Friel has to say about nutrition for Ironman triathletes, and submit a question of your own below!Question: Considering that Kona is so hot and humid, are there any special nutritional considerations for triathletes?
Answer: For this race, I'd suggest treating hydration and refueling as two separate and (mostly) unrelated issues. In other words, for a race of this duration and intensity using a sports drink to satisfy both needs is not a good idea. This is likely to cause stomach "shutdown," or, even worse, hyponatremia. So let's briefly examine them separately.
Hydration is really quite simple. Merely drink water or sports drink to satisfy thirst when you are thirsty. Drinking to a schedule is likely to set you up for problems far greater than mild dehydration, which is to be expected. For more details on hydration including whether or not you should use sodium, please go to my blog.
As for refueling, what is most needed is carbohydrate - not protein or fat. If you are going slowly enough it's not a problem to take in some protein or fat along with copious amounts of carb, but the faster you go the more your fuel should shift toward carbohydrates only. Most Ironman athletes take in between 200 and 400 calories per hour depending on body size and personal experience. Again, most of these calories should come from carbohydrates. Good sources, besides a sports drink, are gels and blocks. The faster you go, the more easily digestible the fuel source should be, mostly meaning that you should avoid fiber and anything else that slows digestion, such as protein and fat. And, conversely, the slower you go the less you need to be concerned with this.
About the author:
Joe has trained endurance athletes since 1980. His clients have included elite amateur and professional road cyclists, mountain bikers, triathletes, and duathletes. They have been from all corners of the globe and included American and foreign national champions, world championship competitors, and an Olympian.
Joe is the author of The Cyclist’s Training Bible, Cycling Past 50, Precision Heart Rate Training (co-author), The Triathlete’s Training Bible, The Mountain Biker’s Training Bible and Triathlon: Going Long (co-author), and The Paleo Diet for Athletes (co-author). He holds a masters degree in exercise science, is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach, and is the past Chairman of the USA Triathlon National Coaching Commission. He is a featured columnist for Inside Triathlon and VeloNews magazines, and writes feature stories for other international publications and websites. He is also the founder and President of Ultrafit Associates, LLC and Training Peaks, LLC.
Ask a question of your own! If you have a question for the experts, submit it here either by emailing asktheexperts@peaksware.com or by posting it on our message boards. Your question could be featured in our next blog!
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