What do you do if you are going to do a long race and don’t like the nutrition that is provided on the course or just want to carry your own? One solution is to use concentrated bottles. When I ran the Paris marathon last year, I used concentrated bottles to pack in 5+ hours of nutrition into 3, 10 oz bottles. I have also had a lot of triathletes use concentrated bottles on the bike or run to allow them to have enough fuel until they get to their special needs bags where they can pick up more concentrated bottles for the second half of their race. This post will describe what concentrated bottles are, how to decide if you want to use them, and how to configure them.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of concentrated bottles I have to mention a caveat: You MUST practice with concentrated bottles before using them in a race! If you don’t know how to use them, or if you haven’t practiced them, they can very easily go wrong leaving you on the side of the road or in a porta-potty with GI distress. Now. . . on to the topic!

What are concentrated bottles? Concentrated bottles allow you to fit a certain amount of nutrition into a smaller container than what is called for on the label. In order to make concentrated bottles, you have to be using a powdered formula.

Are concentrated bottles right for me? They can be if you have time to practice them, have a way to dilute the concentrated bottles (additional water available on the course), you need to carry a lot of nutrition with you, and you have a powdered fuel you like and knows will not cause you GI distress.

How do you setup and use concentrated bottles? Here is an example: We are working with Suzie who is training for a marathon in Europe. She does not like what will be available as on-course nutrition. Suzie does not have anyone supporting her who can hand her bottles of nutrition during the race. She needs to carry all of her nutrition with her. Suzie will be running with a belt that contains 4, 10 oz bottles. She plans on finishing around 5 hours. She has a powdered drink she has used for a long time that has 45 grams of carbohyrdate per 2 scoops. She needs about 45 grams of carbohydrate per hour (2 scoops per hour). Suzie has decided she wants to use concentrated bottles for her race and fit 5 hours of nutrition into 3 bottles, leaving the 4th bottle for water to dilute the concentrated formula.

Based on this information, we know Suzie needs to fit 10 scoops into 3 bottles. I would put 3 scoops into two of the bottles and four scoops into the third. Then, you can top off with water and mix. This can take some practice and may require you to mix the concentrated mix for each bottle in a container other than the bottle then pour it into the bottle. If you do this, you need to be sure the final mixed solution will fit into the bottle.

Once Suzie has the bottles mixed, she can begin practicing with them. This means carrying them on her long runs and determining how much water she needs to take in with each drink from the concentrated bottle. What I have found is that it is two to three sips of water for every sip from the concentrated bottle. This means that you also need to stop at aid stations and re-fill the 4th bottle with water. As concentrated bottles are emptied, you can fill them with water which results in fewer stops at aid stations. During her runs, Suzie also monitors how much she drinks. She knows that to get 45 grams of carbohydrates our of the first two bottles, she needs to drink 2/3 of a bottle. To get 45 grams of the last bottle, she needs to drink half (the last bottle has 4 scoops in it). If she starts with the bottles that have 3 scoops each, she would follow this schedule: Hour 1, she drinks 2/3 of the first bottle. Hour 2, she finishes bottle 1 and drinks 1/3 of the second bottle. Hour 3, she finishes the second bottle. Hour 4, she drinks 1/2 of the third bottle. Hour 5, she finishes the third concentrated bottle. This gives her all the nutrition she needs to finish the race in 3 bottles she can carry with her. If the bottles do not have marks on them indicating 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3, you can mark them using a permanent marker.

You can use this same methodology on a long bike. Just determine how many carbohydrates you need per hour, how many carbohydrates are in your preferred fuel, the size and number of bottles you will carry, and go from there.

Concentrated bottles are a great tool to have available when you need them. Just remember to practice, practice, practice with them to be sure they will work on race day.

We are entering the training season for a lot of endurance and ultra-endurance events. A couple of key ways athletes can improve their performance is to get their pre- and post-race nutrition nailed down. Knowing what you are going to eat in the couple of days before and immediately after a race can help reduce your stress levels going into the race and keep you GI tract happy.

Pre-Race

Pre-race fueling includes the couple of days before the race. Start now trying out foods to find what works for you before your workouts. This becomes more important as the workouts become longer. Planning your pre-workout/pre-race nutrition helps in a couple of ways. First, you find out ahead of time what your body likes. If you are traveling to your race and will not have access to a kitchen, find out the local restaurants and try to duplicate similar foods at home. Second, when you find something that works, it becomes one less thing that you have to think about – “what am I going to eat the days before the race?”

When testing out your pre-workout/pre-race meals, remember to eat, tweak, and repeat. After you have eaten that meal note how you feel after eating it and after your workout. Some find it helpful to keep a log so they know what they did – just like a training log. If your body was not happy with that meal, you did not have a good performance, or think you can perform better, tweak the meal and repeat the process.

Post-Race

Practicing your post-workout/post-race fueling is also important. Research has shown that having a recovery meal within 30 minutes of finishing your workout helps prepare you for your next workout. (Note: this is important if your workout is 60 to 90 minutes or longer or you are working out again the same or next day). Having a recovery meal immediately after your race will help you feel better that day and in the days following.

Think about what your race site is like. How soon can you get to your recovery meal (remember if you are doing a triathlon, you can’t get in until the last bike is in). Or, will you have a support crew who can keep your recovery meal for you? Does it need refrigeration and if so is it available?

Start trying different recovery meals and find one that works for you. You can use low-fat chocolate milk or any of the commercially available recovery drinks. I prefer liquids because they are quickly absorbed and most athletes prefer that to something solid immediately after working out. Again, eat that recovery meal, see how you feel, tweak, and repeat.

Summary

There is not a magic pre- or post-workout or race meal. You have to find what works for you and your body. That is why this is a process of. . . eat, tweak, and repeat!

You have probably seen the ads on TV that talk about the good bacteria in your gastrointestinal system (GI system). They are selling products that help reduce gas, bloating, constipation, etc. You’ve probably asked if these products work and why you may need them in the first place.

Your GI system is your small and large intestine. If your GI system isn’t happy, you are probably not happy. Which means that it is important to take care of your GI system and the bacteria that live there. A lot of things can upset your GI system and the bacteria including stress and antibiotics. Have you ever noticed when you take antibiotics that your GI system is not happy? One reason for that is that the antibiotics kill the bacteria in your GI system. When you finish the antibiotics, I recommend getting some probiotics to help re-populate your gut with the bacteria that our bodies need. Probiotics are foods or pills that contain the bacteria that will re-populate your GI system. You can eat the yogurt, drink the little Scandinavian drink, or get them through a pill. If you are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy, the pills may be the best option for you. I prefer the ones that are kept refrigerated to keep the little guys alive.

If you have ongoing GI issues, you might try adding a probiotic daily to see if it helps. I have had several clients who have had issues that have been resolved by adding a probiotic. They are also good to have when traveling or during stressful times.

If you want more information on probiotic products, ConsumerLab tests supplements to be sure they have what they say they do and are not contaminated. You can buy a single report or an subscription. They have a great report on probiotics.

The idea for the day – take care of your GI system and it will take care of you!

Have a great day!

1) Do you want to nail your race day nutrition? I’m now offering race day nutrition planning. Email me at penny@eatingforperformance.com to find out more.

2) Based on the responses to the Ironman nutrition distance coaching survey, I’m working on a monthly nutrition coaching package for those competing in Ironman Texas in May, 011.  I’ll keep everyone posted about when it will be available and what it includes.

What you eat on race day is absolutely critical. It is one factor in determining if you finish the race with a smile on your face or if you don’t finish because you spent the race in the port-a-can. However, what you eat in the days up to the race can have the same result.

Questions from clients and reasons why clients contact me seem to come in groups of problems. I think I’ll call this year, “Year of the GI Issue.” I’ve had multiple racers facing GI issues on race day. Here are some common reasons for race day GI issues:
- Nerves, nerves and more nerves
- Nutrition in the hours before and during the race
- Nutrition in the two days before the race.

Unfortunately, not much I can do about the nerves issue. However, I have a friend who takes a couple of sprays of Rescue Remedy before the race to help relax.

For nutrition in the hours before the race – eat something 2 – 4 hours before that you know will settle in your stomach and clear out before the race. Typical choices include oatmeal and either a bagel or toast with peanut butter. Both of these are portable for when you have to travel. Jiff now has portable peanut butter packs called Jif To Go. This makes packing peanut butter more easy than dealing with a whole jar. (Side note: on a day-to-day basis, I prefer all natural peanut butters without added oil and salt. However, those also require refrigeration which is also not a good thing when you’re traveling).

A couple of hours before the race, you can switch to race food – drinks, gels, blocks, etc. These typically are easy to get down and will clear your stomach before the race. Some people have good luck with bars, too.

During the race use what you’ve practiced with. If you are planning on using race provided food – practice with it before the event.

If you have Race Day GI issues, start looking at your nutrition in the days leading up to the race. It is during this time you may want to decrease your fiber if you eat a high fiber diet, look at your dairy intake, stress levels, caffeine, NSAIDs (pain relievers), greasy food, and alcohol consumption. Eliminate one or two at a time until you find what is causing the issue.

The most important thing – train your food just like you train your body. You’ve got to train with the food you’ll use on race day to know that it works. Don’t change anything race day unless you have to (for example, you ride over railroad tracks and lose your bottles with your drink in them as you head out on the bike).

Race Day GI Issues can be solved – it just takes some tinkering to figure it out.

Happy Racing!
Penny