When I started eating low carb high fat (LCHF), I was avoiding sugars and grains as if my life depended on it. I trained and raced all of 2013 trying not to use sugars. Prior to switching to LCHF, I was using the typical sugary stuff that was not much different from what most people use. For me, the sugary stuff was always too sweet on long training days except when I used a custom formula from Infinit Nutrition. With the custom formula, you can dial up calories, add/reduce this or that, but the best part was you can set the flavor down to near nothing!
So, what the heck was I supposed to do for nutrition if I could not use sugars and trying to avoid products with wheat and dairy?
I started doing a little research and listened to a ton of podcasts. During that time, I experimented with crazy things such as using olive oil as I discussed in a past blog! On the bike, I even tried only using individual packages of Justin's Almond Butter. Although I figured I needed carbohydrates, I stupidly avoid them in order to stay away from sugars. I was trying to be as efficient as possible at burning fat as fuel and somehow thought that sugars and carbs were one in the same. I thought I was doing it right! I was training strictly in Zone 2 so I did not need much carbs, right? Well, as you would expect, I added carbs back in but I still stayed away from sugars. I started using a SuperStarch from Generation UCAN. SuperStarch is a complex carbohydrate that does not produce a big insulin spike typically triggered when using other types of carbohydrates. Controlling insulin spikes allows the body to stay in fat-burning mode.
During my 2013 Ironman Florida training, I ultimately settled on a mixture of Generation UCAN (plain flavor), MCT Oil (I use the Now Sports brand), water, and NUUN Active Hydration tablets to add flavor. Trust me, add one or two tablets of NUUN for the flavor! There are no sugars in NUUN. Its sweetness comes from sorbitol - a sugar alcohol. Generation UCAN has a chalky texture. To top it off, the plain flavor that I used has a slight odd taste so you definitely need to add flavor in my opinion! UCAN comes in other flavors but I found the taste to be too strong for me to handle during bike rides over 2 to 3 hours. NUUN tablets come in many flavors and none of them have an overpowering taste! Also due to the large variety of flavors, you do not get tired of always drinking the same flavor all day long!
During the Ironman race, I had a bottle with 1 scoop of Generation UCAN and one NUUM tablet that I drank in T1. I had a much longer swim than I expected (just under 2 hours). Trust me, I was glad I had that bottle waiting there for me! On the bike, I had a 3-hour bottle that included 3.5 scoops of Generation UCAN, 1.5 tablespoons of MCT Oil, one opened capsule of SaltStick (electrolyte), and one NUUN tablet for flavor (different flavor than one at T1). The mixture tends to separate and settles to the bottom of the bottle. Therefore, you really need to shake it up pretty hard each time! The reason I used 3.5 scoops of UCAN is that it generally sticks to the bottom of the bottle so I was making sure I was getting at least three scoops of UCAN out of the bottle. I drank the mixture every 45 minutes; so I was taking in roughly 135 calories per hour from the bottle. Yes, probably not enough calories per hour but that's what I did! In my bike special needs bag, I had another pre-mixed 3-hour bottle of the mixture with yet a different flavor of NUUN. At about mid-point of the bike leg, I stopped, ate a 1.15 oz. packet of Justin's Almond Butter (about 190 calories), and shook the heck out of new bottle of the mixture. Throughout the race, I was also taking in two SaltStick capsules per hour. A couple of times during the second half of the bike leg, I thought I was sweating too much so I took an extra one each time. I never felt weak throughout my ride (5 hour 54 minutes). Including the almond butter snack, I took in a total of 165 calories per hour for the bike ride that actually felt as if it was only 3 hours or less! I felt strong coming off the bike and heading into the run.During the run, I used the same mixture in a 4-bottle FuelBelt. In my run special needs bag, I had extra bottles of the mixture along with bottles of Infinit Nutrition as backup for the 2nd half of the run if I thought I needed sugars. Late in my training, I started testing out Infinit Nutrition during some of my long runs to make sure I could handle them on race should I need a Plan B. Well, one hour into my run, I drank the mixture and by body nearly rejected it. I had to stop and collect myself so that I could keep it down. I started to get a little nervous since I had about 1 hour to the special needs area. Just before the 2 hour mark, I tried the mixture once again. Nope! One small sip and I knew it would not stay down! I grabbed the Infinit Nutrition bottles out of my special needs bag. So I went with Plan B. Ugh, my body didn't want that either! I threw away my FuelBelt in the first trash can I saw. Race course nutrition it had to be from this point forward! At some point past mile 14, I started showing signs of dehydration. I had done well taking my SaltStick caps during the bike but on the run, I probably lost track due to being concerned with the nutritional issue at hand! Perhaps, the low intake of calories on the bike played a factor.
Due to the dehydration, I had to walk more often than I had hope but the walking kept my heart rate low. I had tired legs and I was starting to feel weak. I was using race course nutrition and knew I needed sugars soon. I started to alternate the nutrition at each water station I past. First stop, warm chicken broth - yummy taste! Second stop, I ate one or two orange slices. Next stop, one to two small cups of coke. I repeated this for the entire 2nd half of the run leg. I have no idea how many calories I took in. I was upset that I had to walk more than I expected but I was happy that my 4:15 marathon was 5 minutes faster than I expected. Overall, I had a 12:23 Ironman finish time but I know now that I need more calories on the bike to help me stay strong for the run when I need it most. I know I need to be ready to use a different type of nutrition on the run then I used on the run.
This year, for my half ironman training and my Ironman Florida training, I started out using 3Fuel (3FU3L) only. It tastes GREAT! I never got tired of the taste, even on long training days. Initially, I was only taking in about 135 calories per hour. Yes, 135 calories, crazy low! You would had figured I learned my lesson from last year but I'm dumb like that! 3Fuel worked well for me during training lasting 2 to 3 hours; even when I included some interval work. I used it during a half ironman length race this past May in Panama City Beach (swim was cancelled due to bad currents) but I felt it wasn't enough - probably due to the very low calorie intake. But now that my training hours are building, I started adding MCT Oil in my 3-hour bottle so I could bump up my intake of calories. After several months of testing it out, 3Fuel did not work for me for very long training days or in a racing environment due to, I believe, the protein being too high and the carbs from the starch being too low. I do still use 3Fuel, but as my recovery drink. I'm back to playing around with Generation UCAN with MCT Oil. I also started playing with using a low carb energy bar (1/3 of bar per hour) so I have something solid in my stomach. I prefer liquid nutrition but I find that I need a little something solid in my stomach! I have yet to figure it all out but I need to get it dialed by November 1st!!! Oh, on the run, I recently started testing out almond butter from Justin's and PocketFuel. PocketFuel has fruit in it so it tastes great! However, I believe I need to go with something else since the almond butter won't digest quickly enough for me. Plus, my mouth gets all pasty eating it requiring me to drink more water than I'd like. I am about to start using gels with the least amount of grams of sugars. I'm even considering using something like Hammer Perpetuem for the first half of my long runs then switching to the gels. For Ironman, I know I will need sugars at some point during the run!
One thing is for certain, finding the nutrition type and caloric intake that works for you is a trial and error process; especially when you are trying to limit your sugar intake. Once I figure it all out, I'll post it but what works for me may or may not work for you. So go out there and test, test, test!
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