That is the question…..and here is my answer.
I spent this past year switching from Sprint distance to Half Iron distance triathlons. In my quest to train for double the distance in every discipline. I needed to train smarter and my nutrition needed to be altered.
As a sprint distance athlete I basically relied on my training for that distance and nutrition to me meant a couple bottles of Gatorade and maybe a gel or two. After 2.5 hrs the race was usually over.
As a half iron distance athlete the training was more intense and the nutrition needed to definitely needed to change.
As my coach JJ Neely and I sat down and chatted about iron distance triathlons I discovered that I was quite the novice when it came down to knowing what proper race nutrition was. Words such as sodium, carbohydrates per hour, electrolytes, potassium and caffeine were brought to my attention. All of which confused me….I just figured I would double what I was taking in on the sprint distance and all would be good. Obviously not the case.
My gel of choice on the sprint was GU.
Chocolate Outrage was my flavour of choice because it tasted like chocolate icing. I found it to have a very thick consistency and without some water accompanying it, very difficult to get down. None the less, a great tasting gel. GU is a great gel, but when you need to really dial into certain nutritional numbers, it lacks some of the key values. For example,
- Each gel is a 32g serving
- Calories 100
- Calories from fat 15
- Total fat 2g
- Saturated fat 1g
- Trans fat 0g
- Sodium 40mg
- Potassium 40mg
- Total Carb 20g
- Sugars 6g
- Protein 0g
For me this is a perfect gel for shorter distances but not for longer distances. My reasoning is this, when racing longer distances I find it easier to have 1 or 2 items that you only need to take that fulfil your race nutrition needs. This is because it’s easier carrying less with you when your racing for 5 plus hours. On top of all of this you need to remember when and how much to take. With the above nutritional values clearly you can see that you’re going to need more sodium and definitely more carbohydrates. So nutrition will need to supplemented with other things that fulfil the values you need come race day.
My Gel of Choice for half iron/Olympic distance triathlons is Power Bar Gel
Possible flavours Double Latte or Chocolate. These are the values:
- Each gel is a 42g serving
- Calories 110
- Calories from fat 0
- Total fat 0g
- Saturated fat 0g
- Trans fat 0g
- Sodium 200mg
- Potassium 20g
- Total Carb 27g
- Sugars 10
- Protein 0g
- Plus Power gel has caffeine 50mg
Power gel as more of a liquidy consistency so it’s a lot easier to take down, which makes it so much more digestible. This also means it enters your system faster.
So to answer the question “To GU or not to GU”? my answer is it just depends on you, your race distances and your nutrition needs.
Happy racing!
Ajay Kohli
