It is amazing how minor things success or failure depends on. Basically, we can state that the nutrients supporting the success of an ironman competitor are found in any pantry. And yet so often these do not make their way into the „haversack” of the competitor! You can learn all about professional refreshing from Kindl Gábor ‘s presentation before the ironman, which is worth revising from time to time:

 Average ironman competitors complete the distance within 12 hours, which means using up about 10,000 kilocalories. You will cover nearly 70% of the 10,000 Kcal from your fat reserves, but you need carbohydrates to activate these reserves– as known by all ironmen:

Fats burn down in the fire of carbohydrates.

Clear, but where should you get your carbohydrates from? Basically from two sources:
Half of them is stored in your muscles prepared through training and in your liver, in the form of glycogen, the other half needs to be consumed during the race. Some minor questions that arise: When, what and how much? Oh, yes, and how?

 

If you stick to the above example, you need to arrange ca. 1,800 Kcal intake evenly distributed during the race. This means you must consume 18-20 grams of carbohydrates every half hour in solid, jelly, or liquid format.  We could say that consistency does not matter, but anyone who has completed such a long race will know that relish rules. As for me, I know few people with great appetite during the ironman marathon, so generally speaking we could say that the menu goes from solid to more liquid consistency as the competition proceeds. This of course varies per individual, but most importantly

                                                                                                          

 

This is a key aspect of nutrition. If the nutriment is too thick, it will simply not get from the stomach to the small intestine from where it could be absorbed and you are in for trouble. I won’t be listing the consequences, let’s just say in this case you are more likely to break a leg than your personal record.

Now that you know what, when and how much, all you need is to ensure the appropriate circumstances: For the above formula to function, your body sets prerequisites you will need to stick to.

Enzymes have an outstanding role in the utilization of nutrients, but unfortunately they cannot handle heat well. This leaves you two things you can do:
 - keep the pace at 65-70% of your maximum pulse;
 - and take care of continuous cooling. Do keep in mind:
your muscle work is just 25% efficient – the „remaining” 75% heat is surplus!

Now that we are done with sugar, let’s take a look at water and salt. Follow us because these will be addressed in our next blog entry!