Blog

How to Fuel for a Long Distance Triathlon (70.3)

Posted on by Christy Olsen
Fuel for a Long Distance Triathlon
04
Aug

I was so excited to do the Deuces Wild Endurance Festival triathlon. Training for a triathlon is a big endeavor, and nothing is worse than preparing, training, putting in the hours, miles, and early mornings, only to crash hard on race day. Nothing will make you crash harder and faster than not doing the right nutrition, the right kind of nutrition, and having the right timing for nutrition.

I decided to test Seattle Gummy’s on the Deuces Wild Long Course to see how I would do almost exclusively fueling with their Endurance Chews, Recovery Chews, and their Mocca Shots. 

Pre-Race Nutrition (Morning of Deuces Wild Triathlon)

I had a very early morning wake-up, the kind of morning wake-up that made me sure I had made all the wrong choices in my life, when not only was I waking up at 3:30 am, but I paid to do this. I was tired.    This is what I ate/drank pre-race.

  • Liquid IV
  • Mocca Chew (1)
  • 1 Dark Chocolate RX Bar
  • Cup of Black Coffee (yes, this was a bad idea, but did I mention how tired I was?)

We arrived, set up our transition areas, did our final bike check, took a few pictures, and then I got to do the super fun part: squeezing into my wetsuit. I knew I should get some sort of nutrition in at that point, so I chose the Recovery Chews (2 of them) to keep my sugars up before starting the swim.

Swim / Bike Transition

Getting out of the lake is always so fun! I was shaking a little bit – sorta wobbly on walking legs (you know, because I just swam 1.2 miles) and then I’m supposed to get on my bike, ha! I managed to finish the pack of Recovery Chews to keep my sugar up, and I also chewed a salt tab. Then I got on my bike and took off on the next part of the race.

Bike Nutrition

During the ride, I had my alarm set for every 5 miles to take in nutrition. 

  • Half Evil Carb Drink – as desired
  • Seattle Gummy Endurance Chews – 2 every 10 miles
  • Apple Sauce / Sweet Potato Baby Food Pouch – 1 at mile 30

On a very hilly, high-altitude course I managed to average 18.1mph, which was exceptionally good for me!

Bike / Run Transition

Here I found my brother in transition, laying flat on his back. I never expected to see him on this course, much less pass him! He should have been halfway through the run by now, but he had not fueled properly and was paying for it! Also, he had forgotten his salt. I found my salt, gave him some, took some myself, grabbed my pre-packed handheld water bottle (with my nutrition), chewed a Seattle Gummy Mocca Shot, and started my run.  

Run Nutrition

During my run, I took in nutrition a little less regularly but I still tried to be consistent.

  • Endurance Chews Every 30 minutes (1-2 chews)
  • Mocca Shots I took in at the 7-mile mark and then again at the 10-mile mark. This was mainly for the energy / mental boost, not necessarily for the nutritional value
  • I did do random chips / Gatorade at the aid stations
  • Half Evil was in my bottle until it was gone, then I just filled it with water
  • Salt tabs

This was a very hot, hilly, high-altitude run. I did not hit my goal of 2 hours, but did still finish strong, and placed 1st in my age group! Ok, there were only two of us, but 1st place in an age group is still a win! Then I was able to wait around and chat with the amazing race directors/finish line people waiting for the rest of my group to finish.

Post Race Recovery

Immediately after finishing, I sat down and did absolutely nothing. After feeling like I could move again, I did 1 pack of the Recovery Chews, and then tried some of the post-race food they had – most of it was gross! Thankfully, I still had my Seattle Gummy Recovery Chews.

To recap, I had a Personal Record on my 70.3 distance by over an hour. Some of my success I can attribute to better nutrition, and of course to better training. I can’t stress the importance of nutrition enough. If you do not fuel properly, you will not race properly and will be in for a very disappointing finish. Easy nutrition is so important! I love baby food packs, Endurance chews, and for that mental boost (half of distance training is mental), I really like the Mocca Shots (even though they were not intended for endurance fuel). They give you that immediate mental boost that makes you feel like you can keep moving! The next race I do, I will be packing my pockets with Seattle Gummy’s Mocca Shots, Endurance chews, and Recovery chews.

Christy Olsen