After 8ish years I recently reached ‘peak gel’ at the OHV 3
+ 3 event. I literally couldn’t put another gel in my mouth. I have no idea
what brought it on – the heat, the general phasing of sweet foods out of my
diet, who knows? Although I had used Shotz gels successfully through many
events a lot of my clients were using Infinit. I’ve always been reluctant to go
down the carb-solution road as it has been proved to be devastating the oral
health of athletes, and I’m still currently cavity-free. It also didn’t seem to
present the same opportunities to adjust energy and rehydration needs to suit
the conditions (eg. The ability to take on sufficient energy when fluid
requirements were low). Energy requirements during races of equal duration and
intensity don’t vary much while fluid requirements can change wildly depending
on temperature and humidity.
I defied all the advice I give to my clients and used the
Singletrack 6 stage race in Canada to test out the new strategy. After
competing and placing 3rd in this race 2 years ago I noticed that my
fluid intake was a fraction of what I would have in Australia. Two and a half hour
stages were completed on less than a 600mL bidon, which would have left me
quite desiccated if attempting that in Australia. We were racing early in the
morning where temperatures were struggling in the low ‘teens and it lacked the
humidity of Queensland which meant that sweating was more efficient in cooling
the body. I wasn’t thirsty indicating that this was an appropriate amount of
liquid for my needs.
Considering this I placed all of my Infinit in a single
water bottle and filled it with about 400mL of water. If I planned to race for
3 hours I put a little over 3 hours of Infinit in the bottle calculated on 60
grams of carbohydrate per hour, which is sufficient for endurance racing while
not causing stomach upset. I then put plain water in a camelback which I would
rely on for hydration and use to rinse my mouth after carb intake to save my
tooth enamel.
I found several advantages in this system:
1.
There was no awkward reaching into my pocket for
a gel or flask, something that would have been quite difficult on the
singletrack-heavy course. A couple of sips of my Infinit bottle and that was my
energy needs sorted for the next 30 to 60 minutes. Also there are no gel
packets to fall out of my pocket and litter the pristine course.
2.
My fluid was easy to reach when required and I could
drink on the downhills by shoving my camelback tube in my mouth. The plain
water washed away any lingering sweetness so I wasn’t ‘sugar-fatigued’ at the
end of each stage
Jason from Infinit did a custom blend so dialled the flavour
right back and doubled up on the electrolytes as I’m a salty-sweater. Having
the electrolyte separated from the fluid worried me, but ingesting too much
sodium should have made me want to drink more, not less. As it was I found very
little need for the additional water and lugged a camelback around for no point
on many of the stages. But it was always there if I needed it so worth taking.
Of course it would be ideal for bike manufacturers to start fitting small
frames with a second bottle cage but I don’t see that happening soon.
Not having the thick gel consistency to deal with meant I
was never reluctant for my next scheduled carb hit. It was just like drinking
normally and not overpoweringly sweet. I also found that I was able to ingest
MORE than the normal 60g per hour without any stomach upset which meant I felt
stronger towards the end of the stages, particularly the longer stages. I think
this definitely gave me the edge when I took the podium on the last and longest
stage of the event.
I am quite impressed with the system so far and look forward
to trialling it in the hotter conditions in Queensland for a more traditional
marathon-style event. This is when I most struggle with nutrition in the back
half of the race. Jason has also provided a mix specifically for ultra-endurance
XPD events that I will be using in the upcoming XPD China race in Altay. I
might test it out a bit more before then though as it would be a painful lesson
to learn in a 72 hour event.
Getting your nutrition right is an essential part of a
successful race. There are several ways (gels, liquids, solids) to get to the
same place so it’s worth experimenting to see which works for you.
