I like to Oat, Oat, Oat.

So I've gotten a number of emails in the past few days about race nutrition. I'm happy to share my nutrition plan and what I actually did on race day. Each day is different and like anything with Ironman (or life) you need to be flexible and adaptable. It's science, but it's also trial and error. My original plan called for gels, caffeine and a variety of other items that I can't use or tolerate.

So, here's how race day broke down for me at Ironman Florida. Keep in mind, you need to eat for the race in the days leading up to it. Race day at Ironman Florida was 79-80, clear, sunny skies, wind and humidity. I added extra salt to my food the days before and stayed hydrated.

Saturday:

3:30 AM 2-3 cups of applesauce, 1 scoop protein powder w/ milk, 8 0z sports drink (with extra salt) and a banana.

6 AM - 1/2 power bar and 8 oz of water

7 AM race start

8 AM on bike and a bit of water to clean off and get the salt out of my mouth

Every 10 min. on the bike I take a sip of water and gatorade.

Every 30 minutes I eat 1/2 a powerbar (later on in the bike, I'll switch to either sharky's chews or clif bloks).

Every 1 hour, 1 thermo-tab salt tablet

I switched to jelly chews with about 90 min. left on the bike and I spread out my bar-eating to about 45 min. rather than 1/2 hour to settle my tummy.

On the run: swig of gatorade and water at each aid station. I like to chew on ice, stuff some down my shirt and use a sponge on my face, chest, head and arms. I try to keep my feet as dry as possible.

So there you go, it's not the scientific breakdown, but it is what I did and I did not take any bathroom stops on the run, I peed a few times on the bike (yea, it smells great... and it's for sale!). Walking the aid stations helped my tummy settle and I read myself correctly - on the bike and the run. Listening to your body for what it wants and what it needs is key.