long swims & nutrition

mike - I recommend you acclimate to a morning meal for training, and have one prior to your 5K. Of course, you need to be careful but if you simply maintain your routine you should be in good shape. Thanks! (Love Galveston, btw...used to live up in Missouri City.)

i'm thinking swims in which support / escort kayak or boat are mandatory... this support crew would tote food stuffs... my nutrition issue is the majority of bars and gels I have seen offer 100 calories - not very much help. Mixes seem to offer substantially more calories, but you need a crew. Often 5k is the approximate cut-off related to mandatory escorts... a 5k swimmer might tote a gel in her swimsuit.

kevin - thanks... good thinking

mike - I recommend you acclimate to a morning meal for training, and have one prior to your 5K. Of course, you need to be careful but if you simply maintain your routine you should be in good shape.

thanks bill, my plan is 285 - 300 cals/hr taken as 3 feeds per hr (20 min intervals) each feed is 95-100 cals in 11oz (easy enough to chug and keep my pit stops short..."mix" concentrated so for each feed: 5 oz "MIX" + 6 oz hot water added just before feeding.

thank you & good luck wasn't expecting your input :) but your feedback was exactly what I'm looking for... God speed to you

I use 1.5 to 1.75 calories per hour. Most of it in the form of maltodextrin mixed with half strength gatorade. I throw in something different after three or so hours for variety. The maltodextrin is good, the high molecular weight allows you to mix more calories per ounce of fluid without having stomach emptying problems. You can buy carbo pro online, or go to the local homebrew shop and buy maltodextrin there for about 1/3rd the price.

I use 1.5 to 1.75 calories per hour. Most of it in the form of maltodextrin mixed with half strength gatorade. I throw in something different after three or so hours for variety. The maltodextrin is good, the high molecular weight allows you to mix more calories per ounce of fluid without having stomach emptying problems. You can buy carbo pro online, or go to the local homebrew shop and buy maltodextrin there for about 1/3rd the price. Kevin, I don't understand your calorie intake. Is that a rate of calories per pound of body weight? And to you all...the guys who are mixing their own mixes...do you have someone feed you or do you somehow carry the food? If so, how? I'm new to OW, and intend on doing a 10K sometime next year. Working on 5K this year...any suggestions very much appreciated!

For the English Channel I used 230 kc (normal strength, in 750 ml, 26 oz) Maxim maltodextrin, every hour for the first 3 hours. Then moved to every 30 min feed until completion using normal concentration again but about only about 500 ml (18oz). Couple of things to be aware of. Above 10 or 11 hours this much sugar will often shut off the liver and kidneys. You may become unable to urinate. In which case you start vomiting. Not a big deal if you are expecting it and the conditions are ok. If conditions are rough it'll be worse since you'll be taking on sea water which makes vomiting more propulsive, and therefore more exhausting. Looking back I would reduce the water volume, i.e increase the concentration. The feed schedule came from testing, I did a few 6 hour swims on hourly feeds and I would crash around the 5th hour. It happened at different times for myself and my friends. I'd also advice against a high-sodium carbo. And my double-channel solo friend recommends skipping 1 or 2 carb feeds every 3 or 4 hours, just taking an electrolyte or tea etc.

I am training for the english channel next year and have found two things that work geat for long swims. One is called carbo pro. you mix it with sports drinks. 7 scoops will give you 800 calories in a 8oz. They say it like eating 2 pounds of pasta before a swim. you dont feel bloated or anything from it. I also will take it ever 30 min if I am doing 10 miles or more. The other thing is Kashi bars. I cute them into small chunks and put it in a plastice bag, I find I personal need a little protien while swimming. I also mix in the plastice bag chunks of plain bagels so I can get a mix of stuff. Chocolate is used alot because its high calories. But I love Cabo pro if I dont drink it before a long swim I now feel like I am going to crash and run out of steam. I think its best to find things that work try them in training and see if you see a diffrance. The kashi bar thing was pure luck. I brough diffrent things to one of my trainings with my coach and he started to see me fade on a long swim and my mom happend to have a Kashi bar in her purse so my coach gave it to me and I felt better instantlly. I also like Mrs. grasses soup for cold swims to make you feel warm and it has hight calorie count. Good luck!!!!