Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

mjtyson — Thu, 09 May 2019 10:11:37 GMT

Maybe I should have caffeinated feeds too. One of the Crystal Lights I used (grape) was caffeinated. I need that as I'm a regular diet soda drinker, and when I don't have it I get bad headaches. I also always have a soda with my feeds. I open the cap the day before to let it get mostly flat. I have this soda ready in case the ibuprofen is not taking care of the head; I've found that if I use a "fresh" soda, the carbonation bugs me and I get hiccups, thus needing a flat one.

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

ourswimmer — Wed, 08 May 2019 11:37:04 GMT

2:40 or less is amazing. I definitely plan to be fat adapted during training, but I'd be thrilled to finish in 3 hours, and 3:30 is more realistic. Perhaps I'll try some long swims before breakfast and see how I do. Thank you, although I rarely have been fastest in my age/sex group. Anyway, you'll need to do some long swims to train for a longer event and those will give you plenty of opportunity to try out different ideas for eating and drinking. Enjoy!

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

Geekchic1674 — Tue, 07 May 2019 06:25:37 GMT

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

Geekchic1674 — Tue, 07 May 2019 06:23:10 GMT

I've done all my marathon swims on LCHF since 2015. My "feeds" are little sausages or pepperonis, and maybe some Justin's pb packets. For Suck last year I did the pepperonis, babybel cheeses (those little red-paper covered circles), and Justins. I've never done any of those carb drinks as my belly can't handle them. And I've tried UCan, but same result re: stomach. For liquids I use water and Crystal Light to add non-cal flavor. I spike one of my Crystal Light bottles with the equivalent of 1200mg of children's ibuprofen so when I start to feel the shoulders/back/elbow/whatever, I drink that bottle over 2-3 feeds (every 30 min). Good luck! Cool! I love the idea of sausage lol. Maybe the prosciutto wrapped mozzarella sticks would be good. The idea of putting drugs in your water is really good. I can get headaches in cold water. Maybe I should have caffeinated feeds too.

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

mjtyson — Mon, 06 May 2019 12:11:35 GMT

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

Lyn — Sun, 05 May 2019 12:55:02 GMT

I've done several 10Ks on just water and I'm really slow, all were over 4 hours. The last one, I had a gel in my suit but never ate it. I also trained in the morning before breakfast, though I'm not on a low carb diet. Last year I converted to real food on my longer swims and I love it. Blended sweet potatoes, tart apricots and maple syrup is my favorite but I've tried a few others: PB&J sandwich quarters, applesauce with cooked oats. I'll continue to experiment next year when I start training again.

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

flystorms — Fri, 03 May 2019 09:01:08 GMT

Two things for you... UCan - it's a superstarch product that keeps your blood sugar levels nice and steady, unlike a lot of sports drinks out there. I've used this stuff exclusively for liquid calories in any race 10K and above. It's a tad chalky, but you get used to it. Try a few packets while training to see how they work with your belly. You may be able to find them at a running/tri store www.generationucan.com/ As I was training for Suck last year, I ran across Huma gels. They taste good and are more natural than a lot of the gels. https://humagel.com/

RE: Low carb feeding on a marathon swim (and feeding in general)

ourswimmer — Thu, 02 May 2019 11:27:40 GMT

I have done several 10Ks on just water or a non-sugary electrolyte drink. No problem for me, but (1) I also ate low-carb while training for them, and did most of my training before breakfast; (2) none of those swims was in water colder than 65F; and (3) I finished all of them in 2:40 or faster. If the water had been colder, or the time in the water longer, I would have considered consuming some calories. This thread on the Marathon Swimmers Forum has a ton of personal stories on exactly this topic. It's not currently active but you might find it informative anyway.