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[disney_duke]

That sounds like a winner. That would totally help!

[Amy L]

Tim - you have totally peaked my interest with this product. Looking forward to hearing how it works for you!

[Fortissimo]

UCAN is great for fueling. I used it during training and for the Disney Half last year. I mixed it with yogurt or something else because I didn't like the taste. Many of the people I train with, including my BIL, use UCAN and swear by it. You can buy smaller packets to see if it works for you before you purchase the huge container.

Hope it works for you!

[Amy L]

Originally Posted by Fortissimo

You can buy smaller packets to see if it works for you before you purchase the huge container.

Robin - Do you know who sells the smaller packets?

[Tim Sullivan]

Yeah, I figured go big or go home :P I went with a tub of it, in the long run if it doesn't work it isn't that big of a drop in the bucket.

There are some online retailers that sell the packets, either directly from UCAN, but Amazon carries it amongst other online vendors.

Really seems like one of those "too good to be true" types of promises, but every bit of research (other than an article that was critical of it as a fat burning, high fat low carb diet type of thing) only said great things.

Should have it next week and can let you guys know what I think. Also got some of the post-workout protein mix as well...partially to see how that works, partially because the Vanilla Cream flavour sounds delicious :P

Tim

[Fortissimo]

Originally Posted by Amy L

Robin - Do you know who sells the smaller packets?

TriSports.com sells it.

When I was using the UCAN I never had a problem in training with it. The taste was okay. However, this was the nutrition I used for my Disney Half last January. I mixed it with my yogurt, like I had for the previous 4 or 5 months, and ate it 45 minutes before the race just like I did in training. First 5-7 miles were great with no problems. Miles 8 - 13.1 were not pretty.

This seems to be a Robin problem and not a nutrition product problem. The same thing happened to me with my last 70.3. I used Perpetuem all during training with absolutely no problems at all. But when I got about 14-15 miles into the bike during the race things got ugly really fast. I could drink my Skratch hydration with no problems but as soon as I drank the Perpetuem the problems would start again.

I might just live on Skratch and Bonk Breakers for the Ironman....

[Amy L]

Hmmm. I like that I don't have any tummy issues with the Honey Stinger gels and energy chews. I do start to feel really gagged, however, after my 3rd go around with them. What I am trying to figure out is why I lose energy big time towards the end of the races when I have just a couple miles left. I am looking for something to combat that, which is why UCAN intrigues me. I really think it is mental for me though because in both the ToT and at the Marathon I crashed at almost the same point - Hollywood Studios. I am able to pull it together to get through to the end, but I hate that feeling and want a magic cure.

[Fortissimo]

Originally Posted by Amy L

Hmmm. I like that I don't have any tummy issues with the Honey Stinger gels and energy chews. I do start to feel really gagged, however, after my 3rd go around with them. What I am trying to figure out is why I lose energy big time towards the end of the races when I have just a couple miles left. I am looking for something to combat that, which is why UCAN intrigues me. I really think it is mental for me though because in both the ToT and at the Marathon I crashed at almost the same point - Hollywood Studios. I am able to pull it together to get through to the end, but I hate that feeling and want a magic cure.

Chances are you're bonking. In races I didn't consume enough fuel I've bonked at around the same mileage. This year we will be increasing my caloric intake from 200 calories an hour on the bike to 300 and on the run from 150 to 200 to see if that helps with my bonking. The worst part of bonking for me is that's when I go into the dark place of, "What the heck am I doing this for?"

[Tim Sullivan]

Yeah Amy, I'd agree that it's probably more bonking than anything else.

Couple new things I've learned/had clarification from my coach, is that we only have about 2 hours worth of energy stored in our muscles/body that we can use for exercise, and when we go beyond that point the body starts using fat as a fuel source. Unfortunately most people have a hard time making that switch between glycogen and fat as fuel sources, and the body isn't as efficient at burning fat as fuel, so that's the reason why so many end up having issues late in the race.

Couple things I'm trying to combat that... first off is some of my training runs are what I'm calling "starvation runs" where I don't fuel before/during the run so that I deplete my glycogen early and teach the body to make the switch between glycogen and fat sooner/learn to handle it better. Coach says this is a key to helping to lessen any massive energy drops that happen late in the race.

Second thing is switching up my fuel strategy (hence the UCAN). One of the reasons that my coach suspects I'm having so many late-race issues is because I get the GI distress then I can't fuel, and no fuel=no energy intake, which causes the bonking that happens for me.

One of the other things he suggested for me is to fuel more often, but in smaller doses. So instead of say one gel every 45-60 minutes, instead do a half a gel every 30 minutes to allow my stomach more time to absorb/digest all the sugars that I'm taking in.

Also, one of the things that the UCAN stuff claims as a benefit is because it doesn't cause an insulin spike, it allows your body to more naturally/easily use fat as a fuel source, so I'm hoping that will also help the glycogen/fat transition work a bit easier, and cause less issues in the latter stages of my race.

Tim

[disney_duke]

Huh. Sounds like all my runs are starvation runs! I learned something today.

Perhaps that's also why I never really hit a wall in a marathon. I can remember times where, sure, I wanted to stop. But not really a "wall." In fact, in all 3 of my marathons, I dare say it feel stronger in those last few miles. Tired, achy, and sore - but strong. My body must know how to use fat as fuel. Interesting!

[Fortissimo]

Tim, my coach had me do the same "starvation" runs last year. The first one I thought there was no way I was going make it 90 minutes to 2 hours without food. and I did take a gel with me in case I needed it. However, it was actually much easier than I thought it would be!

I also only consume portions of my nutrition spread throughout each hour. On the bike I eat portions of my Bonk Breaker every 15 minutes. During the run I will consume part of a gel every 10 minutes. As I get closer to a race I will then consume 1 entire gel every mile. During a race I will do the same.

For the Disney Half I think it was the heat and humidity more than the UCAN that caused my problems. For my last 70.3 I think it was the lake water I swallowed during the swim that didn't mix well with my nutrition. As I've said, I've never had problems training, only during races.

[Milichal]

So what does it mean if you get nauseated during a run? That's what happened to me during my first marathon. I was taking a shot block every 30 minutes (3-ish miles) without Gatorade. I took some Gatorade at stations when I hadn't had a block in a while.

[Fortissimo]

Originally Posted by Milichal

So what does it mean if you get nauseated during a run? That's what happened to me during my first marathon. I was taking a shot block every 30 minutes (3-ish miles) without Gatorade. I took some Gatorade at stations when I hadn't had a block in a while.

The nausea could be dehydration or even that you're over hydrated. I can become nauseated also when I get to Zone 5 and stay there for more than 15 minutes. It could also be the nutrition. If you tried something new on the race course that could be the cause of the nausea as well. I'm actually more careful about what I consume before I run, bike, or swim than I am during. For example, I can eat a banana or peanut butter before a bike or run, but not before a swim. I can eat eggs before I swim or bike but not before I run.

When I become nauseated I think about what may be causing it: dehydration, over hydration, pushing too hard, etc. and then I try to correct the issue. In the Disney Half I know it was the humidity with the heat and my nausea was probably caused by dehydration. While it really wasn't that hot, it was very humid and as Colorado is very dry I'm not used to the combination. I was also afraid to drink a lot because I didn't want to stop and use the litter box. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't the UCAN, but I don't think I can ever get over the taste of it again, if you know what I mean. In the 70.3 I eliminated the Skratch, Perpetuem, and Bonk Breakers for a bit. I added the Skratch back with no problem. But when I added the Perpetuem back the cramping and severe nausea started again. When I stopped drinking that and stuck to Skratch I had no problems. Unfortunately I ran out of Skratch and only had Perpetuem to drink so I donated a lot of nutrition to the side of the road.

Bonk Breakers and Gels don't affect me at all. I can eat those whenever and wherever with no ill effects. Bonk Breakers are easier on the bike to eat then ripping open a packet of GU. I can't chew and run so GU is easier for the run than Bonk Breakers.

It's a lot of trial and error.

[Tim Sullivan]

Yeah, I was really surprised just how successful the 18km run I did as my first "starvation" run went. I got up and was STARVING, but no breakfast, just had a huge glass of water to help fill up my stomach and keep the hunger pangs at bay, and hopped on the treadmill. Was really surprised that I got off the treadmill feeling as good as I did when I got on. Super excited to finally have breakfast, don't get me wrong But still felt great.

....this coach of mine might actually know a thing or two :P

I'll also agree/echo the comments about nausea while exerting. There are so many different things that could be the culprit, nerves, over-exertion, over-fuelling etc.... so hard to pin down exactly what it could be off of one instance.

You sound like you were having a similar situation as to what I had, where I was putting too much sugars/glucose into my system for too long. The body can only accept so much, and when it hits its limit...well, it hits its limit I also wouldn't be surprised if the actual shot blocks themselves might have had some more to do with it as well, as solids are harder to digest than a semi-solid (like a gel) or a liquid...especially during endurance events. Wouldn't be surprised if you still had undigested shot block in your tummy when you were attempting to re-fuel.

Tim

[kadterp]

Hi! Chiming in late here!

I tried ucan and I didn't care for the consistency...it's a bit chalky so I didn't continue with it. I found individual packets at my local running store. I've also tried Nuun and while it tasted good, the fuzzies when putting them in backfired on me on my sealed water bottle and squirted all over me when I opened it to take a drink when running.

For the marathon I did okay, no tummy issues...well started feeling blah around mile 11 and told hubby that I needed to change something or I wasn't going to make it. Instead of doing 230/130 run walk, we switched it to 130/230 run walk and the blahs and tired went away and we were able to finish strong! When I GUd up during the race, I'd only take a third of it at a time so I wouldn't get sick and then by the time we entered the studios, chocolate became my fuel for the rest of the race!