Category: Best Pratices

How I Raced IRONMAN Florida 70.3 with No Stomach

If you are reading this, you are probably thinking, “How did you get nutrition during the race”? Great question! I feel like I got lucky. What worked for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. But – It might!

Prerace:

I treated my days as normal before the race. I did take one GU Hydration Drink Tabs with a G2 Gatorade two days before the race and the day before, I took two GU Hydration Drink Tabs with two G2 Gatorades. I sipped on these between meals.  The evening meal before the race was pad thai – not spicy.  I did spike my sugar a bit (expected with me) and caught it on the way down at 58, and then ate a few gummy packs to bring it back up. But – no major issues.

Pre-race: wake at 4:00 – 3 oz of Espresso

Eat a “One Protein Bar” at around 5am (takes about 45 min)

7am: start sipping on First Endurance EFS: Lemon Lime and water (two separate bottles)

7:55am: last sip of water. Race Time!

On the Bike about 42 min later. I have water up front with one GU Hydration Drink Tab, 4 GU Energy Gel (tri-berry) mixed with water on the frame, and Hammer Perpetuem on the back.

I sipped all these every few minutes, mixing it up as I went. I grabbed water at the water stations and refilled my front water container and dropped one more GU Hydration Drink Tab at around mile 45.  I also had a bag of ruffles that I started eating around mile 30 because sipping sugary drinks becomes boring. Dang – those chips taste amazing.

In transition from the bike to the run (T2), I put an ice filled water bottle (smart water bottle) down the back of my tri-suit – and took a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem on my fanny pack and 2 extra GU Hydration Drink Tab in my pack.  Those were extra should it get hot. Well – it got very hot. 91+ degrees.  The ice melted around mile 5, then I drank that.  And I popped those extra GU Hydration Drink Tabs with water at mile 5 and 9 and got more GU Gels from the volunteers on the race to mix with water when I refilled the water.

I really expected to blow up or cramp or “fail” or something during the run. But – this plan worked very well. I walked the transitions when I needed to refill, but beyond that – I had a great race and didn’t have major issues. It was hard – but it was so rewarding! Thank you, for everyone who cheered me on along the way and tracked me live. I felt like I was getting energized by the support!

Love ya’ll. Would love to do a full IRONMAN soon. But the primary challenge is scheduling the training around family, work, etc.

Tweet me at @GoWithoutYoGut if you want me to blog about specific topics.

How to Train/Exercise Without a Stomach

A fellow stomachless friend reached out to me asking me about how I got back into training. So – I wanted to share how it worked for me. Keep in mind that everyone’s recovery is different. I would encourage you not to get frustrated, go slow, and stay patient.

I had my total gastrectomy on Jan 6th and ran my first mile Feb 16th and finished 4th in a Sprint Triathlon May 20th.  It’s also worth mentioning, through over 10 events, I scored my 2nd best time.

I sound “braggy”…. But – the reason I share this is because I remember early January feeling much doubt and not sure if I would ever run again. So, I share this to provide hope that you can still live a fantastic exciting life without a stomach.

Please don’t take this as gospel – meaning – this isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Everyone is different. Go slow and listen to your body. When in doubt, take a day off and rest. Also – please note that recovery is much more intense post opp. Example – I used to work out 6 days a week. Now – I can currently work out 3 days a week or so.

After about two weeks after the surgery, I started walking a mile or so every other day. Then, I would walk a mile, two days in a row, followed by a day off. Then 1.5 miles, or 2 miles. I would then increase the speed of my walks. I would build up to about an 18min/mile pace, then 16min mile pace, then 14 min mile pace. I would walk slow for a mile, then speed up to 14min mile pace (feels like your speed walking) and I would do that for a mile or so, then slow back down to normal walking pace. After you do that for a few weeks, you should feel like you either need to keep doing it, or you feel like it’s too easy and you’re ready for a jog. Make sure you warm up well – then job for a few minutes. Feel your body. If it hurts, go back to walking, if it doesn’t, keep jogging for a mile or so. They key is to take it easy and don’t overdo it. Your body will respond very well if you lightly train and take recovery days seriously. I kept it that way and in no time – I was up to running 4 miles (April 3rd). My pace is much slower, but it feels so amazing to go out and run knowing everything we have been through.

Swimming was a bit uncomfortable for some time. Since I had open surgery, the healing takes a while. It wasn’t until April 20th that I was able to swim 1,500 meters without pain. It’s still tight when I first start swimming, but it feels fine after a few minutes of warm up.

Nutrition during training:

I struggled with drinking water early on. Strangely enough, once my heart rate goes up and I sweat a bit – I can drink much more easily. I don’t even really think about it when I drink while training. Same is true with my sugar drinks while training. They have not given me issues assuming I “need” them due to hard effort. While you introduce “nutrition” on your longer sessions, be cautious and don’t overdo it. Perhaps sip on your drink one day at home to ensure it will sit well.  Your body will also change quickly.  Example: I used to drink Gatorade G2 the first few weeks after surgery.  Now – it can’t drink it as it makes me run to the bathroom. Not sure what changed – but it’s a no go. Gatorade Endurance gives me no issues, but I only drink it during training sessions.

My goal is to do a full Ironman in the next couple of years. Stay tuned for more details during the journey! If you have questions – message me on Twitter https://twitter.com/GoWithoutYoGut