After Rev3, I was feeling the need to get back out and race again, so I set my sights on Eagleman 70.3. I had never done two half ironman races within one week of one another, so I did not know how my body would respond to the double. However my recovery during the week seemed to go well, and I attribute much of that to the fact that I did VERY little training, combined with consumption of A LOT of Ultragen. The truth is that I did not bump up my dose of Optygen or MultiV, but I was particularly attentive to how much Ultragen I was taking in. After hard races, we athletes are much more likely to get upper respiratory infections. Glutamine is one of the key elements used to prevent these infections, and Ultragen has three grams of it in each serving. I probably had two to three servings of Ultragen in each of the five days immediately following Rev3.

As with any good race day nutritional plan, things got going on Friday before the race. Friday’s first meal was a large smoothie (32oz) made up of two scoops of Ultragen, 16oz of Almond Milk, 8oz of frozen fruit (strawberries, mangoes, blueberries), and one banana. It’s important to kick start that hydration early on, especially after flying the night before. My midday meal was a turkey sandwich with wheat bread, avocado, tomato, some potato chips (sodium loading!), and a 24oz bottle of water. I did not really plan to exercise much that day, so the total calorie intake was down a bit. Later in the day–after a key nap–I ate an apple, a banana, and one packet of Justin’s almond butter. In the evening, I did a short swim, which I followed up immediately with an 18-oz bottle of Ultragen (two servings). Next up was dinner. As I attempt to remove the animal proteins from my diet the day before the race, I always try to have some salmon two days out. Therefore, dinner that night was salmon, rice, a romaine salad, a lot of water, and some mixed steamed veggies. The entire dinner was over-salted, in an attempt to load up a bit for the humid Maryland weather.

Saturday is also an important day for fueling. My goal is to eat a large breakfast (after a run and a coffee), then to have a medium size lunch (with snacking on salty pretzels in between), and an early dinner. This time around, Saturday looked like this: one wheat bagel with a banana, almond butter, agave nectar, two packets of Monkey Brains oatmeal (with blueberries), and some water (with Opytgen and MultiV). As I mentioned, I snacked through the day on pretzels, one Naked Juice, and some organic toaster pastries. Once at the venue, I ate a EFS bar prior to riding for 45 minutes. To cap off the evening meal, I drank nearly one whole beer with some salty corn chips (skipping the salsa, which was tough). Dinner was whole wheat pasta with plain marinara sauce, some wheat bread, and more water. This meal was home cooked. I only had one serving, as I needed to be somewhat hungry at 3:30AM, when I planned to eat breakie.

Race morning started early with two cups of black coffee. I did not have enough coffee race morning at Rev3, and I really enjoy the early pick-me-up, so I can go a bit lighter on caffeine during the race. Along with the coffee, I ate two packs of Monkey Brains (320 cal); one bagel with banana, almond butter, honey (600 cal); 16oz of water (with Opytgen + MultiV). Total calories three hours before the start: 920.

En route to the race (45 min drive), I sipped on my EFS, but only consumed about 20 calories of a 32 oz bottle. My race warm up (in 98% humidity) included an 8- or 10-minute bike spin (EASY), and a two-mile jog. After that warm up, I drank another 8-10oz of EFS (90 calories approximately).

Getting ready to jump in the water, I took one 100-calorie shot of EFS liquid shot (from my flask in transition). I jumped into the water, and tried not to consume any of the Choptank River to wash it down.

Onto the bike, my plan was to take in 700-800 calories, depending on my effort and the conditions. I have learned that an extra 100 calories of fuel can be necessary if the wind kicks up, thus causing me to work at a higher rate. My consumption in 2 hours 8 minutes of riding was one flask of EFS LIQUID SHOT (400 cal); two 24-oz bottles of EFS (mixed to 200 cal each); and 20 oz of water. I left approximately 3-4 oz of EFS in my second bottle, thus making the total calories for the bike about 770.

Onto the run, I carried one 400 calorie flask of EFS LIQUID SHOT. My plan was to take sips of it every two to three miles. I knew the humidity would make me sweat a lot, even if the temps were only in the seventies. I wanted the electrolytes, and was not planning to take salt tabs. I went through the whole flask my mile 11, and took about two thirds of one caffeinated gel that was on course. My total calories for 1:18 was about 480. And I consumed several cups of water throughout.

In the end, the plan was adequate calorie-wise, and I did not have any GI distress; however, toward the end of the run (mile 10 to 12), my legs were cramping a bit. This was probably due to the fact that I was a bit behind on hydration (and that I had probably ridden a bit too hard trying to drop Richie Cunningham!). Once I stopped at the final aid station to stretch (briefly!), and to slam two cups of water, my final mile was cramp free.

For the details of the race itself, minus the nutritional details, check out my website: www.michaellovato.com.