There are as many ways to feed during open water swimming as there are open water swims; everyone is different! What works for one person’s stomach might be completely different for someone else. Since my first running marathon in June 2008, until the recent Molokai Channel swim in October 2011, I have changed and altered my feeding plans many times to fine-tune what works for my training and marathon running/swimming adventures. I have taken in peanut butter & jelly, bananas, Nature Valley Sweet & Salty bars, Cliff Shot Bloks, GU, GU Roctane, Maxim, Powerade, Gatorade, G2, G Series Pro, tea and good ol’ water! The liquids have been heated (Catalina/English), and chilled (Molokai/Tampa Bay) due to the different water/air temperatures which I have swum through.
For a swim like the English Channel, I took in about 800-900 calories/hour, whereas the Molokai Channel I took in around 600-700 calories an hour. I found that I needed more calories for the cold swim due to the need for my body to burn energy to not only swim, but to keep warm as well! This may seem like a lot of calories to some people, but then again, I am also a larger swimmer at 225-230 pounds.A typical marathon swimming feeding schedule for me is as follows:
Hearty breakfast (oatmeal, banana, PB &J) including Maxim (or Carbo Pro) about 2 hours prior to swim.
Hour 1: Liquids (24oz liquid/hour, 12oz each feeding)
Hour 2-Finish:
30-Minute Feeds
GU Roctane (2x caffeine) or Cliff Shot Blok – Black Cherry (2x caffeine)
12 oz liquid (Maxim/Carbo Pro, Cytomax, water combination)
*Always take the GU, or Bloks prior to taking the drink!
**Every third hour, I have a bottle (different color) which has children’s liquid iibuprofen mixed in with my normal drink. Although that doesn’t always taste the best, it is essential to be proactive with muscle inflammation prior to any issues!
Personally, I like to make it as easy for the crew as possible with the feedings, that way they can focus more pressing needs which might arise during the swim. The day prior, I purchase a 24-pack of bottled water, empty the bottles into a water cooler, and individually mix each, and every feed. It is easy to mix a feed in a nice hotel room, but when a boat is rocking in the middle of the night, it does not make for easy mixing! I want to make sure I get all of my nutrients, therefore I follow this process each time. Each of these bottles are then dumped into my feeding bottles every 30-minutes, which are attached to my “dual-bottle, flotation, feeding device” which I used during the Catalina/Molokai swims (thanks Beth Barnes!) This dual bottle format allows for traditional feeding, as well as including hot tea, or rinse water in the opposite bottle!
I always recommend a back-up plan in case your stomach turns (which thankfully has not been an issue yet) so I will always have a supply of Gatorade/water, as well as bananas, other gels, PB & J, Sweet and Salty bars… etc. I also bring along a well-stocked medicine case, including medications for stomach issues and nausea/sea-sickness. As mentioned in a previous blog post, I bring a suitcase which is stocked with all types of First-Aid materials and various marathon swimming supplies.If you have ANY questions on feeding, or marathon swimming supplies, please feel free to email me through my website, or via Facebook! Cheers….