In March 2008 I made the transition from triathlon to mountain biking, not intentionally but rather through injury and have been absorbed in the cycling world since. In September 08 after watching Craig “Gordo” Gordon smash himself and the field on 24Solo I decided I wanted to race the Kona24 hour in November. I set out to research this somewhat extreme sport and discovered it would be a race of whoever ate and drank the most whilst still pedalling their bikes. After many hours on the internet researching what the best nutrition and hydration products, I came across ‘Nuun’ tablets. I used them in training leading up to the event to make sure they were the real deal. They got me through the 24hour Solo and even into 2nd place. For those of you who have not used or heard of Nuun, here is a quick rundown of what it is; Nuun Hydration is an electrolyte tablet that you simply pop into your drink bottle to give you all your hydration needs. It’s as simple as “poppin a tab” and combined with eating properly will see you avoid the dreaded “bonk” in races.
I am yet to find another product on the market that works as well as Nuun. Here is a list of reasons why I use Nuun:
- They offer a great range of flavours: Banana, Tri-berry, Lemon-Lime, Orange and Ginger and Citrus Fruit. This is essential when racing an endurance event as you soon get sick of the one flavour. I rotate flavours throughout the race to continually stay hydrated.
- The small waterproof canister allows you to carry it easily and conveniently in your camelback or jersey on those long training rides or marathon races.
- No sugar in the tablets means no sticky mess or mouldy Camelbak bladder! I often forget to empty and clean it and I can leave Nuun drink in the bladder for days and it still tastes just as good and more importantly doesn’t wreck my camelback!
- The taste. It’s all well and good to say just drink a drink, but it’s simple, if you do not like the taste of something, you won’t drink it. That’s why I rank taste up there as the number one factor in choosing a hydration product. Obviously it needs to replace electrolytes and do all the scientific stuff, but at the end of the day when our slugging it hard out there you need to like the taste of what your drinking, or you won’t drink it.
Now for those after the scientific reasons as to why Nuun works (jump on www.nuun.com for further information)
- It is a hypotonic solution, meaning there are no carbs in the formula. This allows for your body to absorb Nuun faster and is able to restore the electrolyte balance your body needs quickly and efficiently. Having no carbs is also good for people who are being conscious about their carb intake. (Personally when I am riding for an hour or less I want no carbs)
- Nuun has 700g of sodium per litre, which as we know sodium replacement is critical to minimise dehydration.
- Per tablet, Nuun has 25mg of magnesium. Perfect for defending you against cramping. I sip on Nuun in the 3 days leading up to an event and I have not cramped once in a race since using Nuun.
- Nuun tablets also contain Vitamin C, B, Calcium and Potassium to ensure optimal fluid replacement and hydration.
It was my absolute delight when we stumbled into a triathlon expo the day after we had competed in the Otway Odyssey to meet Darren and Briana. Darren and Briana are keen cyclists and adventure racers (both are competing in the XPD World Championships later this year) who are distributors for Nuun Hydration, through their company “Moxie Gear.” I had explained how as much as I try not buy products overseas on the internet, preferring to support local businesses, I had been purchasing Nuun products for two years from overseas as it was the only place I could find them. They explained how they had only started distributing Nuun and were able to offer more flavours that weren’t allowed to be shipped through the internet, drink bottles and socks.
Loaded up with Nuun gear and their business card in hand I was very pleased we had accidentally stumbled across this triathlon expo. Darren and Briana have set up an easy to use internet site, offering Nuun products and SipStream (a bottle hydration system for cyclists). As soon as I get home I jumped online as my partner Al, and I have three 100km marathon mtb’s and a 24hour solo race each coming up in the next few months and I wanted to make sure we had enough Nuun to get us through all of those races and the large volume of training. Once online, I discovered Moxie Gear also offer a discount if you purchase more than one canister of Nuun’s, making it the cheapest place to buy Nuun products. I was amazed when our package arrived the very next day! Nuun is a fantastic product that will compliment your hard work on the bike and make sure you all your hydration needs are met!
Head to www.moxiegear.com.au to check out the Nuun tubes, funky socks and drink bottles designed perfect for racing.
No comments:
Post a Comment