I am totally pumped to be partnering with Nuun as an athlete ambassador for the amateur triathlon market in 2013!! But this has led to I guess a rather obvious question coming from more than a few other athletes: How is it that you can be linked up with two sports drinks? Isn't there a clear conflict of interest?
The short answer is no. The longer answer is that Greater > Than and Nuun serve completely different purposes in support of my training and racing. This got me thinking that I would share some further detail...not to clear up confusion about my partner support (because c'mon, who really cares) but more-so to reiterate the point that when it comes to high performance endurance athletics, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to fueling and nutrition, and minor differences can go a long way.
In short, I subscribe to a fueling strategy (e.g., my hydration and nutrition while actually training and racing) coined by nutritionist Stacy Sims: Drink From Your Bottles, Eat From Your Pockets. Basically, I use liquids as a source of hydration and electrolytes, and solids and semi-solids as a source of calories; mainly carbohydrates. This took me over a year and tons of diarrhea while running to figure out, but for whatever reason (and there are tons of reasons in the scientific literature if you are interested and search) my stomach simply can't tolerate calorie rich liquids while going hard. So, Nuun is my go-to hydration source given it contains virtually no calories, but a perfect (literally, because it is customizable by breaking up the tablets) balance of electrolytes that compliments the calories (again, mainly carbohydrates) that I get from solids and semi-solids (Clif shots and shot-blocks, chunks of Clifbars, etc). This is not at all about brand loyalty, price, or anything like that. The combination of Nuun and Clif solids is the only thing that works for me when my HR is above 120 BPM and there is running involved after biking. Even if I got no support from these companies, I would still use their products exclusively...or end up spending a quarter of my race in the Porta-Jon, and nobody likes that.
When it comes to recovery and prep (e.g,. what I consume right after workouts and in the lead-up to races) Greater > Than is a critical part of the equation. For recovery purposes, the electrolyte balance with a heavy focus on potassium plus the Sucrose carbohydrate source jump-starts the body's adaptation process and quickly gets things moving back toward homeostasis. I've actually heard more than a few times now that Coconut Water is second to intravenous fluids when it comes to immediate recovery after hard physical efforts. I pair this with Extreme Endurance XEcute which provides protein and lactate to help stimulate muscle repair. In terms of prep, in the days leading up to a longer race when I am shooting for massive amounts of carbohydrates, being able to get some of these carbs from a liquid source helps me avoid bloating and a feeling of total heaviness, and also, given Greater > Than still doesn't have as much sugar as the other leading performance sports drinks, I don't get the adverse blood sugar effects that have left me feeling crappy during carb-loads in the past when using other products.
So, there you have it. Not conflicted at all, and so fortunate to have the best products in my corner!
