My experience of using Shotz Nutrition by Sean O’Neill

Shotz Sports Nutrition – Nutrition Info

Like many West Australians I ran into the Shotz products at the Rottnest Triathlon back in May 1999 where I was just dabbling in the sport and doing a couple of races each year with little or no training. I took one halfway through the bike leg and couldn’t believe how it made me feel for the rest of the race. These things were incredible and made you want to jump out of your skin.

It wasn’t until I started doing triathlons seriously in 2002 that I would realise how important these products would become. Being young and naïve I completed my first Olympic distance race that year and continued on to do the first Half Ironman at Busselton. Being used to the shorter distances I figured all I would need on the bike is an extra bottle of water, so I set out to do the entire Half Ironman with 2 bottles of water, no electrolyte and no food. That has to be my single biggest mistake I have ever made in triathlon and I have since learnt a lot from that experience.

Over the years I have trialled many nutritional supplements to get me through the longer training sessions and races but I struggled to get it right for the Half Ironman each year. I would be OK until about 60km in on the bike then I would really start to fade mainly due to quantities of carbohydrates required over a race of that length. Last year I finally got it right but used the wrong product that didn’t agree with my stomach. By the start of the run I couldn’t bear to ingest any more of this horrible stuff so I tried to get energy from aid stations along the way.

This year I have set about getting my nutrition right so I have been trialling the Shotz products during training and lead up races to the Half Ironman. The first major test was an 80km cycling time trial that I have done for the past 3 years but I usually start to struggle after 60km. This year I went armed with a gel flask containing 3 Carboshotz gels. I also took 1 water bottle containing the new Shotz Electrolyte tablet and another water bottle with just water. I started the race by taking a complete gel 10mins before the gun and continued by taking 1 sip from the flask every 30mins. (1 sip = approximately ¼ of the flask) I chased each one down with a drink of the electrolyte formula and took another drink at 15min intervals in-between. This worked incredibly well and for the first time I managed to finish off the last 40km’s faster than the first 40km’s. The best thing about the electrolyte formula is that it does not have that sweet sticky taste of most sports drinks and doesn’t require a mouthful of water afterwards. It doesn’t contain carbohydrates so it doesn’t make your mouth all dry and parched.

I have continued to use this formula not only in races but during major training sessions that ideally replicate race conditions. For most athletes, we spend 90% of our time training and only 10% racing so it is critical that we keep our energy up during training and help our bodies to recover the best we can. Therefore, with any rides lasting longer than 1.5hrs in duration and runs longer than 40mins I always take with me a couple of Carboshotz to keep me feeling good and help me recover before the next session. This year I am confident that I have finally got my nutrition right and I am looking forward to my best result in Busselton to date.

Sean O’Neill    

Shotz Electrolyte Tablets

Shotz Electrolyte Tablets will be the electrolyte drink used on the Bike and Run legs of the SunSmart Busselton Half Ironman in 2008.

Shotz Electrolyte Tablets are portable, sugar free, thirst quenching electrolyte replacement for all you active lifestyle pursuits.

Drop 1 Shotz tablet into 500ml of water and away you go!

20 effervescent tablets per tube (makes 10 litres)

Electrolytes are minerals named because of their ability to conduct an electrical charge when in a solution. Referred to as salts within the body, electrolytes play a role in conducting nerve impulses, muscle contractions and are a part of many important physiological functions.
Their primary role is maintaining the delicate fluid balance both inside and outside your body's cells.

Sodium is an essential nutrient, an element the body cannot manufacture itself. It plays a vital role in regulating many bodily functions and is contained in body fluids which transport oxygen, carbohydrate and nutrients. To survive, everyone needs to consume sodium regularly. It is a principal component of a person's internal environment, the extracellular fluid. Nutrients reach your body's cells through these fluids. Sodium facilitates many bodily functions including fluid volume and acid-base balance.

Sodium enables the transmission of nerve impulses around the body. It is an electrolyte, like potassium, calcium and magnesium; it regulates the electrical charges moving in and out of the cells in the body. It controls your taste, smell and tactile processes. The presence of sodium ions is essential for the contraction of muscles, including that largest and most important muscle, the heart. It is fundamental to the operation of signals to and from the brain. Without sufficient sodium, your senses would be dulled and your nerves would not function.

A list of Carboshotz retailers is as follows:

• Runners World
• Churchill Cycles
• All Sports Fever stores
• All Fleet Cycles stores
• All TBE stores
• Total Triathlon
• Kalamunda Cycles
• Mainpeak stores
• Most Bikeforce outlets
• Glen Parker Cycles - Nedlands and Canningvale
• Blazing Saddles
• Most Ranger Outdoors stores
• Joondalup Cycle City
• Lakes Bikes
• Cyclemania
• Elite Cycle Racing
• Riders Choice
• Scarborough Beach Cycles
• Attadale Cycles
• Ideal Cycles
• Al's Cycle Surgery
• Cyclerama
• Fitzroy Cycles
• South West Cycles