TriGeek,

Good question & the answer is maybe or maybe not. The reason there is some gray area is that your personal electrolyte needs (or calorie needs for that matter) may be above or below what is in 6-scoops of EFS.

I have no idea what your projected bike time is, but if we can assume a 3-hr ride, 6-scoops of EFS would put you at:

Calories:  576 (192 /hr)
Sodium:  1620mg (520 /hr)
Potassium: 960mg (320 /hr)
*There's more to a perfect calorie/electrolyte strategy than what's included above, but I wanted you to have some reference points.

So, in looking at the above, I would definitely say your caloric intake is too low & the electrolyte intake may/may not bee too low. We have athletes we consult with who have FANTASTIC Ironman races on 400mg of sodium per hour. Conversely, Jordan Rapp (Ironman Canada & AZ Champion whom we also work with), routinely consumes close to 2,000mg /hr).
*For reference, Jordan's Nutritional Report from IMAZ is posted here HERE.

So, in looking at your 1/2 IM strategy, my initial concern would be your calorie intake as it's on the low side. With regards to the electrolyte intake, it may be correct & it's something only you can determine through trial & error. That trial & error process is no different what we worked with Jordan on until he finally settled in on that 1500-2000mg /hr intake.

Should you determine that your electrolyte needs are higher than what would be consumed in the EFS, I would definitely recommend using something other than Endurolytes as there are MANY better options out there (i.e S-Caps, Salt Stick, Lava Salts or Thermolytes).

Each of these are basically a combination of electrolytes, in powder form, enclosed in a capsule. Although they may appear identical, there are DRAMATIC differences between them.

As an example, lets look at the sodium content of each of the above caps (we spend so much time looking at sodium as it's the electrolyte in highest concentration in our sweat & urine):

S-Caps: 341mg
Salt Stick: 215mg
Lava Salts: 158mg
Thermolytes: 150mg
Endurolytes: 40mg

So what this says is that if you have a goal of consuming 600mg of sodium per hour (an avg hourly intake during an endurance event) & you're going to do it exclusively through electrolyte caps, you can consume (2) S-Caps or (15) Endurolytes.....quite a difference!

It's true there's more to a quality electrolyte replacement cap than just sodium, so the examples above should NOT necessarily be viewed as Best >> Worst. The majority of the pros we are working w/ lean towards the Salt Stick caps, primarily because of the spectrum of other ingredients in the cap such as potassium, magnesium & calcium. That coupled w/ the fact that some athletes are vegetarians & prefer a vegetable based capsule (Salt Stick is  vegetable, the others are not).

My point is that the Endurolytes are SO FAR below virtually every other cap available, our impetus to recommend it is nearly zero.

Best of luck in your prep & if this is something you'd like to dig into on more of a 1-1 basis, please don't hesitate to contact me directly (Brian@PersonalBestNutrition.com).

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Brian Shea
President/Head Coach
www.PersonalBestNutrition.com

Click HERE if you would like to have your PERSONAL nutritional strategy perfected this season.
Brian has aligned the nutritional plans for professional triathletes such as Simon Lessing, Jordan Rapp, Heather Gollnick, Andrew Yoder & MANY more!!!