Brian Lasky
UltraSwim 33.3
TivatCompletedBrian's headline numbers
Brian's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I had no GI distress, gut bombs, stomach pains or flavour fatigue. This is a real breakthrough for me as I’ve struggled in the past. I also never dipped in energy at any point across the 4 days whilst swimming. I think my strategy worked really well for me, and I will keep it the same for future long swims."
Brian’s positive subjective feedback from this unique event was encouraging, and suggests he was balancing his energy input well against his energy output. It may appear from his average carb intake that he wasn’t getting enough relative to the general scientific recommendations, but he did make sure to pre-fuel and refuel adequately with high-carb foods such as rice, croissants and bread between every swim. Before almost all his swims, Brian drank a bottle of carbohydrate drink mix to top off his blood glucose and prime his body for exercise. The longest swim Brian completed was on day three, where he swam for three and a half hours. During this he knew that pre-fueling with his usual carbohydrate drink mix alone wouldn’t suffice, so he stopped half-way through at the on-course aid-station (which was actually on a boat) to pick up 120g of much-needed carbohydrates to sustain him for the rest of the swim.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Drinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Brian start optimally hydrated
"I knew none of the swims were going to be long enough to warrant drinking much during them, so I just drank to thirst and I think this played out well. Both my pre- and post-swim fueling involved plenty of fluids, so I feel like I hydrated effectively."
Brian is right that *during* each of the swims, he’s unlikely to have become so dehydrated that his performance was impaired. Furthermore, considering the logistics of drinking whilst swimming, with only a static boat to collect fluids from, he would have had to stop, drink, then continue, rather than the traditional ‘feeding’ method where swimmers can continue moving whilst feeding. One thing Brian didn’t do, and so should consider before his next long distance swim, is preloading with a strong electrolyte to help him start optimally hydrated and primed for lots of sweating. This could be done once per evening if the race followed a similar format to the UltraSwim33.3, which has several swims on consecutive days, sometimes including multiple swims per day.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Brian decided that he would use caffeine to boost his performance as and when he felt like it. Because no swim was longer than ~3.5 hours, and he had a coffee every morning, he often felt like taking additional caffeine mid-swim wasn’t necessary. He decided to take a PF 30 Caffeine Gel during each of the two longest swims. Considering the 45 minute delay between caffeine consumption and peaking in the bloodstream, Brian likely reaped the maximal benefits within the final few kilometres of each swim.
How Brian hit his numbers
Here's everything that Brian ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“All in all I was VERY pleased with the event and how well I got on with PF&H products. I wasn’t sure how my body would cope with four days of taking gels over 33km of swimming, but I simply had no issues. This is a big deal for me since I’ve suffered with a multitude of gastrointestinal issues like stomach cramps and flavour fatigue before, and there’s just no coming back from either of those! ”
“Brian executed his fuel and hydration strategy quite well given the challenges of fueling during open water swimming. He appropriately focussed on pre-event carb intake, and there are only a couple of minor areas for improvement. Introducing electrolytes to his drinks pre-swim will help him start optimally hydrated, and help his body retain the water he does drink mid-swim. Furthermore, during swims that exceed 2.5 hours in duration, he should look to regulate his carb intake to at least 60g/h to give his working muscles enough energy to perform to the best of his ability. ”
PF&HBrian's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.