IRONMAN® Bolton

Like a lot of well-thought-out plans, this one didn’t go entirely as hoped. Unfortunately, Adam lost his bottle of concentrated gel mix early on into the bike leg due to a pothole. The bottle contained approximately nine PF 30 Gels, and he estimated he’d only consumed about two before dropping the bottle, meaning his only carb source remaining was from PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix. Ever the pro, Adam didn’t panic and was able to adjust his strategy, opting for alternative sources of carbs by relying on the aid stations. Despite the dropped bottle, he still managed a decent carb intake to support his energy levels.

Adam relied on fluids to meet his carb needs during the race, which can be a viable strategy if an athlete knows they can tolerate it well. Plus, the weather conditions were on the cooler side at this race, so it ended up working well for Adam. After preloading with PH 1500, he carried a bottle of PH 1500 on the bike and then used PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix as his primary fuel source. Subsequently, he had sodium in all of his fluids, and even though he didn’t consume hardly any sodium on the run, Adam had front-loaded enough on the bike that he had replaced most of his losses and was sufficiently hydrated all the way until the end.

Adam didn’t consume any caffeine on the bike and only had a small amount on the run through the energy drinks that he picked up from the aid stations. For future races, we would recommend he trials a higher caffeine dosage in training to be able to incorporate it into his race plan, allowing him to reap the ergogenic benefits that the stimulant provides.