Dougal Gow
IRONMAN® World Championships
Kailua-KonaTop 100, M60-64Dougal's headline numbers
Dougal'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 felt like I was struggling up the climb to Hawi and for the last 20km of the bike, but that could have been more to do with the wind than my fueling."
Dougal was one of the ten age-group athletes who won the opportunity to get their race nutrition numbers crunched following his race at the IRONMAN® World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. To achieve his intake, just shy of the 90g/h recommendations, Dougal consumed a variety of carbohydrate sources, including some solid (real foods and energy bars), semi-solid (gels), and liquid (drink mixes) to ensure he was not only meeting his fueling requirements, but also avoiding flavour fatigue across the event. Despite the trend often observed in triathletes' strategies, whereby they consume a greater volume of carbohydrates on the bike than the run, Dougal **actually** consumed a slightly higher average in the latter part of the race, on the run. The consistency of his fueling no doubt played a key role to support his energy levels. His tried and tested strategy using a variety of products ensured that he suffered little to no gastrointestinal discomfort across the race - a concern for many athletes racing in the heat - where digestion is often impaired due to the intensity and heat stress.
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.
Dougal921mg/L
Dougal has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Dougal's losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still crucial when it's hot and/or humid as his higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreDrinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Dougal start optimally hydrated
"I was really afraid of getting dehydrated so I drank a lot, and ended up stopping three times to pee on the bike, once in T2 and another time on the run, so I was happy. I did have some twinges in my calf during the swim though."
Despite being a beautiful race location, Kona is well-known for its demanding and debilitating race conditions; with high temperatures and humidity, in addition to strong headwinds, the race places considerable pressure on an athlete's fluid intake to ensure they are able to get round the course safely. Dougal was well aware of this, and made a conscious effort to consistently drink fluids, averaging nearly one litre per hour (a total of 12 litres across the race). Whilst this might seem a lot, athletes racing in these conditions will likely be losing *more than* this, between 1-2L/h, sometimes more, depending on their sweat rate. That being said, Dougal’s feedback, and frequent urination suggest that although he was drinking enough *fluids*, his *sodium* intake of 370mg per litre of fluid was insufficient to replace his sweat losses of 921mg/L. The relative sodium concentration of the fluids he consumed was **less than half** his sweat sodium concentration, discouraging the absorption and retention of water. When racing in warm conditions in the future, he should look to increase his sodium intake, possibly by using a stronger electrolyte drink such as PH 1500 to better hydrate and stay in line with his sweat losses.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Dougal's caffeine intake was significantly higher than the recommendations of 3-6mg/kg, but given the intensity and duration of the race, and his lack of unwanted side effects, we wouldn’t suggest any changes to this for him.
How Dougal hit his numbers
Here's everything that Dougal ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I went far too hard on the bike and suffered on the run as a result. I didn't walk, except in the feed stations, but I wasn’t anywhere near my planned pacing. But, I had no issues with my fuel or hydration and finished!”
“Dougal managed the conditions and his body’s needs well to see him cross the finish line in a very respectable 12 hours 14 minutes at the IRONMAN® World Championships. For his future races, dialling in his hydration strategy to have a relative sodium concentration closer to his sweat losses will be the next important step.”
PF&HDougal'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.