IRONMAN 70.3® World Championship

Using her normal ‘menu’ of drink mix and some chews, Emma consumed a solid ~74g of carbohydrates per hour on the tricky bike course, just below the recommendations for an endurance race of this duration and intensity. However, her intake dropped even further to ~22g/h during the run, where she relied solely on the on-course energy drink mix. This averaged out to an intake across the race that’s significantly below the recommended levels, and likely contributed to her feeling 'flat' later in the run. To optimize her energy availability, we’d recommend increasing her carbohydrate intake throughout the race, especially getting closer to 90g/h on the bike where it’s easier to fuel logistically. On the run, minimizing the drop off in carb intake will give her more available energy to fuel her hard effort and maintain better performance.

Emma likely replenished a good portion of the electrolytes she lost given her moderate sweat sodium concentration and high sweat rate. This is an improvement to her sodium intake at recent races where she consumed much less than her losses. She reported some cramping during the uphill sections of the run, likely due to fatigue and muscle overload rather than a sodium deficit though. Her total fluid intake should have been adequate given the cooler than expected conditions, but this level is still lower than we have previously seen her consume and therefore may have contributed to her discomfort on the run and post-race recovery challenges.

Emma was slightly below the recommended range for caffeine intake, so increasing the dosage to reach the 3-6mg/kg range could help support her performance through masking fatigue and reducing her perception of effort. Practically, she could achieve this by using one more PF 30 Caffeine Gel during the latter part of the bike to sustain energy levels right up until crossing the finish line.