IRONMAN® Canada

Partly due to the cancellation of the swim, Jason’s overall average carb intake well exceeded the general recommendations for a race of this intensity and duration. Whilst consuming over 90g/h is not a necessity for all athletes in all races, we are seeing more elite level triathletes do so to increase their carb availability and energy levels to push hard for such long durations. In order to comfortably fuel his podium performance with ~130g/h on the bike and ~90g/h on the run, Jason has undergone plenty of gut training in key sessions and races over the past few years. Jason’s high carb intake came predominantly from four carb-rich bottles of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PF Carb Only Drink Mix with eight additional PF 30 Gels and two PF 30 Chews across the race. Considering he has previously used more Gels and Chews to hit his carb targets, this could be why he felt hungry towards the end of the bike. Because of this, it’d be worth trying to incorporate an extra Chew or two instead of another carb-rich bottle towards the latter stages of the bike in his next race.

Jason preloaded with PH 1000 ahead of the race, but to maximise the effect preloading has of increasing his blood plasma volume before he starts sweating, he should use the stronger PH 1500 (Tablets) next time. During the race, however, Jason nailed his hydration strategy by replacing most of his predicted fluid and sodium losses on the bike, drinking close to 1L/h at a concentration similar to his sweat sodium concentration. His run intake was more flexible and changed largely on the day due to some tightness in his back, meaning he couldn’t run at his intended pace for parts of the marathon. For his World Champs race in Kona later this year, he should keep in mind to increase his fluid and sodium intake further to match the much higher sweat rate (~2.5L/h) he will battle on the run in Kona.

After working with the Sports Science Team on the timing and dosing of his caffeine intake at full distance races, Jason has built and executed a scientifically-backed strategy to get the most out of the stimulant. He had a final PF 30 Caffeine Gel 15 minutes before the bike (due to the cancelled swim), then two Caffeine Gels on the bike followed by a last dose on the run. This total intake met the overall recommendations and was spread effectively, keeping his caffeine levels up across the day and allowing him to reap the performance enhancing effects.