• Jason completed his 2022 season with another middle-distance podium performance, following on from his win earlier in the year at 70.3 Augusta, coming third at Clash Daytona
• The fast and flat race circuit meant staying in an aero position on the bike was crucial. Jason combined his fuel and hydration into his integrated drink system, so he could stay aero whilst getting his carb and sodium on board

Hydration

• Temperatures in Daytona were expected to be warm, but not too hot. And unusually for middle or long distance triathlons, this race started at 1pm, rather than the usual 6am starts. With this in mind, Jason decided to skip the night before preloading, as he felt his pizza for dinner was salty enough
• Instead, he drank 500ml (16oz) of PH 1000 with his breakfast, and then a further 500ml (16oz) of PH 1500 (Drink Mix) which he finished about 45 minutes before the swim start
• Whilst this method doesn’t follow the exact protocol we recommend for preloading, it’s likely that his double-hit of strong electrolytes in the hours leading up to the race will still have increased his blood plasma volume to a degree, thus reducing the load on his cardiovascular system
• During the bike, Jason consumed all his calories in liquid form, all coming from four servings of PF Energy Drink Mix in his 1.3L (46oz) integrated hydration system. This meant his average fluid intake during the bike was 975ml (31oz) per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of 1,538 milligrams per litre (mg/32oz)
• This is a very high concentration drink mix, and was likely over-doing the sodium as his sweat sodium concentration is just 512mg/L (mg/32oz), although we do know that it’s very difficult to overdose on sodium
• Jason has measured his sweat rate several times in conditions similar to Daytona, and produces large amounts of sweat on both the bike and run (>2.5L/h, >88oz/h). To ensure he gets the maximum benefit from the fluid he consumes, he chooses to have a stronger sodium concentration, otherwise he would require very large volumes of fluid to get the optimal dose
• On the run, he took hardly any sodium and very little water (~200ml/7oz), giving him a relative sodium concentration of just 108mg/L (mg/32oz). After the race, Jason said he felt very thirsty, which was likely due to a combination of the salty drinks on the bike and the minimal hydration on the run, so in future, he should look to pick up a bottle of water on the bike to dilute the sodium concentration

Fueling

Conclusions

• In all, Jason was extremely satisfied with the race result, rating it 9 (out of 10). He said he was “pleased to finish a long season with another good result, especially as there wasn’t anything during the race I particularly did wrong”
• He’s looking forward to the 2023 season already, and is already simulating some gut training sessions to help increase his carbohydrate tolerance and absorption ahead of time