The Collins Cup

Jeanni’s carb intake was well below the scientific recommendations, and since we know from IRONMAN 70.3® Boulder that she can comfortably consume over 75g/h, she should push to increase her intake closer to the current 90g/h recommendations. This will increase her carbohydrate availability, thus providing more energy for her to utilize whilst racing hard. Looking back, Jeanni believes the reason she didn’t fuel enough this time was because she drank less high-carb drinks, due to the cooler conditions not stimulating much thirst. This demonstrates a major drawback of not decoupling fuel and hydration, as it makes it more difficult to adapt your strategy to changes in the environment, like temperature. Recognising this for future races is a key takeaway for Jeanni, and she can be proactive by carrying more gels or chews.

Although consuming PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix pre-race contributed to her muscle and liver glycogen stores as well as delivering some electrolytes, Jeanni should consider instead consuming the higher strength PH 1500 to elevate blood plasma volume and optimize her pre-race hydration status. During the race, the relative sodium concentration of the fluids she drank was outside of her recommended intake, but due to the cooler conditions, Jeanni likely still replaced a decent proportion of her sweat losses. She did experience mild cramps on the run, but was able to push through them to finish the race.

Estimating Jeanni’s body weight, she fell within the recommended dosage range for caffeine, and she’s used to incorporating the stimulant into her race plan through gels and chews. It worked well to help mask fatigue and deliver the ergogenic benefits we see with caffeine.