IRONMAN 70.3® Mallorca

Jenny has been building confidence in her fueling strategy over the season, and this race was another strong step forward. While her ~65g of carb per hour is shy of the 90g/h benchmark that would have been ideal, it’s still within the more general recommendations for a 70.3® event. Her bike leg was particularly well-fueled, with a mix of PF 30 Gels, Chews, and Drink Mix. She added another Gel in T2 and then a PF 90 Gel on the run, along with regular sips of on-course fluids to support her pace. Even though her energy levels stayed high, there is still room to push slightly closer to the 90g/h target in future events, especially if her training continues to support it. Nonetheless, this was a well-paced, well-executed fueling effort that left her feeling strong throughout. Some additional gut training to avoid the GI issues she experienced will be imperative ahead of her upcoming races.

Hydration was a challenge in Mallorca’s warm, humid conditions, as even drinking nearly 2.9L over the course of the race didn’t keep her from feeling very thirsty at the finish, with a post-race headache suggesting some fluid and/or sodium shortfall. Given her sweat sodium concentration, Jenny would definitely have benefited from drinking the other bottle of Carb & Electrolyte Mix on her bike which unfortunately remained untouched due to some stomach issues. The gulps of PH 1000 at each aid station and water poured over her head may have helped with thermoregulation, but likely weren't enough to fully match her losses. In the future, especially for races in similar conditions, increasing sodium intake and slightly upping fluid volume, particularly during the latter stages of the run, may help sustain performance. Swapping one of her bottles for just water and electrolytes, instead of carb mix, will be sensible too for races in warmer conditions in order to drink enough to account for her sweat losses without overloading her GI system with carb.

Jenny nailed the basics with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel before the start and took another mid-bike. Her total caffeine intake was well within the recommended range to enhance alertness and reduce perceived exertion. With more hot races on the horizon, experimenting with an additional caffeine dose later in the run could be a worthwhile tweak to test.