Precision Fuel & Hydration IRONMAN 70.3® World Championship

Kate executed a textbook pre-fueling strategy, consuming a carb-rich breakfast a few hours before the start followed by a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 30 minutes. This pre-race carb intake ensured she started with fully-loaded glycogen stores and elevated blood glucose to power her through the swim. A PF 30 Gel in T1 kicked off her in-race fueling which consisted of a mixture of gels, chews and real foods to avoid flavour fatigue. On the bike, this meant Kate hit the ~60g/h recommendation for an event of this intensity and duration, but her intake decreased slightly to ~47g/h on the run. She would benefit from training her gut to increase this back up to the recommendation by adding another PF 30 Gel early on in the run along with the bananas she took from aid stations.

Kate is used to exercising in the heat so the conditions in Marbella felt familiar, although she still made sure to support her thermoregulation by pouring water over herself at every aid station. Kate drank to thirst throughout the race with her bike intake sitting nicely at ~485ml/h. However, this dropped to ~108ml/h on the run, which in future races, should be increased to prevent a significant body weight change over the course of a race of this duration. The PH 1000 on course allowed Kate to maintain a relative sodium concentration close to the average sweat sodium concentration we’ve identified in our database. To further dial in her individual sweat sodium losses, Kate would benefit from having a Sweat test, especially if future races will take place in hotter conditions where she has experienced cramp in the past.

Kate consumed two PF 30 Caffeine Gels during her race, one before the swim and another in T2. While these doses will have provided her with a psychological boost and reduced her perception of fatigue, Kate could benefit from another 100mg caffeine dose during the race to place her within the 3-6mg/kg recommended range.