Norseman

Lars front-loaded his fueling on the bike (~97g/h), but this dropped off considerably on the run (~46g/h) as he fell below the carb recommendations for a race of this length and intensity. This drop-off was caused by Lars starting to feel a little nauseous around the halfway mark, meaning his body was starting to run out of energy to maintain his target run pace, characterised by a significant dip in energy levels. In future, maintaining a higher fluid intake on the run may help him stabilise his energy levels by increasing the absorption of the carbohydrates in his stomach, as low fluid availability is known to reduce carb uptake.

During the race, Lars knew he wouldn’t be sweating excessively due to the cool conditions in Norway, but still has a relatively high sweat rate. Similar to his fueling, his fluid consumption dropped significantly on the run, coinciding with starting to feel nauseous at the halfway mark. His pace was also dropping due to a previous leg injury rearing its head. After a brief moment where Lars felt like he could be sick, he tried drinking some cola as he finds it often helps ‘settle his stomach’, and this occasion was no different, as he was able to continue pushing on deep into the run. Although Lars still rated his hydration strategy a solid 9 (out of 10), it’s likely that some more fluid during the run could have helped prevent some of his sickness by helping his fuel (even if significantly reduced) be absorbed more easily.

Lars used a perfect amount of caffeine to maximise the associated ergogenic benefits. It’s possible the peak in energy levels again towards the end of the run was in part due to the caffeine boost from his cola, perhaps suggesting some more caffeine earlier in the run could have helped prevent this dip.