• Lars raced the IRONMAN World Championships as a member of the 2022 Zwift Tri Academy and had high hopes of finishing on the overall amateur race podium
• Unfortunately, an upset stomach on the bike leg lead to a 15-minute stop by the side of the road and Lars vomited before he was able to continue on his way
• Lars finished strongly though, coming home in 9 hours 12 minutes, to finish inside the top-20 in what was his debut on the Big Island

Hydration

• Before the race, Lars undertook some sweat rate testing whilst in Kona to accurately estimate how much fluid he was losing through sweat and designed his hydration strategy accordingly. He also ensured his blood plasma volume was optimally full by preloading his sodium levels with 500ml (16oz) PH 1500 the night before and the morning of the race
• Out of the swim and into T1, Lars drank ~300ml (10oz) PF Energy Drink Mix before heading out onto the bike
• During the bike, whilst overconsumption of carb was a likely cause of sickness early on, he managed to get back on top of his hydration and settle his stomach. He drank ~2.3L (77oz) of PH 1500 (Drink Mix) throughout the ride, along with ~2.65L (89oz) of plain water
• In an attempt to make up for lost time, Lars decided to skip his bike special needs aid station, which contained another bottle of PH 1500 (Drink Mix) and instead utilise ~1L (32oz) of the on-course electrolyte drink and nine Electrolyte Capsules to top up his sodium levels. This gave him a total fluid consumption of ~1.3L (44oz) per hour with a relative sodium concentration of ~1,181mg/L (mg/32oz). Considering the hot and humid conditions in Kona (~27℃/ 80℉ average, ~69% humidity), this is a moderate-high intake but likely replaced a good proportion of his sweat losses given his self-perceived high sweat rate
• On the run, Lars headed out of T2 with a Soft Flask with two PH 1500 (Drink Mix) packets in. At the special needs aid station he picked up another one, consuming ~1L (32oz) in total, and a further ~1.5L (48oz) of the on course electrolyte drink
• He also estimated that through picking up cups from aid stations he drank ~700ml (23oz) of plain water, although it’s worth noting that there’s likely to be a high chance of error here due to the large amount of aid stations
• In total, Lars averaged a little over 1L (32oz) per hour across the entire 9 hours 12 minutes, with a relative sodium concentration of ~1,228mg/L (mg/32oz). Given his sweat sodium concentration is just 655mg/L (mg/32oz), Lars will likely have replaced the majority of his electrolytes lost through sweat

Fueling

Conclusions

• Lars said “I learned a lot during my first race in Kona, and within this I can see the potential to do really well there”. He rated his overall satisfaction with his performance a 7 (out of 10)
• Whilst being unwell during a race is never ideal, Lars’s ability and composure to bounce back and ride a solid second half of the bike and run a good marathon is a testament to his mental resilience and determination
• In the future, Lars should aim to follow his pre-race plan a little closer, and reduce the quantity of carb he takes if it continues to give him GI distress