Marc Dubrick
Challenge Salinas
Salinas1st, MPROMarc's headline numbers
Marc's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"The swim felt okay energy wise, I led the swim out but was hoping for more of a gap. On the bike I felt better as I relaxed and warmed up. However I did struggle with the heat for the last couple of kilometres of the run."
Coming off the back of a strong performance at IM 70.3 Indian Wells the weekend before, Marc implemented a very similar fueling strategy to meet his needs at this race in Ecuador. Again, he focused on making sure he was self-sufficient on the bike and stuck with his trusty PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, Flow Gel and maple syrup as his main sources of carbohydrate, enabling him to hit carb numbers that reached above 90g/h. Marc had his 250ml flask of maple syrup on the run, but decided to pick up an additional gel as he felt he needed an extra push for the last few kms of the race. He felt a dip in energy toward the finish line and also experienced some stomach discomfort, attributing this to not being able to manage the heat effectively.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Marc1146mg/L
Marc has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Given Marc's losses are High (1,146mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it's hot and/or humid.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"My hydration strategy was pretty good. I could have had more fluid on the run, but didn’t want to push my stomach as I was nervous."
The conditions in Ecuador were much warmer than those in California in his 70.3 the week before (~13 degrees). As a result, Marc increased his hydration on the bike by taking two extra bottles of PH 1500, one on his bike frame and another in his tri suit. Despite having these additional bottles, Marc still wished he had access to a bit more fluid as he consumed all he had with about 10km still to go on the bike. On the run, Marc relied on his small soft flask and on-course small plastic bags of water he was able to grab from aid stations. Most of these bags were poured overhead in an attempt to cool his body temperature after taking a sip or two. Collecting some sweat rate data to help determine his losses in these kind of hot conditions will help Marc put future hydration strategies together with more proactive fluid replacement to tackle the heat.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Marc’s go-to caffeine strategy for every race starts with a morning coffee. He then takes one PF 30 Caffeine Gel an hour into the bike, followed by another 5 miles into the run. Since his intake is on the lower end of the recommended range for endurance exercise, he could incorporate one more caffeine gel in his strategy, such as right before the swim.
How Marc hit his numbers
Here's everything that Marc ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I’m really happy with my first ever long course win, and coming off the back of racing last weekend I wasn’t too sure how it was going to go. I always struggle in the heat, so it was not as fun as I had hoped but my strategy worked well until the end of the race and I felt I could have raced someone on the run if it came down to it.”
“Marc had strong races in both Ecuador and California using his usual self-sufficient fuel and hydration strategy. As an athlete who commonly has issues in the heat, Marc will benefit from further refining his fluid intake ahead of these hot races by collecting sweat rate data. This will enable him to proactively address any heat-induced performance reducing factors and avoid running out of fluid with much of the race still ahead of him.”
PF&HMarc's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.