• Zach made his debut over the IRONMAN distance at the World Championships in St George
• Zach described the experience by saying “I was pleased to finish. I lost a fair amount of time due to some poor decision making, but I can still take a lot of positives from the experience”. He swam well, and set off on the bike conservatively so to avoid “blowing up” later in the race
• After meticulously planning his fuel and hydration strategy, Zach had a momentary lapse in concentration on the run and ate some potato chips, something he had never done before. Unfortunately this caused him to feel sick, and put a hold on his running for a few kilometres until this settled
• Overall, Zach is grateful for the experience and even though he had hoped for more in terms of his performance, he remains positive and determined to execute his plan better in future long distance triathlons

Hydration

• Zach preloaded the night before the race by drinking ~750ml/24oz of PH 1500, and he sipped on ~450ml/15oz of PH 1500 whilst walking through transition before the race start
• Zach drank an average of ~446ml/15oz per hour across the duration of the 14 hour 45 minutes. The conditions were extremely hot, with temperatures hitting ~35℃/94℉ at some points which would have elicited a high rate of sweating
• Zach’s hydration strategy consisted of five 500ml/16oz bottles containing PH 1500 tablets, and 10 x ~250ml/8oz bottles of plain water on the bike. This quantity of sodium (~525mg/hr average) in these warmer conditions will have done a good job of replacing Zach’s sodium lost in his sweat, and as he reports to be a ‘low-salt’ sweater, he would likely have replaced the majority of his losses. We hope to validate this by getting Zach booked in for an Advanced Sweat Test
• Zach’s relative sodium concentration for his intake during the whole race was ~917mg/L. This is a solid amount, and if Zach’s estimation of being a ‘low-salt’ sweater is accurate, he would likely have done a decent job of replacing his losses. Despite this, we would still recommend he bumps up his total fluid intake whilst maintaining a similar relative sodium concentration
• During the run, Zach used the on-course aid stations for all of his hydration needs, taking cups of water and coke interchangeably. Unfortunately, due to the stomach issues he experienced in the middle of the run, his fluid intakes were low overall, with an average of ~171ml/hr. This is considerably lower than we would recommend in temperatures as hot as St George, and is something Zach should look to bump up in future race, especially in these conditions
• During the marathon, where temperatures reached as high as ~35℃/94℉, Zach kept himself cool by pouring cups of water over himself at every aid station
• Overall, Zach rated his fueling and hydration plan 8 out of 10, saying he was pleased with his increased sodium intake due to the heat, but as he held off drinking for several miles on the run, his execution of the plan was stalled

Fueling

Conclusions

• Overall, Zach had an eventful debut at the IRONMAN distance, where he battled the hilly course and brutal temperatures
• His sodium and carb intakes were adequate, but he should aim to increase his fluid intake, especially on the run discipline in his future long-distance triathlons
• Zach rated his overall race satisfaction as a 6 out of 10 and considered his first tilt at IM racing as a good learning experience, saying “I am positive I lost a lot of time due to a few bad decisions”
• The advice Zach would give to anyone who’s going into their first IRONMAN, is “don’t eat potato chips on the run if you’ve never done it before, however tempting they may be!”