IRONMAN® Cozumel

Compared to her race in Cozumel last year, Angela increased her carb intake by ~14g/h to deliver a constant supply of energy to her working muscles. She started her morning off with a carb-rich breakfast and two PF Gels ahead of the swim to ensure she was well-fueled and could spare her glycogen stores to be saved for later. Once on the bike, she used a combination of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, PH 1000 and an impressive 12 PF Gels to meet her energy needs. This totalled ~118g/h on the bike and although her intake dropped slightly on the run, she still averaged ~94g/h; a sufficient intake to support her across the marathon leg of a full-distance IRONMAN® race. Angela’s time spent training her gut to tolerate her fueling strategy came in handy especially considering the warmer conditions of Mexico, as higher temperatures can shunt blood away from the gut and to the skin to cool the body down, thus making GI distress more of a risk. Angela rated her GI comfort a perfect 10 (out of 10) though, demonstrating that practice can make perfect.

Even though Angela had less fluid per hour in similarly hot conditions compared to last year, she reported no cramping or other dehydration-related symptoms, indicating she replaced an appropriate proportion of her sweat fluid losses. Her relative sodium intake was spot on for her needs, and she was within the recommended fluid intake, as well. Since she wanted to incorporate some carbohydrates into the fluid she drank, she used PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix to ensure there was sodium coming in, too. Topping off the extra plain water she consumed with PH 1000 kept her on track with her ratio of sodium to fluid. On the run, she overconcentrated her bottles from a sodium perspective, knowing that she would pick up additional water from aid stations, thus reducing the amount of items she needed to carry. Additionally, Angela had to pee a couple of times on the bike and almost once on the run, which further suggests she was appropriately hydrated. The only recommendation we’d make for Angela’s hydration strategy would be to preload with a stronger electrolyte, such as PH 1500 which has the goal relative sodium concentration we see in the research to benefit performance.

Angela is no stranger to using caffeine, having consumed even more in Cozumel last year and not having any negative symptoms when doing so. After a pre-race coffee and a PF 30 Caffeine Gel ahead of the swim, she included a total of 3 additional caffeinated gels during the race. Whilst it put her above the recommended dosage (3-6mg/kg of bodyweight), she felt the ergogenic benefits of caffeine and didn’t experience any drawbacks to consuming this amount. It goes to show that testing out caffeine is important for each athlete as an individual, as the response can vary depending on tolerance, amount and timing.