IRONMAN® World Championships

Fenella planned to consume ~95 grams of carb per hour during the bike leg using a mixture of PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Chews and the on course energy drink mix. Unfortunately, she misplaced one of her pre-mixed bottles before the race so had to adjust her strategy slightly, which resulted in a lower-than-planned carb intake on the bike. We would typically expect a higher carb intake on the bike than the run for an IRONMAN race, but Fenella got off the bike feeling slightly hungry and decided to increase her carb intake accordingly. She has trialled some gut training during sessions to tolerate a higher carb intake and she felt comfortable increasing her intake on the run without fear of GI distress. Fenella made good use of the professional athlete’s fueling stations where she had placed bottles containing PH 1500 with PF 30 Gels and PF 30 Caffeine Gels taped to the outside. Taking the gels at regular intervals throughout ensured she was able to maintain good energy levels during the marathon.

Fenella did a good job to sufficiently replace her sweat sodium losses during the race using Electrolyte Capsules, PH 1000 and PH 1500. She increased her sodium intake compared to previous races which proved effective in the hot temperatures in Utah to avoid any unwanted dehydration-related symptoms. But, she did report feeling thirsty so next time she could drink some more plain water to reflect her sweat losses more closely.

As we have seen her do before and during previous races, Fenella used caffeine doses effectively throughout the day with the aim to reap the ergogenic benefits of the stimulant. Although Fenella’s dosage of caffeine was greater than the scientific recommendations, she knows she can comfortably tolerate this high intake and finds it beneficial, so we wouldn’t recommend she changes this.