Jason West
PTO US Open
Jason's headline numbers
Jason's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
This race started later than most middle-distance triathlons, with the gun going off at 4:15pm. So, Jason chose to stick to similar breakfast-like foods all day due to the late race start and to stock up on carbohydrates, getting the majority of this from 10 slices of toast with butter and jam throughout the day, alongside some rice crackers. Jason’s fueling on the bike came from the PF 60 Drink Mix in his integrated hydration system and three energy gels taped to his top-tube, one of which was caffeinated. This gave him an average intake on the bike of ~99g per hour, and he felt his energy was great when he hopped off the bike and set about hunting down his rivals on the run. During this run, he backed up his great on-bike fueling by putting away a further ~81g of carb, which is similar to what he’s averaged in several of his previous races.
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.
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.
Whilst Jason’s losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still crucial when it’s hot and/or humid as his higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreBecause of the late race start, Jason had a full day maintaining his hydration, whilst ensuring he didn’t fall into the trap of over-drinking. For the race, Jason consumed drinks with an average sodium concentration of ~649mg per litre, which likely replaced a good proportion of his sweat losses given his low individual losses. Jason’s ability to consume large amounts of fluid is very impressive, and this race in the heat was no different as he hit just over a litre per hour on the bike and ~911ml/h on the run, whilst running at ~3:08 per kilometre (5:02 per mile).
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.
Jason sat well within the recommended ranges to gain the most ergogenic benefits of caffeine, with an intake of 4.4mg/kg of bodyweight. Continuing to hit a similar intake in future races will help ensure he’s benefiting maximally from the stimulant.
How Jason hit his numbers
Here's everything that Jason ate and drank on the day...
Jason's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Jason
PF&HJason's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).