IRONMAN® Bolton

Leon’s strategy was to use his pre-mixed energy drink to get him through the first four hours on the bike, drinking every 10-20 minutes to ensure a steady flow of glucose into his bloodstream to prevent any drops in energy. As we’ve seen Leon do before, he took a final gel towards the end of the bike section to pre-empt the run. Then whilst running, he stuck to his plan of taking one PF 30 Gel every 7k or so, no doubt helping maintain his energy levels right up until the finish. For future races, increasing his carb intake on the bike to be more in line with the scientific recommendations of 90 grams of carb per hour would hopefully allow him to push even harder.

Since Leon knew the cooler conditions meant his sweat rate wasn’t particularly high, he sensibly adjusted his fluid intake slightly, ensuring he replaced his sweat losses without over-hydrating. He had a fantastic race without any hydration-related issues, although his relative sodium concentration was notably low. He only had a few Electrolyte Capsules on the bike, and even though his sweat rate wasn’t excessive, Leon is a fairly salty sweater; therefore he was only replacing a small proportion of the sodium he would have been losing in his sweat during the race. Especially in hotter conditions, Leon should consider increasing his sodium intake to stay well hydrated so he can perform at his best and avoid the risk of hyponatremia. Incorporating PH 1500 into his bottles would be an easy way to bring his sodium concentration up and move this part of his strategy in the right direction.

Most of Leon’s caffeine intake came during the run in the form of caffeinated energy gels and a decent amount of cola. This put him within the scientific recommendations based on body weight, allowing him to reap the ergogenic benefits that the stimulant provides, helping to limit the feeling of fatigue.