IRONMAN 70.3® Melbourne

Before the race, Luke was towards the lower end of the pre-race carbohydrate intake guidelines as he relied on a corn starch-based carbohydrate energy drink containing only glucose. He may want to consider switching to a pre-race fuel that also includes fructose, as this is more effective at replenishing liver glycogen after overnight depletion. Whilst racing, Luke’s source of carbs came solely from energy gels (25g carb each), and he took six on the bike and a further three on the run, which meant he fell short of the recommended carb intake per hour for this race. This was in part due to a slight feeling of nausea from 60 minutes into the bike, which saw him delay taking his third gel until the 90-minute mark. This delay was a sensible decision to settle his stomach, especially considering the large volume of fluid he was drinking, but does suggest that he may benefit from increasing his fuel intake during more race simulation training sessions to train his gut.

As he did ahead of his last full distance race, Luke aggressively preloaded using two PH 1500 (Tablets) in 24oz of water in an attempt to maximise his blood plasma volume and start fully hydrated for the hard race to come. With cooler conditions in Melbourne and a shorter race duration compared to IRONMAN® Western Australia, he drank a lower volume of fluid on average (~100ml/h less on the bike and ~200ml/h less on the run) than in his previous race. Given his history of hydration-related issues, including cramping and hyponatremia, Luke’s fluid and in particular his sodium intake was still higher than the average across our middle distance triathlon case studies as he battled to keep up with his exceptionally high sweat losses; Luke drank ~1.2L/h (39oz/h) on the bike leg, ~1.4L/h (50oz/h) on the run, along with a total sodium intake of ~10,351mg across the race. Whilst consuming this level of fluid and sodium is above what would be recommended for most athletes, some, like Luke, are outliers and their extreme physiology warrants such extreme levels of hydration to keep up with their losses across endurance events.

On race morning, Luke drank one coffee, which was followed on the bike leg with two high-dose caffeine tablets (200mg each); the first around one hour in and the other just before transitioning off the bike. This placed him at the top end of the recommended intake range for a race of this 3 - 5 hour duration, considering his body weight.