PTO US Open

Tom’s short-course racing background helped him start strong in the swim and bike, allowing him to stay with the lead pack but also meaning he “tore through (his) nutrition.” He took in ~110g of carbs per hour on the bike, mostly via PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PF 30 Gels. While some athletes benefit from more than 90g of carbs per hour, Tom is still adapting to higher intakes and already demonstrated a big jump from the ~58g/h he took in during his previous race at IRONMAN 70.3® Swansea. This likely contributed to his gut issues, which led him to abstain from carbs completely during the run. Going forward, we’d recommend Tom incorporate some gut training into his high-intensity sessions and consider ‘decoupling’ his carbs from fluids in long, hot races; keeping bottles for fluids and electrolytes and using gels, chews, or solids for fuel to be able to adjust his intake according to hydration and energy needs.

The preload Tom executed ensured he started optimally hydrated, which was important as the race didn’t start until 14:45 when temperatures soared in Dallas to ~36°C (~97°F). Given the extreme heat, Tom was keen to lower his core body temperature before he started the race, so he drank a ~300ml ‘slushy’ ~10 minutes before the starting gun went off. Using a ‘slushy’ is a common method for lowering (or at least maintaining a low) core body temperature, although he could look to increase the time between consumption and race start, allowing more time for the effects to kick in. Tom also regularly poured water over his head to keep his perception of heat down. As a moderately salty sweater, the relative sodium concentration of his intake in Dallas would likely have replaced a significant proportion of his sweat electrolyte losses. He did cramp during the final 15km of the bike leg, although he attributes this to muscle fatigue instead of hydration issues.