A 39-year-old elite triathlete training for his tenth Ironman competition in Arizona contacted me 10 weeks prior to his race. In the past, he was not able to take in any carbohydrates during the run. He felt that this was hindering his performance and decreasing his energy availability during the second half of the race. He said that most of his training buddies were able to consume the recommended 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour. His primary goal was to optimize his carbohydrate intake during training and racing, in order to meet the high energy demands during the Ironman competition. In the past, his gastrointestinal problems had inhibited him from consuming carbohydrates during the 26.2-mile run. Furthermore, he wanted to ensure that he was getting adequate hydration by establishing a hydration plan for his upcoming race. We didn’t have a lot of time to address these issues, so I knew we had to be proactive.

For the 10 weeks leading up to his Ironman, training consisted of roughly 10 km of swimming (3 sessions a week), 450 km of cycling (5 sessions a week), and 90 km of running (7 sessions a week). On the weekends, he had scheduled several 4- to 5-hour-long rides followed by a 2- to 3-hour-long run. This is where I saw an opportunity to incorporate a trial-and-error nutrition plan in order to maximize his carbohydrate and fluid intake.

Practicing his nutrition plan during the extended weekend training sessions was extremely important in order to reach his goal. First, we assessed his current intake while training. He was consuming only about 30 grams of carbohydrates during the bike ride, primarily through gels and a carbohydrate/electrolyte beverage, and no carbohydrates on the run. This may have been enough to get him through his cycle, but it was definitely not enough to fuel his run. Based on his body size (about 139 lbs/63 kg), my goal for him was that he consume about 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour with no gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort. During his first long training session, I recommended that he add 30 grams of carbohydrates per hour during his run. Due to his GI issues, I suggested that he achieve this through gels and sports drinks. As expected, he experienced some distress during the first trial session. For the subsequent sessions, we increased his carbohydrate consumption to 45 grams of carbohydrates per hour until his GI tract adjusted to this volume. I suggested that he incorporate solid foods, such as PowerBar® Performance Energy bars, into the cycle. After a few more tweaks to his nutrition plan, he was able to increase his consumption to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour about 4 weeks prior to the Ironman. He met his goal by consuming Performance Energy bars, gels, and sports drinks during the cycle and run. He reported that this increase in carbohydrates during training had enhanced his energy levels tremendously and that he was able to recover more quickly after his high-volume training sessions. He also reported little to no GI discomfort.

The next goal was to optimize hydration. We calculated his total fluid loss (body weight loss) during his first long training session. He was losing about 3 lbs per hour. Therefore, we calculated his maximum and minimum fluid replacement rate in order to establish a recommended fluid consumption amount (per hour) during his race. The minimum fluid replacement allowed for a 2% body weight loss, and the maximum replaced all fluids lost. He achieved this goal by consuming a combination of water and sports drinks.

Finally, I addressed the importance of recovering between the long training sessions. It was particularly important to replace glycogen stores so that he would go into the next training sessions with adequate fuel. The extra protein would enhance recovery and help in any tissue repair.

Going into the competition, he felt very confident with his nutrition plan. He was able to consume more carbohydrates during the race because of the nutrition plan he had practiced during training. In addition, his energy levels were much higher towards the end of the race. This allowed him to perform to his anticipated potential and to make it through the race with no GI problems. This triathlete had a great cycle and swim, but an old metatarsal injury flared up again when he started the run — a hard pill to swallow for both him and the support team, who had worked so diligently leading up to the race.

Although the race didn’t end exactly as planned, I had provided him with some great nutritional strategies that he could use for future events. He is now training for Ironman Germany in August and feels that his “revamped” nutrition plan allows him to train optimally. Now he can complete his longer training sessions with no GI distress, run at a faster pace, and recover much more quickly.

To determine your optimal fueling and hydration plan, check out PowerBar® PowerCoach® at www.powerbar.com/powercoach/default.aspx.