Proper intra-workout and intra-race fueling and hydration are necessary for maximizing performance. It is ESSENTIAL you understand what carbohydrates are, how many grams of carbohydrates you should and are consuming during exercise, how much fluid you’re consuming, and how to develop and rehearse a meticulous fueling and hydration plan in training so that you know exactly what to consume on race day.

You NEED to read nutrition labels and understand how many grams of carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium are in your favorite fueling and hydration products. And you need to understand what a serving is (definitely get a kitchen scale).

I will distill as concisely as I can how to develop and practice a good, albeit generic, fueling and hydration plan below.

IT’S ALL ABOUT FLUID, CARBOHYDRATES AND SODIUM

There are three main ingredients you need to pay attention to:

-Fluid: how many milliliters or ounces of fluid you consume per hour during training and racing (know the size of your bottles!).

-Carbohydrates: how many grams of carbohydrates you consume per hour during training and racing (generally 50-120g of carbohydrates per hour depending on the workout or race situation).

-Sodium: how many mg of sodium you consume per hour during training and racing (generally 500-1500mg of sodium per 1000ml or 32 oz).

HOW TO FUEL FOR TRIATHLON TRAINING

During training for most of the year, you only need to consider fueling for workouts that last over ~90 minutes. For typical Z2 workouts between 90 minutes and three hours, targeting ~50g-60g of carbohydrates per hour after the first hour is sufficient (think a gel or two for workouts lasting 90-120 minutes). For workouts lasting three hours or more, or those that include substantial intensity, aim for ~75-90g of carbohydrates per hour. Depending on sweat rate, target 500-1000ml (16-32 oz) of fluid per hour mixed at a concentration of 500-1500mg of sodium per 1000ml/32oz, depending on the amount of sodium in your sweat. If you don’t know the sodium concentration of your sweat, aim for 1000mg of sodium per 1000ml/32oz. This is the equivalent of two PH1000 tablets in a 1000ml/32oz bike bottle (note, most bike bottles are 600-750ml, so do the math).

Example of good approaches to consuming ~750ml, ~750mg of sodium, ~60g of carbohydrates per hour during training

#1
-One 750ml/24oz bottle of fluid with one PH 1500 tablet (750mg of sodium)
-Two PF 30 gels

#2
-750ml/24oz bottle of fluid with 2.5 scoops of Tailwind (~60g of carbs, ~800mg of sodium )

Note: as a race approaches, you should experiment to test the upper limits of what you can consume to establish the maximum amount of carbohydrate and fluid you can consume per hour at race power. Rehearse the plan multiple times in training.

HOW TO FUEL FOR TRIATHLON RACES — IRONMAN FUELING STRATEGIES

During racing, you will most likely benefit from consuming close to the maximum amount of carbohydrate you can absorb, which is typically 75-130g of carbohydrates per hour if you choose good sources (e.g., PH gels or chews, good sports drinks like PH, Tailwind, etc.) and pair it with an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium. Most athletes should aim to consume 750ml-1500ml of fluid per hour and ~1000mg of sodium per 1000ml/32oz per hour.

Examples of good approaches to consuming ~1000ml, ~1000mg of sodium, and ~90g of carbohydrates per hour, which I’d consider “par” for most athletes during races.

#1
-One 1000ml/32oz bottle of fluid with two PH 1000 tablets (1000mg of sodium)
-Three PF 30 gels

#2
-1000ml/32oz bottle of fluid with 2.5 scoops of Tailwind (~60g of carbs, ~800mg of sodium )
-One PF 30 gel

#3
-1000ml/32oz bottle of fluid with 4 scoops of Tailwind (~100g of carbs, ~1000mg of sodium ). Note: this is harder on the gut than separating carbohydrates from fluid, so experiment to ensure you can handle sports drink at this concentration for multiple hours.

HONE YOUR PLAN

Some athletes need to consume more than the above, some less. The above three examples are good starting points. If you are interested in diving deeper or really dialing in your day-to-day nutrition, consider working with a WT nutrition coach.

Conrad Goeringer is an Ironman Certified Coach based out of Nashville, TN. He is the founder of Working Triathlete and author of the book The Working Triathlete. His passion is helping athletes of all levels and with all schedules achieve their endurance goals. Reach out to learn more about coaching packages and for a free consultation.