FUELLING & HYDRATION GUIDE

Your energy and hydration needs will differ significantly depending on what event you're competing in. Please refer to the race-specific fuelling and hydration advice at pfandh.com/castle for tailored advice for your event. Here's some general information about what's available on the course and some things to consider when refining your race nutrition plan.

Failing to fuel and hydrate appropriately is a leading cause of underperformance in endurance events.

BEFORE THE RACE Fuel

What to do

- Aim to carb load in the day or two before your event, to top off your stored energy (glycogen) levels

- Eat an energy gel in the final 15 mins or so before you start. This'll provide additional fuel to be utilised in the early stages and increase your focus and energy levels

Why?

- Think of your glycogen stores as the fuel you have in the tank before a long journey. The more you start with, the longer you can keep going before you need to top-up

- Simple carbs taken in the last 15 mins will hit your bloodstream around the start of the race, increasing energy availability just as energy use is ramping up in your body

Hydration

What to do

- Consider drinking a strong electrolyte drink (like PH (like PH 1500) about ~90 mins before you start

- This is known as ‘preloading’ and it can significantly improve your performance

- Finish your drink ~45 mins before you start to allow your gut to absorb it

- Drink the electrolytes in water you’d have drunk anyway so you don’t overdo it

- DON’T just drink lots of water before a race! You can end up diluting your blood sodium levels, increasing the risk of a race-ruining condition called hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels)

Why?

- It’ll boost your blood volume, a proven way to enhance performance during intense exercise, especially in the heat

- It’ll help your cardiovascular system cool you down and deliver oxygen to your working muscles. This reduces fatigue and enables you to maintain your performance for longer

- PH 1500 electrolyte drink is a very effective preloader as it contains 3x more sodium than typical sports drinks

- Preloading may also help you avoid cramp, which can be triggered by sodium depletion

During The Race

Your energy and hydration needs will differ significantly depending on what event you're competing in. Please refer to the race-specific fuelling and hydration advice at pfandh.com/castle for tailored advice for your event. Here's some general information about what's available on the course and some things to consider when refining your race nutrition plan.

Fuel

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- Glycogen (stored carbohydrate) is a finite resource. 90-120 minutes of hard activity will generally deplete your stores enough to significantly compromise your performance. So, at some point, taking in carbs is necessary to maintain a high level of performance

Hydration

What hydration products are available at the feed stations?

What fuel is available at the feed stations?

- PF 30 Energy Gels. Each gel contains 30g of carbohydrate

- PF 30 Energy Chews, a mixture of Original and Mint & Lemon flavours. Each packet contains 30g of carbohydrate, delivered as 2 15g chews

- A selection of food and drink such as bananas (cut into thirds, about 9g of carb oper third), flat coca-cola (about 10g of carb per 100ml) and jelly babies (or similar, about 5g of carb per sweet)

What to do

- Use our Quick Carb Calculator to get an idea of how much carbohydrate you'll need per hour to perform at your best

- PH 1000, a low-carb electrolyte drink containing 1,000mg of sodium per litre (~2x the sodium found in typical sports drinks)

- Water

What to do

- The aim is to try to avoid under-drinking to the point that dehydration hampers your performance, whilst avoiding over-drinking, which can lead to hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels)

- Most athletes will need to take in between 500ml and 1L per hour during the longer races on offer at Castle Race Series events. The exact amount depends on the conditions, your own sweat rate and past experiences

- Experimenting within these guidelines, whilst learning to listen to your body, is the best way to work out how much you need to drink during a race https://visit.pfandh.com/3itxJRh

- The higher the amount of carbohydrate you’re aiming to ingest, the more crucial ‘training your gut’ in the lead up to your race becomes

Why

- When it comes to powering high intensity endurance exercise, carbohydrate is the main source of fuel used by your body.

- On the day, factors such as your pace and the weather will influence what you actually need and you should adjust your intake according to how you feel as the race unfolds

- Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and electrolytes is essential to maintaining your blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort you’ll be putting in

- Heart rate drifting upwards when compared to power output or effort

- Tight, twitchy or crampy muscles

Signs you may need to drink less include:

- Feeling bloated https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150304075220.htm

- A 2015 study found that athletes who adequately replaced the sodium lost in their sweat finished a middle distance triathlon an average of 26 minutes faster than those who didn’t

- As well as maintaining fluid balance, sodium plays an important role in the absorption of nutrients in the gut, maintaining cognitive function, nerve impulse transmission and in muscle contraction.

- Hydration is, of course, particularly important during longer events, when your net sweat losses can really mount up. That's especially the case if it'll be hot on the day

Pro tips

- Drinking from cups at feed stations can make it tricky to work out exactly how much fluid you’re consuming. As a rough guide, half a standard paper cup will give you ~100ml of water

- Squeeze aid station cups across the top to form a slit to pour water out of. This’ll reduce the amount that gets spilled

- It’s often faster overall to walk a few paces through feed stations to ensure you get enough fluids on board, rather than trying to drink from cups whilst running at full speed

Checklist For Adjusting Your Intake

Signs you may need to drink more include:

- Feeling thirsty/dry mouth

- Feeling water ‘sloshing’ in your stomach

- Peeing too frequently

Signs you may need to increase your energy intake include:

- Hunger

- Attitude or mood deteriorating

- Craving sugar

Signs you may need to decrease your energy intake include:

- Feeling/being sick

- Bloating

- Upset stomach https://visit.pfandh.com/3iz4IDH

"Nothing new on race day" has always been solid advice.

Grab a Castle Race Series Taster Pack to thoroughly road-test the on-course fuel and hydration before your race.

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QUESTIONS?

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Book a free one-to-one video call with a fuelling expert at Precision Fuel & Hydration or email hello@pfandh.com www.precisionfuelandhydration.com/castle hello@pfandh.com