Kenneth always had a passion for mountain biking. Quickly, he craved for longer distances and bigger challenges. An old bike from his father got him started and soon enough cycling 100km was a walk in the park. Kenneth was looking for a new challenge and In October 2020 an article on his Facebook feed gave him just exactly that: ‘Ironman cancelled because of Covid-19’. He immediately enlisted for the iron lakes half triathlon in 2021 and started training. But disaster struck and Kenneth crashed hard while on a cycling trip. He kept on training but only got the green light to train full throttle 2 months before the race.
Kenneth was very nervous and even though the start was at 11 am, he woke up at 6 am to run away the stress and take a look at the swimming to cycling switch of the full triathlon participants. His signature self-made shake (oats, peanut butter and banana), a sport gel and a Goodluck kiss from his girlfriend gave him an energy boost to start his race.
After swimming his calves cramped up immediately, it was a blow to his morale. He remembered thinking “What did I do wrong. It is still such a long way to go.” He got up on the bike and tried to get rid of the cramps by taking 2 more gels. Initially, he thought they would be gone, but when he got off the bike, he crashed completely. Kenneth encountered severe cramps in his hamstrings and calves. Additionally, he got massive stomach aches that only worsened throughout the running laps.
“I started running with what felt like a punch to the gut. After every lap of running I grabbed a gel and isotonic drink from the supply station because I needed the energy and thought that this was the only way to consume enough sugar…everybody else was doing it. I was unable to keep my heartbeat below my anaerobic threshold due to the sugar spikes and caffeine in these gels. The lactic acid build up led me to walk for a while to get my heartbeat lower. The stomach aches were very painful and uncomfortable, even a day after the race my guts were still a mess.”
Despite encountering stomach issues, Kenneth stuck to sport gels. It only gave him short energy boosts, but took them because they seemed to be the only option on the market. Due to some coincidence, we got in touch with Kenneth and gave him some products to try out. Feeling better during his training, Kenneth was ready to tackle is second half triathlon only fueled by Pure·E.
His routine was pretty much the same as last year: get up early, take a small warm-up run, go watch the switch and drink a self-made shake (now boosted with Pure·E instead of a sport gel). In contrast with last year, the weather was horrendous, which proved to be a challenge for many athletes. There were many bike crashes, due to wet roads and officials signaled participants to slow down in sketchy turns. Kenneth saw many athletes getting assisted by paramedics and taken away because of hypothermia. It was a hit on his mental strength, which could only be relieved by some encouraging cheers from supporters and the sun that broke through the clouds a couple of times. Even though mentally it was a bigger challenge this year, physically Kenneth was feeling great.
“I was very confident this year because I knew that stomach troubles weren’t going to be a problem. I took 4 packages of Pure·E in total: One to load up before the race, half a pack after swimming, half a pack after 40 km of cycling and then I consumed 1 pack for the remaining cycling distance and 1 pack during running. The difference to last year was immense, I had no energy dips and constantly felt like I could keep on going. Due to the absence of sugar peaks, I could control my heartbeat more easily and had less lactic acid build-up. While everything was going well, I made the mistake of taking an isotonic drink during the last running lap and I immediately felt my stomach disagreeing, even with that small amount. Next year I am going to take on some bigger challenges and I am convinced Pure·E will be a necessary asset.”
1. I take one 90 gram pouch of Pure·E on a distance where I used to take 3-4 gels. It’s financially more interesting and without the stomach pain.
2. Adapt your training environment to the environment of the race. Lot of hills on the bike track? Make sure to be champ in climbs.
3. If you have to choose, prioritize cycle training. You will spend the most time on your bike, it helps if this is your expertise and this should not be neglected.
4. Make sure to have the CORRECT nutrition and enough of it before and after swimming, otherwise cramps and dips are inevitable.
5. It is easier to cut the course into smaller ‘achievements’ in your head. Half a marathon is only 3x7km or 4x5km. My little trick to stay motivated!
Are you increasing your sport goals like Kenneth and is nutrition currently hindering your performance, check out the shop for some Pure·E and up your game!
