Episode 63 - Part 1: Two Different Race Nutrition Plans for Sunny Coast 70.3 With Jason Currie

Part 1: Two Different Race Nutrition Plans for Sunny Coast 70.3 With Jason Currie

Athletes that have a race nutrition plan, perform better than those that don‘t.

Over the next two episodes, I’m going to lift the curtain a little on two TNA athletes and their race nutrition plans for Sunshine Coast 70.3. And show you how different they can be for the exact same race. Consider it a little case study!

To kick us off for Part 1, Jason Currie shares his race nutrition plan that resulted in a 51-minute PB! It was the first time Jase has ever had a plan, developed as part of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program. It’s perfect for Jase and what he needed.

When I work with a triathlete on their race nutrition, we develop a plan that’s customised specifically to them and their race. No two plans are ever the same. There is no one size fits all and there is certainly no generic.

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Episode Transcription

Episode 63: Part 1: Two Different Race Nutrition Plans for Sunny Coast 70.3 With Jason Currie

Taryn Richardson  00:00

Today's episode is part one of a two part series where I'm going to give you some case studies of what some of my athletes' race nutrition plans were for Sunny Coast 70.3. I know, it's awesome to see what other people are up to. But I think that nutrition is very individual. And all of the race plans that I ever help someone with are completely customised to them. I often get requests for like, can you just like, send me a generic meal plan? And the answer is, no. Why on earth would I do that? It may be good for a day and then it's not going to work for you because it's not right for you. So I thought I would take you behind the scenes to Jason's 70.3 race nutrition plan for Sunny Coast and he joins me in today's episode. And then in part two next week, we're going to dive into another triathlete's race nutrition plan for Sunny Coast. And it's going to show you how different they are and how customised it is to them - their size, their race speed, the event and what actually works for them. So I hope you enjoy the conversation with Jason today as we lift the curtains on what was an almost 1 hour PB across the 70.3 distance as a result of having a race nutrition plan.

Taryn Richardson  01:20

Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. The show designed to serve you up evidence-based sports nutrition advice from the experts. Hi, I'm your host Taryn, Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Dietitian Approved. Listen as I break down the latest evidence to give you practical, easy-to-digest strategies to train hard, recover faster and perform at your best. You have so much potential, and I want to help you unlock that with the power of nutrition. Let's get into it.

Taryn Richardson  01:57

All right. I have Jason here with me who's going to give you some really good insight into what his race nutrition plan was for Sunny Coast 70.3 recently. So welcome, Jase.

Jason Currie  02:07

Thanks, Taryn.

Taryn Richardson  02:08

I'm pretty excited for you to share your story because you've got an interesting one. Sunny Coast 70.3 was the first time you ever raced with a race nutrition plan, which boggles my mind. But you also did a 1 hour PB for this distance too, which again boggles my mind. So I want to take listeners through what your race nutrition plan was, and how you actually landed into doing what you did on the day. But before we do that, tell the people what you do, what type of crazy you are. How did you survive doing that without any form of race nutrition?

Jason Currie  02:41

Oh, thanks, Taryn. I don't know how I survived. So I started about 12 months ago. I did my first Ultra marathon for this, sort of, 12 month period. And I decided strangely just to do 12 in 12 was the goal. End up doing, I think it was around 10 Ultra marathons, two half Ironman and an Ironman in the 15 or so months, as well as a pile of short races. And I didn't know anything about nutrition. I didn't join the Triathlon Nutrition Academy until very late in that process. I was lucky most of them were trails, so you can eat what you want, and you don't have to slow down and things. And on the road races, I really don't know how I finished. I was maybe taking some sports drink, maybe some gels, but probably just operating on body reserves.

Taryn Richardson  03:29

So you did the Gold Coast 50k, which is a 50k road run with basically no nutrition?

Jason Currie  03:35

Yes. I went into the Gold Coast 50 and when I spoke to the guys from Fixx Nutrition, I thought if I hit the aid stations every couple of kilometers, grab a cup of electrolytes, that'd be my sort of cover, hydrate, and calorie targets. And I'll be fine. And I'd done all trails really until then, and I've forgotten at 4 minute pace or close to 4 minute pace, grabbing a cup of electrolyte, getting in your mouth, into your stomach is a lot harder than when you're on a trail and you stop and eat a watermelon or have some sports drink or some chips. So I ended up running the full 4 hours with no gels, maybe a few 100ml of drink, and almost no carbohydrates. So somehow I got through. I didn't carry any gels because I thought I'd grab them on course and I didn't have any. So that was a challenge.

Taryn Richardson  04:23

And how did you feel after that race?

Jason Currie  04:25

I was surprisingly good. But I was definitely spent. It's 28km - at the end it got tough. And that's probably what, normally, would have been able to fall back on a gel but I wasn't carrying anything. So I got to the 42kms and I got a - I think it was an hour PB for the marathon distance. So I was really happy with that. And then the wheels sort of fell off for the last 8 kms. Well, I should say wheels fell off, it was still a 4 hour, 1 x 50kms. So it wasn't like it completely went bad. But it definitely wasn't the target I wanted.

Taryn Richardson  04:57

Yeah, so you bonked at that point. Like, you're just insane I can't get over the crazy things you've done with absolutely no nutrition knowledge, no nutrition support. But I'm glad to have you inside the Academy now because it definitely paid off with Sunny Coast. And that's kind of what I want to get into today. So what are the sorts of things that you've learned? And you've implemented to have a race plan for Sunny Coast? Maybe let's start it pre - so like carb loading. What sort of things did you do for your Sunny Coast race nutrition in the carb loading sense?

Jason Currie  05:28

Yeah, so the biggest change for me was definitely the pre race carb loading. I'd previously, maybe, had some sports drink, maybe the pasta. You know very minor carb loading when you look at what you need to do for, sort of, my sized athlete. So with your help and the Academy, sort of, knowledge, I built a carb loading plan that went for two days before the race. And it was really force feeding carbohydrates for two full days. It's things I usually would crave and now I can't look at in the same way. So, you know a bag of Snakes, a litre of Gatorade as well as a pile of other carbohydrates.  So in the end, that pre race period, topping up the glycogen and, really, a lot more carbohydrates than I ever thought you had to have as a carb loading plan - that was sort of the key. To go in fully carb loaded and also the other key thing was the pre race breakfast to top up the glycogen stores in the liver that I didn't appreciate how important that was in the past. So having a plan of what I was going to eat, and how far before the race to make sure that that glycogen was as full as it could be.

Taryn Richardson  05:30

What did you do before for your pre race breakfast? Did you have a plan?

Jason Currie  06:16

I probably ate what I felt like eating when I woke up. Maybe a banana, maybe some juice. No reason of why other than I thought a banana would help with cramping, and maybe some juice because it would help settle the stomach. But I didn't eat proper food.

Taryn Richardson  06:52

Okay, and what did your pre race meal look like for Sunny Coast?

Jason Currie  06:55

So Sunny Coast was a early alarm - earlier than I would normally have liked. But the importance to get that sort of food into the gut and have it settle a bit before the race. So it was a half bagel, I had some juice, some jam on the bagel. And the intent was to have coffee, but I found the hotel didn't have any good coffee. So I skipped the coffee, which was something I would change next time for sure.

Taryn Richardson  07:19

Okay, it's all a learning curve, isn't it?

Jason Currie  07:20

You got to do something wrong, you need to improve somehow.

Taryn Richardson  07:23

Yeah. So you had a plan. And you were structured with what you did in a couple of days leading into the event, which we go through in Phase 2 of the Academy, much more than you're used to, right? Way more carbohydrate than even mentally you're probably comfortable with at that point?

Jason Currie  07:38

Yes, definitely more carbohydrates than I ever thought you needed, and more than I was comfortable with. And I think the key thing for me was from the knowledge in the Academy was knowing why and what you were doing, and also being able to exchange things in the plan. So it wasn't like a plan that I had to follow religiously. I knew what the carb targets were. And so it meant, I think the second day, I just changed the lunch plan. I couldn't stomach what it was that was on my plan. But I knew what I could replace it to get a similar amount of carbohydrate so that the plans were still achieved, even though the food on the list wasn't the same.

Taryn Richardson  08:12

I love that. That's so much more valuable than, say, if I write somebody a race nutrition plan, and they're, you know, traveling or away, or it's, you know, the weekend, and I'm not available to be contacted. And they don't know how to adapt it or evolve it for what's actually happening in the day, they're kind of stuck with that. But you know, why it's so important and how much you need specifically, and then how to actually achieve that. So you can adapt your plan on the move if , your know, you didn't have something available, or you went to go order, like your set carb loading dinner or something and you couldn't find it. All those sorts of things. So think that's a really good point. It's really valuable to have the knowledge and the skills to do that without relying on me to dictate to you what that is.

Jason Currie  08:56

Absolutely. And I had some friends on the Sunshine Coast that hosted me for dinner on, I think it was, the Friday night. So a few nights before the race, which is when I was supposed to have a certain meal and they were keen to support whatever I needed. But I was able to be flexible and say, well, as long as it's some garlic bread, and you know, some pasta or some rice, I'll make do. And I'll still hit the targets I need but I don't need to be maybe as religious as I've thought I might have had to have been. And same I think the day before the race, my plan had involved I think it was pasta for lunch and I had a craving for, sort of, Japanese and sushi. So I got a rice bowl instead. You know, getting the same carbohydrate target, but not what I initially intended to eat.

Taryn Richardson  09:38

Yeah, nice. So that's another kind of benefit that I didn't think of - that you're much more socially acceptable.

Jason Currie  09:43

Yes, I think that's the key thing. As a triathlete, you want to be social, and you want to still meet with people who aren't triathletes. And you want to be able to adjust your race plan to fit in with that social, sort of, aspect.

Taryn Richardson  09:58

Okay, so carb loading, pre race breakfast - you strategically had a plan that was specific for you. And with both of those components, you've practiced them a couple of times leading into your event as well. It wasn't that it was trying this thing out for the very first time. But both of them are well practiced, well rehearsed, and you have the skills to adapt and evolve your plan as you need to on the go. So what's really interesting about you is your actual race nutrition on the day. Can you tell me what you did on the bike to start with?

Jason Currie  10:30

Most people won't know listening to the podcast, but I was diagnosed with a brain tumor about two years ago, or bit over two years ago. And that's taken some of the coordination and balance away from me when it comes to bike. And so I needed a bike nutrition plan that didn't involve opening a heap of gel packets, or trying to eat solid food or things that I'd have to get out of aero and just struggle with. So bottles behind the seat are difficult. There's a whole range of things I've struggle with. So I worked with you and what I knew from the Academy, around building a carbohydrate target that would fit with a fluids only nutrition plan. And with the Speedfil, sort of bottle product on the frame, I was able to put a two and a half hour carbohydrate mix into that, and then use that as my, sort of, nutrition target on the bike just to get the carbohydrates that I needed without having to - I guess do what other people would be doing, which is solid foods, or gels or, you know, things that I couldn't do just because of the coordination and balance I've lost.

Taryn Richardson  11:32

It's really interesting. So that's a plan that we developed in our Power Hour sessions, where you get me live every week to pick my brain. And what we did with your bike nutrition is actually put a Speedfil bottle on there, in addition to your water in the front. So you've got two straws in your face. So you don't have to come out of aero. And you don't have to reach back behind your saddle to grab extra nutrition either. And you definitely had no packet. So it's interesting to have another eye or another brain on your plan. Because that wasn't something you'd thought about doing. You were just kind of struggling with what the norm was, like whatever else is doing. This is what I have seen people do. So this is what I should do. But because you're not meeting your hydration and fueling targets, you just like smashing yourself and then bonking in your races.

Jason Currie  12:15

Yes, yeah, I remember the Power Hour the first time when I came in with the plan. And I said, well, this is the plan. I'll stop at this point and grab a drink. And you said "That's rubbish. You don't stop in triathlon. We're gonna design a plan for you that doesn't involve stopping, doesn't involve getting out of aero. We can find a solution". And I could use the knowledge from the Academy to build a plan, and then use Power Hour to really critique and refine that plan. And it's, I think, such a valuable resource to have that dietitian on call sort of aspect in Power Hour.

Taryn Richardson  12:45

Not on call just once a week.

Jason Currie  12:47

No, but the Power Hour is a huge resource, to sort of go through things, to brainstorm options, to develop different things you can swap in and out on the day, to fix problems on the day, as well. That you have that knowledge of the "why" not just the "what". So if you're on the bike and things aren't quite working, or you're not drinking as much as you should, you know, what the deficit is, and you can start to think maybe how you might address that.

Taryn Richardson  13:11

Yeah, awesome. So Speedfil, if you're listening, or if anybody that's never heard of Speedfil, they're an awesome bottle that is a straw bottle in your face, which for Jason or anyone that wants to go fast, it means you don't have to get out of aero to hydrate or fuel. But the weight of the bottle is down in your frame. So it's not up on the handlebars, where it's going to affect your steering, which for Jason is like a big one, we have to make sure that his steering is in his control. And there's not anything that's going to tip it out. So the bottle actually sits down in between your legs in like the fork. And yeah, huge, huge gain for Jason to have that ability to have sports drink and water in his face without having to shift positions. Because yeah, I gently told you that you weren't going to stop at special needs. Because why would you in a 70.3? Why would you get off the bike if you didn't have to?

Jason Currie  14:01

Yeah, you might call it gently. You say it's the no BS approach to triathlon nutrition and you're gentle or forceful when you need to be. And I think we get that advantage through Power Hour - that we maybe throw an idea out and you politely shoot them down sometimes and tell us maybe rethink it.

Taryn Richardson  14:17

Gentle shoving in the right direction.

Jason Currie  14:19

But again, you're not always just giving us the answer. You're asking us to rethink or use what we know and learn, I guess, a new way of approaching it so that we can as I said before, fix things on the run, or on the bike and adjust as we go.

Taryn Richardson  14:35

Yeah, amazing. So Speedfil, if you're listening, we need to talk about a partnership for the Academy because they're awesome products - I love them! And I send you a message constantly and nobody ever responds. So what's the deal? Okay, so bike nutrition - nailed it! Smashed your bike. How many minutes PB was your bike for that course?

Jason Currie  14:52

Well, it's the first time I've done the Sunny Coast course. I think it's probably about a 20 minute PB on the bike for a 70.3 distance. So it was a touch short too, which always helps, but it was definitely faster in terms of speed. And well under the target I'd set.

Taryn Richardson  15:10

Yeah, so you actually had a little bit of nutrition leftover, but you knew how to adjust that based on a shorter ride time, too which again, is really valuable. And for you, you then got off the bike and didn't fall into a hole, which is again new.

Jason Currie  15:23

Yes, it's very new for me to get off the bike feeling well, at least after the first kilometre. I've gotten off the bike before and felt okay on the first few steps, and then maybe the fifth step realised that it was fake. So I've done that sort of 70.3 distance, I think it's about five or six times before this race. And I've always just had an absolute shocker of a half marathon, you know, a 2 hour at best, sort of 2 hour 30 a number of times in a row. There's not learning the lessons and not realising that it was really probably nutrition on the bike that was my downfall. It wasn't always just the lack of training, although training has clearly helped as well. But it was just having the energy left in the body for the run.

Taryn Richardson  16:04

Triathlon is all about how you set that run up - we often say inside the Academy, but your run is getting to that point being minimally affected by the swim and the ride. That's where success in triathlon comes from. It doesn't come from having a killer swim, and then sucking on the run, which is how I am as a triathlete. Damn it. I'm definitely a strong front end but success and having a good strong run, not bonking, not hitting the wall, and being able to hold that race pace comes from turning up to that point - that T2 transition - feeling good, having the energy and not upset in the guts that you're going to be vomiting through the whole run or looking for a portaloo. So what was your run nutrition plan for Sunny Coast?

Jason Currie  16:47

So the run nutrition plan for me at Sunny Coast was looking at taking a few gels in on the course. But I was really probably planning largely to be carb loaded going into the run that if I had the full hydration that I was planning to have on the bike, I knew I could get through the run without taking any on the course. But the plan was to grab gels at the aid stations and maybe some electrolyte drink at the aid stations knowing that if I had a couple of gels an hour, that would be enough.

Taryn Richardson  17:16

And that's new having a plan for you as well. What was different in your thinking or set up with this Sunny Coast run compared to what you've done previously?

Jason Currie  17:25

So difference for Sunny Coast was knowing that I had to take some carbohydrates early in the run. Although I was hoping and eventually did do sort of closer to an hour 30 or an hour 34 run at Sunny Coast. I knew that if I didn't have carbohydrates early in the run, it would really come back to hurt in that last sort of half an hour. So I knew I had to hit the aid stations to grab some gels and to, I guess, prepare the gut for the gel that was coming. Although it's fortunate with Ironman that they use Maurten, so you don't need the water. But knowing that if I threw sort of 200 mls of water into my stomach before I threw the gel in, it would help with the uptake of the glycogen, oh sorry, the glucose and the fructose.

Taryn Richardson  18:06

Gastric emptying is the word you're looking for. But well done. I love it. Getting all technical, Jase. Yew!

Jason Currie  18:12

And I also knew going in, you know, you've given us the knowledge that I think it was 200 mls of water once was better than sort of 50 mls every five minutes. So I knew going into the aid stations, my plan was also to slow down a bit to grab that cup, to get a decent cup full of water in, get the gel and then get moving again.

Taryn Richardson  18:30

Yeah, nice. I like the for(ward) thinking as well. Like, before you kind of go in and wing it. But this time, we actually had a plan before you started the race and the ability to change that or adapt it if you do need to based on what happens on the day. And turns out you did because the bike was so much faster. And some of that nutrition got left on the bike as a result, which is fine. That's what I would have done anyway. And then having the foresight to look at what's on course, practice with what's on course, and look at the timings of those aid stations as well. Like where are they placed? What are you going to need to use to your advantage? What can you miss? And do you need to carry anything or not? So all of that thinking needs to happen before you get to the start line. Not during race, which is what you've done before.

Jason Currie  19:13

Yes, and I definitely support the need to know what's on course and to know what you're going to take and to think that ahead. For me, I didn't have enough caffeine, I think was another learning - like the caffeine before the race and then during the race. I have it in my Infinite Mix in on the bike, which is good. But in the run, I didn't know which of the two Maurten gels was the caffeinated one. So I mistakenly just assumed black would be caffeine and white would be non caffeinated and it pays to,maybe, research that before the race.

Taryn Richardson  19:44

And so you did a massive PB. What was the exact minutes of PB that you did in a 70.3 distance?

Jason Currie  19:50

Just under an hour. I think my previous sort of 70.3 PB was a 5 hour, 27, and this was a 4 hour, 36. So it's about 51 minutes, 52 minutes.

Taryn Richardson  20:03

Which is just insane. Like, yes, all the courses are different. But you might have, you know, 10 minutes here, maybe 15 or 20 minutes there, but like almost an hour is just insane. So regardless of the course differences is definitely a huge performance advantage by going in with a plan. And we actually know that in the literature. We know that athletes that have a plan perform better than athletes that don't.

Jason Currie  20:27

Yeah, absolutely. And I think most of my PB really was the run. But I think that was built in the bike. And you know, that old saying that you bike for the show, and you run for the dough is really true on the day. Like, I got off the bike, I was able to run four 18 kilometers for the first few. And I knew at that point, it was going to be a good day. And even at the end, when I felt like I was hitting the quicksand and my legs weren't turning over, I was still running at a 430 pace. And my fastest my fastest kilometre from memory was the 21st. And that's because I got passed by a couple of guys in my age group.

Taryn Richardson  21:02

It's all a mental game for you.

Jason Currie  21:03

Yep, I'd have given up just to walk in because I knew it was a PB. Even if I walked with you know, a mile to go, I thought - I know, I know. I've slowly learned numerous times that I get passed by people in my age group and then I regret it when I see the results. So what I saw, I think two or three guys with the same category tattoo on their calf go past, I had to pull my finger back out and run that last kilometre.

Taryn Richardson  21:27

So the other thing that's new and improved for you was race recovery, which I would encourage people to extend their thinking with their race nutrition into their race recovery. Most people cross the finish line, and (you know), YOLO - completely tap out when it comes to nutrition. But it's really important to have a plan. So what sort of thing did you do differently for this one, now that you know what you're doing with long course racing

Jason Currie  21:52

Ah yes, so race recovery - definitely a huge focus, particularly with my schedule where I'm running a major event sort of every month, but I had no idea before working with the Academy on what race recovery really meant. So this race, I did I plan ahead and I had a protein and carbohydrate shake in the street bag. So at the finish line, I was able to take that because in the Academy, you teach us (and you remind us) that there's no protein available at the finish line. There's plenty of carbs, you know - have as much watermelon and Gatorade and things as you'd like. But there's very little protein. So I had that as soon as I crossed the finish line. So that was a big part, I think of my recovery. The wheels probably fell off a little bit in terms of the plan from there, because there's a bit of an exuberance with hour PB and a bottle of champagne maybe before I really got stuck into my protein and carbohydrates meal and I probably paid the price for that over the next week. I had pretty bad Dom's coming out that, if I'd really focused on recovery ... I had a plan, I just didn't follow it. So that's that's definitely another learning. If you're - if you want to be able to back up and recover well - follow the plan. Don't just write it.

Taryn Richardson  22:58

Well, that's okay. It's all a learning experience. You know what to do now. And if you don't do it, then that's your choice and your decision. I can't be there to like force feed you or put the stopper back in the champagne, I would totally celebrate. But at least you know what you need to do so that for next time it's something that you can keep kind of working on, keep practicing, keep finessing so that it becomes just habit.

Jason Currie  23:21

Yeah, and I think I was lucky I didn't have another big race coming up straightaway. So I could I could have a bit of leeway and a bit of discomfort in the week after which was helpful. But definitely focusing on hydration, on getting carbs back in to refill the glycogen tank and the protein for the repair and revitalise. And the color - which again I probably didn't do too great on. But I know these things now. It's just now the application! Early next year I've got ... I think it's two Ironman and two half Ironman or three half Ironman close together over - about 20 weeks. So I'll take the lessons I learnt from recovery this one into next year to get it right because I need to back up every few weeks.

Taryn Richardson  24:00

Yeah, this is kind of the practice run and the first time you've ever had a race nutrition plan so you don't have to get it right the first time. So what's next for you? You've got Ironman New Zealand, Ironman Cairns? What are the halves you're doing? You're doing Hell of the West, what was the other one? Tweed Enduro and then Port Macquarie. Half? 70.3?

Jason Currie  24:17

Halves. And then two 50km Ultra marathons at the end of this year. So a couple of weeks, I've got a race format that involves 1500m loops every 15 - 20 minutes, until there's only four left. And then the Gold Coast 50 in December.

Taryn Richardson  24:23

So we're currently working on what your longer course run nutrition is and trying to dial that in a little bit more for you.

Jason Currie  24:39

Yes, I need to work out how to get more nutrition on the run - on practicing my carbohydrates on the run with my longer runs at the moment and then hoping that that will translate into a better Gold Coast 50 time. Because last year I went in with the target of four hours on the race clock. I missed it by I think 1m 40sec

Taryn Richardson  24:57

Ah, annoying!

Jason Currie  24:58

So I know, that - well, if I can bring the same level of fitness that I had last year, which I've got some work to do as well, and the nutrition, I'm confident that I'll get a PB there. And that's sort of the goal for December.

Taryn Richardson  25:10

Yeah. Nice. I'm excited to see how that goes. Because your contrast is like absolutely no nutrition or hydration. And then the complete other end of the spectrum and having a plan and being well fueled and well hydrated. So I'm very interested to say what the outcome is at Gold Coast 50.

Jason Currie  25:28

I can't remember exactly what I did last year, in terms of pre race nutrition, but there was definitely no focused carb loading. And then on course, yeah, no, no carbohydrates really at all. So this year, your know the plan will be carb loading. So I'll go into the full glycogen tank, and then taking, you know, my target of sort of 90 odd grams of carbs an hour and hydration on course. So I'm excited to see what happens. The weather is always the unknown at the Gold Coast. 50. Last year, we had good conditions. It could be stinking hot this year. Wait and see.

Taryn Richardson  26:01

Okay, cool. Well, maybe we'll get you back to talk about the before and afters of Gold Coast 50. But thank you for sharing your race nutrition for Sunny Coast with me. I know a lot of people will benefit from hearing about someone else's race nutrition plan that's completely different to theirs. And knowing that, you know, there's no one size fits all. Everybody has their own specific custom race nutrition plan that's perfect for them. It's not a blanket "everyone go and do this". That's really important - because race, nutrition needs to be perfect for you. And it's going to evolve over time. As you get fitter, and you get faster, but you also learn about what works and what doesn't work for you.  So even Jason's plan for next year might look a little bit different after a year's practicing what his race nutrition is. Like his carb loading plan might be different. His pre race breakfast might be different. I don't think the bike is going to change. I think we kind of nailed that with the first go. But the run nutrition, you know, that will evolve over time as well. So if you've got a race plan, I would encourage you to take a deep look at it and see if there are things that need to change. Like do you actually have a strategy around what you're doing with carb loading? Do you have a specific pre race meal that's perfect for you? Do you have a plan for the bike? Do you have a plan for the run? And then extend that further into what is your race recovery nutrition? Because it's really important, we know that you'll perform better if you have a plan. Jason's just getting started! Like he's done 12 Ultra distance crazy things in the last 12 months. And it's only now that he's layering nutrition into that. So the next 12 months for you Jase are going to be massive.

Jason Currie  27:42

Thanks Taryn. Oh, I hope so. Going into next year. We'll give it a good go at Ironman New Zealand as another practice of the nutrition plan for Ironman Cairns. That's the big focus.

Taryn Richardson  27:52

Yeah. So next week, I'm going to do part two with another athlete and talk you through their Sunny Coast 70.3 race nutrition plan so that you can see how different they can be. It doesn't have to be generic. There's no one size fits all. Everyone inside the Academy has their own detailed and custom race plan for every single distance. So thank you so much for sharing yours with us today, Jase.

Jason Currie  28:16

Thanks, Taryn. Thanks for having me on.

Taryn Richardson  28:17

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want to share with me what you've learned, email me at [email protected]. You can also spread the word by leaving me a review and taking a screenshot of you listening to the show. Don't forget to tag me on social media, @dietitian.approved, so I can give you a shout out, too. If you want to learn more about what we do, head to dietitianapproved.com. And if you want to learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, head to www.dietitianapproved.com/academy. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to helping you smashed in the fourth leg - nutrition!