This is a quick look at the gear I took out to the Ironman 70.3 Bolton race at the weekend. Being my fourth triathlon of the year and third middle distance, I have got a good idea of what I need to take and what fuelling works well for me.

Fuelling

My fuelling is something that has been well practised over the past few years so no surprise for the body on race day and hopefully sufficient fuel to get the body around the 70.3 miles.

Pre-race I sip on a 500ml bottle of Maurten Drink 320 to ensure the body is fully topped up with carbs ready to power the body throughout the morning.

Similarly, on the bike, I have two 900ml bottles, each mixed with Maurten Drink 320. In the past, I have used Science in Sport Go Energy Electrolyte powder mix which did the trick but the Maurten mix contains more carbs, only slightly but every little helps. The big drawback to the Maurten stuff is the price, it’s not cheap…

Whilst on the bike I take a flapjack and have a bite of that roughly every 20mins just to get some real food in the system. When I get to around 45-50 miles in a 70.3 race, I stop nibbling on the flapjack as I don’t want that sloshing around so much on the run. Alongside the flapjack, I take a gel every 35mins. This time I used up some High5 Energy Gels which I had left over from a recent sportive. Had this been a big A race then I would have taken some SiS Go Energy Electrolyte Gels instead of using High5.

Swim Gear

For this race, I wore my old HUUB trisuit which I first used in IRONMAN UK 2018 but I don’t think I have actually raced in it since then. What better throwback than racing in the same town, in the same trisuit.

I went fully kit with the HUUB Archimedes II GB Edition wetsuit, again, another item doing the rounds from 2018. I like to get good value for money out of my kit or I know what works well and I stick with it.

I used Body Glide to lube around my neck to prevent chaffing from the wetsuit. Another tip I picked up early on was to also lube around the wrists and ankles, this helps the wetsuit “glide” off when you get into transition. It is still like wrestling with an octopus but a well-lubed octopus.

The main tech on the swim leg is powered by Garmin. I have recently replaced my old chest heart rate monitor with the Garmin HRM Pro. I have not noticed any difference between the Pro and the Tri chest strap, if I had the choice again, I would just stick with the Tri and save the extra cash. I will track the swim and run using the Garmin Forerunner 935xt.

The one piece of new kit for this race is the goggles. After IRONMAN 70.3 STAFFORDSHIRE 2021 I replaced the old Zoggs Predator Goggles with another pair of Zoggs Predator Goggles. I really like the wide lens and find this really helps with sighting. The new pair is mirrored which came in handy for the Bolton 70.3 swim where the second half of the swim was heading directly into the sun.

T1 Gear

Nothing new or different in the T1 bike gear if you have read any of the previous triathlon gear posts. I will go through in the order I use these.

First off is a towel, just a small hand towel to dry off the feet before putting on some socks. It makes putting the socks on slightly easier but maybe takes a few extra seconds. For me, those extra seconds are worth it for the comfort of socks and dry socks at that.

My bike shoes are again, you guessed it, from 2018. The Fizik R3B shoes, can’t really say much about them, they are cycle shoes and do the trick.

Next, the Kask Mojito helmet goes on. Another item from 2018, writing this out now I am really starting to think I need to get some new gear.

The sunglasses are the 2018 Oakley Jawbreaker Cavendish Edition. I like these as they are quite large to keep the wind and rain out of your eyes but have a little vent to let some air in which prevents or reduces the sweating. I say they are quite large, that is by 2018 standards, the new trend is for much larger sunnies.

My race belt is the FitLetic Ultimate II. I have used this for all of my triathlons from 2018 onwards as well as during various marathons and long training runs. I love it, the zipped pouch is fantastic for stashing up to 4 gels (or a phone in training) as well as up to 6 gels in the loops around the sides if needs be.

I always put a gel in the T1 bag, this time, using up another leftover High5 gel. This is to keep the body fuelled and on top of the nutrition ahead of the bike leg.

On the bike, I have a Topeak top-tube bag that holds the flapjack and gels loaded onto the bike prior to the start of the race. I also have the Wahoo Element Roam which the route loaded and paused ready to hit start as soon as I cross the mount line. I use this to track the bike leg but more importantly so I can see the upcoming profile and I use the map on the faster downhill sections to see whether any turns are coming up.

T2 Gear

The run gear is pretty straightforward, pair of running shoes, a cap and sunglasses….

I have run every race in 2021 wearing the Nike Vaporfly Next%, I brought these in 2019 and just feel at home racing in them now. They are fast and responsive but always very well-cushioned from that ZoomX foam. I find this cushioning really helps to look after the legs over the longer half marathon and marathon runs, this freshness can pay off in the later stages when you want to push on….. assuming you have got the nutrition right.

I like to swap the Oakley Jawbreaker sunglasses for the Roka Kona Sunglasses, they remind me of the race I should have been doing in two weeks’ time but got cancelled…. no really, I just prefer the smaller, lighter glasses on the run and I think they look better in the race photos.

Cap wise, this time I have the Nike Dry-FIT running cap.

Race Day?

How did race day go? head over to my IRONMAN 70.3 BOLTON 2021 RACE RECAP to see how I got on and whether this gear worked for me.