Second most important ingredient in crack cocaine.
Second most important ingredient in crack cocaine.
There is not much, maybe not any, scientific rationale for using bicarb by a triathlete. Essentially you need to look at what the primary causes of fatigue is during the event and lactic acid is not really a significant part of that picture. In competition the only thing I can come up with is if in the run it turns tactical and there are significant surges that build up an acid load, or if there is a sustained kick of 2-3 min at the end,much like turning it into an 600-m race. Then maybe; however, our work really didn't support its use even then. In training, it may be effective during the high intensity interval workouts... however, ingesting that much sodium prior to each interval training session is not something I would recommend due to the long-term health consequences (which we don't know what they are). Every once in a while, okay. Regular sodium bicarb use, not a wise idea. There are a few things that a triathlete can do that are much more likely to be effective without the potential negative effects. And they are NOT banned.