Because we have so many athletes using PR Lotion from different sports and multiple disciplines there ends up being a lot of use-case questions that arise. We have cyclists from the US National Team using PR Lotion for a team pursuit that lasts less than five minutes, while on the other end of the spectrum runners at Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run compete for 20+ hours. Obviously, the physical demands placed on athletes in these sports differs greatly, which brings us to one of the questions we receive the most. “Should I re-apply PR Lotion mid-race, and if so, when?”
There is not an exact answer to this since each person is going to metabolize PR Lotion at a different rate. Exertion level will also be a factor, the higher the intensity level the faster it will metabolize. But, our rule of thumb has been that the initial pre-event application will continue buffering the muscle up to the five-hour range. Beyond that, an athlete would indeed benefit from an additional application.
Michael Conti reapplied PR Lotion throughout the 11 days, 5 hours it took him to complete the 3000-mile Race Across America. He went on to finish 4th overall (2018). Photo: RAAM
A number of endurance athletes have already shared how they have re-applied mid-event, such as Race Across America rider Michael Conti. He honed his protocol during extensive training and settled on re-applying PR Lotion every 5-6 hours. Triathlete Craig Taylor also used a similar method to win his age group at the IRONMAN North American Championships and earn a spot in Kona.
Craig said, “When I got off the bike in transition 2 I had the volunteers help lather me up with a packet on each leg before starting the run. These few extra seconds taken in transition 2 to ensure I had some fresh PR Lotion were well worth it as I was able to go out at set a new run PR of 2:58:03.”
Craig Taylor employed the help of volunteers in the transitions to help reapply during an IRONMAN.
Mike Ivancic is one of a number of cyclists that realized the benefits of re-applying during the Dirty Kanza 200. Mike’s plan worked well with his final application coming more than 12 hours into what would be a 17 hour day on the bike. He told us, “At the final checkpoint we re-applied PR Lotion and that helped one of the guys who had been cramping. We came across the finish line together, four wide.”
If you have your own re-application routine you’d like to share or have questions on the best use for your particular sport, please email us at help@livemomentous.com.
