6th
Holly Seear's scorecard
Gritfest
Saturday 18th June, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
39g
Carb per hour
279mg
Sodium per hour
289ml
Fluid per hour
966mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
100mg
Total caffeine
How Holly hit those numbers
How Holly's hydration and fueling went...
- Holly Seear is a performance cycling coach and one of ten women who Precision Fuel & Hydration have been working with as part of the Voxwomen Performance Project
- Gritfest, a two-day gravel race in the Cambrian mountains of Wales, was Holly’s ‘fun’ race of the year. Knowing she would be recovering from the Bohemian Border Bash a couple of weeks before (a multi-day, 1300 km self-supported, bikepacking adventure), her intentions were to enjoy Gritfest and see what she could achieve in the process
- The 139 km ride consisted of 3200 m elevation with five timed stages interspersed with ‘easy’ riding. Though Holly reported, “they weren’t actually that easy as much of the linking stages were uphill!”
- In rainy, mild conditions, Holly finished 6th place in her age group and executed a sensible fuel and hydration strategy despite the unusual race format
- This case study outlines the strategy she followed on day 1 of the event; 80km of riding across four and a half hours including three timed stages, which Holly completed in 16:35, 47:06 and 17:49, respectively
Hydration
- Holly preloaded before the race with 500ml/16oz of PH 1500 which helped ensure she was starting the day well hydrated
- Holly rode with one 650ml/22oz bottle which she started filled with PF 30 Drink Mix, and she drank over the first half of the ride. At the second feed station, Holly refilled her bottle and added one PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
- In hindsight, Holly said she wishes she had finished the first bottle before the first feed station and refilled it at that point, giving her three bottles of fluid in total, versus the two she had. She commented that two bottles “wasn’t enough” and that she was “thirsty at the end”
- In total, by drinking just two bottles, Holly drank ~1.3L/44oz, the equivalent to ~289ml/10oz per hour. This is a low fluid consumption which, other than feeling some thirst towards the end of the day, Holly managed to “get away with” because of the cooler conditions (average ~14℃/57°F) that won’t have elicited a high sweat rate, on top of the fact that she started well hydrated
- Aware that she should have drunk more, Holly rated the appropriateness of her hydration strategy a 6 (out of 10)
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Holly started both days of the event with a very substantial breakfast including a serving of porridge and rice pudding as well as a banana and some chocolate brioche. This is a brilliant pre-ride intake, high in carbohydrate, and will have stood Holly in good stead for the day ahead
- Holly started the event with her bottle containing PF 30 Drink Mix and drank this across the first half of the race. She also stopped at two feed stations, one after Stage 1, and the second immediately after Stage 2
- From both feed stations, Holly ate one banana and between 1 to 2 bitesize pieces of flapjack. Eating ‘real’ foods are more feasible when riding (versus running) and are also more satiating which is key during a longer event
- Holly timed her carb intake very well, choosing to take a PF 30 Gel before Stage 2 and a PF 30 Caffeine Gel before Stage 3 to increase carb availability during each timed stage
- All in all, Holly consumed ~175g of carb in the four and a half hours of riding, averaging ~39g per hour. This consumption fell short of the general fueling recommendations for an event of this length (60-90g per hour) but, taking into account that for the majority of the race Holly wasn’t racing and that the intensity was lower, Holly did a great job at meeting the more realistic target of 30-60g per hour
- Holly felt she did a good job with her fuel intake, rating her energy levels across the race a 7-8 (out of 10), commenting that “I could still feel the fatigue in my body from the previous race but I felt like I had plenty of energy to push when I needed to” which is a positive indicator that Holly was fueling around-about the right amount and a testament to how well she scheduled her fuel intake
Conclusions
- The unusual format of Gritfest - racing only segments of the course and taking it easier in between - presents a different challenge when it comes to fueling and hydrating
- Holly, an experienced cyclist, did a great job of navigating the circumstances she faced and, whilst it’s feasible that she did tread the line with her fluid consumption, she did a brilliant job of fueling at key points in the event, maximising the benefit of her intake
Key info
Holly Seear
Female
Result
Position
6th
Overall Time
4:30:00
Event information
Sport
Cycling
Discipline
Gravel
Event
Gritfest
Location
Cambrian Mountains, Wales
Date
18th June, 2022
Website
Total Distance
80.0km / 49.7mi
Total Elevation
1,700m / 5,577ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
Rain
Min Temp
8°C / 46°F
Max Temp
20°C / 68°F
Avg Temp
14°C / 57°F
Humidity
65%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
6/10
I started well hydrated but I should have drunk a full bottle before the first feed station
Energy levels
7/10
I could still feel the fatigue in my body from the previous race but I felt like I had plenty of energy to push when I needed to
Toilet stops
Yes
Once between Stage 1 and 2
GI comfort
10/10
Absolutely no issues, felt fine all day
Cramping
Twinges but not full-on cramps
Holly's Thoughts
I think this was the best performance I was likely to have given I started with fatigue from the previous race
Holly's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 175 | 1,256 | 1,300 | 100 | 966 |
Per hour | 39 | 279 | 289 | 22 |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles, brands, quantities, flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).