Nick Fay's scorecard
Mallorca 312
Sunday 24th October, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
61g
Carb per hour
631mg
Sodium per hour
1,054ml
Fluid per hour
599mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
7.85mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Nick hit those numbers
500ml x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
1 x Bowl of yogurt, oats and banana
1 x Energy bar (24g carb)
3.5L x PH 1000 (Tablets)
1.5L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
4 x PF 30 Gel
3.6L x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
4 x Energy gel (22g carb)
66ml x Cola
2 x Banana
3 x Energy bar (24g carb)
2 x Energy bar (16g carb)
How Nick's hydration and fueling went...
- Nick enjoyed a ‘really great’ race at the 167km distance of Mallorca 312. Finishing in a time of 8 hours 13 minutes, he rated his race satisfaction as a 10 out of 10
- Nick’s hydration and fuelling strategy was made up of a range of products including PF 30 Drink Mix, PH1000, Coca Cola and a range of gels and bars throughout the race. He mentioned how the ‘great support from PH’ helped his race and that ‘when it was feeling tough, I took a PF gel and the hit instantly helped’
Hydration
- On average, Nick drank roughly 1L/32oz of fluid per hour during the race. This primarily consisted of 3L/86oz of PF 30 Drink Mix and 3L/86oz containing PH1000. Without knowledge of Nick’s sweat rate, it is hard to determine whether he was replacing his losses efficiently or in excess. Whilst not unheard of, 1L/hr (32oz/hr) is a higher than average rate of fluid replacement. Nick reported peeing twice in the race, one of which was of greater volume, and both being clear. The longer pee occurred later into the race, at 100km, and does suggest that Nick may have been acutely overdrinking
- But, from his subjective comments, he felt he was ‘pretty well hydrated’ and didn’t appear to suffer any negative symptoms associated with overdrinking
- Nick consumed ~631mg/hr sodium which in relation to the high volume of fluid he took on board resulted in a relative sodium concentration of ~599mg/L. If he had dialled back on his fluid intake this would be higher, and more in line with the ‘average’ person’s sweat sodium concentration. Of course, everyone is different and without knowing more about Nick’s losses it’s difficult to determine how optimal his sodium and fluid replacement was. It is a positive indicator that Nick didn’t experience any muscle cramping
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Nick fuelled well before the race with oats, yogurt and banana alongside some PF 30 Energy Drink Mix and then had an energy bar just before the race start. Meeting the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations, this will have meant Nick started the race at 6:30am with his fuel stores well topped up
- By consuming PF Drink Mix, PF Energy Gels, other energy gels, energy bars and bananas Nick consumed an average of ~61g carb per hour over the 8 hour race. Especially considering Nick has not completed a race of this duration before, this is a solid amount that reaches our recommendations of between 60 to 90g/hr. This fuelled him well throughout the race; he rated his energy levels as 7 out of 10, and said ‘the gels helped massively’
- Anecdotal evidence suggests that the higher carb intake that can be achieved, the greater performance benefit, therefore trying to increase his intake and push towards 90g/hr in future races may be beneficial as long as he can maintain no GI issues
- Nick had an energy bar just before the race containing ~150mg caffeine and then throughout the race had three more energy bars with caffeine along with some Coca Cola. In total, this meant Nick consumed ~589mg caffeine which equates to a relatively high dose of 7.86mg/kg.
- The recommended optimal caffeine dose for performance is between 3-6mg/kg BW. Though higher doses can be tolerated (up to 9mg/kg BW), the general consensus is that beyond ~6mg/kg there are no further benefits to performance. As such, Nick’s dose could have been dialled back slightly. But, considering the length of the race and that Nick is accustomed to taking caffeine on board it wasn’t an excessive dose and will have kept his perceived energy levels high
Conclusions
- Overall, Nick had a good race at Mallorca 312 saying it was ‘a really great race, on such a beautiful island’. He took solid numbers of carb, fluid and sodium on board throughout the whole race which is impressive considering he hasn’t raced for that duration before
- In future, he could look to increase his carb intake as evidence suggests this can greatly benefit performance if it can be achieved while avoiding GI issues and he may also choose to dial down his fluid intake, especially if conditions are cooler
Key info
Nick Fay
Male
75kg
Result
Overall Time
8:13:33
Event information
Sport
Cycling
Discipline
Road
Event
Mallorca 312
Location
Alcudia, Mallorca
Date
24th October, 2021
Website
Total Distance
167.0km / 103.8mi
Total Elevation
3,973m / 13,035ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
19°C / 66°F
Max Temp
19°C / 66°F
Avg Temp
19°C / 66°F
Humidity
72%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
10/10
Hydration rating
10/10
Energy levels
7/10
Gels helped massively
Toilet stops
Yes
Twice, one small pee at 50km and one long pee at 100km
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Nick's Thoughts
All good! Really great support from PH.
Nick's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 502 | 5,190 | 8,666 | 589 | 599 |
| Per hour | 61 | 631 | 1,054 | 72 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.