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Nick Fay

Mallorca 312

24th October, 2021MallorcaAlcudia

Nick's headline numbers

~61g
Carb per hour
Recommended 90g/h+
~1,054ml
Fluid per hour
Recommended 250-750ml/h
~599mg
Sodium per litre
Recommended 600-1000mg/L
~7.8mg
Caffeine per kg
Recommended 3-6mg/kg

Nick's strategy

Fueling

Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Carb-rich meal

T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)

Didn't pre-fuel

Nick would benefit from taking in a final dose of carb <30 minutes before

Carb per hour
Recommended 90g/h+
~61g
Nick's Energy Rating7/10

"The gels were super easy to get down during the event which helped massively. "

Our thoughts

Considering Nick has not completed an event of this duration before, his carb intake was solid and sufficient to see him finish well. However, evidence suggests that higher carb intakes can support stronger performances, so we’d advise Nick to work on increasing his tolerance through gut training to push toward the 90g/h recommendations in future races. As long as he can maintain GI comfort levels, this could really help him going forward to push harder for longer.

Hydration

Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.

Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.

Nick778mg/L

Nick has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan

Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.

Whilst Nick's losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.

Learn more
Didn't pre-load electrolytes

Drinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Nick start optimally hydrated

Fluid per hour
Recommended 250-750ml/h
~1,054ml
Sodium per litre
Recommended 600-1000mg/L
~599mg
Nick's Hydration Rating9/10

"I felt pretty hydrated throughout which was good as it wasn’t a cold day! "

Our thoughts

Without knowledge of Nick’s sweat rate, it is hard to precisely determine whether he was replacing enough of his losses or even perhaps more than he needed. 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 suggests that Nick may have been overdrinking relative to his losses and overall sodium consumption. Furthermore, with the humidity being so high in Mallorca, this would’ve reduced his ability to cool down via sweat evaporation and may be *one of* the reasons why his fluid intake was above the norm. Of course, everyone is different and without knowing more about Nick’s losses it’s difficult to determine how close to optimal his sodium and fluid replacement strategy truly was. Still, it’s a positive indicator that he didn’t experience any muscle cramping or other negative symptoms of dehydration.

Caffeine

Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.

Pre-caffeinated

T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine

Caffeine per kg
Recommended 3-6mg/kg
~7.8mg
Our thoughts

Nick’s caffeine intake across the race was fairly high compared to the recommended caffeine dose. But, considering the length of the race and the fact that Nick is accustomed to using caffeine without negative side effects, it likely wasn’t excessive and will have helped keep his perceived energy levels high.

How Nick hit his numbers

Here's everything that Nick ate and drank on the day...

Before race (>30 mins)
Pre-race (<30 mins)
  • 1 x Energy bar (24g carb)
During

Final thoughts

Nick's Satisfaction Rating10/10

It was all good! I had really great support from PF&H, and Mallorca is such a beautiful island to race on.

Nick

Nick had a great race out in Mallorca. For future races, he should work on increasing his carb intake towards the 90g/h recommendations, whilst also conducting some sweat rate testing to help dial in his hydration strategy.

PF&H

Nick's full stats

Overall
502g total carb61g per hour
8,666ml total fluid1,054ml per hour
5,190mg total sodium631mg per hour
599mgSodium per litre
589mg total caffeine7.8mg per kg

Data Confidence

We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.

12345

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.

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