Andy Blow
Bowline CC Charnwood Hills Race
Andy's headline numbers
Andy'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.
Andy returned to his hometown in Leicester for this race, where he fueled effectively. Due to a big carb load leading up to the race, Andy felt very well fueled going into the run although a little queasy after forcing a big breakfast down. His intake during the 14-mile race sat just over the recommended carb intake for an event of this duration, taking in ~41 grams per hour. He said if he went much further over the guidelines while maintaining that racing intensity, he would’ve been sick! However, this solid carb intake was reflected in his energy levels, which he rated a perfect 10/10 throughout.
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.
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.
Given Andy’s losses are Very High (1,850mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy remains important, even when it’s Mild.
Learn moreAndy’s hydration strategy was well thought out for this race in the cool Midlands conditions. A pre-loading strategy that also looked to increase his carbohydrate intake with Carb and Electrolyte Drink Mix was vital in helping Andy prepare for the race. Going forward, Andy should look to use the most effective pre-loading protocol of a higher strength electrolyte in the lead up to the race by using [PH 1500 Electrolytes] and either keeping his final carb load to solid form or using the Carb Only Drink Mix. As a very salty sweater with an equally high sweat rate, it’s important for Andy to get his hydration strategy on point. Andy didn’t quite replace his full losses during this event with the relative sodium concentration of his drinks only being ~1,000mg/L. It would be good to see Andy increase his sodium intake during his next race, which may also help prevent the slight cramp warnings he felt in his hamstrings and calves during the last 20 minutes of the race. However, he notes there were other factors such as general muscle fatigue that contributed to this. From his pre- and post-race body weight measurements, we can see that even in these mild conditions, Andy lost 2L of fluid. From his total intake of 610ml, it’s clear he didn’t quite replace the majority of his losses fluid wise as well, which will have also contributed to his feelings of dehydration at the end.
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.
Andy is certainly no stranger to caffeine in his day to day life, to the point where he set up the UK office's commercial level bean subscription. Despite this, and even making the video on how to best use caffeine, he didn't take any throughout this race as he didn’t feel he needed it.
How Andy hit his numbers
Here's everything that Andy ate and drank on the day...
Andy's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Andy's full stats
Data Confidence?
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.