David's headline numbers
David's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
David would benefit from taking in a final dose of carb <30 minutes before
"I was keen to hit 60 grams per hour, using a small variety of products. I’ve loved using the chews in training, especially the mint, but I prefer the PF 90s for their usability. Using both worked really well for me as did interspersing the caffeine."
Dave understands the science behind carb-loading for events of this duration and intensity, and managed to consume ~9 g/kg of his body weight the day before using carb drink mixes and PF 30 Chews. Whilst the vast majority of athletes would benefit from a final dose of carb shortly before exercise, Dave has done vigorous testing in training and knows he’s better off diving straight into his strategy after breakfast to avoid a blood glucose crash. Aiming for ~60g/h *during* the race using a few different textures and flavours saw him through the seven and a half hours with no major energy lows or GI distress, despite some pretty serious muscle pain from the excessive hills! ‘The science’ would suggest Dave aims for a slightly higher carb intake (~75g/h), so perhaps introducing *something* else to eat every couple of hours, would help bump him up to within these scientifically backed recommendations.
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.
David1003mg/L
David 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 David's losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still crucial when it's hot and/or humid as his higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I’ve made tactical errors before and not filled bottles so I was particularly weary of this going into the race, and was careful to fill up as much as possible at each aid station. I felt good drinking the amount I did, and never felt over or under-hydrated. The iced tea and sparkling water were otherworldly at the final aid station."
Dave has completed several sweat rate tests in the past, and is not a particularly heavy sweater. Because of this, he aimed for a fairly modest ~500ml of fluid per hour during this race and hit this almost perfectly through plain water, peach iced tea and sparkling water. However, Dave would benefit from including some sodium in his hydration plan, as it has been shown to increase nutrient absorption in the gut, maintain cognitive function and assist with muscle contractions during exercise. Further, his sweat electrolyte losses are not insignificant at ~1,003 milligrams per litre, so adjusting his hydration plan to target a relative sodium concentration that matches his losses will be worthwhile at future endurance events.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Dave’s caffeine intake fell within the scientific guidelines for a race of this length and duration, and his drip-feed approach meant the stimulant was consistently in his system. He also commented that his focus was high throughout, likely in part due to the caffeine, and this was vital during technical descents where the risk of tripping was high. Perhaps adding another PF 30 Caffeine Gel to move toward the higher end of the recommended range would increase the perceptual benefits to a maximal extent, given Dave’s high habitual caffeine intake.
How David hit his numbers
Here's everything that David ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I’m really happy with the race given the constraints I had in training without the ability to do long, steep uphill hiking. I tolerated the race load better than anticipated and clearly nailed the other aspects of training and nutrition given how strong I ran from the last aid station into the finish.”
David“Dave overcame some injury troubles in the build up to this race to have a successful outing at Lavaredo, despite his hometown of London not being ideal to prepare him for long technical mountain ascents! By adding in some sodium to match his losses, Dave may be able to more comfortably top up his carb intake through enhanced absorption, and help him hit the guidelines for both nutrients.”
PF&HDavid's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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.