22nd
Andrew Harley's scorecard
IRONMAN Waco
Saturday 23rd October, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
53g
Carb per hour
1,134mg
Sodium per hour
390ml
Fluid per hour
2,909mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
19mg
Total caffeine
How Andrew hit those numbers
How Andrew's hydration and fueling went...
- In what was his first full-distance IRONMAN, Andrew had a great race in the Texan heat to come 22nd in his age group
- He was ‘very pleased with how the race shook out’, saying it was a ‘hot and windy day but I stuck to my power numbers and nutrition plan and it all went well’
- Going into the race, Andrew was nervous about the hot temperatures considering he ‘typically fades in the heat’, but he adjusted his plan well to finish in 12 hours 49 minutes and was ‘thrilled with the outcome’
Hydration
- On the bike, Andrew had one 500ml/16oz downtube bottle containing three energy drink mix servings along with one and a half PH 1500 sachets and a 945ml bottle with three PH 1500 servings per lap. Whereas on the run he picked up water, Coca Cola and energy drinks, having roughly a sip of each per station
- In total, Andrew drank ~5L/176oz of fluid over the course of the race which equates to ~390ml/14oz per hour. On the surface this seems like an adequate volume to replace a proportion of his losses, but Andrew does report having a high sweat rate and the temperature hit highs of 31℃/88°F. Therefore, a greater fluid volume may have been beneficial considering his sweat rate will have been high
- That said, Andrew did pee a few times on both the bike and the run which suggests that he did not under hydrate
- He mentioned picking up a greater volume of energy drink on the run due to the heat, which he believes caused his GI issues on the run. Picking up more plain water from aid stations on the run instead, may have been better to replace his fluid losses while not overloading with strong energy drinks
- Andrew is yet to have an Advanced Sweat Test so we do not know his exact losses, but our Online Sweat Test has indicated that he has very high sweat sodium losses. He consumed ~1,134mg of sodium per hour during the race
- This will have replaced a great proportion of his losses, but could be dialled back slightly because in relation to his moderate fluid intake, the relative sodium concentration he was taking on board was very high (~2,909mg/L)
- Increasing his fluid intake would also have reduced this high concentration and completing an Advanced Sweat Test in the future will allow Andrew to dial in his sodium replacement more optimally
- Positively, Andrew did not cramp at all and agrees with our conclusions that he did ‘well on what was a hot day’. He rated his hydration strategy as a 8 out of 10 in practice, saying ‘I never felt faint, dizzy or weak which can come in the early stages of being dehydrated’
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Andrew consumed carbohydrate pre-race in the form of english muffins and an energy drink mix with ~30g carb. He also ate an energy gel in the last 30 minutes topping up his fuel stores before the swim to provide himself with high energy availability early on in the race
- Throughout the race Andrew predominantly used an energy drink mix alongside PF 30 Energy Gels to meet his fueling needs. He followed a strict plan to eat and drink at specific intervals throughout the race, for example choosing to eat a PF 30 gel every hour on the bike. This is a good method to make sure he gets everything he had planned (and can tolerate) on board
- In total, this meant he hit an average of ~53g carb per hour across the race. This is just below our recommended 60-90g/hr for a race of this length and intensity, however considering it was his first race of this length reaching ~53g/hr overall (including the swim time) is decent
- He rated his energy levels as an 8 out of 10, saying that he ‘felt really solid and never felt held back by energy levels’ especially on the bike and swim, which correlates with his good carb intake pre-race and early on the bike leg
- This carb intake broke down into a higher ~74g/hr on the bike and a lower ~37g/hr on the run. This was a solid bike intake hitting our recommended range over the 6 hours 25 minutes he was riding. This tapering in consumption is common in triathlon and loading with a higher bike intake is good when trying to sustain a lower intake on the run
- We would recommend Andrew tries to increase his carb intake to reach our Quick Carb Calculator’s recommended range by increasing his bike and run intake, but predominantly dialling up on the run. This may involve some gut training to make sure he is able to consume this higher amount successfully with no GI issues
- Andrew’s lower run intake could be a result of experiencing some GI issues, therefore backing off towards the end of the race. He attributes the GI issues he experienced (feeling gassy and nauseous on and off) to overloading with energy drinks and Coca Cola at the beginning of the run
Conclusions
- Andrew used a well planned hydration and fueling strategy in his first full-distance IRONMAN and in very hot conditions. After seeing athletes DNF in the heat previously, Andrew ‘was determined not to let himself get behind on fluids and to manage his body temperature’. He did this well, staying on top of his losses by making sure to take salt capsules, gels and bottles at set time intervals
- He rated his race satisfaction as 8 out of 10 because he was able to have a successful race in tricky conditions (Well done Andrew!) and was ‘pleased knowing the bulk of my nutrition and hydration products and decisions did their job well and got me to the finish line’
- Looking back on the race, Andrew said he would choose to back off the energy drinks early on the run with the aim to avoid the GI issues he experienced. A good idea could be to replace this intake with more plain water to increase his fluid intake and dilute the relative sodium concentration he was hitting with his sodium consumption
Key info
Andrew Harley
Male
Result
Position
22nd
Overall Time
12:49:43
Swim Time
1:22:38
Bike Time
6:25:40
Run Time
4:47:06
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN Waco
Location
Texas, USA
Date
23rd October, 2021
Website
Swim Distance
3.8km / 2.4mi
Bike Distance
180.2km / 112.0mi
Run Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Distance
226.2km / 140.6mi
Bike Elevation
650m / 2,133ft
Run Elevation
381m / 1,250ft
Total Elevation
1031m / 3,383ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Very Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
20°C / 68°F
Max Temp
31°C / 88°F
Avg Temp
25°C / 77°F
Humidity
65%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
8/10
In terms of hydration/electrolytes I did really well on what was a hot day
Energy levels
8/10
No complaints here, I never felt held back by energy levels
Toilet stops
Yes
In T1 then twice on the bike and three times on the run
GI comfort
8/10
No problems on the swim and the bike (10) but some on and off issues on the run (5)
Cramping
No cramping
Andrew's Thoughts
Knowing I typically fade in the heat I am thrilled with the outcome. My energy stayed steady, I never felt signs of dehydration, and I held power numbers better than expected in the hottest parts of the day.
Andrew's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 675 | 14,544 | 5,000 | 19 | 2,909 |
Per hour | 53 | 1,134 | 390 | 1 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 656 | 14,494 | 5,000 | 19 | 2,899 |
Per hour | 58 | 1,293 | 446 | 2 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 477 | 10,590 | 3,890 | 0 | 2,722 |
Per hour | 74 | 1,648 | 605 | 0 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 179 | 3,904 | 1,110 | 19 | 3,517 |
Per hour | 37 | 816 | 232 | 4 |
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.