5th
Ant Gritton's scorecard
IRONMAN® Cascais
Saturday 15th October, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
71g
Carb per hour
958mg
Sodium per hour
535ml
Fluid per hour
1,792mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
4.27mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Ant hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
0.5 x PF 90 Gel
2 x Porridge Pots
1 x Cup of Coffee
0.5 x PF 90 Gel
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
2.25L x (4.5) PH 1500 Tablets
3.33 x PF 90 Gel
2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
1.4L x Plain water
1L x (4) PH 1500 (Tablets)
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
2 x PF 90 Gel
210ml x Plain water
30ml x Cola
30ml x Red Bull
How Ant's hydration and fueling went...
- Ant had been part of the PF&H marketing team for just a few weeks before he dove in at the deep end and signed up for IRONMAN Cascais, with less than a month to prepare specifically for it…
- Ant’s swimming and running was in a good place after teaming up with PF&H Head of Athlete Support, JP, to race the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championships five weeks prior to Cascais, whilst he has many years of cycling fitness to call upon
- To make the most of this short preparation time, Ant spoke to the Sport Science team at HQ to refine his fuel and hydration strategy by taking into account his Sweat Test score, perceived sweat rate and carbohydrate needs
- He went on to execute a solid strategy and secured fifth place in the 30-34 age group, which ensured he qualified for the 2023 IM World Champs
Hydration
- Ant followed a textbook preloading protocol, by drinking 500ml (16oz) of our strongest electrolyte drink - PH 1500 (Tablet) - both the night before and the morning of the race. This ensured that he started optimally hydrated by maximising his blood plasma volume
- Ant effectively ‘front-loaded’ his fluid intake during the race by drinking an average of ~722ml (24oz) of fluid per hour on the bike (compared to ~421ml/h (14oz) on the run), which is a sensible move as anecdotally many athletes find that it’s easier to tolerate more fluid when cycling compared to running
- Ant’s Sweat Test revealed that he loses 1,351mg of sodium per litre (mg/32oz), so he was mindful of staying on top of his high losses by relying on PH 1500s during the bike and run legs. He replaced a significant proportion of his losses as the relative sodium concentration of his intake was ~1,792mg/L (mg/32oz) - he put this high figure down to the fact that he ended up consuming more sodium than he probably needed on the day as he was wary that temperatures could soar in Portugal
- Ant also utilised the benefits of caffeine by taking ~312 milligrams which equates to ~4.27mg of caffeine per kilo of bodyweight. This is within the general recommendation of 3-6mg/kg, suggesting that this side of his strategy was again appropriate for him
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Ant ensured that he had maximal energy availability for this race, by carb loading in the days prior, and topping up his blood glucose with half a PF 90 Gel around 15 minutes before race start, which would help spare some stored glycogen for use later on
- Ant described the bike after his first lap as a “solo time trial” due to the gaps in between competitors on course. This made it challenging mentally, but also a good chance to focus on nailing his fueling
- He used PF 90 Gels both in his pockets and mixed in his aero bottle, as well as two strategically timed PF 30 Caffeine Gels for when he needed the extra physical and mental boost
- This intake meant that he averaged ~76g of carb per hour while riding, which is slightly lower than the 90g per hour recommendation that the Fuel & Hydration Planner gave him for this race
- On the run, Ant did well to avoid the drop in carb intake that we often see as foods become harder to tolerate, by maintaining an intake of ~75g/h. Despite reporting it being “a struggle” to get anything down that deep into the race, he was grateful for how tolerable the PF 90 Gels were on his stomach
- Overall, including the time he spent swimming, Ant had an average intake of ~71g of carb per hour for this race. While this is still slightly below our recommended target values, we’re seeing increasing numbers of athletes push up to (and above) 90g/h to reap the benefits associated with greater energy availability, so long as they’re comfortable tolerating this amount
- This is something Ant may wish to work on by incorporating gut training into his training program so that he has greater energy availability to support a stronger marathon leg
Conclusions
- Ultimately, Ant was incredibly pleased to run down the famous IRONMAN red carpet in 9:01:48. He did well to maintain a carb intake which provided him with a solid perceived energy level of 9 (out of 10), and said that he just wished he had “turned the screws a bit earlier to get that time under 9 hours”
- Ahead of his next race, Ant will no doubt look to undertake gut training in order to push his energy availability even further, while it will be worth checking out the other case studies on the site to discover how his strategy might change in the heat of Kona, Hawaii, for IM Worlds
Key info
Ant Gritton
Male
73kg
Sweat sodium concentration
1,351mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Very High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN® Cascais
Location
Cascais, Portugal
Date
15th October, 2022
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
1,402m / 4,600ft
Run Elevation
197m / 646ft
Total Elevation
1,599m / 5,246ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
17°C / 63°F
Max Temp
23°C / 73°F
Avg Temp
21°C / 70°F
Humidity
66%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
6/10
Energy levels
9/10
GI comfort
9/10
I felt 'full' all day
Cramping
Twinges but not full-on cramps
Ant's Thoughts
Felt great all day and felt strong, just missing my target time by one minute...
Ant's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 642 | 8,637 | 4,820 | 312 | 1,792 |
| Per hour | 71 | 958 | 535 | 35 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 597 | 8,637 | 4,820 | 312 | 1,792 |
| Per hour | 75 | 1,089 | 608 | 39 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 373 | 5,625 | 3,550 | 200 | 1,585 |
| Per hour | 76 | 1,144 | 722 | 41 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 224 | 3,012 | 1,270 | 112 | 2,371 |
| Per hour | 74 | 998 | 421 | 37 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).