
Ant's headline numbers
Ant'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.
Ant described the bike after his first lap as a “solo time trial” due to the gaps between competitors on course. This made it challenging mentally, but also gave him a good chance to focus on nailing his fueling. He stuck to primarily PF 90 Gels, which were both in his pockets and aero bottle, but didn’t quite reach the recommendations for a race of this duration. In future, introducing some gut training into his race-specific training sessions will help Ant reach those higher carb numbers whilst avoiding the risk of any GI discomfort.
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 Ant’s losses are High (1,351mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreAnt effectively ‘front-loaded’ his fluid intake during the race by drinking an average of ~722ml of fluid per hour on the bike compared to ~421ml/h on the run, which is a sensible move. Anecdotally, many athletes find that it’s easier to tolerate more fluid when cycling compared to running, and it carries the added benefit of avoiding building too big of a deficit on the bike before the marathon. Ant’s Sweat Test revealed that he is a very salty sweater, so he was mindful of staying on top of his high sweat sodium losses by relying on PH 1500 during the bike and run legs. Although his intake was higher than his losses, he knew the temperatures could soar in Portugal so wanted to prepare for an increased sweat rate.
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.
Although Ant hit the recommendations for caffeine intake to enhance performance, he could consider incorporating some sort of caffeine, e.g., a PF 30 Caffeine Gel, in the final 30 minutes before the race start, so that the stimulant would peak in his bloodstream during the swim.
How Ant hit his numbers
Here's everything that Ant ate and drank on the day...
Ant's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Ant's full stats
Data Confidence?
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).