4th
Ashleigh Gentle's scorecard
IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside
Saturday 2nd April, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
63g
Carb per hour
89mg
Sodium per hour
186ml
Fluid per hour
481mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
0mg
Total caffeine
How Ashleigh hit those numbers
200ml x PF 30 Drink Mix
0.5 x Serving of overnight oats
1 x Slice of toast with peanut butter and honey
1 x Small banana
1 x Mug of black coffee
1 x PF 30 Gel
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
375ml x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
5 x PF 30 Gel
255ml x Plain water
2 x PF 30 Gel
150ml x Plain water
How Ashleigh's hydration and fueling went...
- After winning her season opener in extremely hot conditions at Clash Miami, Ashleigh produced another great performance at IM 70.3 Oceanside where she finished 4th in cooler conditions. Against a tough field of competitors and on a challenging course, Ash felt the race was a really “positive experience”, saying that “I raced better and faster than I thought I was going to”
- Ash used a slightly different hydration and fueling plan than the one she used for her previous race in Miami as she had more of her usual products with her, and accounted for the different conditions and longer race duration
Hydration
- Ash had three bottles on the bike, a 750ml/25oz bottle of drink mix which she drank half of, a 500ml/16oz bottle of water with gels, and a “back-up” bottle of plain water. On the run, Ash grabbed plain water, drinking roughly a sip at five aid stations
- In contrast to the very hot and humid conditions at Clash Miami, Oceanside was overcast and mild (~15℃/59°F), therefore Ash’s sweat losses were likely to be considerably lower. As a result, it was unsurprising to see Ash drink less fluid on average during this race (~186ml/hr (6oz/hr))
- On the surface, ~186ml/6oz of fluid per hour does seem on the lower side for a race of this duration and intensity. However, this average was brought down by her relatively small fluid consumption on the run; on the bike Ash drank ~257ml/hr (9oz/hr). Her fluid intake could have been dialled up slightly, but in these mild conditions she felt that her sweat rate was low and that her hydration strategy was appropriate (rating it as an 8 out of 10)
- In terms of sodium, Ash had a low ~375mg in total from her PF 30 Drink Mix; this equated to a relative sodium concentration of ~481mg/L. After not having access to her usual products in Miami which limited her electrolyte intake, Ash achieved a better sodium intake this time round to replace some of her losses
- We would recommend Ash increase her sodium intake both before and during future races, especially in middle distance triathlons in hot conditions. Ash is yet to have our Advanced Sweat Test, so it is difficult to say for certain whether this degree of sodium replacement is sufficient. With that said, it’s reasonable to suggest that being more proactive with this replacement may prove beneficial (learn more)
- Preloading before the race with 1 x PH 1500 in ~500ml/16oz of water would better ensure she is starting each race in a more optimally hydrated state
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Due to the very early race start (6:40am), Ash felt she couldn’t eat loads at around 4am, therefore she chose not to finish her usual overnight oats, instead opting to have some toast, a banana and a coffee. Despite not feeling able to eat her usual breakfast, she opted for a sensible alternative that achieved the goal of increasing her carb availability pre-race
- In addition to her breakfast, Ash had a PF 30 Gel ~30 minutes before the swim. Considering that she couldn’t eat as much as she may have liked in the early hours of the morning, this was a great way to increase her blood glucose levels and preserve some glycogen stores for later in the race (learn more)
- To fuel during the race, Ash had a carb-heavy bottle containing five PF 30 Gels mixed with water and drank half of her 750ml/25oz bottle of PF 30 Drink Mix on the bike. Then on the run, she picked up two PF 30 Gels in T2 to consume during the course of the half marathon
- This strategy meant Ash consumed an average of ~63g of carbohydrate per hour; a solid intake which was ~13g/hr more than at Clash Miami. It’s great to see Ash consume more carbohydrate to reach the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommended 60-90g/hr, while experiencing “no gut issues at all”
- Scientific evidence suggests there is a positive trend between carb ingestion and performance, so continuing to build up her carb intake is likely to be beneficial as Ash races more middle-distance triathlons. This may involve some gut training to adapt to having up to 90g/hr of carb while working at race intensity
- On this occasion, Ash’s carb intake broke down into a higher ~70g/hr on the bike and ~47g/hr on the run. This level of tapering in consumption is common to see in 70.3 races where frontloading carbs on the bike can help sustain a high intensity going into the run
- On the run, Ash mentioned drip feeding her two gels up until the final 3km. Distributing the fuel over the 1 hour 16 minutes was a good strategy to keep her energy levels high
Conclusions
- Ash enjoyed a great performance at IM 70.3 Oceanside to continue her successful start to the season. In contrasting conditions to her last race, Ashleigh used a different hydration and fueling plan to hit better carb, fluid and sodium numbers all-round
- As Ash continues to compete in more middle distance races, next up being the Challenge Championships in May, we recommend she continues the positive increase in her carb intake and is more proactive with her sodium replacement
Key info
Ashleigh Gentle
Female
Result
Position
4th
Overall Time
4:12:21
Swim Time
0:24:02
Bike Time
2:27:20
Run Time
1:16:36
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside
Location
California, USA
Date
2nd April, 2022
Website
Swim Distance
1.9km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance
90.1km / 56.0mi
Run Distance
21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance
113.1km / 70.3mi
Bike Elevation
829m / 2,720ft
Run Elevation
84m / 276ft
Total Elevation
913m / 2,995ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
14°C / 57°F
Max Temp
16°C / 61°F
Avg Temp
15°C / 59°F
Humidity
80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
8/10
Not sure what I could've done better
Energy levels
8/10
My energy was good. I was able to push hard on the run and not blow up
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Ashleigh's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 263 | 375 | 780 | 0 | 481 |
| Per hour | 63 | 89 | 186 | 0 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 233 | 375 | 780 | 0 | 481 |
| Per hour | 63 | 101 | 210 | 0 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 173 | 375 | 630 | 0 | 595 |
| Per hour | 70 | 153 | 257 | 0 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 60 | 0 | 150 | 0 | 0 |
| Per hour | 47 | 0 | 118 | 0 | |
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).