1st
Ashleigh Gentle's scorecard
Clash Miami
Friday 11th March, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
50g
Carb per hour
0mg
Sodium per hour
523ml
Fluid per hour
0mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
0mg
Total caffeine
How Ashleigh hit those numbers
How Ashleigh's hydration and fueling went...
- In hot and humid conditions (29℃/84°F with 70% humidity), Ashleigh Gentle outperformed her competitors to take the top spot at Clash Miami. With many of the athletes struggling in the extreme conditions, Ash pushed on to finish the ~81km course in just under 3 hours
- Despite suffering logistical issues before the race that meant she didn’t have all of her usual hydration products with her, Ashleigh adjusted her plan and successfully used what she had to support an excellent performance
- Reflecting on the race, Ash rated her race satisfaction as 9 out of 10, saying she was “happy with the result”, and that it “wasn’t the perfect race” but that she had “fared the best”
Hydration
- On the morning of the race, Ash had a glass of water. We would recommend that before future races, especially in similarly hot conditions and in races of longer durations, she preloads by having a drink with a strong relative sodium concentration (such as PH 1500 in 500ml/16oz). Instead of plain water, the sodium will help her retain the fluid, increasing blood plasma volume which has been shown to enhance performance (learn more)
- For her hydration strategy, Ashleigh had a ~600ml/20oz bottle of gel and water on the bike then picked up additional water and ice to both drink and chuck over herself as a cooling strategy. On the run, she then picked up water at aid stations, drinking about a sip (~30ml/1oz) per lap and throwing the rest over her head
- This meant on average she drank around ~523ml/17oz of fluid per hour over the race. Considering the very hot temperatures during the midday race, hitting over 500ml/hr (16oz/hr) overall, and more than 800ml/hr (27oz/hr) on the bike is a seemingly great fluid intake. Although we don’t have data on Ashleigh’s precise sweat losses, in these conditions they would likely have been high therefore picking up additional water on the bike was a good strategy to replace more of her sweat losses
- As a result of not having her usual products for the race, Ash didn’t have any electrolytes in the fluid she took on board. We would recommend for future races, particularly those of longer duration, Ash tries to include sodium in a proportion of the fluid she’s drinking to replace some of her sweat sodium losses before a deficit becomes detrimental to her performance
- During this shorter but still very warm race, Ash was able to avoid any issues and didn’t experience any cramping. She rated her makeshift hydration strategy as a 7 out of 10, saying it “was alright, but I would usually use electrolytes”
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Ash had her regular carb-rich breakfast of oats with yogurt, a breakfast muffin and toast a few hours before the mid-morning (10:00am) race start. This, alongside a PF 30 Gel in the last 30 minutes, was an excellent intake leading up to the race to top up her glycogen stores, ensuring adequate energy availability early on in the race
- During the course of her 3 hour race, Ashleigh got carbohydrate on board from a PF 90 Gel on the bike and a PF 30 Gel on the run. She had a PF 30 Gel with her on the bike which unfortunately fell out of her pocket, but she had sensibly put another gel in transition which meant that she was able to get some fuel on board going into the run leg
- With this fueling strategy, Ash hit an average of ~50g of carbohydrate per hour during the race (including her pre-race gel). This was a solid carb intake that falls just below our recommended 60-90g/hr for a middle distance triathlon of this duration. However, the Clash Miami course was shorter than a normal 70.3 and this level of carb ingestion allowed her to perform well and keep her energy levels up throughout the race
- During longer races, we would recommend Ash tries to push over 60g/hr, as evidence shows a positive trend between carbohydrate intake and performance. To improve carbohydrate absorption and glucose availability while avoiding GI distress, Ashleigh may need to undertake some gut training (which involves gradually increasing her carb intake during training sessions that simulate race conditions)
- Ashleigh’s intake broke down into a higher ~58g/hr on the bike and ~29g/hr on the run. This frontloading is a sensible tactic and one we see successfully used by many triathletes, especially in middle distance races. Pushing up towards 90g/hr would be recommended on the bike to be able to sustain a lower run intake of ~30g/hr, especially when the run is a half marathon
- As we’d expect for a race of this relatively short duration, Ash consumed no caffeine during the event, but she did have a black coffee with her breakfast before the race; with a half-life of around 5 hours, the caffeine would have still been in her system to increase alertness and reduce her perceptions of effort
Conclusions
- Ultimately, Ashleigh had a fantastic race in challenging conditions in Florida to win Clash Miami. Despite having to change her hydration strategy at the last minute, she adjusted well to work with what she had and managed to consume solid fluid and carb numbers to replace a proportion of her losses and fuel her excellent performance
- Ash is looking to race more middle distance triathlons, so may want to consider increasing her carb intake and be more proactive with her sodium intake before and during her racing
Key info
Ashleigh Gentle
Female
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
2:59:41
Swim Time
0:23:23
Bike Time
1:33:04
Run Time
1:02:07
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
Clash Miami
Location
Florida, USA
Date
11th March, 2022
Website
Swim Distance
1.7km / 1.1mi
Bike Distance
62.7km / 39.0mi
Run Distance
16.9km / 10.5mi
Total Distance
50.5km / 31.4mi
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot and Humid
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
26°C / 79°F
Max Temp
29°C / 84°F
Avg Temp
29°C / 84°F
Feels like temp
32°C / 90°F
Humidity
70%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
7/10
I don't think it was perfect as I would usually have electrolytes
Energy levels
7/10
Energy was pretty good as I paced it well
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 | 150 | 0 | 1,560 | 0 | 0 |
Per hour | 50 | 0 | 523 | 0 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 120 | 0 | 1,560 | 0 | 0 |
Per hour | 46 | 0 | 604 | 0 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 90 | 0 | 1,350 | 0 | 0 |
Per hour | 58 | 0 | 871 | 0 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 30 | 0 | 210 | 0 | 0 |
Per hour | 29 | 0 | 203 | 0 |
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.