1st
David Ellis' scorecard
World Triathlon Para Championships
Friday 5th November, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
1g
Carb per hour
129mg
Sodium per hour
517ml
Fluid per hour
250mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
0mg
Total caffeine
How David hit those numbers
500ml x PH 500 (Drink Mix)
2 x Porridge pots
2 x Cups of coffee
*** Tip: For sea swims, put a bottle of water at T1 to rinse your mouth out
250ml x PH 500 (Tablets)
250ml x Plain water
How David's hydration and fueling went...
- David Ellis had a successful race at the World Triathlon Para Champs, winning the PTVI division in 58 minutes and 29 seconds
- David and his guide, Luke Pollard, raced excellently to finish 42 seconds ahead of second place, Hector Laparra. He said “I’m very happy with the result, but didn’t have to go full gas so don’t know how I would have done in that situation”. He rated his race satisfaction as 8 out of 10
Hydration
- David drank a total of ~500ml/16oz during the race, this broke down into around ~250ml/8oz from his bottle of PH 500 on the bike and ~250ml/8oz of water picked up from aid stations on the run. Considering the hot conditions (24℃/75°F), this was an adequate amount to replace his losses during a sprint-distance triathlon
- Although we don’t have data on David’s sweat rate, he was happy with his strategy and believed he drank enough during the race. He also mentioned “it wasn’t as hot as we’d prepped for so I think that’s why I didn’t need to drink as much as I did in races elsewhere this season, like the Paralympics in Tokyo for example”
- David preloaded with sodium before the race with PH 500 in 500ml/16oz. We would recommend he increases the strength of his preload to PH 1500 to start optimally hydrated, which will help ensure that he has a large reservoir of fluid to draw from when he starts to sweat
- Due to the length of the race, David consumed a small amount of sodium during the race (125mg). This is to be expected for the relatively short nature of the race, but it does mean that it’s important that he starts races of this duration in a well hydrated state
- Before the race, David also used cooling methods of drinking some iced water around 30 minutes before the swim. This can be an effective method of marginally reducing core body temperature prior to the start of the hot and humid race
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
0-30g
carb per hour during
- David didn’t eat anything during the race. This is a common strategy because carbohydrate ingestion has been shown to have little-to-no effect on performance outcomes for a race of this duration. His glycogen stores will have fueled him sufficiently over the 58 minutes as long as his pre-race fueling was adequate
- Before the race, David ate a high carb intake of two porridge pots to increase his glycogen stores. He also had two cups of coffee in the morning, to increase his perceived energy levels going into the swim
- He didn’t experience any GI issues (10 out of 10) and felt that his energy levels were “pretty good throughout and never felt low”, rating them a 9 out of 10
Conclusions
- David swam, cycled and ran excellently to win the World Triathlon Para Champs
- He fueled well with a carb-rich breakfast and caffeine before the race to sustain him for the hour-long, high-intensity exercise bout
- David decided “rather than worrying about getting the planned fluid in, I just drank to thirst” which was effective in this short sprint race
- In future for such hot events, we would recommend that he preloads more effectively to make sure he is starting optimally hydrated
Key info
David Ellis
Male
Sweat sodium concentration
860mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Moderate
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
0:58:29
Swim Time
0:09:50
Bike Time
0:26:26
Run Time
0:16:56
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Short course
Event
World Triathlon Para Championships
Location
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Date
5th November, 2021
Website
Swim Distance
0.8km / 0.5mi
Bike Distance
20.0km / 12.4mi
Run Distance
5.0km / 3.1mi
Total Distance
25.8km / 16.0mi
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot and Humid
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
24°C / 75°F
Max Temp
24°C / 75°F
Avg Temp
24°C / 75°F
Humidity
78%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
8/10
Energy levels
9/10
Toilet stops
No
Felt like I needed to coming out of swim which possibly stopped me drinking as much on the bike
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
Twinges but not full-on cramps
David's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 1 | 125 | 500 | 0 | 250 |
| Per hour | 1 | 129 | 517 | 0 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 1 | 125 | 500 | 0 | 250 |
| Per hour | 1 | 179 | 714 | 0 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 1 | 125 | 250 | 0 | 500 |
| Per hour | 2 | 288 | 577 | 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).