Gro Hege Jermstad's scorecard
IRONMAN World Championships
Thursday 6th October, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
73g
Carb per hour
966mg
Sodium per hour
736ml
Fluid per hour
1,313mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
510mg
Total caffeine
How Gro hit those numbers
500ml x PF Energy Drink Mix (with 2 additional PH 1500 Tablets)
100g x Rice Porridge with Coconut milk and Maple Syrup
2 x Banana
2 x Cups of Black Coffee
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
*** Tip: For sea swims, put a bottle of water at T1 to rinse your mouth out
1.8L x PH 1500 (Tablets)
1L x PF Energy Drink Mix
1 x PF 30 Energy Gel
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
1.05L x Plain water
2L x Energy Drink Mix
300ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
6 x PH Electrolyte Capsule
3 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
2 x PF 90 Energy Gel
1.92L x Plain water
120ml x Coca Cola Original
How Gro's hydration and fueling went...
- Gro raced the IRONMAN World Championships as part of the 2022 Zwift Tri Academy who have been supported by PF&H
- Narrowly missing out on a top 10 finish, Gro put together, in her own words “one of my best performances to date” to finish 11th among this world class field
Hydration
- Gro made sure to preload like she normally does with 500ml (16oz) PH 1500 the night before the race, and again the morning of the race with 500ml (16oz) of PF Energy Drink Mix with two PH 1500 (Tablets) in
- This slightly exceeds the relatively sodium concentration recommended for optimal blood plasma volume expansion of ~1,500mg per litre (32oz), but Gro knew how important hydration was going to be for this race and wanted to top off her sodium levels to the best of her ability
- On the bike Gro added PH 1500 (Tablets) to the majority of her energy drinks, consuming a total of ~7,000mg of sodium mixed in ~5.85L (198 oz) giving her a relative sodium concentration of ~1,197mg/L (mg/32oz)
- Gro has a reasonably high sweat sodium concentration of 1,146mg/L (mg/32oz), meaning her sodium intake during the bike will have come impressively close to replacing the majority of her sweat-associated losses
- During the run, Gro left transition with a Soft Flask preloaded with three PH 1500 (Tablets), which she filled with water from the first aid station. Only managing to fill this to ~300ml (10oz) meant her flask was very highly concentrated, but Gro drank cups of water from each subsequent aid station to dilute this down to a tolerable level
- Gro made sure to tape three Electrolyte Capsules to her PF 90 Energy Gels and took them in regular intervals once her Soft Flask was empty
- In total Gro estimated her water intake from picking up aid station cups to be ~1.92L (63oz), meaning across ~11 hours of racing she averaged ~736ml (23oz) with a relative sodium concentration of ~1,313mg/L (mg/32oz)
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Knowing how vast the energy demands of an IRONMAN triathlon are, Gro made sure her stored glycogen levels were topped up with a carb-rich breakfast the morning before the race with 100g of rice porridge with coconut milk and some maple syrup along with two bananas
- As a frequent caffeine user, Gro also planned to tap into the endurance performance benefits associated with it by having two cups of black coffee. She also had a PF 30 Caffeine Gel ~20 minutes before the swim start to help top off her blood glucose levels and potentially reduce her perception of effort later on in the swim
- Due to the large transition area in Kona, Gro was able to take a PF 30 Energy Gel whilst running to her bike after the swim to save time, meaning she could settle into the more technical early stages of the bike without worrying about fueling
- Gro predominantly uses fluids as her main source of carbohydrates with a mixture of Energy drink mix and PF Energy Drink Mix, along with an additional PF 30 Caffeine Gel at the halfway point. In total Gro took ~494g of carb giving her an average intake of ~85g per hour which was spot on her pre-race fueling target
- On the run, Gro carried two PF 90 Gels with her out of T2 along with two PF 30 Caffeine Gels). She also picked up a third PF 30 Caffeine Gel) at the special needs aid station, and along with the three cups of Coca Cola brought her carb intake for the run to ~288g which averages out at ~71g/h
- Across the whole race, Gro averaged an impressive 73g/h of carb which is very similar to her previous intakes this season
- She also took around 510 milligrams of caffeine which will likely have tipped her above the 3-6g/kg recommended dose for the optimal performance boost, however her tolerance is likely quite high due to several years as a frequent caffeine user which is why it didn’t negatively impact her performance
- Further to this, Gro rated her energy levels and GI comfort 10/10 saying she “had no lows in energy and I felt comfortable the whole way” which further supports the caffeine didn’t negatively affect her
Conclusions
- Gro’s performance in Kona was her first iron-distance triathlon with no GI discomfort or energy lulls. This is testament to the frequent and rigorous gut training which she has built into her sessions to increase her stomachs tolerance to carb intake
- Rating her race satisfaction 10 (out of 10), she told the team at PF&H that she couldn’t have been happier with how her fueling and hydration went, and wouldn’t have changed a thing about her strategy
Key info
Gro Hege Jermstad
Female
Result
Overall Time
11:08:52
Swim Time
1:09:45
Bike Time
5:47:22
Run Time
4:02:12
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN World Championships
Location
Kona, Hawaii
Date
6th 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
1,772m / 5,814ft
Run Elevation
307m / 1,007ft
Total Elevation
2,079m / 6,821ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Very Hot and Humid
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
25°C / 77°F
Max Temp
31°C / 88°F
Avg Temp
29°C / 84°F
Humidity
73%
Athlete feedback
Energy levels
10/10
I didn't feel weak at any point
GI comfort
10/10
No Discomfort at all
Gro's Thoughts
I'm glad to have put in a strong performance, especially after my watch died on the bike!
Gro's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 813 | 10,750 | 8,190 | 510 | 1,313 |
| Per hour | 73 | 966 | 736 | 46 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 783 | 10,750 | 8,190 | 410 | 1,313 |
| Per hour | 80 | 1,095 | 834 | 42 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 494 | 7,000 | 5,850 | 100 | 1,197 |
| Per hour | 85 | 1,210 | 1,012 | 17 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 288 | 3,750 | 2,340 | 310 | 1,603 |
| Per hour | 71 | 930 | 580 | 77 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes, specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.