Harry Palmer's scorecard
IRONMAN 70.3® Swansea
Sunday 7th August, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 88gCarb per hour
- 364mgSodium per hour
- 609mlFluid per hour
- 599mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 19mgTotal caffeine
How Harry hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
750ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
2 x Pieces of white toast with jam
Pre-race (<30mins)
1 x PF 30 Gel
Race - Swim
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
Race - Bike
1L x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
4 x PF 30 Gel
1 x PF 90 Gel
1.025L x Plain water
Race - Run
0.75 x PF 90 Gel
240ml x Plain water
240ml x Cola
- Harry had another consistent race at IM 70.3 Swansea, finishing 6th amongst a high calibre field including two time Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee
- In a day where he forgot his bike computer and so was essentially “racing blind”, Harry managed his efforts well, sticking to a familiar fueling and hydration strategy and enjoying the raw racing that it brought
Hydration
- Having worked with the team here at PF&H for a while now, Harry knows how important starting each race hydrated is, and so he preloaded the night before with one PH 1500 (Tablet) in ~1L/32oz water. This is a weaker relative sodium concentration than we recommend for preloading, and so in future he should consider reducing the total volume of water (~500ml/16oz), so to avoid diluting the sodium too much and achieve a more optimal concentration
- Furthermore, the morning of the race he drank ~750ml/24oz water with a PH 1500 (Tablet) in, which perhaps wouldn’t have achieved the optimal hydration status heading into the race
- During the bike, Harry had a 1L/32oz bottle with two PH 1500 (Drink Mix) packets in, two 500ml/16oz bottles with gels in that he topped up with plain water (~630ml/22oz water between the two bottles). He also grabbed a 750ml/24oz bottle of plain water from the on-course aid station, which he drank half of and poured the rest over his head to keep himself cool
- In total, Harry drank just over 2L/64oz of fluid, with a relative sodium concentration of ~741mg per litre. Given his sweat sodium concentration of 921mg/L, measured by our Sweat Test, he should consider increasing his sodium intake on the bike to more closely match his sweat losses
- Harry stepped off the bike having ridden hard, and so was pleased to discover his run legs hadn’t totally deserted him as a consequence. He managed to pick up a cup of water and a cup of Coca Cola from six aid stations, giving him a total fluid intake on the run of ~480ml/16oz, which averaged into ~384ml/12oz per hour
- Across the whole race, Harry drank ~609ml/20oz per hour which is a higher intake than we’ve seen Harry drink previously. Despite this, he should still aim to have some sodium on the run, either by taking a couple of Electrolyte Capsules with him or by picking up some of the on-course nutrition, particularly during warmer races
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- The night before the race, Harry had a hearty spaghetti bolognese to ensure his fuel stores were topped off. Harry understands that to perform well over events of this length, he has to ensure his muscles are adequately storing as much glycogen as then can to give him maximal energy reserves during the race
- To ensure his stored glycogen lasted as long as possible, he took a PF 30 Gel within 30 minutes before the start. This will have circulated in his blood fairly quickly, thus sparing his stored glycogen for later in the race
- On the bike Harry had his carb split into his usual two 500ml/16oz bottles; one with four PF 30 Gels in, one with a PF 90 Gel, both topped up with water. This is a common strategy amongst long-course triathletes, not wishing to open several gel packets whilst riding at high speeds
- Harry said that towards the end of the bike “as the pace was so hard, I thought about taking another gel, but decided not to as my back was quite sore and I wasn’t sure if I was going to attempt the run”. As he averaged ~91g of carb per hour on the bike, he still did a decent job of fueling, but this is slightly below his previous race intake of ~107g/h
- Positively, he did mention that he felt “more comfortable tolerating a high carb intake on the bike” this time around compared to previous races, indicating that his rigorous gut training in recent months is paying dividends
- On the run Harry took a PF 90 Gel and finished ¾ of it before his “stomach dropped” with around 5k to go
- To top up his carb and caffeine levels during the run he picked up ~240ml/8oz Coca Cola from the aid stations, and he finished the run having averaged ~74g/h, totalling ~88g/h over the entire race
- This is an impressive average for ~4 hours of racing, and is the highest we’ve seen Harry hit, partly due to the dramatic increase in carb consumption on the run which helped him stay strong in the latter stages, despite his stomach cramps
Conclusions
- Harry finished the race feeling frustrated about forgetting his bike computer and subsequently not being able to quantify his cycling efforts. However, upon reflection he accepted that this is part of racing, and that learning to race on how he feels, rather than just listening to the data, is a valuable skill to have
- In terms of his intake, hitting the highest carb and fluid numbers we’ve seen without upsetting his stomach is a big step forward, and he is starting to reap the benefits of his persistent gut training
- Harry’s now switching his focus towards the full-distance, aiming to tackle the infamous IM Wales in September - best of luck Harry!
Key info
Harry Palmer
Male
Sweat sodium concentration921mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationModerate
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position6th
Overall Time4:07:58
Swim Time0:23:11
Bike Time2:24:03
Run Time1:15:27
Event information
SportTriathlon
DisciplineMiddle distance
EventIRONMAN 70.3® Swansea
LocationSwansea, Wales
Date7th August, 2022
Swim Distance1.9km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance90.1km / 56.0mi
Run Distance21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance113.1km / 70.3mi
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp13°C / 55°F
Max Temp20°C / 68°F
Avg Temp18°C / 64°F
Humidity60%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction9/10
Hydration rating10/10
Energy levels10/10No real lows, just the pace on the bike was HARD!
Toilet stopsYes
GI comfort9/10All fine until ~5k to go when my stomach dropped
CrampingNo cramping
Harry's Thoughts
On the day I got the best result out of myself
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).