3rd
Jason West's scorecard
Clash Daytona
Friday 2nd December, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
83g
Carb per hour
851mg
Sodium per hour
625ml
Fluid per hour
1,362mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
200mg
Total caffeine
How Jason hit those numbers
How Jason's hydration and fueling went...
- Jason completed his 2022 season with another middle-distance podium performance, following on from his win earlier in the year at 70.3 Augusta, coming third at Clash Daytona
- The fast and flat race circuit meant staying in an aero position on the bike was crucial. Jason combined his fuel and hydration into his integrated drink system, so he could stay aero whilst getting his carb and sodium on board
Hydration
- Temperatures in Daytona were expected to be warm, but not too hot. And unusually for middle or long distance triathlons, this race started at 1pm, rather than the usual 6am starts. With this in mind, Jason decided to skip the night before preloading, as he felt his pizza for dinner was salty enough
- Instead, he drank 500ml (16oz) of PH 1000 with his breakfast, and then a further 500ml (16oz) of PH 1500 (Drink Mix) which he finished about 45 minutes before the swim start
- Whilst this method doesn’t follow the exact protocol we recommend for preloading, it’s likely that his double-hit of strong electrolytes in the hours leading up to the race will still have increased his blood plasma volume to a degree, thus reducing the load on his cardiovascular system
- During the bike, Jason consumed all his calories in liquid form, all coming from four servings of PF Energy Drink Mix in his 1.3L (46oz) integrated hydration system. This meant his average fluid intake during the bike was 975ml (31oz) per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of 1,538 milligrams per litre (mg/32oz)
- This is a very high concentration drink mix, and was likely over-doing the sodium as his sweat sodium concentration is just 512mg/L (mg/32oz), although we do know that it’s very difficult to overdose on sodium
- Jason has measured his sweat rate several times in conditions similar to Daytona, and produces large amounts of sweat on both the bike and run (>2.5L/h, >88oz/h). To ensure he gets the maximum benefit from the fluid he consumes, he chooses to have a stronger sodium concentration, otherwise he would require very large volumes of fluid to get the optimal dose
- On the run, he took hardly any sodium and very little water (~200ml/7oz), giving him a relative sodium concentration of just 108mg/L (mg/32oz). After the race, Jason said he felt very thirsty, which was likely due to a combination of the salty drinks on the bike and the minimal hydration on the run, so in future, he should look to pick up a bottle of water on the bike to dilute the sodium concentration
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Due to the later start time, Jason was able to get more sleep and had plenty of time to eat and absorb all the carbohydrates from his two bagels at breakfast
- Around 15 minutes before the swim start, Jason then helped circulate some glucose in his bloodstream with an energy gel containing 25g carb and 100mg caffeine, so save some of his stored energy for later in the race
- With the race being around the iconic Daytona Nascar track, the course was completely flat which caused Jason to switch from his usual energy gels on the bike, to a PF Energy Drink Mix only strategy
- By adding four servings of the Drink Mix into his 1.3L (~46oz) hydration system, he could stay in position for the full 80 minute ride. This strategy helped him maintain his highest speed possible
- Jason emptied his hydration system which contained 120g of carb, meaning his average hourly intake was 90g/h, which is exactly what our Fuel & Hydration Planner recommends for an event of this intensity and duration
- Heading onto the run in 9th position, Jason knew the pace was going to be fast, as his main competition ahead came from the shorter distance triathlon scene. So he took two gels with him but didn’t take the first (a 100mg caffeine gel) until around four kilometres, once he’d settled into a rhythm
- Combined with his second gel, a regular PF 30, he took 55g of carbohydrate, which meant his average intake was around 79g/h for the run, and with the swim included brought his total average to 83g per hour
- In future, Jason should look to take his caffeine gel a little sooner because he won’t have felt the full benefits associated with caffeine, as it can take between 30-45 minutes to absorb into the bloodstream. By this point he only had a maximum of 30 minutes of running left
Conclusions
- In all, Jason was extremely satisfied with the race result, rating it 9 (out of 10). He said he was “pleased to finish a long season with another good result, especially as there wasn’t anything during the race I particularly did wrong”
- He’s looking forward to the 2023 season already, and is already simulating some gut training sessions to help increase his carbohydrate tolerance and absorption ahead of time
Key info
Jason West
Male
Result
Position
3rd
Overall Time
2:24:57
Swim Time
0:21:22
Bike Time
1:20:04
Run Time
0:42:36
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
Clash Daytona
Location
Daytona, USA
Date
2nd December, 2022
Website
Swim Distance
1.6km / 1.0mi
Bike Distance
60.0km / 37.3mi
Run Distance
13.2km / 8.2mi
Total Distance
74.8km / 46.5mi
Bike Elevation
0m / 0ft
Run Elevation
0m / 0ft
Total Elevation
0m / 0ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
21°C / 70°F
Max Temp
25°C / 77°F
Avg Temp
24°C / 75°F
Humidity
60%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
8/10
I finished quite dehydrated and felt thirsty during the run as it got warmer
Energy levels
9/10
Probably wasn't related to my fuel intake, the course was quite demoralising so my "energy drops" were probably just mental fatigue
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
10/10
I've been doing lots of gut training sessions so it's great to not feel any discomfort during the race
Cramping
No cramping
Jason's Thoughts
I'm taking a lot of positives from this one, at the end of the season to pull a good performance together against some fast guys, I'm really happy
Jason's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 200 | 2,043 | 1,500 | 200 | 1,362 |
Per hour | 83 | 851 | 625 | 83 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 175 | 2,022 | 1,500 | 100 | 1,348 |
Per hour | 86 | 994 | 738 | 49 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 120 | 2,000 | 1,300 | 0 | 1,538 |
Per hour | 90 | 1,500 | 975 | 0 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 55 | 22 | 200 | 100 | 108 |
Per hour | 79 | 31 | 286 | 143 |
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.