3rd
Leon Chevalier's scorecard
IRONMAN® Bolton
Sunday 4th July, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
79g
Carb per hour
172mg
Sodium per hour
497ml
Fluid per hour
347mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
362mg
Total caffeine
How Leon hit those numbers
250g x Banana bread
1 x Black tea
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
3 x PH Electrolyte Capsule
2 x PF 30 Gel
1.5L x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
1.5L x Energy drink mix (79g carb)
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
1 x Snickers
4 x PF 30 Gel
1 x Energy gel (25g carb)
1.4L x Cola
1 x Banana
How Leon's hydration and fueling went...
- This was Leon's first time covering the full IM race distance and he performed superbly, both in terms of hitting his hydration and fueling numbers and his overall race result, placing 3rd in a time of 8 hours 51 minutes
Hydration
- Here’s what Leon had to say about his hydration strategy: “I stuck to the plan pretty much to the letter. Was going to get water from aid stations in the last hour of the bike but because it was so cold and I had urinated (therefore had water just in excess), I adjusted and kept some of my bottled fluids for the last hour. Never felt dehydrated.”
- Leon had a good awareness of the conditions and that his sweat rate wasn’t too high and therefore had a fluid intake of ~500ml/hr (~17oz/hr), an adequate intake in the mild conditions. He didn’t suffer from any hydration-related issues and had a fantastic race
- Leon reported having one pee around 4 hours into the bike leg as he had drank most of his water bottles but wasn't sweating much (FYI it’s quite normal for athletes to pee during such long events, what you want to watch out for is excessive peeing, this is an indicator that you might be overdrinking!)
- The relative sodium concentration Leon consumed over the course of the race was just ~320mg/L. Although he reported not sweating excessively due to the cooler conditions, he has a high sweat sodium concentration of 1,392mg/L and therefore was only replacing a small proportion of the sodium he will have been losing during the race. Especially in hotter conditions, Leon should consider increasing his sodium intake to stay well hydrated so he can perform at his best
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Leon went into the race with his fuel stores well topped up and perceived energy levels high having consumed a carb-rich breakfast with some tea and then having a energy gel with caffeine just before the start of the swim. Learn more
- Leon’s strategy was to use his pre-mixed energy drink to get him through the first four hours, which he reported he managed perfectly by drinking every 10-20 minutes
- As we’ve seen Leon do before, he took a final gel right towards the end of the bike which is a nice strategy to pre-empt the run
- On the run, Leon’s plan was to take one gel every ~7k and he stuck to this plan from about 30 minutes into the run until about 35km
- His diligent approach to getting gels and drink mix on board contributed to his good overall carb intake of ~78 grams per hour for the race which is within our Quick Carb Calculator recommended range for a race of this length
- Increasing his carb intake further to push towards 90g/hr while avoiding any GI issues would be ideal due to the trend evidence shows between carbohydrate intake and performance
Conclusions
- Overall, Leon enjoyed a fine debut IM outing in Bolton using a practical hydration and nutrition strategy which he adapted to the cool conditions
- He fuelled well both pre and during the race but moving forwards, he could look to increase his sodium intake to replace a greater proportion of the sodium he is losing in his sweat, especially in races where the conditions are hotter
Key info
Leon Chevalier
Male
Sweat sodium concentration
1,392mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Very High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
3rd
Overall Time
8:51:48
Swim Time
0:52:06
Bike Time
4:57:47
Run Time
2:56:19
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN® Bolton
Location
Bolton, England
Date
4th July, 2021
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
2,362m / 7,749ft
Run Elevation
380m / 1,247ft
Total Elevation
2,742m / 8,996ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
Rain
Min Temp
13°C / 55°F
Max Temp
19°C / 66°F
Avg Temp
18°C / 64°F
Humidity
85%
Athlete feedback
Hydration rating
7/10
Leon's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 696 | 1,525 | 4,400 | 362 | 347 |
| Per hour | 79 | 172 | 497 | 41 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 674 | 1,509 | 4,400 | 287 | 343 |
| Per hour | 86 | 191 | 558 | 36 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 354 | 1,487 | 3,000 | 75 | 496 |
| Per hour | 72 | 300 | 606 | 15 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 320 | 23 | 1,400 | 212 | 16 |
| Per hour | 109 | 8 | 477 | 72 | |
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).