9th
Sam Appleton's scorecard
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship
Saturday 18th September, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
65g
Carb per hour
499mg
Sodium per hour
525ml
Fluid per hour
949mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
2.62mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Sam hit those numbers
400ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
1 x Blueberry muffin
1 x PF 30 Energy Gel
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
1000ml x PH 1000 (Tablets)
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
4 x PF 30 Energy Gel
50ml x Plain water
-300ml x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
2 x Energy gel with caffeine (24g carb, 72mg caffeine)
360ml x Plain water
360ml x Coca Cola Original
How Sam's hydration and fueling went...
- Sam confirmed his status as one of the best IM 70.3 triathletes in the world with a top-10 finish at the World Champs, where he took 9th place with a time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. He performed well and said, “I’m reasonably happy with the race but wanted a little bit more”
- He kept a similar plan to that at his previous two races, IM 70.3 Boulder and the Collins Cup respectively, but he made some changes ‘on the fly’ due to the colder than expected conditions
Hydration
- The relative sodium concentration of Sam’s intake during the race was ~949mg/L, which would suggest he was replacing a decent proportion of what he loses in his sweat as Sam’s sweat sodium concentration is 655mg/L
- Agreeing with the data, Sam believes he drank enough (~525ml/18oz per hour fluid) and he didn’t pee which we would expect in a race of this length. Sam did experience some small twinges in his hamstring on the run but was able to push through to the end
- Sam preloaded by drinking around 400ml (~14oz) of a PH 500 tablet mixed in 750ml (25oz) of water. Having some sodium pre-race will have helped him start hydrated but we would encourage Sam to use a stronger PH 1500 tablet in 500ml (17oz) water. This would make sure he starts optimally hydrated
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- As done before previous races, Sam had a light breakfast of just a blueberry muffin. We have seen Sam choose to do this prior to other races and he explained, “I like to eat whatever I can get down easily and baked goods are the most appealing thing for me at 4am”
- A larger carb-rich breakfast to make sure his glycogen stores are fully topped off may be beneficial going forwards. It’s worth noting that Sam followed the Quick Carb Calculator recommendation to take a PF 30 gel during the final 30 minutes before the race start in order to top up those glycogen stores
- At both IM 70.3 Boulder and the Collins Cup, Sam’s carb intake was ~63g/hr overall and in this race he was consistent again, consuming ~65g/hr. This is within the recommended range of the Quick Carb Calculator, albeit towards the lower end
- His intake on the bike was a higher ~86g/hr and he consumed just ~30g/hr on the run. This tapering off in consumption is common in a middle-distance triathlon, but his intake on the run leg was considerably lower than it might have been because he chose to throw away a flask which contained gels (a valuable source of carbs!)
- Due to it being colder than anticipated, Sam didn’t feel the need to hold onto his flask but, if he had consumed its contents, then his overall carb intake for the race would have been closer to ~79g/hr overall and ~74g/hr on the run. It’s hard to say whether this would have made a significant difference to his performance, but we’d encourage Sam to experiment with a little more fuel before and during races going forwards
- Sam mentioned that he did fall behind in his plan to take on a gel every 20 minutes during the bike leg, so he ended up cramming in several gels during the last 15 minutes on the bike
- In terms of caffeine, Sam consumed ~173mg in total (~46mg/hr), which was just below the recommended range of 197-396mg for an athlete of his bodyweight (66kg). The recommended caffeine dose for performance is 3-6mg per kilogram of bodyweight
Conclusions
- In future, we’d recommend Sam consumes more carbs on the run
- As in his recent races, he had decent sodium and fluid intakes, but we would recommend he preloads with PH 1500 to help ensure he starts future races optimally hydrated
Key info
Sam Appleton
Male
66kg
Sweat sodium concentration
655mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
9th
Overall Time
3:45:18
Swim Time
0:23:50
Bike Time
2:02:40
Run Time
1:16:34
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship
Location
St George, Utah, USA
Date
18th September, 2021
Website
Swim Distance
1.9km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance
90.1km / 56.0mi
Run Distance
21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance
113.1km / 70.3mi
Bike Elevation
835m / 2,740ft
Run Elevation
833m / 2,733ft
Total Elevation
1,668m / 5,472ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot
Precipitation
Rain
Min Temp
20°C / 68°F
Max Temp
30°C / 86°F
Avg Temp
25°C / 77°F
Humidity
45%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
7/10
Hydration rating
8/10
Energy levels
8/10
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
9/10
Cramping
Twinges but not full-on cramps
Sam's Thoughts
Reasonably happy with the race. I wanted a little more but I am satisfied
Sam's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 242 | 1,870 | 1,970 | 173 | 949 |
| Per hour | 65 | 499 | 525 | 46 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 212 | 1,870 | 1,970 | 173 | 949 |
| Per hour | 64 | 567 | 597 | 52 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 174 | 1,870 | 1,250 | 144 | 1,496 |
| Per hour | 86 | 920 | 615 | 71 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 38 | 0 | 720 | 29 | 0 |
| Per hour | 30 | 0 | 568 | 23 | |
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).