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Pro
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

    finish
    star
    bottle
     
    400ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
    1 x Blueberry muffin
     
     
    1 x PF 30 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 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 intake2421,8701,970173949
    Per hour6549952546
    Bike and Run
    Total intake2121,8701,970173949
    Per hour6456759752
    Bike
    Total intake1741,8701,2501441,496
    Per hour8692061571
    Run
    Total intake380720290
    Per hour30056823

    Data Confidence

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    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).

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