Sam Appleton
IRONMAN® Canada
Sam's headline numbers
Sam's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
With news of a delayed and shortened swim, Sam took on a slightly larger breakfast than his usual very light snack of a muffin, as he had longer to digest pre-race. In the end, the swim was cancelled 30 minutes ahead of the intended race start. Just before getting straight on the bike, Sam had a pack of PF 30 Chews to nudge up the energy he had available as he started racing. On average across both the bike and run, Sam hit the recommended 90g of carb per hour to effectively sustain his energy levels and support his 2nd place performance. However, this overall carb intake is higher than his norm because of the cancelled swim. Looking more closely at his hour-by-hour intake, he consumed ~113g/h on the bike and ~38g/h on the run, similar to his IRONMAN® Australia numbers. It also shows a 66% drop off per hour across the two disciplines compared to a 25% average across our Case Study database. Considering his run intake was the lowest we have seen from him and that he could not sustain the higher fueling rate toward the end of the bike, he could reduce the drop off by taking on slightly less on the bike and bringing his run intake up to help fuel his marathon.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Sam’s losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still crucial when it’s hot and/or humid as his higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreSam drank slightly less overall in Canada, especially on the bike, compared to his past full distance races. Given the cooler conditions than he’s used to in his homeland of Australia, plus the cancelled swim, he was able to start the bike well-hydrated and not in a fluid deficit. Consequently, the lower fluid intake was suitable to replace a solid proportion of his losses. He used a combination of PH 1000 (Tablets), PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, plain water and cola to take on a relative sodium concentration that was spot on to match his individual sodium needs throughout.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
With two PF 30 Caffeine Gels on the bike, one on the run and some extra cola from aid stations, Sam fell well within the recommended range to benefit from caffeine’s ergogenic effects. As seen in his past Case Studies, this matches his usual strategy, averaging around ~5mg/kg during full distance races, though he skews closer to the lower end of the recommended range, ~3mg/kg, during his middle distance races.
How Sam hit his numbers
Here's everything that Sam ate and drank on the day...
Sam's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Sam
PF&HSam's full stats
Data Confidence?
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.