Won
Sarah Crowley's scorecard
IRONMAN Australia
Sunday 1st May, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
79g
Carb per hour
245mg
Sodium per hour
696ml
Fluid per hour
352mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
7.37mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Sarah hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500
65g x Oats with nutella
1/2 x Banana
1 x Nutrition shake
1/2 x Banana
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
4 x PF 30 Energy Gel
1L x Plain water
1 x Energy gel (25g carb)
2L x Energy drink (36g carb)
1/2 x Banana
1 x Nutrition Shake (48g carb)
2 x Protein Drink Sachet (41g carb)
1.5L x Plain water
2 x Energy gel (25g carb)
3 x Energy gel (22g carb)
3/4 x Energy chew packet with caffeine (48g carb, 100mg caffeine)
1/2 x Energy chew packet with electrolytes (48g carb, 200mg sodium)
700ml x Energy drink (36g carb)
400ml x Coca Cola Original
1 1/2 x Banana
How Sarah's hydration and fueling went...
- With a win at the Hell of the West Tri under her belt a month prior, Sarah went into IM Australia knowing she was in good form and she showed it; taking the win in a time of 09:06:04 and finishing a minute ahead of second place
- Sarah used a range of carb-rich drink mixes, gels and real food to meet her fueling needs, hitting an impressive carbohydrate intake on the bike and continuing this on the run
- Temperatures increased as the race progressed and being mindful of this, Sarah did a good job at taking in enough fluids but could have benefitted from supplementing with greater sodium replacement
Hydration
- Sarah preloaded before the race with 500ml/16oz of PH 1500 which ensured she was starting the event in a well hydrated state
- In total, Sarah drank ~6.3L/213oz across the 9 hour race, averaging a fluid intake of ~696ml/24oz per hour (including her swim time)
- On the bike, Sarah rode with two aero bottles totaling ~1.5L/48oz (~760ml/25oz per hour) and estimated that she also picked up ~1L/32oz of plain water
- On the run, Sarah’s strategy was to pick up fluids from the on-course aid stations. She picked up water at every aid station (estimating ~150ml/5oz per station) as well as a total of four cups of Coca Cola and seven cups of the carb mix. This equaled a fluid intake of ~817ml/h, a greater intake than on the bike but aligns with the day getting warmer
- The temperature rose from start to finish, topping out at around 20℃/68°F, and so it would appear that Sarah drank a sensible volume which would have adequately replaced her increasing sweat losses. That said, she didn’t pee at all during the race which could indicate not drinking enough, however not peeing in an IM isn’t uncommon for Sarah
- Like her carb intake in this race, Sarah increased her sodium replacement versus previous events, consuming an average of ~245mg/h, which when compared to the volume of fluid Sarah drank is a relative sodium concentration of ~352mg/L. This intake is still considered low but is the highest we’ve seen Sarah take
- Our advice to Sarah would be to include some more electrolytes into her hydration strategy in her upcoming races, especially if the conditions get any hotter and sweat losses increase
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Before the race, Sarah ate a bowl of porridge with half a banana and nutella mixed with a nutrition shake. Within the final 30 minutes, Sarah ate another half of a banana, ensuring she started the race with good energy stores
- For a race of this intensity and duration, the Quick Carb Calculator recommends 60-90g of carbohydrate per hour. In last season’s races, we saw Sarah consistently take in an average carb intake of between 50 and 65g/h. Given the correlation between increasing carb intake and improving endurance performance, we recommended that Sarah increase her fuel consumption, towards the higher end of the recommendations
- Sarah took this advice on board by consuming ~79g/h across the race, which broke down into ~83g/h on the bike and a greater ~93g/h on the run
- Upping her carb intake had no negative impact on Sarah’s GI comfort, still rating it highly (9 out of 10). This is a testament to her efforts to train her gut in her race simulation training sessions beforehand as we know Sarah carried out some bigger brick sessions to test her fuel and hydration race strategy
- Sarah met her fuel needs on the bike with four PF 30 Energy Gels and a caffeinated on-course gel, as well as a selection of fluids containing carbs and half a banana
- Her strategy to use a mix of gels and drinks remained similar on the run, on top of energy chews and more banana allowing her to hit over ~90g/hr during the marathon
- Sarah didn’t take any caffeine before the race but did a great job at ‘drip feeding’ caffeinated sports nutrition products throughout the bike and run taking a total caffeine intake of ~398mg (equating to a dosage of ~7.37mg/kg)
Conclusions
- Sarah had a fantastic race at IM Australia, taking the win and executing a robust fueling and hydration plan
- Building on last year, she consumed her greatest carb and sodium intake; an increase which had no negative impact on her gut comfort and supported her good performance
- Following on from this race, we can’t wait to see what else Sarah can go on to achieve this season
Key info
Sarah Crowley
Female
54kg
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
9:06:04
Swim Time
0:55:06
Bike Time
4:55:16
Run Time
3:11:34
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN Australia
Location
Port Macquaire, Australia
Date
1st May, 2022
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
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
13°C / 55°F
Max Temp
24°C / 75°F
Avg Temp
20°C / 68°F
Humidity
52%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
7/10
Energy levels
8/10
I felt pretty steady all day but there were times when I didn't feel as strong
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
9/10
Sarah's Thoughts
I would have liked to have ran faster but I tightened up
Sarah's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 719 | 2,232 | 6,337 | 398 | 352 |
| Per hour | 79 | 245 | 696 | 44 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 706 | 2,232 | 6,337 | 398 | 352 |
| Per hour | 87 | 276 | 782 | 49 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 409 | 1,652 | 3,737 | 100 | 442 |
| Per hour | 83 | 336 | 760 | 20 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 297 | 580 | 2,600 | 298 | 223 |
| Per hour | 93 | 182 | 817 | 94 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes, specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.