Tom Walker's scorecard
IRONMAN® Estonia
Saturday 7th August, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 60gCarb per hour
- 250mgSodium per hour
- 265mlFluid per hour
- 944mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 0mgTotal caffeine
How Tom hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
1 x PH 1000 (Tablet)
500ml x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
1 x PF 30 Gel
Race - Swim
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
Race - Bike
1L x PH 1000 (Tablets)
1L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
7 x PF 30 Gel
200ml x Plain water
-500ml x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
2 x Flapjack bar (40g carb)
Race - Run
6 x PF 30 Gel
850ml x Energy drink mix (25g carb)
- Tom Walker, an age-group triathlete and endurance coach based in Dubai, performed well to finish 14th in his age group (M30-34) at IRONMAN Estonia in a time of 9 hours and 23 minutes on what was a wet and windy day
- It was great to see Tom use a range of Precision Fuel & Hydration products to meet his needs and post-race he reported that he ‘had great energy throughout the race with no drop offs’
Hydration
- Tom drank an average of ~265ml/10oz per hour across the duration of the 9.5 hour event. The conditions were mild, wet and windy which wouldn't have elicited a high rate of sweating. As a result, we would expect to see Tom’s fluid intake on the lower end of the normal range
- As an experienced triathlete, Tom knows that in hotter conditions he would have needed to have drunk more. Whilst Tom’s fluid intake was quite low, he felt his hydration strategy was robust and never felt like he was dehydrated in the race
- Our usual recommendations are to preload before endurance races with a strong sodium-based drink (like PH 1500) to achieve optimal pre-hydration. On this occasion, Tom used one serving of the PF 30 Drink Mix and one PH 1000 Tablet in his pre-race fluid. It isn’t the conventional way to preload but this mix is certainly sodium-rich (PF 30 Energy Drink Mix contains 500mg of sodium just like PH 1000!)
- Tom’s hydration strategy consisted of drinking mostly energy drink mixes with added electrolytes. This strategy can work, and evidently did on this occasion for Tom who reported no GI issues. But, it should be noted that the conditions in Estonia were mild and would not have elicited super high sweat rates
- When total fluid losses are greater, as a result of warmer conditions, you will naturally drink more because your thirst is greater, and under these circumstances having your carbs, fluid and electrolytes all in one bottle can be limiting. It gives you less control over the amounts you’re replacing
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
- During the bike leg, Tom was fueling with a mixture of PF 30 Energy Gels and PF 30 Energy Drink Mix. Each hour of the race roughly consisted of 1-2 PF 30 Gels and between 300 and 500ml of PF 30 Drink Mix
- On average, Tom was consuming ~69g of carb per hour on the bike and a slightly lower, but still impressive intake, of ~66g/hr on the run. This is in line with the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations for an event of this duration and intensity, and a slight tapering in carbohydrate consumption between the bike and run is normal to see in long-course triathlon
- On the run, Tom aimed to take one PF 30 Gel every 30 minutes and then supplemented this with mouthfuls of the isotonic energy drink which was available at the 17 on-course aid stations (this was estimated to be ~50ml/2oz per aid station)
- The on-course energy drink accounted for ~one fifth of Tom’s total carb intake on the run. It was predominantly Tom’s own gels which fueled him through the marathon, highlighting the importance of an athlete being prepared with their own fueling strategy!
Conclusions
- Tom had a good race out at Estonia despite some challenging conditions to contend with
- His carb, fluid and sodium intake were all adequate for the mild temperatures he faced and he intuitively drip-fed his system with just enough of each to keep himself well-fuelled throughout the duration of the event up until the finish line
- With no cramping, no GI issues and good recovery (as good as you can hope for post-IRONMAN!) Tom’s fueling and hydration strategy was effective at powering him round the course. Nice work Tom!
Key info
Tom Walker
Result
Event information
Race conditions
Athlete feedback
Tom's Thoughts
Nutrition-wise it was great. Performance-wise it wasn't brilliant but in the circumstances I was happy.
Data Confidence
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).