Hayley Simmonds
The Gralloch
Hayley's headline numbers
Hayley'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.
After several weeks of racing, Hayley entered The Gralloch with cumulative fatigue and apprehension toward the tough race. However, she executed her fueling plan to a tee and hit her highest carb intake per hour yet, providing her with enough energy to catch and drop riders even near the end of the race. Hayley doesn’t tend to have GI discomfort, so her progression from ~52 grams per hour just one month before to ~86g/h in this race was less about gut training and more about fine-tuning the logistics of her strategy and staying on top of fueling intervals by utilising bike computer alerts. The start time of 11:30am also contributed to her higher energy levels, as she could get a solid night’s sleep and consume more food than normal in the hours leading up to the race.
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.
Given Hayley’s losses are High (1,167mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy remains important, even when it’s Mild.
Learn moreEven though the temperature wasn’t that high, the humidity made it feel significantly hotter and increased Hayley’s perception of thirst. This worked to her advantage though, as it prompted her to take in more fluid than she normally does and subsequently stay on top of her hydration and fueling. She was able to consume over 500ml per hour on average, which is impressive for a race of this duration and intensity. The key was having sodium in both bottles and carbohydrates in one so that every time she took a sip, she was getting at least two out of ‘the three levers’. As she noted, she could’ve consumed more fluid, but because this race didn’t allow help from a crew at aid stations, she stuck to what she was carrying in the interest of saving time.
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.
Since the race didn’t start early in the morning, Hayley had time for an extra coffee closer to the start time after her usual two coffees with breakfast. Some of this caffeine would still have been circulating in her system for the race, as well as the PF 30 Caffeine Gel she took in the final ~15 minutes before the gun went off. On course, she consumed two more PF 30 Caffeine Gels back to back around the halfway mark, which is a strategy she’s been implementing since earlier in the 2024 season. This helps her reach the target caffeine range and boost her energy levels for the second half.
How Hayley hit her numbers
Here's everything that Hayley ate and drank on the day...
Hayley's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HHayley's full stats
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).