Andrew Byatt
Molokai to Oahu World Paddleboard Championships
Andrew's headline numbers
Andrew'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.
Despite the tough logistical challenges of fueling whilst paddling on his knees, Andrew has developed an excellent strategy to meet his needs and reach the recommended guidelines for an event of this duration and intensity. To hit over 90g/h, Andrew taped several PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Caffeine Gels and PF 30 Chews to his board for easy access. He also drank three 1L bottles of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix across the race to reach a higher, more consistent fuel intake than he has previously, keeping his energy levels up all the way to the finish where his competitors were fading.
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.
To hydrate ‘hands-free’, Andrew has a bottle holder built into his board, with a straw attached to each of his bottles. He started with a bottle of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, which he finished and replaced twice from his support crew. Solely hydrating with PF Carb & Electrolyte Mix meant he consumed a moderate relative sodium concentration, in line with the average sweat losses we’ve seen across >15,000 Sweat Tests. In previous races, including last year's World Champs, Andrew has not incorporated sodium into his plan and consequently suffered towards the end and after the race. This more proactive sodium replacement strategy alongside a consistent fluid intake was a solid improvement and supported his performance in the hot, Hawaiian conditions. Next time out he could look to individualise both his fluid and sodium intake with the use of a Sweat Test and collection of some sweat rate data.
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 a good individual tolerance to the stimulant, Andrew supplemented caffeine effectively throughout his fueling strategy to hit the top end of the 3-6mg/kg recommendations. To do this, he took a 300mg caffeine dose in the last hour before the gun to spike the levels in his system, and then topped it up with two PF 30 Caffeine Gels during the race. One of these doses was one of the final gels he consumed, so given caffeine takes ~45 minutes to peak in the bloodstream, Andrew may wish to instead take both doses slightly earlier to reap the full ergogenic effects when he needs it most.
How Andrew hit his numbers
Here's everything that Andrew ate and drank on the day...
Andrew's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Andrew
PF&HAndrew'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.