Gro Hege Jermstad
IRONMAN 70.3® Nice
Gro's headline numbers
Gro'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.
Gro’s total carb intake averaged ~72g/h, broken down into ~66g/h during the bike leg and ~99g/h on the run. This is actually the inverse of what we typically see, where athletes consume more on the bike and less during the run. However, Gro dropped her intake when she began feeling full toward the end of the bike, wanting to be mindful of her history with GI issues. She used a combination of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PF 30 Gels to fuel her performance but fell short of the recommended 90g/h for a race of this duration and intensity due to her decrease on the bike. Adding an extra PF 30 Gel per hour would help her reach this target, though it’s crucial for her to practise this in training to train her gut to tolerate the increased intake.
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 Gro’s losses are High (1,146mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreThe night before the race, Gro consumed 1L of water with a PH 1500 Tablet. but for optimal preloading, she should have mixed it in 500ml of water to maintain a relative sodium concentration of 1500mg/L, which would maximise fluid retention and increase blood plasma volume. On race day, Gro managed her fluid intake wisely, increasing consumption during the run as temperatures soared to ~28°C. The relative sodium concentration of her drinks was also higher than her sweat sodium concentration, indicating that she was certainly replacing her sodium losses through sweat and using the water retaining properties of sodium to her advantage.
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.
Gro consumed all of her caffeine during the run, and since caffeine takes around 45 minutes to peak in the bloodstream, she would have only experienced its ergogenic benefits toward the latter part of the race. By moving her caffeine intake earlier next time, she could reap the effects of the stimulant throughout more of the race.
How Gro hit her numbers
Here's everything that Gro ate and drank on the day...
Gro's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Gro'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).