Valley of the Sun Stage 2

Emily mentioned that she loves her breakfast, and her big bowl of oats on the morning of the stage will have helped bolster her glycogen stores. She followed a simple strategy during the race, aiming to consume three 600ml bottles which each contained 80 grams of maltodextrin. By sticking to this plan, she comfortably met the carbohydrate recommendations, effectively fueling this stage and aiding her recovery ahead of the next one.

Emily’s hydration also came from the same fuel-focused bottles of energy drink mix, to which she added some salt. While not optimal for taste, salt is 39% sodium so she would still have been replenishing a decent amount of her electrolyte losses. A strategy like this keeps things simple as everything she needs is in one bottle, but it makes it harder to quantify and match her losses compared to using electrolyte tablets. Emily might want to consider decoupling her fuel and hydration strategy in the future, as this provides greater flexibility. This could be especially beneficial in hot conditions as it would allow her to adjust her carb, sodium and fluid intake independently, depending on conditions and demands of the day.