Hayley Simmonds
The Traka 200km
GironaTop 50, FPROHayley's headline numbers
Hayley's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I never felt great but my energy levels did pick up and I made up a lot of ground in the last two thirds of the race. Honestly, I don’t think that would’ve happened if I hadn’t been consistent with eating and drinking."
Between the stormy weather and a course recce that took longer than planned in the week leading up to The Traka, Hayley’s race started out in pretty rough conditions. Hayley noted her energy levels were in the negatives for the first ~50k, which she attributed to the cumulative training load from the weeks prior and lack of sleep. However, she set fueling alerts every half hour on her watch for this race, which proved invaluable, as she stuck to her plan and hit her highest carb intake numbers yet. She credits the frequent, consistent fueling for getting her energy levels back up and enabling her to overtake many of the riders who’d passed her by in the early portion. We’d recommend Hayley continue to work on increasing her overall carb intake to closer meet the recommendations and further top up her energy availability.
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.
Hayley1157mg/L
Hayley has been Sweat Tested to dial in her hydration plan
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 (1,157mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it's hot and/or humid.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I was really fastidious with both eating and drinking and with every fueling alert I’d try to have something from my bottles."
Staying on top of her fluid intake was another reason Hayley was able to refocus and finish strong. Every time an alert went off, she made sure to have some fluid, most of which came from Carb Only Drink Mix. While she had one of her bottles dedicated to electrolytes with PH 1000, most of her fluid didn’t include sodium, leading her to a far lower than ideal relative sodium concentration. Thankfully, the temperature wasn’t too warm on this day, so her sweat losses didn’t mount up enough to cause any major dehydration-related issues like cramping. However, it’d be beneficial to include Electrolyte Capsules or additional PH 1000 to her plan to more closely match her losses and prevent potential issues, particularly in hotter races, in the future.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Hayley’s caffeine intake exceeded the scientific recommendations, but because she tolerates the stimulant very well and didn’t experience any adverse effects, we wouldn’t change this part of her strategy. She strategically consumed one PF 30 Caffeine Gel before the start, and then two back-to-back PF 30 Caffeine Gels around the middle of the race for a larger dose to make a more notable impact on her energy levels.
How Hayley hit her numbers
Here's everything that Hayley ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I feel as though I coped with a bad situation really well, and I don’t think I would’ve gotten through the race if we hadn't set up the fueling and hydration strategy the way we did.”
Hayley“Hayley demonstrated the value of having and sticking to a fuel and hydration plan, as it helped pull her out of the energy hole she started in. She turned a tough race into her best fueling numbers yet, making up lost ground thanks to a consistent flow of carbohydrates. Going forward, Hayley will benefit from focusing on increasing her sodium intake relative to her fluid routine so that it is more in line with her sweat losses, especially as the season starts including more warmer races.”
PF&HHayley's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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).