Chelsea Creak
Golden Trail Series Grand Final
Il Golfo Dell'isolaTop 50Chelsea's headline numbers
Chelsea's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"My energy levels felt great throughout and I felt my fueling helped me finish strongly. It’s the first race where I’ve felt like I got this right."
After struggling with gastrointestinal-related issues in previous races, Chelsea refined both her in-race strategy and her pre-race intake to improve her gut tolerance and limit the chances of any GI problems occuring on race day. She achieved this by limiting her fibre intake pre race. The later race start time of 10:00 also gave Chelsea longer than usual to digest her breakfast, naturally favouring her pre-race meal timing. During the race, Chelsea opted for one PF 30 Gel every 30 minutes helping her maintain a consistent intake throughout 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.
Chelsea1126mg/L
Chelsea 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 Chelsea's losses are High (1,126mg/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 felt my hydration went really well but there is always room for some improvement. I normally consume more PH 1000 in a race, but not having access to any crew made this difficult and is something to consider for next time."
Due to limited crew access and the relentless pace of the field, Chelsea opted for just plain water at the aid stations rather than spending time emptying her PH 1000 (Drink Mixes) into her soft flasks in order to stay with the main pack. As a result, this resulted in a lower than normal relative sodium concentration (286mg/L) for Chelsea. In similar fast paced trail races going forwards, using a more fitting way to meet her sodium needs, such as Electrolyte Capsules, would be worth consideration. Two days before the main race, Chelsea had a shorter 8.6km prologue race as part of the finals. As part of her recovery routine, she focused on replenishing ~150% of her fluid losses in the prologue using PH 1500 to ensure her recovery speed was not impairedhydration%20for%20recovery,-During%20intense%20and).
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.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Chelsea chose not to include caffeine in her nutrition plan after having experienced stomach issues in the past. The risk vs reward was not in favour of caffeine inclusion due to the relatively short nature of the event for Chelsea. The decision on whether to use caffeine or not should be based on an individual’s tolerance, habitual use of the stimulant and personal preference.
How Chelsea hit her numbers
Here's everything that Chelsea ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“It was inspiring and humbling to be surrounded by so many incredible athletes. There’s still a lot of room for improvement in my racing, but I’m more motivated than ever to build on this season. For the first time ever, I felt like I really nailed my race hydration and fueling and this was reflected in my ability to get stronger as the race went on.”
Chelsea“After missing out on competing in the finals the previous year due to an injury, it was great to see Chelsea put together a solid performance in a world class field without experiencing any of her common stomach issues. She should take many positives away from the race along with a lot of confidence as she looks ahead to next season. Chelsea is going to analyse her pre-race logistics more closely with the PF&H Sports Science Team to ensure she pulls all three levers of endurance performance correctly - i.e. carbohydrate, sodium and fluid - regardless of the race set up.”
PF&HChelsea'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).