Lucie Hanes
Silver Rush 50 Run
Leadville5th, FPROLucie's headline numbers
Lucie'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 was pretty low all day, especially in the second half. The Caffeine Gels helped and I felt them when they kicked it, but I still didn’t have the flow of energy that I know exists and that I’ve had before in races."
Lucie had a tough day in Colorado experiencing high levels of fatigue, consistent nausea and GI distress. During the training leading into this event, she spent some sessions at a higher elevation, getting up to ~3810 metres (~12500 feet), but the altitude-related discomfort persisted and she never quite felt acclimatised. So, her race day difficulties seemed to be mostly altitude related, on top of lingering fatigue from being sick the weekend prior. Despite this, she still had a couple of ‘wins’ in her strategy, as she was able to slightly increase her carbohydrate compared to previous races by using PH 1500 Drink Mix rather than tablets and consuming PF 30 Gels even when her appetite was non-existent. This is a step in the right direction for Lucie as she’s been working diligently to find ways to increase her carb intake and still has room for improvement to reach the recommended range. If she undertakes more races at altitude in the future, she would benefit from an extended acclimatisation period, since she performed better in these conditions when she lived around ~2130 metres (~7000 feet) and was pre-acclimatised, running at ~2500-3050 metres (~8000-10000 feet) for most sessions. Continued monitoring and support for her iron levels may also be helpful, as iron is an especially important micronutrient at altitude.
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.
Lucie1801mg/L
Lucie 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 Lucie's losses are Very High (1,801mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy remains important, even when it's Mild.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I had a cramp in my leg so I had to stop and walk several times. I tried to drink as much as I could, but I probably should have done more. I felt really heavy in my stomach and didn’t want to add any fluid in, and while I made sure to keep pumping the fuel, I needed to remind myself to keep up with the hydration, too."
Although Lucie tends to have a low sweat rate, her hydration needs would have been higher at altitude due to increased ‘insensible’ fluid losses through the skin, breathing and urination. Considering her super *salty* sweat and the cramp she experienced, it’s very likely that Lucie experienced some level of dehydration, particularly as she struggled more in the second half of the race. Lucie balanced her relative sodium intake to match her sweat losses, but her fluid intake was on the low end of the ‘acceptable’ recommendations. She tends to struggle to drink while on the move, and the GI distress made this even more difficult than normal. Going forward, Lucie could incorporate more targeted gut training for both carb and fluid in her training sessions at close to race intensities and environmental conditions.
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
Lucie’s small frame means it doesn’t take much caffeine to reach the recommended range based on body weight, but as a regular coffee drinker, her tolerance is fairly high. Incorporating three PF 30 Caffeine Gels, one before and two during the race, helped to mask some of the accumulating fatigue. She mentioned that she definitely felt a boost when she took each dose, but considering the overall levels of fatigue she was feeling, it wasn’t enough to keep steady energy throughout.
How Lucie hit her numbers
Here's everything that Lucie ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was able to grind it out for fifth place, and given the conditions of the day and how I felt, I was proud of that. But I was hoping for a little bit more, so it was a learning experience.”
“Lucie fought through some rough physical symptoms caused by altitude and a recent mild illness with grit that paid off in a top five finish. Her nutrition strategy was well-practised in training but the curveball of altitude impacted her physiology more than she expected. Even for races at a lower elevation, she can continue to incrementally increase her carb and fluid intake to support her energy levels and boost performance.”
PF&HLucie'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).