Camille King
IRONMAN® Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz1st, F45-49Camille's headline numbers
Camille'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 fell short of my carb goals because of stomach troubles. I need to improve on this for my next races."
Camile’s nutrition strategy on the bike included eight packs of PF 30 Chews, which helped her meet her carb goals. However, she experienced flavour fatigue in the later stages and opted for on-course energy bars instead, which may have contributed to the stomach discomfort and nausea she struggled with after the first 16km. She was unable to take in any more fuel and as a result, only averaged ~46g of carbs per hour during the run, falling short of both her race plan and the recommended intake of 90g/h. To minimise the risk of this happening again, Camile needs to ensure she tests her planned carb intake during training to condition her gut to handle it and have alternative fuel sources she has practised with available to mix up the flavours instead of opting for whatever is on course.
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.
Camille1494mg/L
Camille 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 Camille's losses are Very High (1,494mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it's hot and/or humid.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"My hydration plan worked well on the bike and I went into the run feeling good. I probably over consumed water which added to the stomach issues and headaches I was experiencing."
Camille's Sweat Test confirmed she's a very salty sweater, requiring careful management of her sodium levels. Although she preloaded with PH 1500, drinking two additional large glasses of plain water the night before and another one on race morning likely diluted her sodium concentration. Just before Camille’s stomach began causing her discomfort, she had been drinking 3-4 cups of water at every aid station, which is a large amount in a short time frame, especially if she hadn’t practised with this amount in training. This likely overloaded her stomach adding to the causes of her sickness and headaches. In future, Camille is going to practise running with a Soft Flask to spread out her intake more evenly, as well as complete a battery of sweat rate testing to establish how much fluid she actually needs to replenish her losses.
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
Camile chose not to consume caffeine before the race and only had a small amount (~44mg) during the whole race. This intake is significantly below the scientific recommendations of 3-6mg/kg. She should look to increase this in future to reap the ergogenic rewards of the stimulant, perhaps opting for a PF 30 Caffeine Gel instead of a regular PF 30 Gel every once in a while.
How Camille hit her numbers
Here's everything that Camille ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“It was unfortunate to experience such severe stomach issues, I learned a lot and will focus on testing and refining my nutrition and hydration plans ahead of Kona and other races.”
“Camille faced significant challenges during the race managing her fluid and fuel intake in the heat with stomach issues. Hopefully with some detailed sweat rate analysis, gut training and more consistent fluid intake, her next IRONMAN® will allow her to show the hard work she’s done in training.”
PF&HCamille'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 an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.