Carrie Lester's scorecard
IRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside
Saturday 30th October, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 70gCarb per hour
- 451mgSodium per hour
- 466mlFluid per hour
- 966mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 1.93mg/kgCaffeine per bodyweight
How Carrie hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
500ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
1.5 x Coffee
1 x Energy drink (48g carb)
Pre-race (<30mins)
1 x Energy gel (26g carb)
Race - Swim
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
Race - Bike
500ml x Plain water
1.15L x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
0.5 x Energy chew packet with electrolytes (48g carb, 200mg sodium)
5 x Energy gel (26g carb)
2 x Energy drink mix serving (22g carb)
2 x Caffeine tablet (50mg caffeine)
Race - Run
300ml x Plain water
2 x Energy gel (25g carb)
60ml x Energy drink (36g carb)
30ml x Cola
30ml x Red Bull
1 x Banana
- Carrie enjoyed her best ever finish at IM 70.3 Oceanside, despite not experiencing an ideal build-up to the race. She didn’t feel very well when she woke up on race morning and struggled to eat much for breakfast. With that in mind, full credit to Carrie for finishing 6th and hitting good sodium, carb and fluid numbers
Hydration
- Carrie preloaded before the race with 500ml/16oz PH1500 as per our recommendations, which will have ensured she was starting the race in a relatively well hydrated state
- On average, she consumed ~466ml/hr (~16oz/hr) which broke down into ~669ml/hr (~23oz/hr) on the bike and a lower ~295ml/hr (~10oz/hr) on the run. Considering the mild and overcast conditions, this was a solid intake. We don’t have data on Carrie’s sweat rate so it’s hard to determine whether this was replacing a large proportion of her losses, and she commented that she may have underdone her fluid intake due to not currently being happy with her hydration system on the bike (she rated her hydration strategy as 5 out of 10).
- Although her intake wasn’t too high and was on the lower side on the run this seems to be an adequate amount and she peed multiple times during the race which would suggest she didn’t under hydrate
- Carrie consumed ~451mg of sodium per hour over the race which alongside the fluid she drank equates to a relative sodium concentration of ~966mg/L.Considering the mild race conditions and her sweat sodium concentration of 716mg/L, she will have been effectively replacing a large proportion of her sweat losses
- She made a smart choice to take PH Electrolyte Capsules with her in case she felt she needed them but chose not to take them on this occasion. Considering the temperature wasn’t as warm as predicted, this was most likely an acceptable decision and she didn’t experience any cramping during the race
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- Carrie didn’t manage to consume a carb-rich breakfast in the 2 to 3 hours prior to the race as per recommendations because she didn’t feel well. Instead she consumed a cup and a half of coffee, 500ml/16oz of PH1500 and a 237ml/8oz bottle of energy drink mix in the final hour before toeing the line. In addition to this, she took a pre-race energy gel in the final 20 minutes which was a smart move given her energy stores (liver glycogen) may have been on the lower side as a result of consuming a lighter ‘breakfast’
- On average across the 4 and a half hour race, Carrie consumed ~70g carbohydrate per hour. This is well within the recommendations of the Quick Carb Calculator for a race of this duration and intensity. She hit this average by taking ~80g/h on the bike and a slightly lower, but still good intake, of ~61g/h on the run. This tapering in consumption isn’t uncommon to see in a 70.3 race and the drop-off in carb consumption between bike and run can often be more significant in some athletes than we’ve seen in Carrie’s number
- This high intake was tolerated pretty well by Carrie, who rated her gastrointestinal comfort at an 8, mentioning that it ‘only wasn’t great at the start of the run’
- Carrie hit her carb intake on the bike by predominantly drinking a carb-rich energy drink mix and subsidising this with five energy gels and a couple of energy chews. This consumption of a range of carb sources can help stave off flavour/texture fatigue and Carrie said she took the chews to “just mix it up”. On the run, Carrie again made use of some energy gels and two halves of a banana as well as sipping some on-course energy drink mix and coca cola
- Despite hitting a decent carb intake across the bike and run, Carrie reported suffering from low energy levels for the majority of the race (putting them at a 3 out of 10). She said she felt momentarily better after taking a caffeine tablet (100mg caffeine). This is likely to have spiked her perceived energy levels and given her an artificial boost (learn more)
Conclusions
- Carrie ended the season with a tough but solid performance despite not feeling well on race day. She used a solid hydration and fueling strategy which allowed her to hit good intake numbers and finish in a time of 4 hours 26 minutes
- Making sure to fuel adequately before the race with carb-rich food has been found to enhance endurance performance so trying to take in a high carbohydrate breakfast is definitely something to consider but Carrie did not feel too well in the morning of the race
Key info
Carrie Lester
Female58kg
Sweat sodium concentration716mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationLow
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position6th
Overall Time4:26:15
Swim Time0:26:44
Bike Time2:28:04
Run Time1:25:34
Event information
SportTriathlon
DisciplineMiddle distance
EventIRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside
LocationCalifornia, USA
Date30th October, 2021
Swim Distance1.9km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance90.1km / 56.0mi
Run Distance21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance113.1km / 70.3mi
Bike Elevation829m / 2,720ft
Run Elevation84m / 276ft
Total Elevation913m / 2,995ft
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp16°C / 61°F
Max Temp19°C / 66°F
Avg Temp19°C / 66°F
Humidity80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction6/10
Hydration rating5/10
Energy levels3/10Felt momentarily better following a caffeine tablet
Toilet stopsYesOnce on the bike and twice on the run
GI comfort8/10Wasn't great at the start of the run
CrampingNo cramping
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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.