1st

Danielle Lewis' scorecard

IM 70.3® Oregon

Sunday 23rd July, 2023

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

86g

Carb per hour

471mg

Sodium per hour

710ml

Fluid per hour

663mg/L

Relative sodium concentration

215mg

Total caffeine

How Danielle hit those numbers

How Danielle's hydration and fueling went...

After claiming victory at IM 70.3 Oregon in 2022, Danielle successfully defended her title by winning the race by 7 minutes and 46 secondsin 2023
She largely treated this race as a ‘tune up’ for the PTO US Open, IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships and the full distance World Championships in Kona, which she would race later in 2023
it proved to be an invaluable exercise as there are a few parts of her strategy which she might tune up (particularly her pre-race restaurant choice!) after enduring some discomfort during the run…

Hydration

With the race due to be ~ 3ºC (6ºF) hotter than the previous year, seeing temperatures of ~23ºC (73ºF), Danielle knew the importance of arriving at the race optimally hydrated, and so preloaded with PH 1500 (Tablets) both the day before and morning of the race
Her combined bike and run fluid intake resulted in an average intake of ~710ml (23oz) per hour, which given Danielle’s moderate sweat rate, would likely have replaced a good proportion of the fluid she was losing as sweat throughout the race
Overall, her drinks had a relative sodium concentration of ~663 milligrams per litre (mg/32oz), which is lower than her own sweat sodium concentration of 1,310 mg/L (mg/32oz). In the 2022 race, Danielle drank an additional 500ml (16oz) of PH 1500 when cycling, to ‘frontload’ her run intake somewhat
This frontloading technique can be helpful as an athlete if you struggle to take enough electrolytes for any reason while running. For example, Danielle doesn’t personally get on with swallowing Electrolyte Capsules which are a popular tool on the run course for many athletes
During hotter, or more prolonged races, Danielle would run the risk of becoming electrolyte depleted if she extended this race strategy. Happily, in these specific conditions Danielle could report no cramping and a 10 (out of 10) rating for her perception of the hydration strategy

Fueling

Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

30g

carb 30 mins before

60-90g

carb per hour during

One of the keys to fueling a long race like a 70.3 triathlon is making sure you arrive at the start line with full energy stores. The way to do this is by ‘carb loading’, heavily increasing the proportion of carbohydrates in the diet in the 48 hours before the race, while reducing things like fats and proteins by the same proportion so that you don’t overeat
With this in mind, Danielle said she and her husband spent a few hours finding what they thought was a suitable venue for dinner the night before the race, and settled on a ‘hole in the wall’ Italian restaurant where she ate some ‘Kitchen Nightmares’’-esque pesto pasta and pizza. (Gordon Ramsay would have been proud…)
Danielle attributes the stomach discomfort she experienced on the run the following day to this pre-race dinner. And it resulted in an inability to tolerate any additional carb and fluid, meaning she only drank half of her Soft Flask which contained both fuel in the form of a PF 90 Gel, and some electrolytes
Overall, Danielle’s carb intake was still strong, averaging ~86g per hour across the entire race and nearly matching the Fuel & Hydration Planner’s 90g per hour recommendation
Partially due to the onset of her stomach discomfort, we observed a significant drop in Danielle’s hourly carb intake from bike (~112g/h) to run (~46g/h) during this race. We typically see a drop of ~39% in 70.3 distance races, where athletes can ‘front load’ their energy intake on the bike to some extent, while full distance races, where there’s a longer run to fuel, would only typically drop by ~24%
Danielle’s intake dropped by 59% and may have been one of the reasons she felt she “would have struggled if the run intensity had to be much higher”

Conclusions

Danielle was incredibly pleased with her performance, claiming top spot on the podium for the second consecutive year
While some unfortunate food the night before the race potentially made it more challenging than necessary on race day, Danielle still averaged over 100g of carb per hour on the bike, and ~86g per hour overall
Danielle also felt that she arrived at the race as hydrated as possible, and replaced a good enough proportion of her losses to mitigate against any dehydration related performance decline

Key info

Danielle Lewis

Female

Sweat sodium concentration

1,310mg/L

Sweat sodium classification

High

* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test

Result

Position

1st

Overall Time

3:59:40

Swim Time

0:19:30

Bike Time

2:14:20

Run Time

1:21:19

Event information

Sport

Triathlon

Discipline

Middle distance

Event

IM 70.3® Oregon

Location

Salem, USA

Date

23rd July, 2023

Website

Show me

Swim Distance

1.9km / 1.2mi

Bike Distance

90.1km / 56.0mi

Run Distance

21.1km / 13.1mi

Total Distance

113.1km / 70.3mi

Race conditions

Weather Conditions

Hot

Precipitation

No Rain

Min Temp

16°C / 61°F

Max Temp

22°C / 72°F

Avg Temp

18°C / 64°F

Humidity

58%

Athlete feedback

Race Satisfaction

10/10

Hydration rating

10/10

I felt really well hydrated.

Energy levels

9/10

I had enough energy for what was required on this day. If the run was more challenging I might have struggled.

Toilet stops

I felt like I could have gone when I jumped off the bike.

GI comfort

6/10

I struggled to eat or drink on the run. I think it might have been to do with dinner the night before..

Cramping

No cramping

Danielle's Thoughts

Race satisfaction can't be anything less than a 10 for a win!

Danielle's full stats

	Carbohydrate (g)	Sodium (mg)	Fluid (ml)	Caffeine (mg)	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
Overall
Total intake	342	1,875	2,830	215	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)	663
Per hour	86	471	710	54		663
Bike and Run
Total intake	312	1,875	2,830	115	663
Per hour	87	523	790	32	663
Bike
Total intake	250	1,500	2,100	100	714
Per hour	112	672	940	45	714
Run
Total intake	62	375	730	15	514
Per hour	46	278	541	11	514

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.

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