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
1 x Serving of pancakes
1 x Cup of Coffee
750ml x Water
500ml x Electrolyte drink (300mg sodium)
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
*** Tip: For sea swims, put a bottle of water at T1 to rinse your mouth out
600ml x 'Super Bottle' with two PH 1500's and 190g carb
1 x PF 30 Energy Gel
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
1.5L x Plain water
250ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
0.5 x PF 90 Energy Gel
330ml x Plain water
150ml x Coca Cola Original
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
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
No
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 | 663 |
| Per hour | 86 | 471 | 710 | 54 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 312 | 1,875 | 2,830 | 115 | 663 |
| Per hour | 87 | 523 | 790 | 32 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 250 | 1,500 | 2,100 | 100 | 714 |
| Per hour | 112 | 672 | 940 | 45 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 62 | 375 | 730 | 15 | 514 |
| Per hour | 46 | 278 | 541 | 11 | |
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.