Danielle Lewis
IRONMAN® Texas
Danielle's headline numbers
Danielle's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Danielle started the day with a moderately upset stomach, which she attributes to pre-race nerves. After taking a few antacids in the hopes of calming her system down, she was able to consume her normal PF 30 Caffeine Gel before the swim and then move forward with her fueling plan on the bike. Though her average carb intake over the race was ~97g/h (not far off from her previous race), her bike intake was ~117g/h, which is more than she’s used to. This higher intake came from the additional bottle of energy drink she grabbed on-course, and the GI issues she experienced on the run may have been partially due to this, suggesting sticking to usual fluid sources would be better in the future. Severe nausea set in and unfortunately Danielle began vomiting around mile 21 of the run. As a result, her intake pretty much dropped to zero for the remaining five or so miles to the finish line, and she noted she felt like she was running on fumes at that point.
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.
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 Danielle’s losses are High (1,310mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreDanielle’s fluid intake was definitely on the higher end for this race, but considering the temperature and overall duration, her craving for fluids was understandable. However, she doesn’t typically consume anywhere near this amount of fluid during training, which could have overloaded her gut and be partly to blame for why it wouldn’t stay down. Notably, her relative sodium concentration was slightly below her target on the bike, and significantly below on the run. Since sodium plays an important role in carbohydrate absorption, this may have decreased her capacity to tolerate the high amount of fuel she was also consuming. The antacids she took prior to the race may also have impacted this. Going forward, Danielle could carry some emergency Electrolyte Capsules for the run and bike in the event she picks up more fluid than planned, ensuring she doesn’t fall too far below her sweat sodium concentration.
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.
For this race, Danielle implemented a more strategic caffeine plan to reap the ergogenic benefits of the stimulant. She took her usual PF 30 Caffeine Gel shortly before finishing the bike but added an additional serving within the first couple miles of the run. This higher dose gave her a solid energy boost while still staying on track with her carb intake. Overall, her intake still fell within the recommended range and since she didn’t feel jittery from the dose, we wouldn’t recommend changing anything with this part of her strategy.
How Danielle hit her numbers
Here's everything that Danielle ate and drank on the day...
Danielle's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Danielle
PF&HDanielle's full stats
Data Confidence?
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.