Ellie Salthouse
IRONMAN 70.3® St George
Ellie's headline numbers
Ellie'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.
Ellie’s fuel plan was very similar to each of her previous 70.3s, where she fills the bottle between her arms on the bike with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, a PF 30 Gel and a PF 30 Caffeine Gel. This allows her to tackle her carb and caffeine requirements, whilst topping up her electrolytes simultaneously. By keeping three extra gels separate from her ‘fuel bottle’, she was able to control when she got the perceived boost, and with hindsight perhaps taking an additional carb hit in the latter stages could have helped prepare her for the tough uphill run out of T2. This additional gel would also have elevated her average intake closer to the scientifically recommended amount for a race of this duration and intensity.
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.
Whilst Ellie’s losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still crucial when it’s hot and/or humid as her higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreAhead of future races like this, Ellie may benefit from increasing the relative sodium concentration of her pre-race drink from ~1,000mg/L to ~1,500mg/L. This will drive a host of physiological responses that will ensure she starts optimally hydrated. As someone with a low sweat sodium concentration, and a modest sweat rate, Ellie doesn’t have to place high priority on her fluid and electrolyte replacement during mild temperature races. That being said, by taking a slightly higher concentration of sodium during the bike here in St George, and diluting it throughout the run with cups of plain water and on course isotonic drink, Ellie’s average intake replaced a good proportion of her sweat losses. With positive subjective feedback, and no dehydration related symptoms, Ellie can be confident she regulated her hydration status well, and peeing on the run confirmed this.
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.
Ellie replicated her caffeine strategy from previous races, and tipped over the top end of the general recommended intake of 3-6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This didn’t affect Ellie negatively, as she has a high tolerance to the stimulant from her daily coffee consumption and adequate practice during training sessions. Because of this, and her positive subjective feedback, we wouldn’t recommend changing this part of her strategy.
How Ellie hit her numbers
Here's everything that Ellie ate and drank on the day...
Ellie's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Ellie
PF&HEllie's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).