Ellie Salthouse
IRONMAN 70.3® Boulder
Boulder1st, FPROEllie's headline numbers
Ellie's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"My stomach didn’t feel good at all during the race. I’m not sure if it was something in the water or whether I was still battling the stomach bug I had the week before, but I never felt hungry, just uncomfortable."
Ellie has been trialling a slightly higher carb intake during her key race-specific workouts after feeling quite hungry in some of her early-season 70.3® races. In Boulder, she planned to take a PF 30 Gel *in addition* to her usual PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final ~30 minutes pre-race. However, after a slightly more aggressive carb-load, she felt very full so decided to skip the additional gel. Ellie’s bike nutrition has been iterated over several months of trial-and-error, but both this time and during 70.3® St George, her stomach felt off and she struggled to take her gels. It may be helpful to increase the carb content of her BTA ‘fuel bottle’, by adding a couple of scoops of PF Carb Only Drink Mix instead of using additional gels, and see if this improves her stomach comfort when racing full gas.
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.
Ellie655mg/L
Ellie has been Sweat Tested to dial in her hydration plan
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 important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I wasn’t thirsty at all, but I made sure to drink plenty from the stations on the run as the temperatures were creeping up."
As someone with a relatively low sweat sodium concentration *and* sweat rate, Ellie doesn’t have to focus too hard on her hydration during ~4 hour races in moderate temperatures like in Boulder. However, because the race took place at ~1,650m (5,430ft) above sea level, Ellie consulted the Sports Science Team at PF&H about the different hydration requirements when racing at altitude. By increasing her day-to-day fluid intake slightly, and monitoring her sweat losses closely, Ellie crushed her preparation and arrived at the start line confident she knew what her body needed in these conditions. Her fluid and relative sodium intake were likely spot on *during* the race, and as she didn’t report any hydration-related problems, she can be confident in this part of her strategy.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Ellie increased her relative caffeine intake slightly compared to some of her previous races over this distance by drinking several cups of cola on the run. However, as described in most of her previous case studies, Ellie likely has a high tolerance for caffeine, and has never suffered any ill effects, so consuming a dose slightly above the scientific recommendations is an appropriate strategy for her.
How Ellie hit her numbers
Here's everything that Ellie ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I’m stoked to take the win for the third time here in Boulder, but the race wasn’t all plain sailing. The stomach issues on the bike were really confusing, so I’m going to look into making some changes to prevent them. I was eight minutes down off the bike so it was a nail biting finish to take the win in the end, but plenty to work on for next time.”
“To retain her title at Boulder 70.3®, Ellie closed an eight minute gap through her impressive run, even after struggling with a ‘dodgy stomach’ for most of the bike. Going forward, she plans to adjust her gel strategy slightly, which may involve changing the source of her fuel slightly to include more liquid carbs via PF Carb Only Drink Mix.”
PF&HEllie's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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.