1st
Emma Pallant-Browne's scorecard
Challenge Riccione
Sunday 1st May, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
71g
Carb per hour
880mg
Sodium per hour
737ml
Fluid per hour
1,193mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
0mg
Total caffeine
How Emma hit those numbers
How Emma's hydration and fueling went...
- Emma suffered a DNF (did not finish) at her previous race in brutally hot conditions at Clash Miami, where she endured some issues with heat management. Emma was understandably keen to avoid any repeats at Challenge Riccione and sat down with the Precision Fuel & Hydration Sports Science team to refine her hydration strategy ahead of Challenge Riccione
- Emma followed our recommendation to increase the relative sodium concentration of her intake and executed a near-perfect hydration strategy during a dominant performance that saw her win by more than 8 minutes in Italy
Hydration
- Emma preloaded effectively prior to this race by drinking PH 1500, a strategy that helped ensure she started in a well hydrated state. In the past, Emma has consumed too much plain water in advance of races, particularly when conditions are expected to be hot, so she's keen to make sure she's consuming fluids with a higher electrolyte content going into races
- During the bike, Emma carried one 1.5L/51oz hydration system and one 750ml/24oz bottle both containing PF 30 Drink Mix and PH 1500 Drink Mix. She finished her 1.5L/51oz 'batwing' bladder and drank approximately two thirds of the 750ml/24oz bottle before dropping it on the third lap
- In addition to this, she grabbed three bottles of plain water from the aid stations and drank “a few big gulps” from each before discarding them (approximately 360ml/12oz of fluid in total)
- On the run, Emma picked up ~12 cups of plain water and ~6 cups of the energy drink mix from six on-course aid stations
- On average, Emma drank ~737ml/24oz per hour across the race, drinking a greater volume of ~1.05L/h (32oz/h) on the bike and a lesser volume of ~444ml/h (15oz/h) on the run. Temperatures in the race were moderate (~15℃/59℉) and Emma’s fluid intake was in line with the volumes we usually see her drink (>1L/32oz per hour on the bike and ~300-400ml/10-13oz per hour on the run)
- Emma has focused on introducing more sodium to her strategy for longer training sessions and races as this will help counter her sweat sodium losses, which are in large part caused by her very high sweat rate (Emma can lose ~2.5L/h (85oz/hr) in very hot climates). Whilst Emma has a low sweat sodium concentration (716mg/L), her total sweat losses can be significant as a result of her sweat rate and incidences of severe dehydration coupled with sodium depletion (a condition called hypovolemic hyponatremia) in hot/humid climates has been an ongoing challenge for her to manage
- Emma did a great job of increasing her sodium intake in this race. On average, the relative sodium concentration (a measure of the sodium-fluid ratio) of her intake was the highest we’ve seen her consume (~1193mg/L). Understandably, this was greatest on the bike (~1412mg/L) when she was drinking fluids mostly containing PH 1500
- When asked how Emma felt about her hydration strategy during the race she commented that she felt she “got it right”
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Prior to the race, Emma ate a breakfast of toast with jam, an energy bar and topped this up with two packets of PF 30 Chews in the last 30 minutes before the race started. This is an intake rich in carbohydrates which will have ensured that Emma was starting well fueled
- The Quick Carb Calculator recommended that Emma should aim to consume between 60 and 90g of carb per hour. Impressively, Emma hit an average of ~71g/hr across the race, which is similar to what she consumed in at IM 70.3 Oceanside last season
- Emma typically consumes more carbohydrate on the bike than the run, but in this race she took this approach to the extreme by consuming ~94g of carb per hour on the bike and a much lower ~9g/hr on the run. This tapering in consumption isn't uncommon in 70.3 races, although we'd recommend Emma tries to take on more carb during the half marathon in future
- That said, Emma’s frontloading on the bike will have stood her in good stead for the run and she ran a fantastic half marathon, clocking one of her fastest times (1:13:56)
- To meet her fueling needs on the bike, Emma used three servings of the PF 30 Drink Mix as well as three packets of PF 30 Chews. Despite this high carb intake, Emma didn’t report having any significant gastrointestinal issues, rating her gut comfort during the race an 8
- On the run, Emma relied on the on-course energy/electrolyte drink mix for her fuel. In previous races, Emma has carried 1-2 PF 30 Gels on the run and as the season progresses this is something we would encourage her to reintroduce
Conclusions
- All in all, Emma enjoyed a fantastic race at Challenge Riccione, executing a robust hydration plan by incorporating more sodium into her pre-mixed bottles on the bike and preloading effectively
- There was a drastic difference between the amount of carbohydrate Emma took on the bike versus the run which was an acceptable strategy to implement on this occasion as Emma took a quantity on the bike which afforded her to be more lenient on the run. We've advised Emma to consider carrying a gel or two with her on the run in future to help increase her carb intake and make sure her energy levels remain high
Key info
Emma Pallant-Browne
Female
Sweat sodium concentration
716mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
3:56:50
Swim Time
0:26:57
Bike Time
2:14:06
Run Time
1:13:56
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
Challenge Riccione
Location
Riccione, Italy
Date
1st May, 2022
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
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
15°C / 59°F
Max Temp
16°C / 61°F
Avg Temp
15°C / 59°F
Humidity
54%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Energy levels
8/10
Toilet stops
Yes
Twice, on the swim and the bike
GI comfort
8/10
Cramping
No cramping
Emma's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 280 | 3,460 | 2,900 | 0 | 1,193 |
Per hour | 71 | 880 | 737 | 0 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 220 | 3,460 | 2,900 | 0 | 1,193 |
Per hour | 64 | 1,003 | 841 | 0 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 210 | 3,333 | 2,360 | 0 | 1,412 |
Per hour | 94 | 1,492 | 1,057 | 0 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 10 | 128 | 540 | 0 | 237 |
Per hour | 9 | 105 | 444 | 0 |
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.