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Emma Pallant-Browne's scorecard

IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca

Saturday 7th May, 2022

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

  • 88g

    Carb per hour
  • 663mg

    Sodium per hour
  • 481ml

    Fluid per hour
  • 1,377mg/L

    Relative sodium concentration
  • 0mg

    Total caffeine
  • How Emma hit those numbers

    finish
    star
    bottle
     
    950ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
    1 x White baguette
    1 x Egg with salt
     
     
    3 x PF 30 Chews
     
     
    *** Tip: For sea swims, put a bottle of water at T1 to rinse your mouth out
     
     
    1L x PH 1500 (Drink Mix) mixed with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
    6 x PF 30 Chews
    375ml x Plain water
     
     
    600ml x Plain water
    150ml x Energy drink
     

    How Emma's hydration and fueling went...

      • Following her victory at Challenge Riccione during the previous weekend, Emma made it back-to-back wins by taking first place at IM 70.3 Mallorca
      • Emma executed a similar fueling strategy to Challenge Riccione by taking on board a high carbohydrate intake on the bike but following this up with minimal fuel on the run. Whilst this won't be an optimal approach for all athletes, this strategy didn’t seem to limit Emma’s run performance as she came out of the bike leg in second place, before catching and passing Nicola Spirig at the beginning of the second loop of the three-lap run course

    Hydration

      • Emma knew that the temperature of this race was going to be hot (highs of ~26℃/43℉) so preloaded effectively the morning of the race by drinking just under one litre (32oz) of fluid mixed with PH 1500 (Drink Mix). This strategy helps ensure an athlete is starting well-hydrated
      • During the bike, Emma carried one 1L/32oz bottle mixed with PF 30 Drink Mix and two servings of PH 1500 (Drink Mix). Typically, Emma starts with two bottles on her bike, but opted for one as the early stages of the bike course involved a significant climb and she was being mindful of weight
      • As a result of carrying just one bottle, she drank markedly less during the bike leg (~1.37L/46oz in total, ~522ml/16oz per hour) than we’re used to seeing her consume (we've seen Emma drink in excess of 2L/64oz and between 700-850ml/hr (23-28oz/hr) in past events)
      • She did grab an additional three bottles of water from aid stations on the bike but estimated that she only drank ~375ml/12oz in total
      • Usually, Emma consumes a greater fluid intake as she has a very high sweat rate (>2.5L/h (85oz/h) in hot and humid conditions) and needs to drink a greater absolute volume of fluid in order to limit significant dehydration
      • On the run, Emma’s strategy was to pick up cups of plain water from the three aid stations on the three-loop course. After a lap-and-a half, Emma was getting increasingly hot, and walked a couple of aid stations to prioritise drinking two cups of water and a cup of the on-course energy drink
      • In total, she estimated that she drank a total of ~750ml (24oz) of fluid on the run, the equivalent of ~584ml (19oz) per hour. This is a greater average fluid intake than on the bike and upon reflection, Emma recognised that she was playing catch up and should have focused on drinking more whilst riding
      • Emma carried a concentrated mix of PH 1500 (Drink Mix) in her bottle on the bike and, taking into account her fluid intake across the whole race, the relative sodium concentration of what she consumed in Mallorca was still relatively high (~1,377mg/L). For future races, we would encourage Emma to continue using a high strength electrolyte tablet but be more mindful about having enough fluid alongside it to adequately meet her needs

    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 a white baguette and an egg, and topped this up with three packets of PF 30 Chews (totalling 90g of carbohydrate) in the last 15 minutes before the race. Whilst taking a carb dose in the last 30 minutes before competition is a tactic employed by lots of athletes to increase their carbohydrate availability in the early stages of competition, it must be noted that the general recommendation is to aim for ~30g of carb during this period and test this out before key training sessions
      • For a race of this intensity and duration, the Quick Carb Calculator recommends that Emma consumes between 60 and 90g of carb per hour. Emma increased her average carbohydrate intake across the race from ~71g/hr the weekend before to ~88g/hr at Mallorca (this includes her swim time)
      • She did this by increasing her total carbohydrate intake on the bike from ~210g of carb to ~291g, averaging an hourly intake of ~111g (versus ~94g/h at Riccione). This change was made by eating three more packets of PF 30 Chews and mixing her PF 30 Drink Mix slightly more concentrated (three servings in approximately 1L/32oz of water)
      • As is common for Emma, she took very little carbohydrate on board during the half-marathon, opting only to pick up cups of fluid from the on-course aid stations. She drank ~3 cups of the energy drink provided (approximately ~150ml/5oz in total) which equated to ~9g of carbohydrate in total
      • Frontloading their fueling on the bike is a strategy which we often see 70.3 athletes use. It works for Emma and her performance doesn’t appear to suffer as a result of running ‘carb light’ in the half-marathon. When asked about her energy levels during the race, Emma reported that she would rate them 7 out of 10, but put this mostly down to some residue fatigue from racing just six days prior

    Conclusions

      • Once again, Emma produced another brilliant race at IM 70.3 Mallorca to take the win. Emma’s fueling strategy consisted of frontloading her carb intake on the bike with a concentrated bottle of drink mix alongside some chews, executing a similar plan to the weekend before, and running ‘light’ on carbs for the run, relying solely on the carb drink at aid stations
      • Emma strategically carried less fluid at the beginning of the bike to save carrying excess weight up the early climb. This is a tactical move that will have paid dividends but with the temperatures rising towards the tail end of the race, Emma felt she needed fluids which led her to slow down at some aid stations on the run to take more fluid on board
      • Continuing into the season, we have encouraged Emma to be mindful of meeting her sodium and fluid needs, especially as temperatures begin to heat up

    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
    4:25:36
    Swim Time
    0:24:58
    Bike Time
    2:38:11
    Run Time
    1:17:18

    Event information

    Sport
    Triathlon
    Discipline
    Middle distance
    Event
    IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca
    Location
    Alcúdia-Mallorca, Spain
    Date
    7th 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
    Bike Elevation
    850m / 2,789ft

    Race conditions

    Weather Conditions
    Hot
    Precipitation
    No Rain
    Min Temp
    24°C / 75°F
    Max Temp
    26°C / 79°F
    Avg Temp
    25°C / 77°F
    Humidity
    35%

    Athlete feedback

    Race Satisfaction
    9/10
    Hydration rating
    7/10
    I think I should have drunk more on the bike
    Energy levels
    7/10
    Toilet stops
    Yes
    Once on the swim and again on the run
    GI comfort
    9/10
    Cramping
    No cramping

    Emma's full stats

     Carbohydrate (g)Sodium (mg)Fluid (ml)Caffeine (mg)Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
    Overall
    Total intake3902,9272,12501,377
    Per hour886634810
    Bike and Run
    Total intake3002,9272,12501,377
    Per hour777475430
    Bike
    Total intake2912,8501,37502,073
    Per hour1111,0825220
    Run
    Total intake9777500102
    Per hour7605840

    Data Confidence

    marker-icon

    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.

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