Emma Pallant-Browne
IRONMAN 70.3® Chattanooga
Chattanooga1st, FPROEmma's headline numbers
Emma's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I had no GI issues at all. My energy levels were okay, but my legs felt a bit heavy. I never felt faint or hungry though, and this was the same after the race."
Emma backed up her win at 70.3® Mallorca with another podium-topping performance across the pond in Chattanooga, with an improved fuel plan to assist her. By adding ~80g of carbs through PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix to each of her two bottles on the bike, she bumped her fuel intake on the bike from ~38g/h in Mallorca to ~70g/h at this race. Whilst not a *high* intake relative to some other athletes, this is a real improvement for Emma, and her perception of fatigue and effort was much lower than in Mallorca as a result. Going forwards, Emma should look to continue this upward trend, and include a couple of Gels on the run to ensure she doesn’t fully empty the tank in the final kilometers. This will enable her to continue pushing hard to the end, especially in high-calibre races like the 70.3® World Championships later in the year.
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.
Emma716mg/L
Emma 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 Emma'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 moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I needed to pee coming off the bike, so I think I got my fluid intake pretty good."
Emma has previously struggled when racing in humid conditions, so she tried to top up her sodium levels pre-race with some PH 1000 and PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix to begin on the front foot. With a tiny tweak, she could optimise this process by increasing the relative sodium concentration of these fluids to ~1,500 milligrams per litre (mg/32oz), which is what we recommend to athletes to start hydrated. This will help her body retain some more fluid and sodium into her blood. During the bike, Emma over-concentrated the PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix in her bottles to a strength much higher than her sweat sodium concentration. This will have limited her sodium losses and prepared her for the run, where her electrolyte intake dropped as she relied on low-strength isotonic drinks from the aid stations.
How Emma hit her numbers
Here's everything that Emma ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was meant to run out from T2 with a gel, but I didn’t grab it for some reason, so I will try to remember this next time.”
“Emma continued her winning streak with another victory on the IRONMAN® Pro Series, and with an improved set of fueling and hydration numbers compared to Mallorca seven days previously. To continue this trend, especially at championship level races, Emma should look to continue improving her carb intake, and reaping the associated benefits of higher energy availability and reduced muscle breakdown. It seems a higher sodium intake during the bike works well for her during races in high humidity, as it helps maintain her plasma volume and avoid drops in blood pressure caused by her high sweat rate. It’s great to see Emma really break through this barrier and execute a solid race in these tough conditions.”
PF&HEmma'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.