Fenella Langridge
Challenge Salou
Salou1st, FPROFenella's headline numbers
Fenella's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"Sipping on the PF 90 Gel throughout worked really well and I never felt a dip in energy. "
Fenella consumed a consistent amount of fuel across the bike and the run; this is the highest carb intake we’ve seen her achieve on the run leg yet. Middle-distance triathletes generally reduce carbohydrate consumption on the run compared to the bike, mainly because the mechanics of running mean it’s typically more difficult to consume as much as on the bike. So, it was great to see Fenella reap the benefits of practising her fueling strategy during training runs - what we call gut training - to maintain a consistent carb intake on the bike and run. Fenella managed to push towards 90g/h on the run while experiencing no GI distress and this bodes extremely well for her longer distance IRONMAN® races, where high carbohydrate availability on the marathon will be necessary for optimal performance.
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.
Fenella1331mg/L
Fenella 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.
Given Fenella's losses are High (1,331mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy remains important, even when it's Cold.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"If I could change anything then it would have been to finish my second bottle on the bike. "
Fenella's hydration strategy included drinking two 750ml bottles on the bike, each containing water along with a PF 90 Gel, and a PH 1500 tablet. Overall, she consumed less fluid and sodium than in previous, warmer races (Challenge Roth and IRONMAN® Mallorca) - the cooler conditions in Salou meant that she could reduce her fluid intake as her sweat rate would’ve been lower.
How Fenella hit her numbers
Here's everything that Fenella ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was unsure about how this race was going to go coming into it - I was ecstatic to take the win here ahead of a tough field. ”
“Fenella did a great job of meeting her carb, sodium and fluid needs in tricky conditions to win her season opener in Salou. She successfully maintained a high and consistent carbohydrate intake across both the bike and run, achieving her highest run-leg intake yet (approaching 90g/h) without GI distress, which is promising for her long-distance IRONMAN® races, while her hydration strategy adapted to the cooler conditions in Salou with reduced fluid and sodium intake. ”
PF&HFenella'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.