2nd
Fenella Langridge's scorecard
IRONMAN South Africa
Sunday 5th March, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
80g
Carb per hour
1,187mg
Sodium per hour
738ml
Fluid per hour
1,610mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
9.20mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Fenella hit those numbers
How Fenella's hydration and fueling went...
- With a shortened swim from 3800m to just 900m, then hitting a speed bump which ejected some of her nutrition off her bike, it’s fair to say Fenella’s race didn’t start as planned at all. Given these set-backs early on, Fenella did phenomenally well to stay composed and adapt both her race tactics and her fuel and hydration plan on-the-go
- The end result was her stamping her ticket to the 2023 IM World Championships in Hawaii with her second place at IM South Africa. It’s also noteworthy that she ran a really solid marathon off the back of this, clocking 3:06:05, which is nearly 10 minutes quicker than her last IM marathon at the World Champs in Kona in 2022
Hydration
- The weather on race day was typically blustery with storms expected, hence the shortened swim. With storms often comes periods of high humidity, which can cause hydration related issues as athletes’ sweat isn’t as effective at cooling them as in lower humidity
- Fenella had prepared for this, and began the race having preloaded her sodium levels with PH 1500, enhancing her blood plasma volume and ensuring she started optimally hydrated . Fenella also has quite salty sweat, losing 1,331mg of sodium in each litre (32oz), highlighting the importance of preloading and an appropriate plan when racing in the heat
- After just 5km of the bike ride, she hit a speed bump that ejected two high-carb bottles from her rear bottle cages. These contained ~650ml (20oz) plain water, with a PF 90 Gel squeezed into each, so she was 180g of carb and ~1.35L of water down on her plan before the race had really got going
- Fenella’s average fluid intake was ~660ml (19oz) per hour, which was slightly lower than initially planned. Whilst she did her best to pick up some sports drink (~710ml/23oz) from the aid stations, which replaced some of the calories and fluids she’d dropped, her total fluid intake was still below what she’d hoped to consume
- Despite the lower fluid intake, she still consumed her pre-planned 18 Electrolyte Capsules, which meant the relative sodium concentration of her drinks was slightly higher than planned at just under 1,600mg per litre (mg/32oz)
- In an ideal world, Fenella would have reduced her sodium intake, or increased the amount of fluid picked up from aid stations to keep the concentration of her drinks more in line with her sweat losses. But, she did pee twice during the ride, which suggests she didn’t experience the increased fluid retention and GI risks sometimes associated with too much sodium consumption relative to fluid
- On the run, Fenella drank two PF&H Soft Flasks filled with PH 1500 to get a solid electrolyte intake, and topped this up by swallowing nine Electrolyte Capsules, and grabbing cups of aid station sports drink
- During the run she averaged a similar fluid intake of ~677ml (23oz) per hour, but with a relative sodium concentration of ~1,800mg/L (mg/32oz). This very salty concentration on average would likely explain her feeling of thirst after the race
- Whilst her total electrolyte losses were likely higher than usual due to the high temperatures and humidity, Fenella might look to reduce this concentration in future races to be more reflective of her sweat sodium concentration, possibly by reducing the number of Electrolyte Capsules or picking up a few more cups of plain water
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Fenella carb-loaded as she normally does a couple of days before the race, and completed this energy storing technique with a large carb-rich breakfast. This included a bowl of rice with some honey, half a bagel and half a banana
- Then to boost her blood glucose levels and help increase her alertness she took a PF 30 Caffeine Gel, followed by the other half of her banana before the delayed swim start
- During the bike, having lost two of her primary fueling bottles with two Jumbo Gels in, she was then unsure exactly how much carb she was getting from the on-course sports drink, and chose to ease off her planned power output to avoid “bonking” later on in the race. This coincided with some fluctuating perception of her energy levels, which took a few hours to stabilise
- Fenella still had a couple of PF 90 Gels, PF 30 Caffeine Gels and a pack of PF 30 Chews to keep some energy going in, but whilst her pre-race plan was to hit ~105g of carb per hour on the bike, she only managed ~64g per hour after the spillage
- Thankfully, as Fenella hopped off the bike and began the attempt to “catch up” on her fueling, she actually felt her energy levels regain some consistency and found herself running strong and picking up her fuel plan again
- This plan consisted of six PF 30 Gels and two more Caffeine Gels, along with a few cups of on-course sports drink, and a small amount of Coca Cola towards the end to keep her energy levels high. This intake of ~95g per hour on the run brought her overall average to ~80g per hour across the race, which is super impressive considering the adversity she faced a few hours earlier
- Fenella has always used caffeine to help her performance, saying she “relies on the reduced perception of effort it provides'', especially towards the end of races when things start to get real! This race was no exception, as she took a total of ~515mg of caffeine across the 8 hours and 13 minutes, which, relative to her bodyweight, is around 9 milligrams per kg
- This is above the recommended dose for endurance performance of between 3-6mg/kg, but is a quantity we’ve seen Fenella take comfortably at previous races, as she clearly has a high tolerance for caffeine. The long duration of this race makes it even less surprising that she was slightly over the recommended dose
Conclusions
- In all, Fenella did well in an adverse situation to adapt her hydration and fuel plan on-the-fly, and still manage to maintain a high level of performance whilst doing so
- This second place booked her ticket to the big island of Hawaii for the 2023 IM World Champs, which was one of her primary aims of racing in South Africa, kudos Fenella!
Key info
Fenella Langridge
Female
56kg
Sweat sodium concentration
1,331mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Very High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
2nd
Overall Time
8:13:17
Swim Time
0:10:59
Bike Time
4:52:06
Run Time
3:06:05
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN South Africa
Location
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Date
5th March, 2023
Website
Swim Distance
0.9km / 0.6mi
Bike Distance
180.2km / 112.0mi
Run Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Distance
223.3km / 138.8mi
Bike Elevation
925m / 3,035ft
Run Elevation
180m / 591ft
Total Elevation
1,105m / 3,625ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot and Humid
Precipitation
Rain
Min Temp
21°C / 70°F
Max Temp
25°C / 77°F
Avg Temp
23°C / 73°F
Humidity
75%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
6/10
I felt I managed a bad situation well, especially as it heated up lots on the run
Energy levels
7/10
Bike levels were a bit up and down, but the run was much more consistent
Toilet stops
Yes
GI comfort
9/10
Cramping
No cramping
Fenella's Thoughts
I'm pleased to come away with a Kona slot, but I'm definitely left hungry for more after this one
Fenella's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 655 | 9,754 | 6,060 | 515 | 1,610 |
Per hour | 80 | 1,187 | 738 | 63 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 609 | 9,003 | 5,310 | 415 | 1,695 |
Per hour | 76 | 1,130 | 667 | 52 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 313 | 5,111 | 3,210 | 200 | 1,592 |
Per hour | 64 | 1,050 | 660 | 41 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 295 | 3,892 | 2,100 | 215 | 1,853 |
Per hour | 95 | 1,255 | 677 | 69 |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes, specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.