15th

Fenella Langridge's scorecard

PTO European Open

Saturday 6th May, 2023

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

99g

Carb per hour

548mg

Sodium per hour

686ml

Fluid per hour

798mg/L

Relative sodium concentration

5.66mg/kg

Caffeine per bodyweight

How Fenella hit those numbers

How Fenella's hydration and fueling went...

Fenella began her 2023 campaign against arguably one of the deepest fields of professional triathletes there has ever been at the PTO European Open on the island of Ibiza, Spain
She didn’t have the day she’d anticipated after a strong swim, as Fenella suffered with dwindling energy levels towards the end of the bike, and her run was below the standard she was expecting
Her fuel and hydration strategy was fairly solid on the surface, with a few minor timing considerations to iron out for future races which are this intense

Hydration

With temperatures expected to be fairly warm by UK athletes’ standards (~21℃ / 70℉), Fenella decided to preload like she normally does with some PH 1500 with her dinner beforehand, and another ~750ml (24oz) of PH 1500 with her breakfast on race day
However, she also drank ~500ml (16oz) of plain water, which will have diluted the relative sodium concentration somewhat, limiting the effectiveness of the sodium preload. In future, she should limit the amount of plain water consumed before a race, as her body may not be able to retain it, and it could just be peed out later on
During the race, Fenella’s hydration involved two 750ml (24oz) bottles which had ~650ml (21oz) of water in, with the rest of the space taken up by gels. She also took five Electrolyte Capsules throughout the 80km bike discipline, giving her a relative sodium concentration of ~962 milligrams of sodium per litre (32oz) of water
Fenella is a salty sweater with a sweat sodium concentration of 1,331mg/L (mg/32oz). She usually front-loads her sodium intake on the bike (~1,592mg/L at IRONMAN South Africa and ~1,743mg/L at both the IRONMAN World Champs in Utah and the Challenge Championships). This time her bike intake was much lower (~962mg/L), and as sodium depletion is known to cause muscle cramps, it could potentially help explain the cramps in her quadriceps at the start of the run
During the run, Fenella’s sodium intake relative to her fluid consumption was lower again, at ~639mg/L (mg/32oz). This was likely caused by her high fluid consumption (~1.06L / 32oz per hour) as the temperatures rose. In future, when she decides to drink more she should aim to increase her sodium intake as well in order to maintain a higher relative concentration

Fueling

Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

30g

carb 30 mins before

60-90g

carb per hour during

Fenella prepared for this race well with a high-carb breakfast, topped off with a PF 30 Gel, and ~15 minutes before the swim start she took an additional PF 30 Caffeine Gel to peak her alertness and blood glucose levels
During the bike Fenella had two 750ml (24oz) bottles loaded with a PF 90 Gel in each, a PF 30 Gel in one, and a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the other, giving her two bottles with ~120g of carbs in each
She finished both of these, and took an additional Caffeine Gel to bring her average carb intake on the bike to ~128g per hour. This is the highest amount of carb we’ve ever seen Fenella have on the bike, perhaps due to the slightly shorter distance compared to an IRONMAN 70.3, but following a similar plan
This high carb intake, coupled with the reduced sodium intake, could have reduced her sodium-glucose cotransporter's ability to absorb glucose into the muscles. This in turn may have caused her below-normal energy levels towards the end of the bike and start of the run, despite her carb intake actually being very high
During the run, Fenella carried two PF 30 Gels with her out of transition, and picked up two large cups of Coca Cola towards the end, giving her a total carb intake of ~81g. This averaged out across the 1:15 run split to ~64g per hour
Throughout the entire race Fenella averaged ~99g per hour, which is very similar to some of her previous race intakes (~96g/h at IRONMAN Hawaii, ~99g/h at Challenge Roth). Due to the expected high-intensity nature of this run during this race, Fenella’s plan was to front-load her carb intake on the bike, to allow for a lower intake when running at a faster pace
Fenella also had some sickness feelings during the race, and felt like she needed to gag. This, again, could be due to the higher carb intake on the bike. Next time Fenella should aim to reduce the difference in hourly carb intake between the bike and run, and bring her bike sodium intake closer to her sweat sodium concentration to help facilitate the absorption of carbs

Conclusions

The PTO European Open was a hard-and-fast race against the best triathletes on the planet, and Fenella was pleased to be in the mix for the most part despite not having her best day
For future races, she should look to push up the relative sodium concentration of her drinks to more closely match her sweat sodium concentration. This will help with carbohydrate absorption and potentially improve her perception of energy availability

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

15th

Overall Time

3:50:41

Swim Time

0:25:46

Bike Time

2:07:02

Run Time

1:15:57

Event information

Sport

Triathlon

Discipline

Middle distance

Event

PTO European Open

Location

Ibiza, Spain

Date

6th May, 2023

Website

Show me

Swim Distance

2.0km / 1.2mi

Bike Distance

80.0km / 49.7mi

Run Distance

18.0km / 11.2mi

Total Distance

100.0km / 62.1mi

Race conditions

Weather Conditions

Hot

Precipitation

No Rain

Min Temp

18°C / 64°F

Max Temp

23°C / 73°F

Avg Temp

21°C / 70°F

Humidity

66%

Athlete feedback

Race Satisfaction

5/10

Hydration rating

6/10

I felt quite thirsty on the run, like the aid stations were really far apart

Energy levels

6/10

GI comfort

5/10

I felt like gagging at some points, like I wanted to be sick

Cramping

Mild cramps that I could push through

Fenella's Thoughts

I just couldn't get the legs going for some reason, I just didn't feel myself out there

Fenella's full stats

	Carbohydrate (g)	Sodium (mg)	Fluid (ml)	Caffeine (mg)	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
Overall
Total intake	381	2,100	2,630	317	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)	798
Per hour	99	548	686	83		798
Bike and Run
Total intake	351	2,100	2,630	217	798
Per hour	104	624	781	65	798
Bike
Total intake	270	1,250	1,300	200	962
Per hour	128	591	614	94	962
Run
Total intake	81	850	1,330	17	639
Per hour	64	680	1,064	14	639

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.

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