Fiona Moriarty
IRONMAN® Cairns
Fiona's headline numbers
Fiona's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Fiona has a history of stomach distress during races, and while her 70.3® a few months prior in Campeche went well, she has more recently struggled at the full distance, even having to DNF after collapsing on the run. So, experiencing solid energy throughout and minimal GI discomfort (rating it a 7 out of 10) is a huge win for Fiona! She was able to tolerate her highest carb intake yet, thanks to PF 300 Flow Gel interspersed with PF 30 Chews on the bike for variety. Her fueling only dropped down from 93 grams per hour on the bike to 89 during the run, demonstrating another successful part of her strategy that kept her energy levels soaring all the way to a sprint finish.
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.
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 Fiona’s losses are High (1,146mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreOne of the biggest aspects Fiona’s worked on with the Sport Science Team has been dialling in the relative sodium concentration across all of the fluids she takes in, especially during hot races. In the heat this time out, she used a combination of PH 1000 and PH 1500 tablets to hit the nail on the head and closely match her individual losses. Because she ‘decoupled’ the fuel and hydration parts of her strategy, she was able to consume more fluid than expected without stomach discomfort from having all of her carb tied to her fluid. She maintained this routine into the run and every time she refilled her Soft Flask, she added a PH 1000 tablet to keep her sodium-to-fluid ratio consistent.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
Fiona doesn’t feel her best after taking caffeine, and considering all of the stomach issues she’s had in prior races, she opts to stay away from the stimulant on race day, other than the small amount she gets from cola on the run. While caffeine can be helpful for many athletes, providing a boost in energy levels, it’s certainly not a ‘must’. Clearly, Fiona’s energy was high enough without it, so her strategy was well-suited to her needs!
How Fiona hit her numbers
Here's everything that Fiona ate and drank on the day...
Fiona's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Fiona
PF&HFiona's full stats
Data Confidence?
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.