Hayley Ellis
IRONMAN® Wales
PembrokeshireCompleted, F50-54Hayley's headline numbers
Hayley'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 some mental fatigue around 60-70 miles in, which I think was due to the tough conditions. I had some more Flow Gel which helped pick me up and I felt fine after that."
Having had a carbohydrate-rich breakfast on race day, Hayley then had a final top-up with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel just before the start to give her both a physical and mental boost for the 3.8km swim. On the bike, she relied mainly on PF 300 Flow Gel and PF 30 Gels, switching it up at times with on course energy bars to prevent flavour fatigue, which took her to a solid ~88g/h for the 8 hour leg. Out of T2, she picked up a Flow Flask with PF 300 Flow Gel in to take alongside her PF 30 Gels - which is an efficient way to carry enough carbohydrate and stay self-sufficient. Across the full 15 hours on-course, she took on enough carbohydrate to sit within the 60-90g/h. However, there was disparity between her bike and run intake; she finished the run having taken in just ~55g/h of carbs, and two unopened gels. Taking those would have pushed her intake closer to ~67g/h on the marathon and help avoid the late race energy dip she experienced.
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.
Drinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Hayley start optimally hydrated
"I know that I didn’t drink enough, but with the tough conditions it was tricky to keep track."
Taking fluid on board was challenging in the relentlessly windy and rainy conditions in Pembrokeshire, but Hayley’s hydration plan held together. Hayley has not yet had a Sweat Test to find out her sweat sodium concentration, so we recommended aiming for ~1,000mg/L of sodium, since we know from thousands of Sweat Tests that the average athletes loses ~991mg of sodium per litre of sweat. She picked up bottles of PH 1000 from the aid stations on the bike course and this helped adequately replace her losses via sweat, whilst the additional sodium in her energy bars increased the relative sodium concentration of her intake to a little over 1,200mg/L. The run is where her fluid and sodium intake trailed off dramatically, as relying on aid stations cups of plain water and PH 1000 meant Hayley only drank an estimated ~87ml/h on the marathon. In future, she could consider carrying a Soft Flask of PH 1000 out of T2, which would help her proactively take on both fluid and sodium without relying as much on aid stations. In addition to this, getting a Sweat Test and doing some sweat rate testing in training would help give Hayley dial in her hydration strategy for future races.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
One PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the start pen delivered Hayley’s total caffeine intake for the day. Taking a few more doses of caffeine throughout the race, aiming to hit the 3-6mg/kg recommendations would potentially improve her perceived energy levels towards the end of the challenging race where she experienced a dip. But this will be worth testing in training as people tolerate and react to caffeine differently.
How Hayley hit her numbers
Here's everything that Hayley ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I’m so proud to be one of the few females to cross the finish line in Wales. I feel that I couldn’t have done much better than I did in such a hard race. I fueled well, though had my hydration been spot on, it would have been a 10.”
“Hayley had a strong race, and executed her race plan better than she expected to cross the finish line, despite the tough weather conditions in Wales. Her next steps to refine the strategy further would be to dial in her run intake of carbs, fluid and sodium to better support her performance to the finish.”
PF&HHayley'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 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.