Heather Fell
IRONMAN 70.3® Weymouth
WeymouthTop 50, F40-44Heather's headline numbers
Heather's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"My energy was great and not a limiting factor at any point. "
Heather reported feeling consistently energised throughout the race, which speaks to her smart pacing and consistent use of familiar fuel sources like PF 30 Chews, PF 30 Gels, and a few sweets. However, when we look closer at her actual carbohydrate intake, ~50g/h is below the recommended range. This means she performed well despite under-fueling, which suggests she may have had even *more* to give with a higher intake and greater energy availability. Over nearly five hours of racing, this energy deficit would have added up as the energy demand at this intensity would have been greater than the ~240g of carbs she consumed. It’s a real positive to see Heather increase her intake by nearly double since her previous race, and in future, gradually increasing this further through some structured gut training in her key sessions, especially ahead of the 2025 IRONMAN 70.3® World Champs in Marbella, would be worthwhile and hopefully help combat the stitch she experienced during the run portion of the race. Aiming to increase her intake towards 90g/h could help her maintain a stronger bike power and carry more consistent energy into the run, without risking gut discomfort or feeling the need to walk.
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.
Heather778mg/L
Heather 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.
Whilst Heather's losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreDrinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Heather start optimally hydrated
"I felt super hydrated to start with and needed to pee as soon as I was on the bike, but that feeling didn’t really go away so I limited how much I drank."
Hydration was a particular challenge during Heather’s race. Despite not drinking much before the race, she felt well hydrated. Still, preloading with a strong electrolyte drink, such as PH 1500 ahead of the race start would help her retain the fluid she drinks on race morning and could reduce the urgency to pee. The sensation of fullness and bloating she then experienced made it difficult to drink as much as planned during the race, leaving her with a total intake of only ~600ml This is well below typical requirements for those conditions, especially given the high humidity, and while her fluids contained some sodium, this was still a much lower quantity than what she was losing in her sweat. This imbalance of not enough total fluid and low total sodium likely contributed to the stomach bloating and stitch that appeared early on the run, affecting her body’s ability to digest and absorb the carb she was consuming. Next time, a more consistent drinking pattern on the bike could help her hydration status without feeling “too full”.
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.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Heather chose not to use caffeine during this race as she hasn't practised with it enough before. This was a sensible decision, but in future training she may want to experiment with some PF 30 Caffeine Gels to see if she's one of the many athletes who reap the ergogenic benefits of the stimulant during endurance exercise.
How Heather hit her numbers
Here's everything that Heather ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I felt strong on the bike and managed a power personal best over the distance. I thought I’d overbiked but initially felt good on the run until ~5km in where I had some stomach issues and a stitch.”
“Heather’s race at Weymouth showed real strength, especially her bike performance and ability to manage the changing conditions. The biggest lessons learned are that her level of fuel and fluid intake relative to the demands of the day likely played a part in her subjective deterioration over the day. By fine-tuning her pre-race hydration, slightly increasing carbohydrate intake, and possibly layering in some caffeine, Heather has a great opportunity to turn a solid performance into an even stronger one next time.”
PF&HHeather'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.