• Professional triathlete and PF&H Ambassador, India Lee, had a brilliant performance at the IM 70.3 European Championships, finishing third place in a time of 4 hours and 10 minutes
• She exited the swim as part of the lead group and held position on the bike, eventually topping off her day with a strong run to complete the podium behind Emma Pallant-Browne and Ashleigh Gentle
• Whilst India struggled to manage her hydration needs, she did a great job of dialing up her carbohydrate intake in this race compared to IM 70.3 Nice last year, and this was reflected in her high energy level rating (9 out of 10)

Hydration

• The area where India has the most room for improvement is hydration as she only drank ~500ml/16oz during the entirety of the four hour race. Reflecting on the race, India knew this, commenting “I didn’t take enough fluid on during the race, but I was well hydrated before so that meant I got away with it”
• Aware that the race was to be warmer (average temperature ~25℃/77°F), India preloaded by drinking 500ml/16oz of PH 1500 alongside her breakfast which ensured she started with acutely greater sodium and fluid levels on board
• During the race, India didn’t prepare any fluids for the bike, other than the small amount of water (~100ml/3oz) that was mixed into her concentrated bottle of gels. Given the warm conditions, this was perhaps an oversight from India who commented “my hydration was poor on the bike”, rating it just 4 (out of 10)
• Towards the end of the bike, India grabbed a bottle of water from an aid station and drank ~200ml/6oz, making her total fluid consumption for the bike ~300ml/9oz (~129ml/4oz per hour)
• Out on the run course, India did pick up water at every aid station but estimated that it was, again, only ~200ml/6oz in total
• On top of the limited fluids India drank, she didn’t consume much sodium either, averaging a relative sodium concentration of ~382mg/L - a concentration higher than expected but only as a result of how little fluid she drank, skewing the perception of her sodium intake (just ~46mg/h)
• Despite underdoing her hydration during the race, India’s performance didn’t appear to suffer on this occasion. It’s important to mention that India has had an Advanced Sweat Test and loses 635mg/L, making her a ‘low salty sweater’. If coupled with a low-to-moderate sweat rate then India’s net sodium and fluid losses in a race of this duration are unlikely to be substantial and, as she mentioned, her efforts to pre-hydrate will have helped minimise the adverse effects of her suboptimal hydration
• That all said, should India race in hotter or more humid conditions, or step up in distance (which would elicit greater fluid/sodium losses) then she should plan for better fluid and sodium availability and consumption

Fueling

Conclusions

• India was happy with her race at the 70.3 European Championships, taking home a bronze medal, and commenting that she was “really pleased to put out a performance that I’m proud of”
• Regarding her fueling and hydration strategy, the biggest improvement has been the increase in India’s consumption of carbohydrate; increasing her average intake from ~44g/h at Nice last year to ~67g/h in this race. A substantial increase which would pay dividends in her performance - well done India!
• Going forwards, India will be aiming to implement a similar improvement in her hydration strategy, particularly in hotter conditions