• Jeanni had a tough last race of the season in California at IM 70.3 Oceanside. In contrast to what the result may suggest, finishing on the podium (3rd) in a time of 4 hours and 20 minutes, Jeanni struggled through a stomach bug throughout race day
• Being ill on race day meant Jeanni’s hydration and fuelling was greatly impacted, she also ‘had no energy and a really upset stomach on the run’. She did however still finish the race with an impressive result which does not illustrate the full story of her race. Jeanni tried to use a similar hydration and fuelling plan to the World Champs but couldn’t finish her usual bottles on the bike or take anything on the run except some water

Hydration

• Jeanni drank ~338ml/hr (~12oz/hr) on average over the whole race, this was primarily from her bottles containing PF Drink Mix and PH 1000 on the bike and a few sips of water and coke on the run. This seems like a decent amount but is on the lower side compared to what we have seen Jeanni drink at her three previous races (Boulder, Collins Cup and the World Champs)
• Her fluid intake was reduced by not finishing her bottles on the bike and picking up less than normal on the run. She did pee once at the start of the run which suggests she didn’t under hydrate too much, but she agrees that her hydration could have been slightly improved (rating it as a 6 out of 10) and saying ‘I could have drank more fluid especially water on the run’
• Jeanni preloaded before the race with PH 1500 as per our recommendations, this will have meant she started the race optimally hydrated. She consumed ~481mg of sodium per hour which is slightly more than what she had at the Collins Cup but lower than her World Champ’s intake
• Alongside the slightly low fluid intake, this meant the relative sodium concentration of her intake was ~1,422mg/L. This will have been replacing a great proportion of her sweat sodium losses considering her high sweat sodium concentration of 1,556mg/L. She did not cramp and mentioned that she didn’t think she needed the extra PH 1000 on the bike. Due to the overcast conditions, a slightly lower concentration would still have substantially replaced her losses, this could also be achieved with a slightly higher fluid intake as recommended

Fueling

Conclusions

• Jeanni was disappointed with her performance at Oceanside saying ‘I know my fitness was a lot better than my bike power and overall run time’. But, having picked up a stomach bug before the race she had a solid result which doesn’t show the struggles she pushed through and she was glad to ‘grit it out and finish’
• Despite being unwell, Jeanni was able to still hit decent numbers using her developed hydration and fuelling strategy. Hitting higher carb numbers and taking on board slightly more fluid would have been ideal but considering she couldn’t finish her bottles or take on much on the run Jeanni would have likely completed these if not for the stomach bug