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Jess Belcher

IRONMAN 70.3® World Championships

28th October, 2022
USA
St George
Top 50, F25-29
Triathlon, Middle distance - 113.1km
7°C
, Cold
5hrs 6mins
more race details

Jess' headline numbers

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?
?
~87
g
Carb per hour
Recommended 90g/h+
~751
ml
Fluid per hour
Recommended 500-1,000ml/h
~573
mg
Sodium per litre
Recommended 400-800mg/L
0
mg
Total caffeine

Jess' strategy

Fueling

Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.

Carb-rich meal
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T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
pre-fueled
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T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
Carb per hour
Recommended 90g/h+
~87
g
Jess' Energy Rating
9
/10
"I spent most of my year focusing on the IRONMAN®, so lacked a bit of raw speed in this 70.3® race, but I was full of energy all the way to the finish. "
Our thoughts

Jess executed a front-loading strategy, averaging an impressive ~122g of carb per hour on the bike and dropping to ~54g/h on the run. This trend is often the case with triathletes fueling strategies, as it’s often more difficult for the stomach to absorb carbohydrate whilst running due to the increased movement and usually an increase in effort. Jess has trained her gut to tolerate this quantity of carb, and came close to the 90g/h recommendationson average across the race, so some additional practice of high-carb fueling during her future run sessions will be desirable to achieve these greater intakes.

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.

Jess594mg/L
Jess 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 Jess’s losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.

Learn more
Didn't pre-load electrolytes
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Drinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Jess start optimally hydrated
Fluid per hour
Recommended 500-1,000ml/h
~751
ml
Sodium per litre
Recommended 400-800mg/L
~573
mg
Jess' Hydration Rating
9
/10
"I feel like my hydration strategy worked really well for me."
Our thoughts

Before her race, Jess consumed an electrolyte drink, but unlike our recommendations it only contained 220mg of sodium which is too low for optimising an individual's pre-race hydration status. She also had some plain water 30 minutes before starting, which would have further diluted the concentration of sodium in her body. Next time, Jess should use a stronger electrolyte drink, such as PH 1500, both the night before and the morning of her race to appropriately preload. On the bike, she managed to maintain a fairly high fluid intake considering the colder weather (~7℃ / 44℉ average temperature). Similar to her hydration strategy, she front-loaded her sodium intake on the bike and tapered back to just ~100mg/L on the run. Overall, Jess appropriately replaced her sweat losses with her intake across the race to stay in line with her individual sweat sodium concentration, as determined by a Sweat Test. In longer races or when conditions are much warmer, she should look to bump up her sodium intake on the run to ensure she doesn’t have any hydration-related issues as a result of lower than ideal sodium levels towards the end of the race.

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.

Pre-caffeinated
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T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Total caffeine
0
mg
Our thoughts

Jess may want to trial some caffeine in her training sessions to introduce this into her strategy for future races, as the science suggests that it enhances performance.

How Jess hit her numbers

Here's everything that Jess ate and drank on the day...

Jess' weapons of choice

Final thoughts

Jess' Satisfaction Rating
8
/10
This race demonstrated to me how being consistent over time helped me perform time and time again this season, and I'm excited for next year!
Jess
Jess performed well off the back of a hard race at the IRONMAN® World Champs just three weeks prior, and her well-planned fuel and hydration plan will likely have supported this. In future she should aim to improve her preloading protocol to optimise her hydration, and perhaps look to include some Electrolyte Capsules on the run to help keep her sodium levels topped up, especially if she’s planning to race in longer events or warmer conditions where she’ll be sweating much more.
PF&H

Jess' full stats

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?
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Overall
445g total carb
87g per hour
3,830ml total fluid
751ml per hour
2,194mg total sodium
430mg per hour
573mg
Sodium per litre
Bike and Run
Bike
Run

Data Confidence
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We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
1
2
3
4
5

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.

Jess' recent case studies

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