3rd
Jo Wright's scorecard
IRONMAN World Championships
Saturday 7th May, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
72g
Carb per hour
531mg
Sodium per hour
826ml
Fluid per hour
643mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
10.53mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Jo hit those numbers
How Jo's hydration and fueling went...
- Age group triathlete, Joanna Wright, produced a fantastic performance at the IRONMAN World Championships in Utah to end the day on the podium. With a time of 10:21:17, she came 3rd in the F30-34 AG, making her the 5th overall female AG finisher
- After being pointed in the direction of Precision Fuel & Hydration at the start of the year, Jo came in for an Advanced Sweat Test to dial in her hydration and fueling plan in the lead up to both St George and Kona this year
- Using the result from her sweat test alongside information about her previous strategy for races, we’ve worked with Jo to build a personalised plan to meet her carbohydrate, sodium and fluid needs for what was a very hot and dry race day (29℃/84℉ average temperature, 12% humidity)
Hydration
- Jo preloaded in the morning of the race by drinking ~500ml/16oz of PH 1000. She could have increased her sodium levels further before the race by using a stronger PH 1500 electrolyte drink to help her retain and absorb more fluid
- On the bike, Jo carried three bottles; two bottles of energy drink mix (500ml/16oz and 800ml/27oz) and one 750ml/25oz bottle of PH 1000. Throughout the bike leg she continued to refill her 750ml bottle with water from aid stations and added four PH 1000 (Tablets). This meant she drank a total of ~5.05L/171oz on the bike, hitting ~932ml per hour, which is towards the upper end of what we see athletes drink
- Jo initially ran out of T2 with a 500ml/16oz bottle of PH 1000 and then picked up plain water at every aid station going forwards. This meant she drank an estimated ~3.5L/118oz in total and ~950ml/32oz per hour on average, as temperatures pushed towards 35℃/94℉ during the marathon
- Although we don’t have data on Jo’s sweat rate, subjectively she mentioned her losses were unsurprisingly “high” in the hot conditions and therefore she felt like she needed to be proactive with her replacement of her losses over the 10 hours. She did well to do this by drinking an average of ~826ml/h (28oz/h) throughout
- In terms of sodium replacement, Jo continually mixed PH 1000 (Tablets) into one of her bottles on the bike, had another bottle of PH 1000 on the run and then took on an additional five Electrolyte Capsules during the marathon
- Our Advanced Sweat Test showed that Jo has a relatively low sweat sodium concentration, losing 757mg of sodium per litre of sweat, but coupled with a likely moderate-to-high sweat rate in the hot and dry conditions, net losses can build up over a full distance race. Jo did well to account for this by consuming ~531mg of sodium per hour, which in relation to the fluid she took on board meant the relative sodium concentration of her intake was ~643mg/L
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- In the lead up to the race, Jo ate a carb-rich breakfast of rice pudding three-and-a-half hours before she got to the start line, as well as a banana one-and-a-half hours before the start, before taking a caffeinated energy gel in the last 15 minutes. This will have topped up her liver glycogen stores and ensured adequate energy availability early on in the race
- During the race, Jo consumed two bottles of concentrated energy drink mix and four energy gels on the bike leg, and then a further eight-and-a-half gels on the run leg. This meant she consumed ~72g of carb per hour on average (including the swim time); successfully hitting the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommended range for a race of this intensity and duration (60-90g/h)
- Her carb intake broke down into a higher ~93g/h on the bike and ~58g/h on the run. This frontloading is a common trend we see in full distance triathlons where the mechanics of fueling on the run are trickier
- Having practised her fuel consumption in her training, Jo was able to achieve these high carb numbers while experiencing no GI issues. This level of intake also helped her maintain stable energy levels throughout the race, and she was happy not to slow which allowed her to hold off competitors at the end of the run
- Jo took regular caffeine doses by consuming six caffeinated energy gels (100mg caffeine) during the race, which helped increase her perceived energy levels and increase her alertness. For a race of this duration (5-12 hours), a caffeine intake higher than the general recommended range (3-6mg/kg of bodyweight) is to be expected. Due to caffeine’s half-life of ~4-5 hours, Jo’s strategy to take multiple doses to ‘top up’ her caffeine levels during the 10 hour race was spot on. Her total caffeine dose on the bike and run totalled 10.53mg/kg
Conclusions
- Jo had a fantastic performance, using a considered hydration and fueling strategy, on what was a challenging course, to reach the podium of the World Champs! Reflecting on the race, she was unsurprisingly happy with the result and rated her race satisfaction as 8 (out of 10)
- Everything “went to plan” on race day for Jo, who is now looking to build on this successful race throughout the year ahead of the World Champs in Kona
Key info
Jo Wright
Female
57kg
Sweat sodium concentration
757mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
3rd
Overall Time
10:21:17
Swim Time
1:07:24
Bike Time
5:25:40
Run Time
3:41:45
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN World Championships
Location
Utah, USA
Date
7th May, 2022
Website
Swim Distance
3.8km / 2.4mi
Bike Distance
180.2km / 112.0mi
Run Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Distance
226.2km / 140.6mi
Bike Elevation
2248m / 7,375ft
Run Elevation
431m / 1,414ft
Total Elevation
2679m / 8,789ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Very Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
21°C / 70°F
Max Temp
35°C / 95°F
Avg Temp
29°C / 84°F
Humidity
12%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
9/10
I didn't ever feel too dehydrated until after the race
Energy levels
8/10
Toilet stops
Yes
During the swim
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Jo's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 746 | 5,500 | 8,550 | 600 | 643 |
Per hour | 72 | 531 | 826 | 58 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 721 | 5,479 | 8,550 | 500 | 641 |
Per hour | 79 | 602 | 940 | 55 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 506 | 3,557 | 5,050 | 200 | 704 |
Per hour | 93 | 657 | 932 | 37 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 215 | 1,922 | 3,500 | 300 | 549 |
Per hour | 58 | 522 | 950 | 81 |
Data Confidence
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.