Paul Felder
IRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside
CaliforniaTop 50, M35-39Paul's headline numbers
Paul's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
Paul would benefit from taking in a final dose of carb <30 minutes before
"I ran my most consistent half marathon ever. Normally I only feel good for the first few miles and then I’m just trying to finish, but not this time."
During the race, Paul followed a well-planned strategy to fuel approximately every 20-30 minutes, which is a great way of ‘drip-feeding’ carbs into his system and sustaining high energy availability throughout. Overall, this enabled him to hit a solid carb intake, which mainly came through PF 30 Gels. It worked well not only in regards to his GI comfort levels, but also in his subjective feedback of energy levels, fueling him all the way to the finish line.
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.
Paul1392mg/L
Paul has been Sweat Tested to dial in his 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.
Given Paul's losses are High (1,392mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy remains important, even when it's Mild.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I never felt dehydrated at any point during the race. "
Paul had a Sweat Test prior to this race and learnt that he’s a very salty sweater. On top of this, as soon as temperatures increase beyond cool conditions (as they did at Oceanside), he has a high sweat rate which together means his net sweat losses across an event can be *very* high. Keeping up with his hydration needs has been a problem for Paul in the past and has negatively affected his performance. So, he needed a strategy to meet both his fluid and sodium targets, which is exactly what we saw him do. For example, when he began to experience some twinges of cramp in his calves around the 8-9 mile mark, he knew to sip on his soft flask containing PH 1500 and was able to keep any severe cramp at bay. In the past, Paul has had to resort to walking on the run as a result of terrible cramps, so this is a huge improvement!
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
In future, Paul will want to consider implementing some more caffeine into his strategy, as the stimulant can provide various ergogenic benefits. It’ll be important for him to work out if caffeine is suitable for him, but it’s well-worth considering the vast amount of research on the stimulant’s positive impact on athletic performance. Incorporating a dosage between 3-6mg/kg would be recommended, such as by using PF 30 Caffeine Gels instead of normal gels.
How Paul hit his numbers
Here's everything that Paul ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I left some performance on the table, so there’s even better to come. ”
“Paul did a stellar job of meeting his carb, sodium and fluid needs at IRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside. In a stacked field of triathletes, Paul held his own to finish 21st in his age group and earn a new personal best. Given his high sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration, it was essential for Paul to rely on a proactive hydration plan by carrying his own sodium-rich drinks. He did exactly this and executed his strategy with expertise. For his next race, adding caffeine to his plan could help cut down that PB once again! ”
PF&HPaul'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.