3rd

Rebecca Clarke's scorecard

IRONMAN® New Zealand

Saturday 4th March, 2023

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

81g

Carb per hour

430mg

Sodium per hour

833ml

Fluid per hour

517mg/L

Relative sodium concentration

597mg

Total caffeine

How Rebecca hit those numbers

750ml x PH 1500 (3/4 x tablet)

2 x Gluten Free English Muffins

1 x Serving of Peanut Butter

1 x Banana

1 x PF 30 Gel

*** Review technique if drinking much at this point!

750ml x (1/2) PH 1500 (Tablets)

500ml x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix

5 x PF 30 Gel

2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel

1.9L x Plain water

1.5 x Energy chew packet with caffeine (48g carb, 100mg caffeine)

1.75 x Energy bar (24g carb)

2.25L x Energy drink (22g carb)

500ml x (1/2) PH 1500 (Tablets)

3 x PF 30 Gel

2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel

1.3L x Plain water

160ml x Energy drink (22g carb)

320ml x Cola

How Rebecca's hydration and fueling went...

Having claimed 2nd place at IRONMAN New Zealand in 2021, Rebecca returned to the course in 2023 with aims of replicating her podium performance
After dropping a part-finished bottle of PF60 Drink Mix on the bike, Rebecca did well to adapt her strategy on the fly by utilising aid stations to hit strong carbohydrate numbers and ensure she had energy left in the tank for the run leg
Despite this, she felt a slight energy lull heading onto the run course, but dug deep to secure a 3rd place finish, averaging 4:40 mins/km (7:30 mins/mile) for a 3:16 marathon

Hydration

After speaking with the PF&H Sports Science team, Rebecca knew that a strong electrolyte drink before her race would help her to start optimally hydrated. To do this, she chose to drink ¾ of a PH 1500 tablet in 750ml (24oz) of water, rather than the 500ml (16oz) that we would usually recommend. This will have had the effect of reducing the relative concentration slightly and potentially limited the positive impact it would have on her blood plasma volume
While on the bike, she dropped a half-finished 1L (32oz) bottle of PF 60 Drink Mix, meaning she lost a source of fluid, carbs and electrolytes all at once
Rebecca tried to combat this from a fluid and electrolyte point of view by picking up plain water and isotonic sports drink from the aid stations, as well as finishing her remaining bottle of PH 1500
Then, she took a soft flask containing ½ a PH 1500 tablet out of transition with her, which she further diluted using water, sports drink and cola from aid stations along the run course
Rebecca reported feeling thirsty while running, which may in part have been due to her fluid intake dropping from ~1.1L/h (35oz) on the bike to ~690ml/h (22oz). At the same time, temperatures peaked on course at around 23ºC (73ºF) meaning she was losing more fluid too, due to a higher sweat rate
Overall, Rebecca consumed ~833ml (28oz) of fluid per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of ~517mg/L (mg/32oz)
While this electrolyte intake may have been insufficient some ‘saltier’ athletes, Rebecca knows that she’s a ‘low salt’ sweater, who loses just 563mg of sodium per litre (32oz) of sweat, meaning she likely replaced a good proportion of what she lost in her sweat

Fueling

Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

30g

carb 30 mins before

60-90g

carb per hour during

After analysing her intake during her win at the Tauranga Half around 6 weeks prior to this race, Rebecca was aware that she would need to increase her carb intake for maximal energy availability on the day
To help boost her stored energy, Rebecca ‘carb loaded’ in the days before the event, culminating in a race-day breakfast of English muffins with peanut butter and a banana
Rebecca also topped up her blood glucose levels with a final PF 30 Gel within the last 30 minutes before swim start, to help conserve some of her stored energy for utilisation later in the race
Confidently leading the race out of T1, Rebecca involuntarily donated ~500ml (16oz) of PF 60 Drink Mix to the bike course due to a bump in the road and had to adapt her fuel plan while riding, deciding to use the on course isotonic sports drink to replace these lost carbohydrates
Along with her ‘fuel bottle’ which contained several PF 30 Gels and two PF 30 Caffeine Gels, this meant she still hit an impressive intake of ~104 grams of carb per hour while cycling - 59% higher than her intake during the bike at ‘Tauranga Half’ (61g/h)
Onto the run course, Rebecca initially felt a lull in energy, which may have been caused by slightly mistimed caffeine / carb consumption, combined with the sudden change in muscle activation going from bike to run which can often cause a dip in blood glucose
She bounced back from this to finish 3rd with a blistering 3:16 marathon time, taking five PF 30 Gels as well as some cola along the way
Rebecca is going to trial adjusting the timing of one of her PF 30 Caffeine Gels toward the end of the bike leg in her upcoming ’brick’ sessions to see if this helps her avoid experiencing an energy dip at the start of the run in future races
Overall, Rebecca had a solid average hourly carb intake of ~81g. Especially considering her average intake of 60g per hour at the Tauranga Half just a few weeks prior
Impressively, despite this increased intake, Rebecca experienced no gastrointestinal discomfort while on the bike, and only minor distress while drinking and racing at her limit on the run course - something that’s very common amongst elite triathletes and runners
Rebecca also nailed her use of caffeine during this race, with an intake of ~594mg putting her just above the general recommendations of 3-6mg per kilo of bodyweight for performance enhancement. This ensured she maximised the chance of experiencing all of the benefits associated with caffeine

Conclusions

Rebecca did well to overcome adversity and still crush her carb, fluid and electrolyte intake targets throughout the race
Going forwards Rebecca is going to experiment with the timing of her carb and caffeine intake to optimise her perceived energy levels, especially when transitioning from bike to run
Overall, this was an excellent early season race for Rebecca which should give her confidence for upcoming events. Additionally, finishing 3rd here means she secured her ticket to Kona for the World Championships later in 2023

Key info

Rebecca Clarke

Female

Sweat sodium concentration

553mg/L

Sweat sodium classification

Low

* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test

Result

Position

3rd

Overall Time

9:10:11

Swim Time

0:50:35

Bike Time

4:57:34

Run Time

3:16:38

Event information

Sport

Triathlon

Discipline

Full distance

Event

IRONMAN® New Zealand

Location

Taupo, New Zealand

Date

4th March, 2023

Website

Show me

Swim Distance

3.9km / 2.4mi

Bike Distance

180.2km / 112.0mi

Run Distance

42.2km / 26.2mi

Total Distance

226.3km / 140.6mi

Race conditions

Weather Conditions

Hot and Humid

Precipitation

No Rain

Min Temp

16°C / 61°F

Max Temp

23°C / 73°F

Avg Temp

20°C / 68°F

Humidity

70%

Athlete feedback

Race Satisfaction

8/10

Hydration rating

6/10

I felt quite thirsty on the run

Energy levels

7/10

I felt pretty good throughout the bike, but felt I was lacking some energy at the start of the run

Toilet stops

This suprised me considering that I managed to go in Kona where it was far hotter!

GI comfort

7/10

I had a few periods of discomfort, all while on the run and relying more on aid stations

Cramping

Twinges but not full-on cramps

Rebecca's Thoughts

I'm happy to have been on the podium and bagged my slot for Kona, but being so close to the win makes small mistakes seem so much more impactful.

Rebecca's full stats

	Carbohydrate (g)	Sodium (mg)	Fluid (ml)	Caffeine (mg)	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
Overall
Total intake	740	3,945	7,635	597	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)	517
Per hour	81	430	833	65		517
Bike and Run
Total intake	710	3,945	7,635	597	517
Per hour	86	480	929	73	517
Bike
Total intake	516	3,432	5,375	366	639
Per hour	104	693	1,086	74	639
Run
Total intake	195	513	2,260	231	227
Per hour	60	157	692	71	227

Data Confidence

1

2

3

4

5

There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.

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