1st
Rebecca Clarke's scorecard
Tauranga Half
Saturday 21st January, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
60g
Carb per hour
182mg
Sodium per hour
675ml
Fluid per hour
270mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
275mg
Total caffeine
How Rebecca hit those numbers
750ml x (one) PH 1500 (Tablet)
2 x Toast with Peanut butter
1 x Banana
1 x Coffee with cream
1 x PF 30 Energy Gel
*** Review technique if drinking much at this point!
750ml Bottle x PH 1000 (Tablet) & 1 Scoop PF Energy Drink Mix
Fuel Bottle x PF 30 Caffeine Gel & PF 90 Energy Gel with 250ml Plain water
~560ml x Plain water
1.5 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
900ml x Plain water
315ml x Coca Cola Original
How Rebecca's hydration and fueling went...
- Rebecca kicked off her 2023 race season with an impressive performance at 'Tauranga Half' triathlon, a ‘home country’ race where she arrived as reigning champion after winning the 2022 edition
- With an appropriate fluid and sodium intake, and some room for increasing how much carb she eats per hour, Rebecca did well to claim the win again, with an 8 minute PB to top it off
Hydration
- Rebecca ‘preloaded’ for her race with a PH 1500 tablet, to ensure she started optimally hydrated. Interestingly, by mixing the tablet in 750ml (24oz) of water, rather than the 500ml (16oz) suggested on the packet, this means the relative sodium concentration of her drink was actually the equivalent of a PH 1000 tablet (i.e. 1,000mg of sodium per litre / 32oz)
- Using a stronger sodium-based electrolyte increases blood plasma volume to ensure you start optimally hydrated before you start sweating, so Rebecca might want to consider using the PH 1500 mixed in 500ml / 16oz in future races, particularly in really hot conditions, to ensure she maintains the recommendation relative sodium concentration (i.e. 1,500mg of sodium per litre) and maximises her preload
- During the bike leg, Rebecca made the executive call to stop and collect the bottle containing her electrolytes which fell from her bike while going over a speedbump just 3km into the ride. With the first aid station not positioned until 32km into the course and it being a reasonably warm day, this was certainly a good call, even if she lost a few seconds by doing so
- Throughout the race, Rebecca used PH 1000 and PF Energy Drink mix to provide her with ~750mg of sodium in total. With an average fluid intake of ~675ml/h (21oz/h) across the entire race, this meant she achieved a relative sodium concentration of ~270mg/L (mg/32oz)
- As someone with a low sweat sodium concentration (553mg/L), this intake was appropriate for Rebecca. However, she may want to increase her intake in longer and hotter races as her sweat rate (i.e. how much fluid she sweats out) will increase, which in turn will ensure she doesn't become a victim of the negative effects associated with dehydration
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- For her pre-race breakfast, Rebecca ate two slices of toast and a banana, which helped top up her stored carbohydrate (in the form of glycogen, mainly in the liver) this close to the race
- Rebecca then remembered to eat a final PF 30 Gel within the last 30 minutes before the race started, which boosted the amount of freely available glucose in her bloodstream. This can have a sparing effect, saving her ‘intramuscular’ glycogen for use later on in the race
- After a “near perfect” swim, Rebecca went through transition one and onto the bike, where she had a fuel bottle, containing one PF 90 Gel, one PF 30 Caffeine Gel and ~250ml (8oz) of water to help the gels flow through the nozzle of the bottle more easily
- While in the process of beating her previous run course record by 3 minutes, her strategy was slightly different. She placed some reliance on picking up Coca Cola from aid stations, which supplemented the carb from the one-and-a-half PF 30 Caffeine Gels she carried with her
- Across the race, this strategy resulted in her averaging ~60g of carb each hour. When comparing this to the general recommendation of ~90g/h for an event of this duration and intensity, there's some room for improvement here and this may explain why she perceived her energy fading towards the end of the race
- Having such a clear fueling goal to aim for is really positive to see this early in the season. By increasing her carb intake she may see promising effects reflected in her future performances, especially considering she achieved an 8 minute course PB at this race
- Rebecca’s caffeine intake came to a total of ~275mg, not including her morning coffee. This certainly works out at the higher end of the general 3-6 mg of caffeine per kilo of body weight that is suggested to optimally benefit endurance performance. As a habitual caffeine user, taking this much during the event would have improved both her perception of fatigue and provided some physical performance improvements
Conclusions
- Overall, Rebecca was really pleased with her race, with ‘near perfect’ execution of both the swim and bike legs allowing her to rate her satisfaction as a strong 9 (out of 10)
- With her eyes set to the rest of the season, increasing her average carb intake will be a focus for her during upcoming training sessions for Rebecca. This may well help increase her perceived energy levels when it comes to the last few kilometres of the run
Key info
Rebecca Clarke
Female
Sweat sodium concentration
553mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
4:07:48
Swim Time
0:24:35
Bike Time
2:15:14
Run Time
1:26:09
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
Tauranga Half
Location
Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
Date
21st January, 2023
Website
Swim Distance
2.0km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance
90.0km / 55.9mi
Run Distance
21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance
113.1km / 70.3mi
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot and Humid
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
16°C / 61°F
Max Temp
25°C / 77°F
Avg Temp
20.5°C / 69°F
Humidity
73%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
8/10
Energy levels
8/10
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Rebecca's Thoughts
Not only was I eight minutes faster than last year and took the overall win, I felt it was a near perfection execution of my race plan.
Rebecca's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 246 | 750 | 2,778 | 275 | 270 |
| Per hour | 60 | 182 | 675 | 67 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 216 | 750 | 2,778 | 275 | 270 |
| Per hour | 59 | 204 | 754 | 75 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 137 | 750 | 1,563 | 100 | 480 |
| Per hour | 61 | 333 | 695 | 44 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 78 | 0 | 1,215 | 175 | 0 |
| Per hour | 55 | 0 | 848 | 122 | |
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.