Rebecca Clarke
IRONMAN® Texas
Woodlands, Texas13th, FPRORebecca's headline numbers
Rebecca's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I felt like my energy was lower than it should have been from the get-go. I really struggled to stomach solids and gels across the race, particularly on the run. I’ve been getting consistent stomach pain which I think is related to an injury but makes fueling really tricky."
With lower than ideal energy levels from the start, Becs battled with stomach issues and discomfort to get enough carb in to see her to the finish line. She stuck to her usual fueling plan for a race of this distance by using PF Carb and Electrolyte Drink Mix, and PF 30 Gels. She chose to use the PF 300 Flow Gel both on the bike and run as she finds this easier to carry and take on. Despite the discomfort she experienced, Becs still managed to consume ~69g/h of carb. With a little refinement and understanding of her stomach injury and issues, Becs should be able to hit her usual intake goals as she has previously.
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.
Rebecca553mg/L
Rebecca 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 Rebecca's losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still crucial when it's hot and/or humid as her higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"The stomach cramps felt more muscular than GI distress, but also made it difficult to get fluid in. It made me feel quite thirsty at times but also a little queasy."
Being aware of both her sweat losses, by having a Sweat Test to understand her sweat sodium concentration and doing regular sweat rate testing to get a handle on the volume of fluid loss, has helped Becs dial in her hydration strategy. Although she struggled to stick to her plan entirely, she still managed to consume an appropriate volume of fluids by using the Carb and Electrolyte Drink Mix, PH 1500 and on-course aid stations. She felt thirsty throughout the race and, especially in warmer races like this, would have benefited from consuming slightly more plain water.
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
Becs is no stranger to the ergogenic benefits of caffeine and utilised this effectively during the race, surpassing the recommended guidelines slightly. She opts for PF 30 Caffeine Gels to hit her caffeine numbers and tops this up with some cola on course. We have previously seen Becs consuming higher caffeine doses with no adverse side-effects, which suggests that exceeding these recommendations is no issue for her and consequently we wouldn’t advise her to do anything differently.
How Rebecca hit her numbers
Here's everything that Rebecca ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I had a bit of an average day due to a few factors with my stomach and lower energy levels to begin with, which was disappointing but it’s a good point for learning and there are lots of positives to take away from races like this.”
Rebecca“Becs navigated some tricky stomach issues and dug deep to stick closely to her fuel and hydration plan to get her to the finish line in a tough race. With a stronger focus on increasing her fluid and carb intake slightly, she’ll no doubt have higher energy levels and feel better across the race.”
PF&HRebecca'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.