Ruth Astle
IRONMAN® South Africa
Ruth's headline numbers
Ruth's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Despite working to train her gut and stick to higher carbohydrate intakes in training, Ruth averaged only ~37g of carb per hour over the 8 hour race, significantly lower than the numbers we’ve seen her pushing previously and lower than the recommended guidelines for the duration and intensity associated with full-distance triathlons. After chatting to Ruth post-race, she was initially unaware on the quantity of energy drink left in her bottle and by missing this, her actual carb intake was nowhere near the plan she devised. Ruth had decided to combine her fuel and hydration elements into a single source on the bike, which may have impacted her consumption. Moving forward, we would recommend decoupling the two so she can adjust each component individually depending on the environmental conditions and her body’s needs.
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.
Ruth falls on the low-to-moderate side of the scale when it comes to how salty her sweat is, so the relative sodium concentration of the fluid she took on board was likely sufficient to support her sweat losses. She picked up water at 10 aid stations and mixed it with PH 1500 to successfully hit her sodium numbers. Ruth reported going to the toilet five times, which implies the overall volume of fluid she drank may have been too high, so performing some sweat rate testing would help dial in her strategy to meet her total fluid needs without over- or undershooting it.
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.
Ruth had a caffeine gel before the start of the race to give her an energy boost, but didn't supplement any additional caffeine during the race other than a very small amount via a few cups of energy drink she picked up at aid stations on the run. Since her total intake of the stimulant was significantly below the scientific recommendations, Ruth could try using a couple of PF 30 Caffeine Gels during her key training sessions to see if she tolerates them well. If so, she could incorporate these in her plan to reap the ergogenic benefits caffeine has to offer in a race, helping to maintain her energy levels and reduce her perception of fatigue.
How Ruth hit her numbers
Here's everything that Ruth ate and drank on the day...
Ruth's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HRuth's full stats
Data Confidence?
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.