Tamara Jewett
T100 Las Vegas
Tamara's headline numbers
Tamara'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.
Unlike most triathletes we’ve worked with, who reach predominantly for gels, Tamara fuels her races with several PF 30 Chews plus PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix. The scientific literature suggests that the format of carbohydrates could influence the digestibility and subsequent level of gastrointestinal comfort experienced but oxidation rates (speed of carbohydrate breakdown) remains similar. Compared to a gel, consuming bars or chews may lead to more GI discomfort during racing since the solidity requires more energy to digest. Given that during hard efforts, blood flow is diverted away from the stomach, this digestion becomes even harder. Fortunately, Tamara has spent years training her gut to tolerate chews since she prefers to use them in races for their flavour and satiation, and she subsequently experienced no issues.
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.
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 Tamara’s losses are on the moderate 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 moreGiven the hot racing conditions, it’s likely that Tamara’s sweat losses were higher than her previous race in not-so-sunny London. So, she appropriately listened to her body and thirst responses to increase her fluid consumption for this race by ~100ml per hour to ensure she was adequately replenishing her losses. Her sweat sodium concentration is similar to the average we see in our Case Study Database, 991mg/L, so Tamara aimed for our moderate strength electrolyte with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, delivering a relative sodium concentration of 1000mg/L.
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.
Caffeine works mainly by blocking a chemical in the brain called adenosine (which normally makes you feel tired), whilst also boosting levels of the ‘feel-good’ chemical, dopamine. The combination of these mechanisms increase feelings of alertness and motivation. In most individuals, caffeine also speeds up nerve activity, helping to further increase energy levels. Given that caffeine has similar performance enhancing benefits in men and women, it’s likely Tamara would have benefited from a slightly higher dose 3-6mg/kg of the stimulant than the ~1.96mg/kg she consumed through a single PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the last 30 minutes before the swim.
How Tamara hit her numbers
Here's everything that Tamara ate and drank on the day...
Tamara's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HTamara'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.