Angela Naeth
Transpyr Backroads
Angela's headline numbers
Angela'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.
Angela’s time spent training her gut to tolerate more carb paid off significantly, as she comfortably stomached ~117 grams per hour during this stage of the Transpyr Backroads. Because of the multi-day nature of the event, she made sure to consume carb-rich foods at every meal between stages, staying ahead of hunger and on top of her (re)fueling targets. Although she didn’t ‘pre-fuel’ in the final 30 minutes before taking off, her energy levels benefitted from her otherwise spot-on carb intake, and were topped up roughly every half hour during rides with simple, easily digestible carbs. Plus, she even had enough energy to jog and swim a few days during the trip, as well!
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 Angela’s losses are on the moderate side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreAngela didn’t preload for this stage, but even with a relatively low sweat rate in the cold weather conditions, she could still benefit from the systemic benefits of preloading, including the reduced cardiovascular strain caused by the acute blood plasma volume expansion. During the race, she did a great job staying on top of her hydration strategy and replacing her sweat fluid and electrolyte losses. By using a hydration pack alongside her normal bottle on her frame, Angela could carry enough for each stage without having to supplement with additional fluids. She used PH 1500 (Drink Mix) in both vessels but diluted it down to match her sweat sodium concentration. This is a great example of the value of knowing your numbers so you can meet your needs with whichever format works best for you.
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.
As someone who tolerates caffeine well, Angela carried three PF 30 Caffeine Gels with her on each stage, but ended up only consuming two during stage four. These provided enough of a boost to decrease her perception of effort and keep her pushing hard to the finish. Considering her morning coffee, which would also have contributed to the total amount of caffeine circulating in her bloodstream during the ride, her overall intake was right in line with the recommended range.
How Angela hit her numbers
Here's everything that Angela ate and drank on the day...
Angela's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Angela
PF&HAngela'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.