Erin Moyer
Big Alta 50k
Erin's headline numbers
Erin'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.
Erin started with her ‘lucky’ race-day banana and oatmeal to fuel up before hitting the start line, where her nerves kept her from taking a final pre-race gel like we’d normally suggest. However, the butterflies eventually subsided and she managed to nail her fueling strategy, hitting well over 100g of carb per hour despite very little gut training in the weeks leading up to the race. Her intake largely hinged upon PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix with a few PF 30 Gels, PF 90 Gels and PF 30 Caffeine Gels interspersed throughout. This approach kept flavour fatigue to a minimum with the mild, neutral flavour of PF products and helped streamline Erin’s carb intake so she knew she was fueling adequately to support her performance. Her perceived energy levels were phenomenal for most of the race, supporting the research illustrating the correlation between high carb intake, subsequent greater energy availability and impressive performances.
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 Erin’s losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreErin’s biggest takeaway from this race came through logistical lessons, where she should have relied more on handhelds and pre-prepared bottles for a fast race like Big Alta. Although the weather conditions were favourable and relatively mild on the day, Erin reported feeling thirsty at points on the course. Going forward, it’d be helpful to collect some sweat rate data to identify if her fluid intake of ~900ml/h was replacing enough of her fluid losses to sustain her performance throughout such a demanding race. From a sodium perspective, her relative intake was spot on for her known losses. Although, this isn’t a surprise, as Erin knows the importance of relative sodium concentration, running a Sweat Test Center herself in Reno! She mixed up the PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix in both regular and extra concentrated strengths, and paired this with some plain water for taste variety to almost perfectly match her losses. If she finds her sweat rate is significantly higher than the amount of fluid she can realistically consume and carry during a race, it may be helpful to increase this sodium concentration slightly to encourage her body to hold onto the fluid she is able to consume. Additionally, incorporating the preloading protocol in the 12 hours leading up to the race will help her start as hydrated as possible.
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.
After a morning coffee to elevate the circulating levels of caffeine in her bloodstream, Erin had a second dose of caffeine via one PF 30 Caffeine Gel during the race. However, this amount still puts her below the recommended range for athletic performance, which is 3-6 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight. Since pre-race nerves suppressed her appetite at the start line, Erin could consider swapping another one of her PF 30 Gels for a caffeinated gel to make sure she gets the most out of caffeine’s ergogenic effects and reaps the fatigue-masking benefits it has to offer.
How Erin hit her numbers
Here's everything that Erin ate and drank on the day...
Erin's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Erin's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).