Ashleigh Gentle
IRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside
Ashleigh's headline numbers
Ashleigh'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.
With an early race start, Ashleigh wasn’t able to fully finish her breakfast at 4am, so the recommended pre-race PF 30 Gel about 30 minutes before the swim was even more important to top up her blood glucose levels. During the race, she had a carb-heavy bottle containing five PF 30 Gels mixed with water, and she also drank half of her 25oz bottle with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix. On the run, she consumed two PF 30 Gels, raising her overall average carb intake by ~13g/h compared to Miami. While still below the recommended 90g/h, this is certainly a positive step forward for a stronger fueling strategy.
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 32oz (mg/32oz). How much sodium you’re taking in per 32oz of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/32oz) 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/32oz.
Whilst Ashleigh’s losses are on the moderate side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreUnlike the hot and humid conditions at CLASH Miami, Oceanside presented overcast and mild conditions, likely leading to much lower sweat losses for Ash. Consequently, it was unsurprising that her fluid intake was reduced. Although her average fluid intake appears low overall, she felt it was appropriate given her substantially decreased sweat rate and didn’t have any dehydration symptoms. Her sodium intake was also relatively low, though improved from prior races due to incorporating electrolytes via PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix. In warmer climates, we recommend she increase her sodium intake both pre-race and during the event to replace a greater proportion of her losses. Ash should consider having a Sweat Test as it would be beneficial to help her more accurately tailor her strategy to her individual electrolyte needs.
How Ashleigh hit her numbers
Here's everything that Ashleigh ate and drank on the day...
Ashleigh's weapons of choice
Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
Final thoughts
PF&HAshleigh'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).