Emma Pallant-Browne
IRONMAN 70.3® European Championships
Emma's headline numbers
Emma'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.
On the bike, Emma consumed ~120g of carbs from PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PH 1500 (Drink Mix) in her bottle, along with two PF 30 Chews, bringing her average intake to ~80g of carb per hour. As is common for Emma, she took minimal fuel during the run, only drinking small amounts of the on-course energy drink (~13g/h), similar to her intake at previous races. Emma’s strategy of frontloading carbs on the bike and running light on fuel seems to suit her, although she takes this approach to an extreme compared to other middle-distance triathletes in our Case Study Database. Her average carb intake across the race was ~68g/h, falling short of the recommended 90g/h for a race of this duration and intensity. Adding a few more PF 30 Gels could help her reach this target and potentially boost her energy levels for optimal performance.
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 Emma’s losses are on the low 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 moreEmma drank from two bottles: one containing PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix with extra PH 1500, and the other just having PH 1500, bringing her average fluid intake on the bike to ~750ml/h. Though high for some athletes, this intake suits Emma’s sweat rate, which can exceed 2L per hour in hot conditions. On the run, she drank ~540ml across the three laps, going between water and energy drink. Given her high sweat rate, this left her slightly dehydrated by the finish, which was confirmed by the long wait to pee at drug testing. Some level of dehydration is expected over the course of this length of race, and Emma felt no detrimental performance impact or issues from this. Her sodium intake averaged over 1,500mg/L, thanks to her sodium-rich bottle on the bike. Though conditions were warm, Emma’s strategy of consuming a greater sodium concentration - recommended by the PF&H Sports Science Team - has helped her retain fluids better, addressing past issues with excessive sodium and fluid depletion.
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.
While Emma pre-caffeinated before the race with a coffee, she could have benefited from a top-up, as the race duration aligns with caffeine’s half-life of 4-5 hours. This means her caffeine levels would have decreased toward the end. To maintain optimal stimulant levels in her bloodstream, she could have added one or two PF 30 Caffeine Gels during the race to meet the scientific recommendations to provide both a mental and physical boost.
How Emma hit her numbers
Here's everything that Emma ate and drank on the day...
Emma's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Emma
PF&HEmma'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.