Kate Curran
IRONMAN 70.3® European Championships Tallinn
Kate's headline numbers
Kate'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.
Kate raced her debut IRONMAN 70.3® pro series race at the European Championships in Tallinn, fueling with PF 300 Flow Gel and PF 30 Gels, which she has been practising in her training in the months leading into this key race. By engaging in this gut training ahead of time, she ensured she could tolerate high levels of carb to fuel her performance whilst working hard in the race. Kate's high carb intake on the bike (~84g/h) dropped to a lower (~56g/h) on the run, which is a trend we commonly see during triathlon. Still, to help further support faster run splits, Kate could work on increasing her carb intake on the run for more readily available energy.
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 Kate’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 moreAfter getting a Sweat Test at the PF&H HQ, Kate discovered she isn’t a very salty sweater. She has been practising preloading with PH 1500 the night before hard training sessions, along with consuming electrolytes in her drinks in a ratio that matches her sweat sodium concentration during races. She tried this for the first time whilst racing in Tallinn, but fell short of her losses, both in fluid volume and sodium concentration. Unfortunately, she experienced some nausea on the bike, though she has struggled with this in races historically and it appears unrelated to electrolyte intake. While she used PH 500 on the bike, her sodium intake dropped off during the run when she switched to plain water and cola from the aid stations. To stay on top of her electrolyte intake, she could carry Electrolyte Capsules to pair with the fluids she picks up or use PH 1000 when it’s available on course.
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.
Kate has been trialling increasing her caffeine intake during races recently and consumed an ergogenic dose here in Tallinn. She used three PF 30 Caffeine Gels (with one mixed into her bike’s onboard storage alongside a PF 300 Flow Gel) to drip feed the stimulant into her system throughout the bike course.
How Kate hit her numbers
Here's everything that Kate ate and drank on the day...
Kate's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HKate'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).