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21st

Paul Felder's scorecard

IRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside

Saturday 2nd April, 2022

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

  • 76g

    Carb per hour
  • 769mg

    Sodium per hour
  • 564ml

    Fluid per hour
  • 1,363mg/L

    Relative sodium concentration
  • 118mg

    Total caffeine
  • How Paul hit those numbers

    finish
    star
    bottle
     
    500ml x PH 1500
    2 x Slices of white bread with butter
    1 x Greek yoghurt with honey
    0.5 x Banana
    1.5 x Black coffee
     
     
    *** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
     
     
    1.35L x PH 1000 (Tablets)
    1.35L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
    4 x PF 30 Gel
    300ml x Plain water
    -1350ml x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
     
     
    500ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
    3 x PF 30 Gel
    300ml x Plain water
    -200ml x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
    1 x Energy gel (25g carb, 100mg caffeine)
    180ml x Energy drink (22g carb)
    230ml x Cola
     

    How Paul's hydration and fueling went...

      • Ex-professional MMA fighter-turned-triathlete, Paul Felder, kicked off the 2022 triathlon season nicely at IM 70.3 Oceanside, finishing in an impressive 04:43:27 and 21st in his age-group (35-39). This was a personal best 70.3 time for Paul on what’s recognised as a notoriously challenging course and Paul felt that there’s even better to come, saying post-race that “he left some performance on the table”
      • The transition from pro fighter to triathlete has meant a steep learning curve and Paul has recognised the need to take a proactive approach to understanding his own fueling and hydration requirements. He’s been working closely with Precision Fuel & Hydration to refine his race intake
      • Having had previous issues with hydration and cramping, Paul underwent an Advanced Sweat Test with Nicci Schock to see if sodium depletion might be causing his cramping issues. His Sweat Test revealed that he has a very high sweat sodium concentration (Paul loses 1392mg/L of sodium per litre of sweat). Given that Paul also has a very high sweat rate, his net sweat sodium losses can be considerable, and so he executed a more proactive hydration strategy to hit some impressive sodium and fluid numbers at Oceanside…

    Hydration

      • As mentioned in the intro, Paul had an Advanced Sweat Test prior to Oceanside and learnt that he’s a very salty sweater; losing 1,392mg of sodium per litre of sweat. On top of this, as soon as temperatures become mild (as they were at Oceanside where the average was ~15℃/59℉), Paul has a high sweat rate which together means his net sweat sodium losses across an event can be very high. Keeping up with his losses has been a problem for Paul in the past which has affected his performance
      • Therefore, it was imperative that Paul had a hydration strategy in place to meet his fluid and sodium needs, which is exactly what we saw him do. For the bike, he prepped three 500ml/17oz bottles with PF 30 Drink Mix and added one PH 1000 Tablet to each. This meant each bottle had a relative sodium concentration (a measure of the sodium content vs. fluid volume) of 2,000mg/L. On top of this, Paul picked up a bottle of water which he drank ~300ml/10oz of to swill his mouth when he felt he needed it, reducing the relative sodium concentration of his total fluids on the bike to ~1,636mg/L
      • Many triathletes choose to rely solely on the aid stations for their fluids (and sometimes their fuel) for the run leg but given Paul’s high sodium losses, he sensibly carried a small flask (~300ml/10oz) of PH 1500 which meant his sodium replacement remained high throughout the race
      • On top of this, he picked up small cups of plain water (~300ml/10oz), Coca Cola (~230ml/8oz) and the on-course sports drink (~180ml/6oz) to meet his needs, depending on what he was craving at the time
      • Paul’s proactive approach towards hydration had a positive impact on his performance. For example, at around the 8-9 mile mark he began to experience some twinges of cramp in his calves but he felt that by continuing to drink from his hand-flask containing PH 1500 that he kept any severe cramp at bay. In the past, Paul has had to resort to walking on the run as a result of terrible cramp, so this is a huge improvement
      • Collectively, Paul’s average fluid intake was ~564ml/h (~654ml/h excluding his swim time). This is an appropriate intake for a race of this duration, in these conditions, and for an athlete with a high sweat rate

    Fueling

    Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

    30g

    carb 30 mins before

    60-90g

    carb per hour during
      • Paul fueled brilliantly before and during Oceanside 70.3. In the three hours before the 7:00am race start, Paul ate two slices of white bread with butter alongside half a banana and some greek yogurt covered in honey, as well as a cup-and-a-half of black coffee. This carb-rich breakfast, coupled with some caffeine, is textbook pre-race fueling and will have ensured Paul was toeing the start line alert and with his energy levels topped up
      • During the race, Paul followed a pre-planned strategy to fuel approximately every 20-30 minutes, which is a great way of ‘drip-feeding’ carbs into his gut
      • While riding, Paul took four PF 30 Energy Gels and three 500ml/17oz bottles of PF 30 Drink Mix (30g of carb per bottle) each mixed with one PH 1000 tablet
      • On the run, Paul’s strategy was to carry three PF 30 Energy Gels and a ~300ml/10oz flask containing one PH 1500 Tablet. He then used the on-course aid stations to pick up a caffeinated gel (100mg caffeine) and small cups of a variety of fluids as and when he felt he needed them
      • In total across the race, Paul consumed an average of ~76g of carbohydrate per hour which is in line with the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations (60-90g/h) for a performance of this duration and intensity. This broke down into ~82g/h on the bike and ~99g/h on the run - you’d normally expect a middle-distance triathlete’s intake to taper as the race goes on, but it was great to see him meet, and even exceed, our expectations without any GI issues here, especially as under-fueling on the run is one of the most common mistakes that we see triathletes make
      • Despite the high carb intake, Paul experienced no gastrointestinal issues, rating his gut comfort as 10-out-of-10, and saying he had “no trouble”
      • Paul’s effective fueling strategy was reflected in how good he felt and performed. He experienced no dips in energy during the race and also rated his energy levels as 10. Paul said he noticed the biggest difference in his performance during the run, saying “I ran my most consistent half marathon ever, normally I only feel good for the first few miles and then I’m just trying to finish, but not this time”

    Conclusions

      • All in all, Paul did a stellar job of meeting his carb, sodium and fluid needs at IM 70.3 Oceanside. In a stacked field of quality triathletes, Paul held his own to finish 21st in his age-group and with a new 70.3 personal best
      • Given his high sweat rate and very high sweat sodium concentration, Paul needed to be proactive with his hydration by carrying his own sodium-rich drinks and overall he executed a brilliant strategy
      • In terms of fueling, Paul consumed a solid amount of carbohydrate to meet the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations. Encouragingly, he suffered no GI discomfort or dips in energy levels which bodes very well for future races

    Key info

    Paul Felder

    Male
    Sweat sodium concentration
    1,392mg/L
    Sweat sodium classification
    Very High
    * determined by our Sweat Test

    Result

    Position
    21st
    Overall Time
    4:43:27
    Swim Time
    0:32:18
    Bike Time
    2:32:20
    Run Time
    1:32:00

    Event information

    Sport
    Triathlon
    Discipline
    Middle distance
    Event
    IRONMAN 70.3® Oceanside
    Location
    California, USA
    Date
    2nd April, 2022
    Swim Distance
    1.9km / 1.2mi
    Bike Distance
    90.1km / 56.0mi
    Run Distance
    21.1km / 13.1mi
    Total Distance
    113.1km / 70.3mi
    Bike Elevation
    829m / 2,720ft
    Run Elevation
    84m / 276ft
    Total Elevation
    913m / 2,995ft

    Race conditions

    Weather Conditions
    Mild
    Precipitation
    No Rain
    Min Temp
    14°C / 57°F
    Max Temp
    16°C / 61°F
    Avg Temp
    15°C / 59°F
    Humidity
    80%

    Athlete feedback

    Race Satisfaction
    9/10
    Hydration rating
    9/10
    I never felt dehydrated or depleted
    Energy levels
    10/10
    Toilet stops
    Yes
    GI comfort
    10/10
    Cramping
    Twinges but not full-on cramps

    Paul's full stats

     Carbohydrate (g)Sodium (mg)Fluid (ml)Caffeine (mg)Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
    Overall
    Total intake3593,6272,6601181,363
    Per hour7676956425
    Bike and Run
    Total intake3593,6272,6601181,363
    Per hour8889265429
    Bike
    Total intake2072,7001,65001,636
    Per hour821,0666510
    Run
    Total intake1529271,010118917
    Per hour9960465977

    Data Confidence

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    1

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    5

    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.

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