Sarah Crowley
IRONMAN® Australia
Sarah's headline numbers
Sarah'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.
Sarah used what she learnt and began to implement from the 2021 season to increase her carbohydrate intake for full-distance races. She implemented this change in strategy well and had no GI discomfort, which is a testament to her efforts to train her gut in her race simulation training sessions in the 8-10 weeks leading into IRONMAN® Australia. To hit this higher intake, Sarah predominantly used carb-rich drink mixes plus several PF 30 Gels on the bike, and alternating between Gels and Chews on the run.
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 Sarah’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 moreThroughout the nine-hour race, Sarah consumed ~760ml per hour on the bike and ~817ml/h on the run, a sensible volume given the warm conditions. Although she didn’t pee at all during the race - which typically might indicate not drinking enough - this isn’t uncommon for Sarah and her lack of dehydration-related symptoms suggest she stayed adequately hydrated. Sarah’s drinks contained a low relative sodium concentration, which matched her lower than average sweat sodium concentration. For races in hotter conditions, she may benefit from including slightly more electrolytes in her hydration strategy in upcoming races, erring on the higher side of the recommendations for her personal losses. Alongside an appropriate amount of fluid intake, this would help to maintain her fluid and electrolyte balance, using the water retention property of sodium to her advantage.
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.
Sarah didn’t take any caffeine before the race but did a great job at drip-feeding caffeinated drinks and chews while on the move. Her total intake slightly exceeded the scientific recommendations for an acute dose based on her body weight, but considering her tolerance to caffeine and lack of negative side effects, it was likely appropriate and helped to mask any fatigue as she powered through.
How Sarah hit her numbers
Here's everything that Sarah ate and drank on the day...
Sarah's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HSarah's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.