Martin Gannon
IRONMAN® Austria-Kärnten
Martin's headline numbers
Martin'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.
Martin had two energy gels (one with caffeine, one without) just before the start of the swim. Consuming a small dose of carbs prior to the start of a race is an efficient way to begin fueling. Consistent fueling from early on helps to maintain carbohydrate availability and prevents the depletion of glycogen in the muscles. Given that athletes tend to burn far more carbohydrates than they consume during exercise, having this dose of carbs so early on also helps to mitigate against bonking and severe energy dips which would significantly affect their performance. Overall, Martin consumed a decent amount of carb leaving him just short of the scientific recommendations, and he was able to sustain this high carb intake while experiencing no GI issues, which is great to see considering he has had some issues with this in the past.
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 Martin’s losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreThere was a large difference between Martin’s sodium intake on the bike vs the run, partly because he didn’t take the Electrolyte Capsules that he had planned to while running. We would recommend John to slightly increase his sodium intake during the run to better compliment the volume of fluid he took on board. This would ensure that the relative sodium concentration of his fluids was higher than a very dilute ~198mg/L in this race. Positively, he didn’t experience any cramping at all. He did mention that he peed a lot whilst on the bike and once on the run, which suggests he could have overhydrated, or this could be linked to the lower sodium concentration as we know that sodium helps with water retention in cells. So, we would recommend he slightly reduces this fluid intake, especially when racing in cooler environments.
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.
Martin took a high dose of caffeine in this race, which is towards the top end of the recommended range. He spread his intake out throughout the race well and got his caffeine from gels and cola.
How Martin hit his numbers
Here's everything that Martin ate and drank on the day...
Martin's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HMartin'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.