2nd
Martin Gannon's scorecard
IRONMAN Austria-Kärnten
Sunday 19th September, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
77g
Carb per hour
555mg
Sodium per hour
587ml
Fluid per hour
945mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
5.65mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Martin hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
2 x PH Electrolyte Capsules
2 x Slices of bread with butter and jam
300ml x Yogurt
1 x Croissant
2 x Cappuccinos
1 x Tea
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
1 x Energy gel (26g carb)
*** Review technique if drinking much at this point!
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
8 x PH Electrolyte Capsule
3.7L x Plain water
250ml x Additional fluid in mixed drinks
6 x Energy gel (25g carb)
2 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
12 x Energy gel (26g carb)
1L x Plain water
7 x Energy gel (25g carb)
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 150mg caffeine)
400ml x Energy drink (36g carb)
400ml x Cola
How Martin's hydration and fueling went...
- Martin finished 2nd in his age group (M60-64) at IM Austria-Kärnten, finishing in a time of 10 hours and 39 minutes to qualify for the IM World Championships. It’s testament to the high standards that Martin holds for himself that he felt the race “only went ok because ultimately I want to be at the top of the tree”
Hydration
- Martin consumed around ~555mg/hr sodium and ~587ml/hr (~20oz/hr) fluid, which equates to a relative sodium concentration of ~945mg/L
- Martin’s overall sodium intake was adequate to replace a proportion of what he was losing, considering his sweat sodium concentration (695mg/L), but there was a large difference between his bike and run sodium intakes. His sodium intake on the run was low (~92mg/hr), partly because he didn’t take the Electrolyte Capsules he had planned to while running
- With this in mind, he could increase his sodium intake because the large amount of fluid he consumed meant that the relative sodium concentration of what he consumed during the run leg was ~198mg/L - way below what he should be aiming for in order to adequately replace what he’s losing in his sweat
- Martin’s fluid intake was ~6.25L (~211oz) in total which equates to ~587ml/hr (~20oz/hr), a seemingly reasonable amount. But he did mention that he peed a lot on the bike and once on the run. This suggests he could have over hydrated - before the race he drank two cappuccinos, tea, water and his PH 1500 and on the bike he estimates to have drunk ~3.7L (~125oz) water alongside his 750ml/25oz bottle of PH 1500 (tablet)
- We would recommend he slightly reduces this fluid intake which would hopefully reduce the amount he is peeing during races
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Martin was really happy with his fueling and hydration strategy on the day. He started by topping up his fuel stores well before the race with a large breakfast high in carbs and low in fibre. He also had two energy gels (one with caffeine, one without) just before the start of the swim
- Martin consumed a decent ~77g/hr carb overall, which fell well within the Quick Carb Calculator recommended range of 60-90g per hour
- Martin was able to sustain his high carb intake while experiencing no GI issues, rating his GI comfort as 9 (where 10 is no GI issues all day). This is great to see considering he has had some issues in the past. He did mention he felt nauseous in the second half of the run so he decided to take one of his planned gels 10 minutes later
- Martin consumed ~94g/hr on the bike as most triathletes find it easier to get more fuel on board during this phase, and this will have helped support his run leg, which saw him take in ~68g/hr
- In terms of caffeine, Martin consumed ~407mg in total (~38mg/hr). The recommended caffeine dose for performance is 3-6mg per kilogram of bodyweight (72kg). Therefore, Martin took a high dose towards the top end of the range for his body weight (216-438mg). He spread his intake out throughout the race well and got his caffeine from gels and Coca Cola
Conclusions
- Overall, Martin had a great race and largely stuck to the hydration and fueling plan discussed with Abby pre-race. He said “I trained well coming up to the race but it was a bit early in my training schedule for a full IM” (Martin opted to race Austria after his original race in Kona was postponed)
- He could consider making some slight adjustments to his hydration strategy going forwards, particularly before the race as his fluid intake was quite high
- We’d recommend preloading with PH 1500 in 500ml (16oz) water (with no additional water or salt capsules)
Key info
Martin Gannon
Male
72kg
Sweat sodium concentration
695mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
2nd
Overall Time
10:39:48
Swim Time
1:09:43
Bike Time
5:25:46
Run Time
3:52:32
Normalised power (Bike)
201W
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN Austria-Kärnten
Location
Klagenfurt, Austria
Date
19th September, 2021
Website
Swim Distance
3.8km / 2.4mi
Bike Distance
180.2km / 112.0mi
Run Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Distance
226.2km / 140.6mi
Bike Elevation
1,600m / 5,249ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
9°C / 48°F
Max Temp
17°C / 63°F
Avg Temp
14°C / 57°F
Humidity
80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
8/10
Hydration rating
9/10
Energy levels
8/10
No problems but I got increasingly tired and the last 10km of the run were hard
Toilet stops
Yes
Peed many times on the bike and once on the run
GI comfort
9/10
I felt slightly nauseated in the second half of the run
Cramping
No cramping
Martin's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 819 | 5,909 | 6,250 | 407 | 945 |
| Per hour | 77 | 555 | 587 | 38 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 771 | 5,690 | 6,250 | 332 | 910 |
| Per hour | 83 | 613 | 673 | 36 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 508 | 5,334 | 4,450 | 150 | 1,199 |
| Per hour | 94 | 985 | 822 | 28 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 263 | 356 | 1,800 | 182 | 198 |
| Per hour | 68 | 92 | 466 | 47 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
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.