Matt Vermeer
IRONMAN® Arizona
Tempe, ArizonaTop 50, M35-39Matt's headline numbers
Matt's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I had some gut discomfort on the run which caused me to walk for a short time, but my energy overall was good."
Matt used an energy drink mix in all of his bottles on the bike, plus ~10 gels throughout the race to hit just shy of 50 grams of carbs per hour. This is a solid intake to reach during his first IRONMAN®, but given Matt’s race intensity and ~12 hour time, the scientific guidelines would recommend over 60g/h, and then even closer to 90g/h for the 70.3® he has planned next year. These high carbohydrate intakes can be a challenge for the stomach, so Matt should undertake plenty of gut training, especially as he experienced some gut issues late on the run during this race.
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.
Drinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Matt start optimally hydrated
"I followed my plan, and drank just over five bottles on the bike. I peed twice on the bike, and a few times on the run."
Based on his subjective feedback, Matt’s hydration strategy met his needs in the mild conditions and allowed him to maintain his performance. To dial his strategy further, Matt may benefit from decoupling his fuel and hydration rather than relying solely on carb-rich fluids during the bike. Including some hydration-focused bottles (with just water and electrolytes) would allow him to pull on the different ‘levers’ separately and reduce the risk of gut issues from pushing past his comfortable carb intake when dialling up his hydration. He could also look to implement a more strategic preloading protocol to optimise his pre-race hydration, as well as collect sweat rate data and get a Sweat Test to learn more about his fluid and sodium losses respectively.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Matt typically avoids coffee on race day, so he instead opted for a pre-race caffeinated energy drink and then incorporated one caffeine gel around mile 21 of the run. Given caffeine takes ~45-60 minutes to peak in the blood stream, Matt could benefit from an earlier caffeine dose(s) during the race, such as one or two caffeine gels on the bike and then a dose earlier on the run, to maximise the time for him to experience its ergogenic effects.
How Matt hit his numbers
Here's everything that Matt ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I followed my plan pretty closely, and managed my stomach issues so I’m pretty happy with that.”
“Over the course of his first full distance triathlon, Matt’s strategy delivered enough of each of the three fundamental ‘levers’ of carbs, sodium and fluid to support his needs and performance for 12 hours. Matt could consider decoupling his fuel and electrolyte levels to dial in his strategy further and continue to train his gut ahead of more races next year.”
PF&HMatt's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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.