Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 129)

Firstly a big thank you to all on this group for all the feedback and encouragement.  It's been such a journey! 

I've now posted the race report if you fancy a long read!

HIM Shepparton is in November the week after Noosa Olympic so not long still I start the training all over again.  I think I'm going to try a different program, shake it up a bit, but keep this one on the side make sure i cover everything.

Can't wait til you guys have your races and I can read all about it!

Congrats, Jo! You made it, and in what sound like really tough conditions! I think you were racing while I was on my brick, and I kept thinking about you out there with the water critters and heat. 

I know how it goes with heat and cramps! Probably a combo of not being used to the hills on the bike and then sweating out all the salt--I had a similar situation in an Oly last year and the run was just a chore--the only thing that saved me was everyone else was in a bad state too by that point.  Think I ate a pound of fries afterwards trying to replace all the salt.

I'm off to read the race report.....if I can stay awake. Really looking forward to taper soon....

Jo - congrats on your half ironman finish!

While you were doing your half I was doing my local sprint tri.  I PR'd but was not as fast as I hoped.  Distance was 600yd/13miles/5k.  Finished in 1:21:05.  Swim pace was 2:00/100, Bike was 20.2mph, Run was 8:45/mile. 

After going through the TI swimming drills, this was my fastest swim pace ever in a race.  I've come in at 2:08-2:15 before.  And this was only the second time I've really swam with the new stroke so I think I should be able to get faster, plus I know I expended less energy. 

The bike was slow for me however.  I should have been able to average 22+ for this distance, but couldn't seem to get it going.  I think being early in the season I haven't had many good training rides.  I seem to end up in windy conditions where I just cruise with the wind at my back the first half of the ride and then realize I have to fight the wind on my way home.  That doesn't make for vary good training, so I'll have to change my routes up some, plus as summer goes along we'll have less wind anyway.

I hoped to be faster on the run but checking my times from past races my best pace was 9:25 so this was a big improvement.  I'd like to get down to 8:00/mile for shorter races and maybe be able to do 9:00 by the time I get to my half in September.

Next race is an olympic on July 14, then I'll have a month and a half until my half.

Okay, since apparently I provide a lot of entertainment on this thread, the latest of my HIM nightmares:

The race venue was changed to rural North Korea. (I think I came up with this as some of my Korean students are obsessed with the topic.) The dream started as I was midway through the bike course. I had a bento box full of energy bars and gels but the route was lined with starved-looking children standing behind a barbed-wire fence, and I couldn't bring myself to eat in front of them. I pulled over and gave all my nutrition to the kids. Then I realized I had nothing left, no possibility to get anything on the course, and wondered if I'd be able to finish. Biked on through barren-looking fields and factory towns until I saw a starved looking kitten at the side of the road. Had the horrible thought that it might become someone's lunch so I picked it up and put it in my bento box. I realized I couldn't run with a kitten in my tri jersey and was afraid it would get lost or stolen in T2, so I dropped out in T2. I removed a US $100 from my jersey pocket, took the bento box off the bike and left it in the rack, marched with the boxed kitten up to a van parked at the edge of transition, and told the driver, "Take me to the Chinese border." Then I woke up......tired. OMG

That was quite a nightmare.  I too have been having nightmares but of a different nature.  I'm three days out now from the big show and the weather forecasts are getting worse each day.  Latest is upper 50's, windy, and possible rain.  The water temps have been in the upper 50's and if it is windy the lake will be a washing machine.

If the weather is bad it will be tough to achieve my time goal.  This is a goal I've worked more than three years for.  I was so close three years ago before getting sick.  I really thought I had it in the bag given my training times but I can see losing three or four minutes in the water if its choppy and who knows on the bike.  It is a point to point bike course that winds around but is more into the wind than with it.  Cooler temps will help on the run.

This is the best taper I've had as in the past its been about trying to heal from injuries while this time I've just been resting and getting in some light workouts.  I travel tomorrow so don't know if I'll be online until after the race.  Thank you all for the great time and comraderie you've shared with me.  It's one of the best parts of the journey.

Pops, Good luck on your race!

Grrrrr on this weather!  Where the heck is June already!  I hope the clouds part and you have blue skies for your race--but if that is too much too ask, just some calm would be great!  Best of luck.

The week leading up to Cairns was wet and windy and when we arrived Saturday it was tropical rain like you've never seen.  The forecast was for thunder and rain and wind.  BUT on the actual day it was still and sunny so don't believe all you read!

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Don't be hard on yourself about the times - getting to the end is the first obstacle anything else is icing on the cake!  And then if you do the time you want, that's the cherry!

POPSRACER - thank you for all your words of encouragement on my journey - couldn't have got through this without you guys.

Please post your race number - and where you're racing so we can track you on the day!  Good luck!!!!!

"Please post your race number - and where you're racing so we can track you on the day!  Good luck!!!!!"

Boise 70.3 number 263

Pops--As a fellow northwesterner I know exactly what you are talking about with the weather. I keep watching the hometown forecasts, and every time it warms up it gets cold again. Boise is on the eastern side of the Cascades though (as is Bend for my race), so there's a greater chance of hitting warm, dry weather than on our side, at least until July!  I'm also worried about weather--mainly that the swim will be so cold I'll get hypothermic, and the bike could be cold enough I won't be able to recover. Crazy nightmares aside, realistically, apart from mechanical failure on the bike, that's the main thing that could keep me from finishing. I know I've had trouble with hypothermia in the past, there's absolutely nothing I can do to prepare for a cold swim here, and all I can do is try. Going to pick up my wetsuit and hood early next week and do a couple of lake swims, then a short swim at the race venue the day before. If I just can't do it, guess I will try to switch to the duathlon and do my backup race in September.

I guess all we can do is our best, as someone else is in charge of the weather. I'll be rooting for you on your race day!

Forecasted 90 degree temps here in michigan for my first HIM, which is this Sunday !

Has got me thinking even harder about the nutrition / hydration plan.   I know there's a ton of discussion around here about this but I'm just 100 percent confused about the plethora of options.   Hammer's website is mind-boggling complex.  Gu and Hammer, neither of their websites even break down a 'recommended' HIM nutrition plan.  Am I missing something ?

Yes, I know what you're thinking "it depends on the individual".

THIS individual has not done more than the 3 hour stuff in the plan.  I've used water-gatorade-water along with Gu gels.  Never done me wrong.

Now I'm being told esp. based on the heat forecast, I need salt tabs (have never tried one).   Also, it seems logical that some protein should enter the mix at some point.    My buddy gave me this packet of Perpetuem, and sent me to the Hammer site.  

I'm super overwhelmed about what I need here.  I"ve never had any cramps of any kind, even in my recent 25k, but today a couple Clif protein shot blocks cramped up my stomach during a 1 hour brick.

Any direction here on how I can learn quickly what works ?  My workouts are virtually done, racing 70.3 on Sunday.  I hate feeling like this !

Advice on a safe approach ?   Generally not very sensitive, today was a surprise.

The age old quote of not trying anything new on race day should apply I suppose!

Here's what I did and I got calf cramps.....breakfast of oatmeal, a milk based breakfast drink (Up and Go) and a banana.  Drank heaps of water the day before, in hindsight on a hot day go more Gatorade on the day before.

Gatorade on the bike (pretty diluted so perhaps would mix it stronger for a hot day)  a protein bar and two bananas on the bike.  Would maybe include some salty crisps or pretzels...

Run - just what was offered, the watermelon was like superfood!  Coke of course and water and by the end I was drinking the electrolyte drink they offered which isn't my usual brand but was fine.  I did end up taking salt tablets from someone else.  I would definitely include those again.

AFA will try to offer my $0.02. I haven't raced a HIM yet but I've been doing what I call my "monster brick" (90-100 km bike, which for me takes anywhere from 3:20 to 3:50+) followed by a 40-50 minute run, pretty much every week for several months, in tropical heat. I don't use salt tablets. I wouldn't, unless you've experimented with them in training. Just make an effort to eat more salty food for a day or two before (I eat it all the time, since I live and train in constant heat), maybe drink more electrolyte drink than water. There are some gel flavors that pack a pretty good sodium punch if you think you need it--I carry Power Bar Tangerine (I think--I'll check when I get home) on long runs in case of cramping.  On my monster brick I generally go through 2-24 ounce bottles of Nuun or Endurolyte (1/2 tablet in each) and a 16 oz bottle of water; refill the latter with Nuun for the run. Nutrition-wise I'm kind of a minimalist-- usually three of something on the bike ("something" being a gu, banana, or energy bar--usually a mix), about one an hour starting at 1:15; nothing on the run. But I'm pretty light (115 lbs) and used to do a lot of "running on empty', so I probably burn fuel more efficiently than most people. In the HIM I plan to carry two gels, will probably eat just one.

You could consider a salty or sweet and salty snack (Cliff Mojo Bars, salted nuts, jerky) on the bike--as Jo has mentioned, sweet stuff can start to seem really nasueating in the heat. Be very careful with liquid nutrition, esp. stuff with protein in it, in hot weather--it can go off, and if you haven't tested it before, it might not agree with your stomach. At an extremely hot Oly last year, they were giving out free Perpeteum (sp?); two of my buddies put it in a bottle, and both were vomiting on the run course and after. I completed that race on a total of one finger banana and a bite of fruit bar, about the size of a shot block (dropped my energy bar on the bike)--a bit hungry by the end, but didn't "bonk" and my stomach was fine.

Hope this is useful. Best of luck!

There's so much that I want to comment on here - you guys are really awesome. I too am so grateful to be tapering in good health and injury-free. What a gift. I've had to cancel sprints in the past b/c of my constant bad health. Also, the nutrition - I am soaking up these comments. I tried Cliff bars (FAIL...except maybe the minty chocolate one), HEED (offered at the race) (WICKED FAIL...yes I'm from Massachusetts ), Gatorade - (WIN), Hammer Gel (offered at race (WIN) and now I know I can carry Gatorade on the bike (2 strong bottles) and I was told to chug a Gatorade right before the swim b/c though it may slosh around in my stomach it will give me the strength I need at beginning bike before I can consume again (15 minutes into the bike) So, the final try will be flat coke. I have an 80 minute run this weekend for this last ditch try. If it doesn't work I will carry one bottle of Gatorade with me on the run. What is the deal/precautions with flat coke?

Good luck on the upcoming races and great job on all recent race distances, guys! I just love catching up on here..also, HR - that was one heck of a nightmare! It seems like it was telling you that though you may be super competitive (is this a news flash?)...your good heart is your real ruler? Pretty cool stuff.

Oh, yeah. More like.....guilt is the real ruler. Like probably everyone in a helping profession, I always feel guilty for taking time for myself, specifically, training when I could be doing all kinds of fun extras for my students. And living in the developing world most of one's adult life gives one a different perspective--what's a 4-hour workout when so many struggle physically and mentally just to survive, sometimes right next to where you're doing the workouts? I don't even consider myself much of an endurance athlete after seeing the sherpa porters in Nepal, who do this day in and day out all their lives. That's true endurance.

When I lived in China, I did several trips with Yeshi, a young  Tibetan guy who had walked to India over a 20,000 foot pass when he was 12 to continue his education, losing half his feet to frostbite. Yet 12 years later, he walked BACK to help out his family, started a sucessful business, and has trekked all over the world, run 5 and 10 K's, and done his dive certification in Australia. The cat in the bento box concept no doubt comes from him--a friend who trekked with him a few years ago told me Yeshi had trekked out two days with an injured cat in his sleeping bag stuff sack--he later nursed it back to health and kept it as a pet.

And cats.....Like Yeshi, I am big sucker for them. I would drop out of a race to save one. My folks have threatened to disown me if I bring home any more bikes or cats!

Okay, back to nutrition, now that everyone knows how to get me to drop out---just throw a cat in my path---It was tangerine gel, but there are other flavors with the same amount of sodium (200mg). The brand is Power Bar energy. It says something about "Cramp-Crushing Electrolytes" on the packet. I have orange, strawberry-banana, and chocolate in the fridge, but there are probably other flavors as well. I carry it for long runs and a favorite race (Angkor Wat half-marathon in Cambodia) where they serve only water on the course. That's as much sodium as a whole bottle of most electrolyte drinks.

RE defizzed Coke--back in the day before gels and gu, that WAS marathon "nutrition" for many people. I used it for some races, between about 10-22 miles, for elite events where I could make my own drink bottles. Things to be aware of--it does have quite a bit of caffeine and is acidic, so make sure you can tolerate that. It's also pretty sweet--you might want to dilute it and/or put a squeeze of lemon in it. I had worked out some sort of ratio thing where it got less sweet as the race went on (only water in the last miles as my body tends to shut down and I gag on everything but), but long since over being that high-maintenance LOL! Now I just use a gel with caffeine (tangerine above has a double shot) washed down with some water, for the same effect. 

Hope it's appropriate to get input here on my 'new' nutrition plan.  It's based on my 195# weight, and very limited experience with longest events being several 2-3 hour bike rides and a couple 25k runs.   water / gatorade / water rotation and GU gels has worked well for me historically.     Planned:

Pre-start:  PB& honey muffin, bacon, gatorade, 1 salt cap, banana

T1:   first GU, banana ? Sunscreen !

Bike:  water/gatorade / 1 salt cap per hour / 3-4 GU/ clif shot blocks / honey stinger waffle / jerky / protein bar

T2:  PB&J sandwich just in case i want it / cold gatorade 

Run:  salt caps 1 per hour / protein bar / 2 GU gels

 It is forecasted to be 90 degrees F !  emphasis on the 'F'.

Does this look reasonably OK other than "maybe too much stuff".   I want to bring enough groceries that I'm surely covered. this is a local event, not sure how reliable the aid stations may be or how much I'm gonna want.

Deeply appreciate your input here, all of the above stuff has been known to work for me (but salt caps are new), I almost never cramp, but this duration is all new and I don't want to start trying new stuff.

Lack of protein concerning ?

is my plan approved ?

That looks like more than enough to me, and like you say, better to have it than not. 

I can only speak to the protein, I've never HIM'd, but in marathons, I use exclusively carbs for max effort for 3.5 hours.  I do this so I don't cramp.  I don't know about protein for longer efforts like 5-7+ of a HIM.  For marathons, I take in protein within an hour of race finish.  It helps with recovery immediately after race.

Starting to feel normal after my half mary, lower leggs still a tiny bit tender. 

I'm back to working on the bike. I live on top of a hill and the final trip back to the house is a bear. I've been struggling for weeks to break 17mph (27kph) and the hill at the end of the ride when I'm tired just kills it.

So today I did not start the Garmin until I was stopped at a light on the flat, and I stopped it again  at the same place on the way back. I not only broke 17 mph I broke 18mph!     20.23 in an1:07 so 18.04mph or 29kph!!!! 

The ride felt really good, the scenery was nice. Its hard to beat a ride along the coast north of San Diego for a beautiful place to ride, I'm spoiled.

Hi All,

I have recently completed my first Half Ironman (5hrs36mins) following the free beginner 70.3 program. I have utilized this tread as a source of information and also as a source of inspiration. Hearing what some of the individuals on the tread have overcome and how you persevere through the hard training days which we all encounters, really helps me get my out the door on those wet days.

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help me out with. I intend to partake in my second half iron in August and I am wondering can anyone offer information of a training plan that I should follow to “bridge” between events. I am the type of person that if I don’t have a plan to follow, I will always gravitate towards my strongest event (which is cycling).

Any input would be greatly appreciated (especially from Pops who seems to be a world of information)

Keep up the great work everyone.

PA

Not much wisdom to contribute at the moment, except that, AFA, that seems like a lot of food! I wouldn't worry about protein--you're not going to get kwashiorkor in a 6-hour event. And go easy on the bacon. Sounds better for a post-race brunch. I don't think you'd want all that fat slowing down your gut.  But what do I know--you probably don't want to take advice from someone who, until last year, had never eaten anything during a race, including marathons and Olys. I still think there is a bigger danger in GI issues or dehydration from eating too much than "bonking" from eating too little, unless you are very prone to low blood sugar anyway.

Really just posting that I am headed HOME after six epic months of HIM training in Saigon. So no more wild training stories for a while. It looks like it's getting foggy......if I get stuck here, I'm going to do the much-debated long run (on another thread) here! Otherwise trying for the rainy roads of Oregon tomorrow or Monday.

Best wishes to all!

Welcome home!!!  With the crazy transition from SE Asia, I'm sure there will be some more wild training stories... embrace the cold and damp while you can!