Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 139)

I'm working on evolving my hydration/nutrition strategy for Branson. Saturday I did 65 miles in pretty intense heat, went through 2 camelbaks of water and 2 bottles of Gatorade, about 4 Gus (ea 45 minutes) plus 2 sodas at my C store stops.

I am pouring over race reports and gather that there will be 2 aid stations on the bike course? So I am trying to decide between schlepping that Camelbak over the course or relying on bottle exchanges. Not entirely sure what to expect. I do hope to make one short trip to Branson in advance to get a look around and pre-ride the course.

Ideas?

I'm going to drink a bottle of a carb/electrolyte mix before the swim and carry 2 bottles on the bike. I'll exchange my empty at an aid station to restock then keep hydrating on the run. There are supposed to be aid stations at each mile at the run for Vineman. I'm going to use some chews for the bike and a Larabar early on so it can settle in my stomach. Gu's for the run. I'll let you know how it goes

Does anyone write up a race plan before their races? I'm going to work on mine today and if anyone is interested I can show you what it looks like. I've used one my last few races and it helps keep me on track. It might be overkill for some but I'm a planner so it helps me not have to think as much on race day.

Johanne

George,

There is no need for any apologies as far as I'm concerned. Team in Training is a wonderful organization for some but it doesn't have to work for all. You seemed to be getting some good early morning workouts on your own a while back and seemed good going solo most of the time. That works for you. Right now, that's important. I would find it stressful to have to fundraise. It's not my favorite thing to do. Be proud of how much money you did raise and move on to your priorities, your health and your family or is it your family and your health?  

Johanne

Yes the tour has been crazy. I have taken hand ups in road races in the distant past, I have also seen some crazy things by non-racers and inexperienced volunteers pretending to be racers. I will trust the aid stations and hand ups.

stevebradley - 2011-07-12 6:53 AM GEORGE - Johanne said it perfectly --- and I am grateful to her for that! I am grateful to you for being the one who FINALLY prompted me to contribute to them. I have been around Team forever, it seems, in races over the years, and this is the first time I have mobilized myself to contribute anything. You successfully de-inertiafied me! Now that you have that monkey off your back, I hope you can get back to loving life a little bit more. Remember, NONE of this stuff is supposed to be angst-producing, and when it gets that way it's time to back off -- or at least do some soul-searching to figure out what is happening, and why. And does this mean you might be here a bit moe frequently, again? I've missed you being a regular-regular-regular, and would love to have you around a bit more -- but only if it's not angst-producing for you!

GEORGE -- I totally echo what Johanne and Steve have said.  Getting back to life is important, doing things that are important for your own peace of mind is critical.  No worries and welcome back!   

Alex

Ok, for anyone who's interested I started writing up a race plan a few tri's ago. I print it out and reread it during the week so the theory is, on race day, life is simple and I don't have to think about anything but racing and having fun.

Vineman Race Plan

Get up at 4:30, eat breakfast (English muffin with peanut butter, banana, coffee).

Leave for lake at 5:00.

Get to swim/T1 at  6:00. Set up bike.  

Drink CarboPro/Heed mix by 7:00. Gel 10 min before start.

Wave goes off at 7:26.

Swim: start middle of the pack to the left. Relax and enjoy the race to the first buoy. Buckle down and get into a rhythm to the turnaround. Use the current and use the glide to the finish.

Jog to T1.

T1: wetsuit off, helmet, sunglasses, socks, shoes on. Bag wetsuit and hand over to Dave. Be quick and efficient.

Bike: 2-e21 every hour. CarboPro/Heed every 15 min. LaraBar during the first 30 min. Then 2-Honey Stinger chews every 15 min. Take the first 20 min to hydrate and get heart rate down then keep a steady pace. Gel 15 min before finish. Spin into T2 to loosen the legs.

T2: drop bike, shoes off, running shoes on, helmet off, visor on.

Run: 2-e21 every hour. Gel 30 min into run then every 45 min. Start at 10:00-10:15 pace for 5K, try to stay at 9:45-10:00 rest of way. Walk through aid stations. Drink water and water over head. Keep running otherwise. Smile at the finish J

Alex - Thanks for the support and great job of the race.

Johanne - Nice write up, I like the idea of planning what you are going to do.  My last 2 races I thought about it the day before but in race day it did not go as planned because I was forgetting things.  I will need to try your route on my next race which is Aug 13th (Sprint).

I have some electrolyte pills from Hammer that they sent me as a sample, but never taken them, not really sure what they do and when to take them.  I sweat a lot, but I heard people talking about white stains on their clothes from the salt, I have not seen that on my clothes, I guess my body retains the salt??

Well since I'm no longer able to do Nations on 9/11, there is an Olympic Distance here in Gulf Shores Al on 9/10 that I will now do. Man I hate to have to swim in the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  Did yall hear about the man in Florida that was riding his bike to work and a Black Bear came out and hit him off his bike and then the bear took off. 

That just means your sweat isn't as salty as others' not that you retain salt.

George,

I would echo what Johanne and Steve said about your training and life.  If it is not fun and you are not required to do it (like work or colonoscopies) then don't.  You still raised quite a bit of money for a very good cause and you should be proud. 

As a mother of 1 son who is 18 and in college I will repeat the old cliche that "they grow up fast and are gone". You should enjoy your family and train when you can.  You were doing great before you joined Team in Training and you were enjoying it more.  Different strokes!  Some people thrive in a crowd and need the constant action, some don't.  I always want to train alone for the same reason you do.  I like to figure out where I am in life and that is my time. 

Does this mean I have to mail the colored caps?  We will miss you at Nation's but you have bigger goals now. 

Ellen

Johanne,

My that is a plan. I'm impressed.  I never gave that much thought to race nutrition but I bet it pays off.  I can't wait to hear your report .

Jeff,

Thanks for the advice on my numb fingers and the worm stuff.  I am going to the nursery tonight to look it up. I am sorry about the loss of your pets ( I guess they are pets).  A coach once told me that the camelback is not a good idea for a race because it covers so much of the surface where you otherwise exchange heat. 

Alex, Nice report and good job.

Ellen 

Thanks, the animals were "pet like" but I was raising meat rabbits and enjoy my fresh eggs.

The statement about the camelbak is not sitting right with my own internal logic. if it is a bad idea for races, would it not be a bad idea in training for the same reason? When I did long distance stuff I wore the thing all the way across whole states-Oklahoma, Missouri, a sizable chunk of Texas at the height of summer and lived, as well as 24 hour races and solo centuries. The heat exchange part doesn't make sense because wouldn't body heat be absorbed by the water and radiated into the air the same as skin would? and I know cold water in a camelbak makes a huge difference in how my core feels, I feel noticeably cooler when I still have cool or cold water 45 minutes to an hour later.

Having said all that however, I do, ultimately prefer riding simple, with nothing on my back purely for comfort, and agree with Steve regarding simplicity.

BTW my favorite camelbak trick is to fill it about 1/4 full and freeze it over night, then pour chilled water over that before I start my ride. The tube will be frozen for the first 15-20 minutes but you will have very cold water for nearly 2 hours in 100 degree heat.

I also tried one of the new Camelback insulated bottles and am impressed. I wouldn't expect much from 1/8" of insulation. I do the same thing with gatorade in the insulated Podium bottle, but just freeze the whole thing, it will be drinkable quick enough but stay cold longer than just liquid-over 30 miles for me.

The camelbak cannot be easily emptied on the fly, at least not my much older version. I do, however drink allot of water. I don't know if that is because it is there, or I truly need it, or the heat I train in, but I consume allot of it. Even not training, fresh water is my beverage of choice followed in a close second by black coffee....

But, in any case I will plan for hand ups or aid stations. Some of my long training routes pass through some very tiny rural communities, and if it happens to be a Sunday stores, if any are as likely to be closed as not. So I do like being able to fend for myself. I have drawn water from peoples spigots and wells but I am not always comfortable doing this.

Thanks Steve! It does help me to write it out. 

The reason for handing Dave my wetsuit is because T1 and T2 are miles apart. I have to drop my run bag at T2 (which is also the finish) the day before the race. I'll bring the bike with me in the morning. Handing the wetsuit bag to Dave saves us a trip back at the end of the race.

It can get hot on race day, upper 90's for the run but this year it looks like it'll be a high of 83 so the tri angels are with me!

Great point about hydrating at the start of the bike. One of my bike problems is if I drink as much as I should on the bike, I'm going to have to get rid of some of that liquid! I'll try to hold off and maybe warming up riding will allow the liquid to absorb better.

Good advice about the last bike mile too. I'll try that. 

I'm getting really excited about this race. It'll be a challenge but a lot of fun.

Johanne

Good Morning everyone.

Ok the camelback issue - Why is it called that? Is the hump on the camel where it retains it's water?   To answer these questions I found this:  

­­No -- a camel's hump is a giant mound of fat, actually. In a healthy, well-fed camel, the hump can weigh as much as 80 pounds (35 kilograms)!­ Human beings and most animals store­ their fat mixed in with muscle tissue or in a layer right beneath the skin. Camels are the only animals with a hump.

The hump allows a camel to survive an extremely long time (up to two weeks) without food if need be. Because camels typically live in the desert, where food can be scarce for long stretches, this is important.

So i guess if we put food in the camelback that Jeff uses then it should be called a camelback, but since it's water it should be walled waterback

I hope everyone has a great day