What I learned from my first HIM (Page 2)

I agree on the experience piece.  If you are using the same pacing strategy as in the past, power output, HR - whatever, then you have a solid understanding and expectation of what you are capable, and incapable, of doing.  I just think that if you have upped your FTP, dropped your run paces, etc., then you benefit from experimenting a bit during training if you intend to race harder.

As to early season races - again, I agree - if they are the same/similar distances to your A race.  But if you've been racing Sprints that's not likely to help figure out HIM/IM pacing.  Olympics - a little moreso.

Congrats on the finish and good post (well, except for what GMAN said, which is true for me).

It's pretty amazing how much different a HIM is than an Oly.  It's nothing like going sprint to Oly, which isn't that hard.  Oly to HIM is a whole new world.

I didn't say race rehearsals were a waste of time.  Doing one or two race rehearsals (IM or HIM bike distance at race pace plus 6-8 mile run) in a lead up to an IM or HIM is a really good idea to test nutrition strategy and I encourage people to do so.

Doing bricks week in and week out, workout after workout is a waste of time and potentially more of a detriment than a benefit.

I couldn't agree more. I can pretty much guarantee my HIM would have been a disaster if I had used my oly nutrition plan at that distance. Long bricks are useful to plan how your body will react to that kind of effort, but the recovery price is high.

First, Congratulations!!!!!! On completing your first HIM!!!! Awesome!!

Second, this is a great thread, a lot of good info.

Bingo. And the physiological benefits are not high. Bricks have their place, race simulation/nutrition practice, but they are not effective if being done on a weekly basis.

I also appreciate this post and the discussion it has triggered, as my first HIM is in June.

I had already decided I was not going to go into the HIM with time goals for each sport, simply because the weather is a crap shoot (Buffalo Springs - might be 108 degrees, might have 30mph winds, etc.) and, it being my first HIM, I don't want to risk hitting a transition thinking about how I missed some mostly baseless target I had set.

My goals are more about training, and this discussions has helped me there.  Race day, I'll have some targets concerning how hard I push on the bike to setup a decent run, and I'll obviously have a nutrition plan.

Anyway, thanks again to the OP, I appreciate somebody coming on here with a goal of helping others even though it meant having to detail all that went wrong.

As somebody else asked, I'd also be curious as to what the OP's training averages were for time spent on each sport leading up to the HIM.

What metric are you going to use to determine this?  HR?  Powermeter?  RPE?

Also, how are you going to know when you have hit the magic target and have figured out your nutrition plan?  Are you going to try a brick?

So it seems I should have used the term race rehersal when talking about bricks - I think we're all basically in agreement with one another on the fact that they can be very useful, but need to be used sparingly (which I did not say up front). 

Yes and no.. coz I woke up on race day with a tummy ache.. I couldn't eat anything more than a banana.. by the time I got on the bike.. 5 miles in, I was starving. Most of the time I don't eat anything on the bike.. this time I scarfed down 4 gu's and it was perfect.. I was still a bit hungry.

One can plan nutrition with some kinda brick simulation, but the needs can change drastically on race day. What's more important is to be tuned into one's body I think.

And be prepared for the unexpected. 

My plan is to gauge bike effort primarily on heart rate (on RPE only if my HRM flakes out).

I wasn't sure if your nutrition question dealt solely with the bike.  My nutrition comment was about an overall HIM nutrition plan.  But yes, I plan to do numerous bricks in my training, including some longer bricks closer to the HIM (while doing dry runs on the nutrition plan).  I trust those above who have said bricks are less important the more triathlon experience you have, but I'm a noob.

I'm doing 2 Olys before the HIM but can appreciate the comment above about how an Oly isn't a great gauge for a HIM.  But I wanted to get in some OWS races in a wetsuit (my HIM will be wetsuit legal), transition practice, etc.

I don't necessarily expect to have found the magic target prior to race day, but my plan is to ensure my training includes a sufficient amount of quality long rides and runs, including bricks.

I would suggest:

1.   In the morning, do a full body application of suncreen everywhere.  Far enough beyond the boundaries of your clothing to not worry if your top pulls up, etc.  Do this undressed and don't get dressed until it's soaked on.

2.   Have a full bottle of spray in transition.   I'd suggest a quick wipe of your shoulders, neck, chest before applying.  Hopefully it will soak in before you start sweating again.  The key is to give ti time to soak in.

3.  I'd essentially try the same in T2.  

I think the morning application makes a BIG difference here.   Since I've started doing this, I never get burned in a race. 

I was also going to mention nutrition, both for a partial explanation of the OP's situation and for other newbies to the distance.

Do a search here on BT for "HIM nutrition" it comes up a lot.  There are some standard figures for how much a person can take in on the bike and run (different between the two) and also trial and error by the person.    I did long bike short run bricks SOLELY to test nutrition. I felt I nailed it on race day.

My goal was about 300 cals/hour on the bike, 200/hour on the run.   This in addition to a good breakfast and a pre-swim gel.   I finished in roughly the same time as the OP, but that was kinda my goal   So yeah, it's a lot of food!  BUT, some can do it on less.  Some say that much would make them sick.  Etc, etc.  That's where the training comes in.

Good luck to everyone who is going to do their first long distance.  It's no joke!

Thank you for this.  I was considering all the different options that I have for sunscreen application and when.....where......  I got burnt on a long ride last week and it really took a lot of my energy.  Not getting burnt is one of my goals.

First HIM in under 4 weeks.....

Apply sunscreen pre-race.  That should get you through the bike.

I don't want to spend minutes extra applying sunscreen in T2 so I put a small 1 oz. tube of sunscreen, a small tube of Aquaphor, a stick of Chapstick and some salt pills in a little ziploc snack bag.  Just grab the snack bag, put it in a pocket and head out for the run.  That way you can apply the sunscreen while running.

THIS!!!

Also Galveston has volunteers near transition that will apply sunscreen.

I spent 8 hours on the course last year so I need a bit more than GMAN and I had them reapply it on the second loop of the run.... it still wasn't enough and I was pretty depleted by the end of the race.

I saw another racer a few days ago (A year after we both raced Galveston) and he told me he still had scars from his sunburn. 

Knowing what I know now, the above seems like a very good plan. I was swimming approx 5000 meters per week, biking was way less, and running approx 25 miles per week. I like your plan though, I think I would have done much better with that. Good luck to you!

I say this because odds are very, very high that a BT athlete is undertraining rather than overtraining. I'd say differently for FOP athletes and high-volume athletes, but that's not the typical crowd being addressed on a beginnertriathlete forum. Most BTers barely crack 10 hrs per week of training I'll bet - the problem here is almost always undertraining, not overtraining.

I would agree with the undertraining train of thought. I imagine the majority of you are like me and work hard everyday. I'm a mailman, so walking/on my feet approx 8/10 hrs everyday but still managed to do some type of training everyday. I appreciate all the posts on this thread and so glad I made the post now because you all are right, I just need to work on overall fitness in all three individual disciplines.

One last thing I learned that I will def do from now on....and this may fall under the TMI catagory, but I will bringa few of the little travel paks of moist wipes with me...one for each transition and one for the bike ride...just in case! Those porta potties tend to run out quick!

That TP thing is not TMI - it's actually a pretty well-known but understated essential item to bring along, at least until you absolutely know from direct multiple race experience that you won't rely own it for that last-2nd bathroom run.

I always bring a roll of TP with me, and weirdly enough, I've never actually needed it since my calls of nature seem to fortuantely happen way before the horn blows so I'm before the megalines.

However, I can say from direct experience, that at every race, I've had women ask me to have some of that TP (they can see it through my mesh triathlon transition bag.) Happens every time without fail. It's a good thing to always have on hand for emergencies.

As everybody else is saying, HIMs are a whole different animal than Sprints or Olys. Especially because of (i) far greater importance of nutrition, (ii) the sheer amount of time in the saddle, and (iii) the fact that you're much more likely to encounter high temps in the middle of the day.

For the bike leg it's really useful if riding for ~3 hours is simply a breeze. If that's a formidable challenge, then hopping off the bike and running a half marathon at high noon isn't going to feel so great. And it's important to remember that holding back a little on the bike can yield huge benefits in terms of overall time. Because of the effect of air resistance at biking speeds, easing up a little on the bike will cost you relatively little time overall, and pushing to your limits on the bike will gain relatively little time. In contrast, if you fall apart on the run, and are forced to walk long chunks, then you'll lose huge amounts of time.

I think that the single biggest thing that you can do for HIM speed is to minimize your need to walk. Nothing costs more time than walking.

I remember when Jordan said that, in fact I believe he was going off my comment originally when I posted on ST, when I was comment off Gerlach's post. "I would agree, although I think there is a big misconception in the age-group field that bike/run workouts are for fitness, when rather, they are for skill. In other words, biking 6 hours will get you the same measure (roughly) of fitness as a 5 hour bike/1 hour run per say. However, if you are going to run off the bike it is more about learning to pace yourself, keeping a good form, nutrition, how to was into the run, etc. a skill. 

I know of some pro's that always run off the bike even if for 5 minutes, and some that rarely do. I think it is very dependent on the athlete, time of season, strengths/weaknesses, etc."

But the main thing to really drive home in bricks is to learn to run WELL off the bike. I always hear triathletes say that they want to learn to run fatigue and this just promotes bad form and increases the chance for injury as well. Why would you want to do something poorly?

To the OP if you want to leg weights I would suggest olympic lifts. They are directly relational to cycling, and really focus on hip extension which will translate into stronger hips for running and a more powerful stride as well. The best part is that these are some of the best ways to build a strong core as well, very crucial to good running. But that all said, make sure you understand how to do olympic lifts and see a trainer if you need. This is all time dependent, so if you have the time go for it!

I would also suggest a lot of tempo rides at race effort, that is always a good way to tell if you can sustain the effort you plan for in the race. These are the best rides to do bricks off of if you are doing bricks IMO.