Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 21)

#2957 here! My wife (noodle67) is #1128! I have four bottles and will carry them all loaded with Skratch. Being a slow rider, a very heavy sweater, and concerned with making time cut-offs, I would rather miss an aid station or two than lose a few ounces which would be meaningless in terms of time. I will have repair stuff in a bag under my rear 2 bottle X-Lab and nutrition and salt tabs in my bento bag and jersey pockets. Remember, this is all from an IM newbie

Exactly how much speed do you think you will gain removing bottle cages? If you were a pro, I could see the saved time and added speed making a difference. But the reality of it is whether you have or do not have the bottle cages is not going to affect your speed considerably (unless the cages are made of lead, of course).

I have personally used an aero bottle or torpedo the last 2 years, with 1 other bottle cage holding my Infinit nutrition. I keep my other 2 bottle cages empty at start, then fill them along the road at aid stations if I am feeling like I need it. Otherwise, I just fill my aero or replace the bottle on my torpedo at aid stations.

Since aid stations are every 10 miles, and since the heat should not be an issue on race day, most people should be fine with anywhere between 1-4 cages, depending on their normal drinking frequency.

But removing cages with the thought it will make an impact on your speed is wishful thinking, in reality. But hey, if it makes you "feel" faster, it could have that benefit.

two bottles are going to be more than enough... you will be by an aid station like every 25 - 45 min. I am a HEAVY sweater and with the spacing i am not worried about carrying more than 2 bottles. I am removing my speedfill and my downtube cage. Will it help with speed??? who knows but i am not carrying around anything that i dont need on race day.

Exactly. Probably won't help my speed at all but there's zero point in lugging around unnecessary weight. Guess that's the point I was trying to make in the first place. I should be fine with Inifint on the downtube and replacing my aero water bottle every 30 minutes at aid stations.

I'm 546,

I'll be using the same setup as last year, but diff bike. I have one 24oz bottle ziptied behind the saddle that includes 2x co2, 2x tubes, 3x tire levers, and a couple allen wrenches. I'll run another ziptied bottle on my aerobars with a calorie bottle. I'll also start with the crappiest bottle I own on the down tube water only, that i will throw away and run off water on course.

I'll have 2x emergency gels in bento in case for some reason my calorie bottle runs out along with some of the powerbar chews. I'll pick up a second cal bottle at special needs along with extra tube/co2 bottle if needed and maybe an oatmeal cream pie.

Those numbers are for extra slots...I traveled with Ken Glahs Endurance Travel and got my IMFL slot through them last year. My number was different than those in my ag who registered and got in the regular way.

I'm number 1223. I like it!

One month out! I thought this was a good article on how to approach the final month before an IM -

http://www.xtri.com/features/detail/284-itemId.511710096.html

I'm sure just like everyone else here, I'm over analyzing just about everything at the moment. We only have a couple more long training weekends and need to have everything dialed in. I decided to write a list of things I want to work on the next two weeks to ensure I have everything covered for race day. Nothing major but there are a couple items I want to test out at my HIM this weekend (Salt Sticks Plus on the bike as opposed to regular, FuelBelt on the run, etc.).

I like his last tip about putting all your T1, T2, and SN's items in separate, labeled zip-locked bags the week of the race. I did this before traveling to Oceanside 70.3 in March and it made packing very easy.

Edited by devilfan02 2013-10-17 11:03 AM

I'm 546 and I got in the regular way, maybe it because I'm fundrading through the IM Foundation?

"Very unfit" Really?
While it has some good points I don't think this article is aimed at your average AGer and more the KQ crowd.
My taper will be around 2 weeks but I don't think those who taper just a little longer will be "very unfit"

The author was a bit overdramatic with that statement but I don't completely disagree with him. It's common to hear athletes just like us say they "didn't have it" on race day (or at least through a stretch of the race) because of a prolonged taper. Don't think "very unfit" is the right term though...

I'm sure most of you already saw this on the IMAZ Facebook page. Andy Starykowicz, who led off the bike at Kona on Sunday, had a pretty gross experience with the on-course Perform at Kona. He said several other pros were complaining and the IMAZ Facebook comments make it clear that there's an issue with the bottled Perform.

http://www.andrewstarykowicz.com/2013/10/poor-perform-ance.html

But the age groupers had a stellar day... i think some pros look for a reason for the bad performance. Not saying there wasnt an issue just think that it was used as more of an excuse than anything. (atleast that is what i am telling myself so i dont change my whole nutrition plan 30 days out)

Maybe but the picture of his tube is disgusting.

ha! yeah it is nasty... think about your stomach all stained like that

Perform uses turmeric extract for coloring, unlike almost every other sports drink out there (not red #589u, yellow 219847 stuffz) Check out their ingredients. Its actually one of the best looking sports drink ingredient lists out there.

Ever made curry/cooked with turmeric? Have that sitting in your straw, uncleaned, baking in HI heat for several hours and I could only imagine the cool colors you'd get.

The guy is looking for an excuse for why he cooked himself on the bike. He stated before the race he was going to go at HIM pace and go from there....hmmmmm, makes me wonder that maybe it wasn't the nutrition that failed him.

didnt know that about the tumeric. That is good to know! I agree in the cooking on the bike.

I may be late to the party here, but it looks like the 2013 Athlete Guide is posted.

Thinking about zip tying a bottle to the top tube now so I don't have to stop at special needs, anyone see that before?

ive not done that. but thought about it. how about sticking it in your back pocket?

  At the risk of asking a stupid question, how will you get the bottle off?  Try to break the zip tie by twisting the bottle?  Carry little scissors?  I think you would end up scratching your bike frame.  Seems like the risk reward balance is more in the risk category.

Just my opinion.

FYI, 36 degrees for a high in NW Iowa on Wednesday this week.  Dang.  Trainer til IMAZ.

I dont have any pockets, and what I meant to say, was bottle cage.

I've seen it on mountain bikes before, so if it can stay in place for them, then shouldnt be a problem here. Or I could stuff my spair, chuck, tirelevers etc up under the seat and use the rear .

I'm over thinking everything at the moment. Sparked a somewhat heated debate in a separate thread about whether or not to take off my rear bottle cages. Like the 3lbs will make a difference either way...

I'm sure this is totally normal behavior. What else are we supposed to do??? Our significant others could care less about these petty issues so we only have our friends here to question/vent to!

This is my first full and I had a question about special needs on a 3 loop course. I definitely plan on stopping since I have been training with a few small breaks to stretch my legs. Is there plenty of room to stop or is the expectation to take your bag and keep going like a water stop? Any advice for stopping? Before or after you grab the bag? Is there lots of room? Pull off on grass to stop? Etc...
Besides wanting a small break, my main concern is that it looks like Special Needs is at about miles 30/60/90 and I kinda wanted to stop twice (at lap 2/60 and at lap 3/90). I had heard it probably won't be set up and ready to go for lap #1, but are they prepared for riders to stop twice or is the expectation that your bag is a 1 time grab and it gets tossed on a truck or trashed if you snagged it at mile 60? I'd appreciate any feedback!