zia_cyclist's Group - FULL (Page 4)

Mandy, these are issues we all have to deal with and learn from experience.  One thing to remember (or realize as I did recently) is that you can't replace all of the calories and water your body uses during exercise.  The goal of a nutrition plan is to delay fatigue as long as possible.  Your body can efficiently process and absorb about 200 to 400 calories per hour and about 17 to 25 ounces of water per hour.  Of coarse, these are average numbers.  You have to experiment to find the right amounts for your body. 

Here are some more guidelines to get you started:

• Consume 2 calories per pound of body weight per hour
• Consume 20 oz of water per 150 pounds of body weight
• Consume 600 mg of sodium (electrolytes) per 150 pounds of body weight (add up the sodium from all sources i.e. gels, drinks, bars).

In triathlon, most of the nutrition is consumed on the bike.  Once on the run I usually consume less than I did on the bike because I don't want the stuff sloshing around in my stomach.

There are many things that effect how much you should drink - temperature, intensity of the workout, duration of the workout, etc.  You have to experiment with your hydration plan to find out what works best for you.  Try different drinks; different amounts, different time intervals for drinking. 

For workouts less than an hour, you may not need to drink at all or maybe just a little water.  For longer workouts and especially 2+ hours, you need water and electrolytes (sports drink like Gatorade). 

TJ

I've done the sweat test.  It's amazing how much weight you lose during a hard training day.  The test does give you a good baseline to start with.  But, as you say, you still have to experiment since this is athlete specific.  You have to determine how much you can drink and how much your body can process - drink too much and it sits in your stomach and/or you pee often; too little and you dehydrate. 

TJ 

I haven't tried Clif Shots.  I use GU and Perpetuem.  That seems to work well for me. 

200 to 400 cal/hr is the range your body can digest during exercise.  You have to experiment to find your ideal amount.  Here is what I do for HIM and IM distance on the bike:

• ~300 calories/hour from GU, Perpetuem and Cliff Bar (not a whole bar, just a bite)
• 20 oz water with Nuun disolved in it / hour
• All of this gives me about 600 mg of Na / hour

On the run I cut it back to about 200 cal/hour - basically 1 Gu and a couple cups of Gatorade / hour.

TJ

I wear tri shorts and a tri top for all races and in training.  I wear this during the swim under my wetsuit.  See my avatar.  That's how I'm dressed for the whole race, even IM and HIM.  Except at IM I change socks after the bike. 

I prefer tri shorts' minimal padding over the thick pad in bike shorts.  I find the thick pad in bike shorts bunches up and is uncomforable when I'm in the aero position.  I tried both on long rides and tri shorts work better for me.  I especially like the Desoto Power Shorts.  They have pockets on the sides of the legs.  The pockets are real handy for holding gels and other stuff.  I'be tried Sugoi and LG shorts, but the Desotos are my favorite.

TJ

I haven't tried Shot Bloks.  That's a good idea to stick them to your bars. 

I cut up Cliff bars into small pieces and put them into my bento box along with gels. 

You know another advatange of a Bento Box?  It makes your bike more aerodynamic.  Yep.  I heard it on a podcast.  MIT guys put a bike with a bento box on the top tube into a wind tunnel.  It smooths the air flowing over and around the stem and head tube.

TJ

I have 2 wetsuits - a Promotion full and an Xterra Sleeveless.  The Promotion is an OK beginner suit.  Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't buy Promotion.  I love the Xterra.  It's comfortable and flexible. 

Buying online isn't a problem.  Do some research.  Check the manufacturer's website.  They usually have a sizing chart.  I ordered my Xterra from Trisports.com (15% BT discount and free shipping).  The first Xterra they sent was too tight.  So I phoned them up and they shipped a second suit and told me to swim in both and then send back the one I didn't want (or both if I didn't like either).  Most online stores suggest you swim in the pool to try it out then send it back if you don't like it.

Full vs Sleeveless
Notice what the pros are wearing.  They all (most of them anyway) are wearing full wetsuits. The added bouancy is one factor.  Another is the additional stroke pulling area of the forearm when it's covered in neoprene (bigger paddle).  All of what I have read says buy a full.   Another argument goes "If it's too hot for a full then it's too hot for a sleeveless."  The sleeveless really isn't that much cooler.

If I could do it over ---- I would go with a full 2xU Comp 1.  I looked at their wetsuits while at IMFL.  They make some really nice suits.  And, knowing what I know now, I would pay the extra $$ for a nice full suit.  It makes a difference.

TJ

How is everyone's training going?  Have you started a race specific training plan or are you still in the winter maintenance mode?  Any questions or issues that need discussing?

I had a little set back.  I developed a pain in my hip, probably due to over use.  I think I started too hard and fast in January with my running.  I did an LT test and also ran a 10k road race (PR'd).  I didn't heed the warnings in all the reading I've done.  Should start out with easy base building and slowly build up to race specific training.  Hopefully, I'll be running again after next week.  I haven't run in about 10 days.  My hip is feeling much better.  Live and learn.

TJ

That's a good point about pain.

You have to know the difference between "injury pain" and "performance pain".  This is part of mental training.

Injury pain is the type of sharp, acute pain due to injuring yourself, i.e. pulled hamstring.  Last year I left on a run early in the morning.  About a half mile down the road I had a sharp pain in my lower back.  I knew immediately this wasn't a good pain.  I stopped and walked back home.  I took a couple days off, went to the chiropractor and healed up.

Performance pain is the good, suffering kind of pain you get from pushing your body to its limits.  This is the pain you can 'train through it'.  In IMFL last year, my legs were aching and hurting during the last stages of the marathon.  But I knew it was all performance pain.  I just kept running.

It's a good idea to scan your body during long workouts.  Notice how each part of your body is feeling.  Try to detect the performance pain vs the injury pain.  I think knowing the distinction can only come from experience.

TJ

Oooo.  New bike.  What did you get?

You could log just your actual training and not worry about entering your planned training.  That will still give you some graphs of actuals.  You won't have the planned vs actual.  I know what you mean; changing your planned trianing everytime you miss a day or whatever can be a pain.  I usually don't worry about and just log my actual when I change the plan.

Good job building your base.

TJ