Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 5)

Fesslern - nice work.  Looking back, what would you do differently during training or on race day?

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Looking back, things I would of done differently in training: 

1) Train less-I spent a lot of time training and not enough on recovery. 

2) Get more sleep-I overworked my body which lead to injury.

3) Make time for 3 meals a day...I weighed in at 148lbs on race day. If you spoke to me the year prior, I was 170lbs. 

4) Preventative Physical Therapy-An incredible tool that I should of took advantage of.

Race day was perfect. Don't get me wrong, it hurt. Boy, it hurt but I didn't have any stomach issues, dehydration or equipment issues. I did lose a lot of water weight but hey, it's Ironman...

So talk to me into signing up for IMLOU!   The wife and I did Imoo in 2010 and we want to do another one in 2012 but due to some other reasons couldn't get into our preferred races (IMCDA or IMOO). 

What scares me to death is the heat and humidity.  I have never done well in either.   I should be able to do ok because I'm not a big guy by any means but...

The water conditions (warm/dirty) don't concern me, not too worried about the bike course becuase i've heard it is simliar to imoo.   But that heat.....

It's only 50% full so you have some time to be talked into it.

Heat and humidity were not an issue this year.  They were in 2010.  You'll just have to decide if you want to roll the dice...........

I"m in for round two, as of today!  I did it in 2010, where the experience was surreal. I saw really fit looking men on the side of the road off their bikes with their heads in their hands in exhaustion, and saw people getting pulled left and right on the run.

If its hot, its a matter of being smart, really smart. I let everyone go on those first 6 miles, keeping myself in a set comfort zone on the bike.  I really recommend riding the course ahead of time too. There is a constant rolling hilliness to it. I find the course harder to bike than Lake Placid. And figure out your hot weather nutrition, including your sweat rate.  It is totally manageable if you are knowledgeable going in to it.

This all being said, I absolutely love it. The scenery is gorgeous. The people that live there and volunteer are phenomenal. And I just love being around all the thoroughbreds.

I just had some aero bars put on my road bike.  The seat and bars were adjusted by a bike shop here in Atlanta so I know they are in the right position.  Today was my first day testing them out.  It felt like my quads had to work more and the "boys" definitely got more aquanted with the seat.  Not the most comfortable way to ride. I figured I'd give them a month or two. If I do not like them then I was going to have them removed and my second set of brakes reinstalled. 

Has anyone else installed aero bars on their road bike? Did it take a while to get used to them?  How do you like the aero bars? 

I guess a lack of "boys" might be a benefit in this case.  LOL

Had aero bars put on my road bike 2 years ago, did IMKY 2010 with them, still have them on. The boys are always suffering on any ride over 3 hours. I don't know how the tour guys or any serious rider does it.

My beef with the aero bars I have is the weight it adds to my bike, I hope you got the lighter version. More money but worth it. I can't justify the money for a new tri bike and I don't spend as much time in the aero position as the 10-12 hours finishers, on the rollers in Louisville it's nice to have options.

Aerodynamics trump weight unless you are going up (i.e. a mountain stage of a race). If you are going to spend money making a bike lighter, consider the wheels first.

I'd like to hear from everyone out there regarding nutrition and hydration on the bike. On my longer distance races I've used CarboPro, but I've had some issues with digestion, especially post race. If I'm going to make a change I'd like to experiment this winter while I'm indoors. 

Will you please share your preferred bike nutrition?

Thanks

I used Hammer Perpetuem. Worked great in every training workout but around mile 12 of the run my stomach just shut down. I don't think Hammer had enough carbs/calories for me. Another thing to consider with nutrition is that some contain protein and some don't. For some people protein can irritate GI over long period of time. 

Also test using electrolyte replacements (Hammer endurolytes, Salt tab and etc). THese are just as critical as your nutrition. Best thing to do is train with it and train in the environment and at the pace you intend to race with so that your body is undergoing the same stress. 

Be patient and listen to your body, all of yall will be fine.

I'm a big fan of Infinit Nutrition. Customized nutrition blends for endurance athletes. You can set flavor, flavor strength, caffeine, actually anything you want - but they will set a custom formula as a base and you can play with it from there.

As for hydration - LOTS of water on a course like Louisville. I added a SaltStick pill every hour or so since I knew I'd be taking in a lot of water, but not sure if it made a noticeable impact. 

Oh I was going to add that testing indoors will likely not yield you anywhere near the results as being outside, in the sun/heat/wind/elements on 5/6/7-hour bike rides. Night and day.

On the Bike: Hammer Perpetuem Powdered drink mix (servings based on yout weight.)  Hammer Enduralytes "powdered mix in Gel flask combined with FRS.  Hammer Gel to suppliment. Water and electrolyte replacement drink of your choice. Maybe throw in a shot bottle of Redbull at 80 miles.

On the Run: Hammer Perpetuem Solids - 1 to 2 per hour.  Hammer Gel to Suppliment.  FRS Chews as desired.  Water and electrolyte replacement drink of your choice. Maybe a shot bottle of Redbull at 22 miles.

I have never had any GI issues.

Lisa are you coming back for round 2?

During training for Louisville this year I started out with Perpetuem but the taste made me nauseous.  I switched to Ironman Perform (preferably lemon-lime) and it worked well for me.  As far as food on the bike goes, I usually eat one energy bar per our.  On the run I take a Gu pack once every 3 miles.  Of course staying hydrated goes without saying.  For the extra electrolytes I used 2 Nuun tablets per bottle of water during Ironman Lousville and also grabbed a banana at every rest stop. 

No no, I promised myself I'd take 2012 off from Ironman.
I like keeping up in the conversations with ya'll though...!