Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 50)

On the run where you say you did not take in enough water, was that due to anything in particular?  What I mean by that is, was your stomach feeling touchy, had you taken too much in on the bike such that your stomach was sloshing or anything like that?  Or just at the time didn't feel like you needed it?

I'm getting excited for my race next Sunday.  Spent the weekend up near where the race will take place, and the weather was beautiful.  Supposed to be more of the same next weekend.  High of 91 but by 1 o'clock it should only have reached low 80's.  And allegedly the run has a lot of shade anyways.  I don't remember if I posted about it but I rode the bike route a few weeks ago, and it's a nice route.  Not a good training route, there are several long stretches with no shoulder, but this company is generally really good with traffic control and the like, so I'm not worried about that.  After I finished it, even though it took longer than my normal 40 mile training route, (2:20ish vs. 3:06), I felt less winded; the hills on the race are less stressful than I anticipated.  My training route has about 1650ft of climb, the race route has about 1200, but it feels like less than that.  And almost all climbing happens during the first 24 miles.  I rode the route with a buddy, and we were chatting and not aero most of the time and still finished in 3:06, and felt good afterwards, so though I won't be pushing myself to reach any specific time I'm back to hoping for sub-3.

Hey all, I've been sorta buried with work lately.  I did the Lake Stevens 70.3 back in July with a 5:35... so I'm making some progress back to healthy.  It was a crappy day on the bike but my run was 8 mins off my open time which I'm happy with.

I wish I could've seen the pro finish.  Craig Alexander and Luke Bell ran it down to the wire (3:55:23 and 3:55:59).  I'm most impressed with their biking on that course.  It's one of the few where you have to be a skilled descender.

How's everyone doing?

I've got my one and only cycling road race coming up this weekend.  I know it's not exactly the smartest thing to do when crashing is a possibility, but it seems as though my division will have it's own starting time...so likely only about 12-15 of us at most, and I'm planning to put the pressure on to make sure it's not a bunch finish...or blow up trying.  The course is very safe, and basically closed off to all vehicle traffic, so it should be fun.  I'm won the division last year, so while it isn't exactly ideal leading into Kona...I have to defend my title...

Out of curiosity, what do you put in the gel flask?  (seriously)

Do you empty a bunch of GU packets into it or something?  I've been using fig newtons, GU, stinger waffles and anything I can pick off the side of the road for food on my rides (figure, if I can ride with anything, then nothing will bug me on race day - except HEED, that is… That stuff does NOT agree with me).

Always wondered how people used "gel flasks."  Would be great to get your approach.

Good luck with the race!!  Remember, RR or it didn't happen.  

Jason, keep the rubber down and RACE!

Matt

Hey Guys, I have been out for a bit. 

Need some help getting back in the game.  Previous to this weekend, I last raced a sprint early July.  Since then, almost zero pool time and bike time.  I have been running though but not nearly enough volume as I wanted.

I was planning on Beach2Batttleship half at the beginning of the year, then life got in the way (my tri-bike had to be retired/buddy who I compete with got injured-prob the main underlying reason, lost motivation to get up early, etc...) 

I was originally going to bail on the half thinking of every possible reason not too (spent too much money on vaca, etc) I am fully committed to racing B2B now!

I raced a small sprint this past weekend and it is obvious I lost almost all the bike fitness I had gained this winter/early spring.

My long runs have been in the 8-9miles range but far and few between.

Surprisingly, I have not lost as much swim fitness as I thought, prob better technique, and one ows clinic.

What should my game plan be for the next 11 weeks.  I will probably only be able to do 2 maintenance swims/week.  What should my bike/run schedule look like now. 

How long does it usually take to gain back some bike fitness? 

Thanks for your help.

Thanks both for the gel info/advice.  I hadn't thought about that approach (still discovering ways to prove that after a year, I'm still a noob), but really like the idea of a flask for the gels.

Just last weekend on my course pre-ride, I lost a couple gel packs without even realizing it as I pulled another one out of my jersey pocket.  So, I'm going to grab a flask (if I can find one around here) and give it a shot this weekend - might use it for my HIM next weekend.

Much obliged!

Matt

Edit: they're probably more common in running stores, but then they might not be the small enough kind that can fit in your bike jersey.  Worth a look though if your LBS doesn't have them.

I also have a bento box (DarkSpeedWorks) on my bike.  My pockets are for my trash because, although I'd feel bad about it, it's not a huge detriment to me if I lose a wrapper, but could put me in a bad place if I lost my nutrition. 

During my HIM, I had two gels and three Honey Stinger Waffles (cut into quarters and put into a ziploc bag) in there.  Tight fit, but it made it -- and no, I didn't eat all of that in the race, but had it in case the waffles or gels just weren't doing it for me. 

Just ordered a small and a large (figuring the small one for a long race and large one for training) bento box (XLab) and a gel flask.  As I think about it and read the above, I wonder if I need the flask with a bento box - all minor tweaks (iow, fun stuff to mess about with but not likely to affect a race, as long as I get the nutrition I need easily).

I think these will be good additions to how I bring nutrition along, as the easier it is during a race, the less chance I screw it up. 

I generally like a cleaner setup on the bike, but with a Z4/A2 on the way (should get here today - can't wait to try that bad boy!) and a bento box, plus a downtube bottle and two hanging off the back of my seat (also XLab) with a can of Pittstop, a crack pipe adapter, a CO2 adapter and a CO2 canister taped between the bottles/on the bracket, my bike is now almost an RV!!!

If I like the Z4/A2 between the bars, I might get rid of the downtube bottle, keep the ones in back (I want 3 with me for an HIM, I think) and decide on the bento box vs. tri suit pockets after trying it on a couple rides next week.  Thoughts?

You know what they say, "Always something new on race day," right? 

Wait.... what? 

Matt

Okay, so a bento box should be simple....and if you're pairing it with a flask, it might be easier.  But let me tell you, my first ride with my bento box was full of DRAMA!!!  An excerpt from my log:

"We got new bento boxes (DSW 483's). I decided I was going to bring three Honey Stinger Waffles and three Gu's with me for the ride. I quickly realized that this amount of food was not going to fit nicely into the bento box. I quartered the waffles and put them into a ziploc bag; I pre-tore the Gu's because I didn't trust that I'd be all that dextrous while riding with sweaty hands and not having them taped on the top tube. I managed to get everything into the bento box, but had to remove the plastic insert, which made it kind of lose its shape. I also couldn't decide which way I wanted to put it on the bike, so I made the (stupid) call to not use the velcro on the top tube, which ended up making the dumb bento box want to rotate and fall over throughout the ride. I also should have cut down the velcro straps as they were way too long and ended up scraping my leg a bunch throughout the ride as the box flopped over.

The first time I decided I needed to eat from it, I unzipped it and quickly realized that full-sized ziploc bags are not ideal.  There was so much extra and I kept catching it in the zipper....also, fishing through and trying to get to the waffles was a pain with the big bag.  When I decided to grab a Gu instead, I (of course) smooshed a bunch of it out of the pre-torn packet and into the bento box (with no liner).  Geez, so much drama for an item that's supposed to make fueling simpler!"

Anyways, all that to say -- either learn from my stupid mistakes or take it out for a ride before your race!  Snack sized ziploc bags work perfectly.  Pre-tearing the Gu's also works well, as long as you don't tear it far enough to allow Gu to ooze out.

The gel flask I use on the bike is just barely big enough to fit into my bento box, so I find it easier to get the flask into and out of my jersey pocket than my bento box.

WOW - hopefully I can avoid most (all?) of those problems!  Thanks for the heads up, as I could imagine doing a couple of those things first time out...

I've had the same problem with ziplocs in my jersey pockets - have had to ride no hands just to get the dang thing open the first time. 

Matt

I use the XLab aero bento box in size XL.  It's the biggest thing I could find and while it's a bit tall, unless you stem is slammed it shouldn't be exposed to the wind.  Or even if it does sit above your stem a bit, if you have a BTA bottle, it should be hidden behind that fairly well.

Those DSW aero packs look really cool but functionally I don't think it would hold what I want it to very well.  I can easily fit 2 whole cliff bars and a few gels in my bento box.

Posted my race report: http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=497857&page=1&posts=1#M4827475

Race went well, sub-6 by ten seconds :D