More Manatee Mayhem - 2017 Edition - Closed (Page 59)

Wow - so much awesome this past weekend! Congrats to all (I Strava stalked - and holy cow).

Sean, I'm about speechless - which is rare. Top of the podium is amazing. Congrats on the win - you earned it through some beastly training!

Reading the race reports from this past weekend here, on Strava and FB aaaaalmost has me signing up for a race. Really inspiring!

(Back to stalking for a bit - lots going on at the moment)

Matt

AGREE!!! Awesome Stacey!!

Thanks again y'all. I'm still in shock today. I can't believe it.

Justin - Nutrition was something I always fiddled around with too, but now I'm locked in. I used to use gummies on the bike (bloks) and gus on the run because I could handle chewing on the bike and couldn't imagine taking that many gus if I used them for both bike and run. My stomach always seemed to have enough at some point. Also another problem I started running into was that I was learning that I could bike a lot harder for the distance than I thought I could which meant chewing was becoming difficult.

So I tried out EFS Liquid Shot a few months back and LOVE IT. I can take in more calories with it and have no stomach issues whatsoever. There's no gelling agents in it so it goes down smooth and quickly. I also love that there's 400 cal in one flask with a pop top. Much quicker/easier than dealing with wrappers on gels or gummies. I took in most of 2 flasks on the bike (so almost 400 cal/hr), and almost a whole flask on the run. It kept me going hard all day. Two thumbs up from me.

Adam - I need to do a race report on this one for sure. It didn't exactly go as planned but I guess proves to trust your training and plan and keep going.

Edited by Jet Black 2017-04-04 10:22 AM

Wow, good to know, thanks! I'll have to give it a shot. As much as I love the gummies and gels, when I'm near FTP or max speed I have a hard time stomaching anything. I'm going to try this out.

When I first Googled this, the 32 oz version came up - I was impressed/horrified that you drank nearly 3 of those! I'm guessing you had the 5 oz version. Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely check these out. Do these store well on the bike?

Leveraging onto this - did you stick to just water on the bike because of the flasks? I just ordered a mix/sample pack from Amazon. 2 of each flavor. Now I just need to have enough time to get a big workout in.

I think that Whizzzzz has raced it?  You might want to touch base with her.

Edited by jmkizer 2017-04-04 1:56 PM

I've read a few. Seem very mixed. I'm going to keep asking around and will probably make it a last minute decision. I'll either be training more (at some odd hours) or less when the new baby comes so I need to see if I'll be in shape to compete before I start making plans.

I love the Kiwami short distance suits (back zipper & thin pad).

Ok, for the EFS on the bike. I've become very anal about the front end of my bike trying to keep it as clean as possible. No bento, no nothing. Just a BTA bottle. This way I have smooth air everywhere below my pads. I don't know how much it matters but it makes me feel nice and aero lol.

I wear a Castelli T1 top for HIM & IM. You are allowed to wear sleeves during the swim now so I have it on over my tri-suit with just the bottom zipped. For HIM I had 1 flask in each of the two back pockets. Then I just put my wetsuit (or swimskin) over the T1. For me this is the best of both worlds because sleeves are supposed to be faster on the bike. Then in T2 I can ditch the Castelli T1 and have just a tank trisuit for the run for better ventilation. And the EFS flasks are barely even a bump at the bottom of my back. I can't see that they add any drag there. I took a chug of EFS liquid shot every 20 min.

Yes, all I took in besides the EFS liquid shot on the run and bike was water. I started the day on the bike with 2 disposable bottles that I put NUUN in, then ditched those for handups at aid stations. It was my plan to take down 4 water bottles but missed a handup and only ended up taking down 3. I was worried about it but it wasn't as sunny as some of my training rides so guess it worked out ok (must not have been sweating as much).

Every aid station on the run (right from the get go) I made sure and drank a mouthful of water. I took a chug of EFL liquid shot every 3 miles.


This strategy worked out brilliantly for me. I think this was the first ever HIM run I've done where I wasn't dehydrated. And I was able to take in almost 2x the amount of calories as I had been in the past.

My biggest take away from this block of training and result (and I knew this before the result), was that you need to do race simulations often. Like every week. I was following trainerroad for the bike & brick sessions. They have you do a 90-120 min ride at 80-85% once a week followed by a 30-60 min run. I really learned how much I sweat during efforts like that, I was amazed. That's when the light went off that all of my previous runs I was dehydrated. You really get to dial in your nutrition too. I had no idea I could absorb that many calories. That had to help a ton on the back end of the run.

Swim is rather simple and never really that far from shore. It's in a larger body of water with Lake Michigan, so subject to same things any large body may be.

There was a storm in a recent year that significantly altered the race. No different than could happen anywhere though. Usually it's pretty hot.

Bike is fairly flat with gentle rolls here and there. Last I've seen the roads are not filled with potholes that can take you out. It's mostly expressing frustration with the thin yet noticable expansion cracks. So more like the SNL skit on the nerf crotch bat annoyance than an episode of The Walking Dead with melee weapons it's made out to be.

The run is also pretty flat. Think there is one short steep hill a couple miles out though, but it's not long. Yes it's steep for a minute, but some are being dramatic about the toll that takes.

ETA: While a number of things I've read from others seems like making mountains out of molehills, the molehills still are real issues of their own. Their just not the same issues as mountains.

Edited by brigby1 2017-04-04 3:50 PM

Tri suits--I've had a 2XU onesie for several years and race with it a lot. (I'm wearing it in the pice from several races, most recently Vietnam last year.) Durable, good fit, and very comfortable for all three legs. They are really popular on the Singapore race scene as the cooling fabric (Ice-X) seems to work well in hot, humid conditions. That being said, they're just not that attractive, if that matters. Both women's and men's suits come mainly in black and a few, to my mind, rather ugly and very basic colors. The sleeved suit is also super-expensive and I have not seen it retail in Asia for women.

I've also had a couple of Pearl Izumi suits, since they have an outlet at a mall not far from where I live in Oregon and I can sometimes get good deals. Mixed reviews. Somewhat more attractive and comfortable, but the women's suits come with bras that just don't work--too small for the size of the suit and the person in it, plus chafing as the straps don't match up. Not an issue for guys, I guess, but women will probably want to use their own sports bras. I'm not big--can't imagine who actually fits the tiny ones included with the suits! The suit I'm wearing in the pics from Calgary and Worlds is a PI "Elite" suit. I'm also between sizes in PI --can't fit into the small and medium is too loose for a non-wetsuit swim. 2XU seems to work better for me fit-wise.

I have a couple of other suits and have raced in one so far, but got them in Australia at a race expo--not international brands and probably not an option for most (maybe Stacey). If you happen to have that option, my newest one is from Catfish Designs. Awesome colors and very comfortable. Also have a sleeved suit from a company called 17 Hours, but haven't raced in it yet.

I haven't heard of either of these, but I haven't been looking for tri stuff much lately. If you do want to go this route though I would be happy to help get it to you if needs be.

Thanks for the offer, but might be planning another Australia trip next year anyway--probably not for a race, unless one happens to line up with my times, but to visit a friend near Brisbane at Tet (February-ish). Shopping will no doubt be in the cards--it's what we usually did together in Asia! I got the feeling Catfish was somewhat of a startup operation--the woman running the booth at the Worlds expo seemed to be the one who designed the stuff--she was asking athletes for feedback. Just wished I'd had more money on my card--she had some really nice swim/surf and beachwear as well as tri suits.

Great designs that went way beyond the standard, "Black for both genders and maybe put in a pink panel or two for women" scheme. Mine is black and has what looks like rainbow-colored jellybeans on it! Very well-designed with front zipper and no seams anywhere that can chafe. The 17 Hour one is black with green tropical plant and surf motifs. Much more my style than pink!

Much appreciated! Love the Walking Dead reference. From reading some of the race reports it sounds like a nightmare. I'm hoping I can do it but can't commit just yet.

It does sound like everyone had a good racing weekend. I am still trying to plug some training in where I can but without a goal race, or a lot of time, I am floundering a bit. I will be moving to shift work in May which means working every second weekend. It also seems that each of those weekends when I work is a race that I would have liked to do. It kind of stinks but I guess I have to look at whats available on weekends Im not working.

Ciao for now.

Haven't posted in a while as had a few issues that have prevented it but trying to get the training in now and just wanted to say hi to everybody. Impressive result at the weekend Sean that's for sure!

So, fellow Manatees, my husband told me that he registered us for the Rock and Roll Vegas Half marathon for me and Full for him. It's November 11 and 12 or something like that. Sounds great, right? Vegas. A race. Missing school. So what's the problem?

I have no desire to do the race. None.

I want to go to Vegas. I don't want to run.

What is wrong with me?

Someone, please give me a kick in the pants!!