Slornow's and Wannabefaster's Summer Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 67)

Jason - as predicted, after 3 days of practice with the new pedals I'd pretty much forgotten I ever had any different ones. I still messed it up every now and then, but no great disasters :-)

In case I don't have chance to say it, good luck to anyone who is racing over the next couple if weeks. We're trying to figure out data roaming, but if we're out if touch I look forward to hearing all about it when I get back!

Randy being a Longhorns fan I really don't like either team especially after what happened in the title game a few years back but I hate A&M great game and glad to see Alabama pull it out.

Mike-I didn't grow up down here and really wasn't too invested in all the football rivalry/craziness until my son decided to go to Alabama. He runs cross country/track there and they have been very generous with his academic scholarship. Glad to pull for Bama since he is passionate about his school. All the football money trickles down nicely to the lowly sports like cross country. Their locker room is nicer than my living room. Leather furniture, big screen TV and pool table. Roll Tide!  

Yeah it is true football generates the revenue for everything else..... On a triathlon related note did you guys see Pete Jacobs time in his 70.3 today, 3:39:59 dang that guy is fast.

Man...I looked at his time and he beat the 2nd place guy by 8 minutes! What's crazy is that he is also the Kona Champ, so it's not like he just has short or long course speed: he just has speed.

I had a busy, but good, weekend of training. I got in a 4 1/2 hour, 75 mile ride yesterday with Nate. We both tried Perpetuem to see how the all-liquid diet worked. I compared and it seems really similar to Infinit base formula, so I figured it would be worth giving a shot for a few dollars. We both liked it a lot; it definitely took the guesswork out of eating and drinking. I think it'll do well for me, although I ruined the test a little bit by stopping at a gas station with about 30 minutes left and getting some Skittles and a Pepsi Then today, we did a 2 hour run, and we had enough energy to push a little at the end, so we got in right at 13.1 miles. My legs are tired from Friday's run, Saturday's ride, and today's run, but tomorrow is rest day!

Also, can you believe how things are out there in Boulder/Lyons? I can't believe how bad it looks from the pictures I've seen!

I'm going to preface this with an apology for the novella I'm about to write.

Today I am officially 14 days from my 4th triathlon and my first HIM. Today is the very first Sunday since I can remember that I don't have any workout scheduled. I have way too much time on my hands today (already walked the dogs, did the grocery shopping, wrote lesson plans, graded papers)...

While my training in the month of August was less than stellar, I feel fairly well prepared for the race (I think...I've never done one, so who really knows). I had an Olympic distance race last weekend (my first at that distance), and was pretty surprised that the run didn't totally suck. It wasn't easy, but it didn't feel too horribly taxing. That said, I have that feeling like I did before my first half marathon and my first marathon that, "Just one more run won't hurt, will it?" I know the answer...trust my training. It is what it is. I'm as prepared as I'm going to be. Trust it, and if it sucks at mile 8, next time you know what to do differently. I've got my race kit issues worked out (my tri top must be made for an 8 year old girl with no hips! The blasted thing kept riding up until it was around my ribcage. I actually sewed 'hold down straps' that clip onto my trishorts. They're easy to take off (if I need to use the loo) and put back on without assistance. I wore it in my Oly and didn't worry about my clothes once. It may sound like a stupid thing to worry about, but it drives me bonkers when my shirts don't stay down.

There are a couple of other things on my mind that are more HIM specific, and I was hoping that some of you might offer some insight. I know I don't want to change anything at this point, and a lot of what I'm writing is nothing more than me talking aloud to make myself feel better about what I plan to do on race day.

1. Transition closes at 7:00 a.m. on race morning (7:30 start). My bike will already be racked on Saturday, and my mom (who is driving down from Ohio with my dad for the weekend) is going to drop me off at transition with my other stuff at 6:00 a.m. I plan to get up at 4:30-5:00 to eat breakfast and have a cup of coffee. Breakfast is generally the following:

1/4 cup of Cream of Rice cereal, 3/4 cup of Almond milk, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/8 cup of toasted walnuts). In all, my breakfast is right around 400 calories and 50 g of carbs. This is what I eat every single morning, and have done so for the past 15 months. I also drink 16 oz. of water with 2 oz. of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar mixed in and one cup of black coffee. Yes, EVERY single morning.

I'll air up my tires, get my stuff laid out, etc. Then I have to either ride the shuttle (LONG lines) to the swim start which is 1.2 miles away or I can walk up with my wetsuit and swim stuff. I have some old beater tennis shoes and socks that I don't mind ditching at swim start, so I'm thinking the morning walk would be good for me. Granted, you have to walk through a pretty sketchy part of town to get there, but at 6:30 a.m., I doubt anyone will be out except triathletes. My plan is to leisurely walk up.

Here is where my first dilemma begins. I will have eaten around 5:00 a.m. My swim wave doesn't start until 8:24. I will have over an hour to kill up by the swim start. My breakfast plan has generally worked well for 7:00 a.m. race starts (triathlon and running)...but by 8:30, it will have been 3 1/2 hours since I've had breakfast. The local church right next to the swim start is opening up their day rooms for athletes on race morning who are waiting for their swim start waves. I'll be there from about 6:50 until I suit up for my start, so over an hour. How much H2O should I drink? Should I eat again? When? If so, what do I eat? A gu? Part of a Bonk Breaker? I don't want to do anything really out of the ordinary, nor do I want to make myself sick during the swim.

SWIM: I'm expecting that the current will be down a little from my last two swims in the river. I believe I'll be able to swim the 1.2 mile course in 30-35 minutes on race day (yes, the current helps that much). I'm wearing a sleeveless wetsuit and I also wear a rashguard underneath it because I can't seem to find anything else that prevents chafe 'hickies' on the underside of my arms. No big deal. My wetsuit is quite easy to get off as is the rash guard. They also have wetsuit strippers if needed. I doubt I'll use them. My goal isn't to have the fastest T1...I just want to have a good swim, get dry as possible and get on the bike. While I'm in T1, I plan on drinking some water after the swim before I get on the bike. Not sure if I should get some calories in me at that point or just wait until I'm 20 miles in on the bike. I've never felt the need to eat after the swim, so I've never practiced it.

Also...the last time I swam the river, I felt a little 'seasick' at the end of the swim. I've worn earplugs several time when in open water as I was downright nauseated the first 2 times I swam the river. They seemed to help. Do you think I should go ahead and swim in the earplugs? The river has some weird organism that lives in it, so keeping that (and any extra water) out of my ears might not be a bad idea. Since I've swam in them multiple times (though never in a race), I'm thinking it might be a good precaution that can't hurt me in the end.

BIKE: I've ridden the full HIM course 5 or 6 times over the past 3 months. My fastest time was 3:20 and my legs were pretty spent after that one. That, however, was back in mid July and I'm much stronger now. If the weather is good (it's been really windy the last 2 times I've ridden the course), I'm figuring it'll take me 3:20-3:30 to finish the course. My worry is that I really need to stay cognizant of the fact that I have to run 13 miles after the bike. There's a part of me that says to back off a bit on the bike and conserve the legs, but another part of me that says, if you feel strong, push the bike a little. I'm not sure if purposely riding a little slower than normal is the right strategy. While finishing is my top priority, there's that finish time in the back of my head that I'd like to finish under. I know that I need to get that out of my head now...first HIM...FINISH would a positive experience and don't worry about a time goal.

My bike nutrition plan had to really be tweaked over the last 3 months. I use Infinit, but I find that after about 40 miles, it starts to sit a little heavy in my stomach. My plan is to concentrate 5 scoops of my Infinit blend in one bottle (2 1/2 servings). That bottle will last me 2 1/2 hours, and I will drink 2-2 1/2 24 oz. bottles of water alongside it. The 5 scoops is 625 calories and 75 carbs. I have the electrolyte blend in my Infinit dialed pretty high. I'm one of those salty sweaters...the salt actually crystallizes in the creases of eyelids and causes chafing!! The last hour on my long bike rides, I've been eating a Bonk Breaker bar (broken down into 3 'feedings' every 15-20 minutes). That's another 240 calories and 25 carbs. I'll drink another 16-24 oz of water in that hour depending on the temperature, but don't want a 'sloshy gut' to start the run.

T2: Here is dilemma #2. I generally wear compression sleeves on my legs on runs over 8 miles. I find that they really do help my leg fatigue once I get to that 9 mile mark. Maybe it's in my head, maybe it's not...but I like how they make my legs feel. I don't like to wear compression sleeves on the bike as the handful of times I've worn them, my feet went numb. So, if I wear them, I'll need to put them on in T2. I didn't practice this in my Oly race. I realize that I'll be sweaty and getting the sleeves on might be a challenge. It also might be hard to get them on over my timing chip. Should I take the time to really try to dry off and wear the sleeves? I can practice putting them on at home...I can just sit in the bath for awhile or go for a run, get sweaty, and then try to dry off and put them on.

I will be changing out my socks during T2 because on the bike I wear really thin nylon socks (SwiftWick) that don't soak up water, but keep my cycling shoes (not tri shoes) from rubbing me, but I like to wear Feetures socks when I run that offer a little arch compression. I HAVE practiced that swap in T2. The Feetures socks don't work well on the bike as the arch compression makes me toes go tingly.

I plan to take one Gu peanut butter (100 calories + electrolytes) and about 4 oz. of water to wash it down before beating feet on the pavement.

RUN: I have no idea how the run is going to play out. My run fitness seems far superior to what it was a year ago when I was just running half marathons and prepping for a full marathon. I just feel MUCH stronger over the length of the entire run, and have actually had negative splits in my last 3 long slow distance runs. That said, my run pace is actually a smidge slower than it was over the past winter, probably because of the heat and humidity. I felt good in the 10K in my Olympic distance race last week, and ran 10 minute miles (which is about 1 minute/mile faster than most of my long training runs this summer) and had gas left in the tank. I could've pushed that run harder, but just wanted to finish without feeling like I was going to die. My plan is to switch to Gu gels (peanut butter flavor) on the run. It's what I've used for half marathons and my one marathon, they don't upset my stomach, and it's what I used on the Oly run. I plan to have 4 or 5 Gu gels with me, so I can take one every 25-30 minutes. That would give me about 200 calories and 40 carbs per hour plus a small amount of electrolytes. I need to look at where the aid stations are, but I'll drink water at every station (and probably walk through) and take my Gu at every other station (if it works out that way). I don't want to carry fluid on me (either in a hydration belt or handheld) because I can't stand carrying stuff. My race # belt can hold my Gu gels and I have 2 pockets in the back of my tri shirt.

Here's my next dilemma. My race # belt has 'holders' for gu. However, I have to wear the race # on the bike. I'm not sure if I want 4 or 5 Gu gels wrapped around my middle, and possibly digging into my sides during a 3 1/2 hour bike ride. If I wait to fill the belt in T2, it's not like they slide into the little holders really easily. It'll take me extra time. Granted, I've said that I'm not going to worry if I spent 4 minutes in transition, but do I wait until T2 to take care of this?

The other dilemma is this: If I should totally crap out on the run, and am out there far longer than I expect, do i take a few more Gu gels than I anticipate using? Most other nutrition products (i.e. Hammer gels, the fruity Gu gels, etc) really make me sick to my stomach. They will have Bonk Breakers on the run course, so I could eat that if needed...but other gu type products, particularly fruity sweet ones, don't sit well in my belly.

Can't wait to hear any feedback that anyone has to offer. Also, if you have any HIM tidbits for a first timer, please, please share. I have PLENTY of time to read if you have the time to write!

Thanks everyone!

Oh...and since it's football season, and my alma mater is no longer banned from post season bowl activities, GO BUCKS!!


Edited by glfprncs 2013-09-15 3:19 PM

My race belt/bib # question may have been answered. Apparently in years past, bib #s/race belts were required on the bike. The athlete's guide has conflicting information, but it appears that the bib# may not be required this year. Will have to double check at the athlete's meeting, but here's hoping for no race belt on the bike.

Now that that issue may be cleared up, here's a new one. Rules say bike # must be visible from the bike frame on both sides. Where on your bike frame does this exist? It seems that everywhere I can imagine putting my # (I've always stuck it on the top tube), my legs will somehow conceal it at some point during the pedal stroke.

I put my number either on my top tube, or if your stem is long enough, I think it's more out of the way placed vertically on there.

Here is a link to picture of my bike at IMLou; you should be able to my race number on my seat stem: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7436/9626162564_3c36ffb706_z.jpg

The IM bike stickers are mighty compact compared to the giant flapping behemoths I've been putting on my bike this summer. I'm not sure I can fit mine on my seat tube as my behind the seat hydration rack is at a different angle from yours. It might, however, fit perfectly at the front of my top tube, and underneath my bento box/food glovebox.

You know, Randy, after looking back at previous half marathons, I never took in more than 3 Gu gels over the 13 miles, and oftentimes only 2. During my past 11-12 mike runs, I only took 2. So, your thoughts on every 45 minutes might be more on par with what I've done in the past. My brain is going a mile a minute...can you tell? I'm almost happy that my plan has me both swimming & running tomorrow. Being idle isn't so good for me.

Nancy-I'll chime in and see if I can help at all. I've only done one HIM so far, but I can say what I learned and see if it'll help at all.

Eating-I generally go with the same race breakfast when I wake up, then head out to the race. For me, that's a plain bagel with gnutella. At the race, I usually find that even though there is a lot of time, it goes by quickly with checking up on last minute details, setting up transition, and any warm-up you might do. I usually take a Gu just before the swim.

Swim-I always swim with earplugs bc I get nauseated pretty easily. I just always make sure to use them, and then it's routine. To me, if you were worried about it, it's better to wear them. I for one can attest that nausea can pretty badly influence a race, so why risk it?

Bike-Don't overdo it. Watch your HR, or your power, and give yourself a threshold that isn't worth crossing. Ease into the ride, as your HR might be high to begin with from the swim. Then, I waited 10 minutes or so to take in anything, on the idea that any nutrition goes better when your HR is lower.

Compression gear-Don't use them without practicing putting them on. And make sure you practice while sweaty and nasty, just like you'll be in the race.

Run-If you only seem to tolerate the Gu's, I'd bring them along. To me, the possibility of chafing would be inconvenient, whereas not taking in calories would be a possible DNF. I'd risk any inconvenience over a DNF: chafing will get better, but you don't have a choice about calories. I also agree with Randy that Gu's every 20-30 minutes is asking a lot of your body to process, especially while running.

Overall, just trust that you've trained hard and you're ready!

I don't have a powermeter and I stopped training with my HRM because it was tearing up my body (Garmin SoftStrap, my ...you should see the scars I have!), so I simply go by RPE at this time. One rule of thumb my riding buddy, Julie, and I always go by when we ride the HIM course is "small chain ring until you get to the top of the hill before Beech Island." The first 20 miles of the course are relatively flat, so it's pretty easy to go out too fast in the first 20. However, because we're always riding it with legs that aren't warmed up, we've always made ourselves stay out of the big chain ring until Beech Island, which is about 14-15 minutes away. We found that it keeps us not pushing big gears too early and forces us to get our legs under us with easier effort, but a bit of a higher cadence.

It may remain my plan on race day as well even if people are blowing past me. We still always average about 17 mph in the small chain ring regardless, and I expect my overall pace to be in the 16-17 mph anyhow.

That's pretty slick. Do you just stick your number on the card that comes with the clip?

I was having the same problem with my HR meter, so I actually the wrapped the band in electrical tape, which completely solved the problem for me. I just made sure that the tape overlapped, and left room to attach the sensor itself, and I only wrapped about 5-6 inches out from the center. I did it months ago, and still no problems.

Looks like most of your questions have been answered.

Definitely take in some calories between breakfast and race start at 0824. Thee plus hours without calories is too long. I have a bottle of my bike nutrition that I drink in the 90 minutes before the race. This gives me an additional 400+ calories pretty close to race start. I try to finish it at least 30 minutes before the gun goes off. There are lots of solutions to this. Pick one and go with it. I like Randy's idea with peanut butter crackers. A PB and J might be fine too if you finish it at least 45 minutes before race time. Once I ate a banana right as I was going in to the water and I had banana-flavored burps for most of the swim and part of the bike.

Don't blow yourself up on the bike! I tend to under bike but that means I usually have the energy to have a good run. 13.1 miles is a long way to be miserable.

I agree with the less is more nutrition on the run. If you can take in Gu while running that is great. Every 45 minutes should be more than adequate to stave off glycogen depletion as long as you have fueled well on the bike.

I just stopped by to say hello and goodbye. I have been watching from the sidelines for months and thrilled to see the progress of everyone here. Unfortunately the news from my camp is not so good. The hip repair was not successful and I will have a second surgery in 4-5 weeks to replace the damaged hip.

I will hopefully be up on my feet by Christmas. Then the long road back. I am not giving up on my goal of an IM but it may be 2016 instead of 2015. I spent a great deal of time discussing this with my doctor and he is supportive under two conditions.

1. I need to transition to a mid-strike or toe-strike running style. My current heal strike will be VERY BAD for an artificial hip. So any suggestions on readings, coaches etc. would be great.

2. After the IM I give up running. This will be easy for me. If I can get the IM I would be happy to do aqua-bike events, but I want my one IM first.

When I get back in the game I will be back to join a mentors group. I have learned so much from all of you. So thanks and keep up the stellar work!

So sorry you are having all these issues with your hip. You have been a great resource to us - especially for swimming assistance!!

I'm glad you are still aiming for your IM though!! Maybe after that you can do IMs as a team. I've done (shorter) events as part of a team and we have so much fun cheering each other on - just a thought and I know it's long term thinking......

Anyway best of luck to you and hope to see you back right after Xmas!!

LOVE THAT!! Thanks!