Jim Kelley's (aka Birkierunner) General and Long Course Group (OPEN) (Page 7)

Sorry, I've been on travel for racing and work so I haven't touched bases here recently.  Frankly, I don't prescribe a lot of pre or post-workout stretching and instead make sure my athletes have proper warmup and cooldowns of 10-20 minutes depending on the workout and whether its s/b/r.  In general though, if one is to do stretching you should probably use dynamic stretching (e.g. lunges, arm swings, etc) pre workout and more static stretching afterwards.  But if time is limited I would spend more time on proper warmup and cooldown using the activity (s/b/r) of the actual workout.

Instead, I prescribe more dedicated time to self-myofascial active release techniques to address trigger points and muscle tightness resulting from training.

^^  x2

It was great wasn't it?  We were downhill skiing at Trollhaugen sitting on the deck at lunch basking in the sun with Bloody Mary's in our hand.  Then we went on a family xc ski afterward which was fantastic.  I'm not quite ready to put the skis away, but I did pick up my new Trek Procaliber 9.7 mountain bike from the shop yesterday.

I don't know how y'all do it.  Cold, snow, blah!  It hit 75*F yesterday with blue sky and light wind.  I had a 4:45 ride with a 1:00 of running hill repeats following.  First thing I've learned is no more chili while training.  It wasn't bad but the potential was there!

History:
* My first 70.3 I was a little nauseous after the swim and then just forgot to drink, gels every 30 minutes, and salt tabs.  The "cramping run" was painful!
* My second 70.3 I drank water and Gatorade, gels every 30 minutes, (2) granola bars on the bike, and my run was great.  Finished strong with a slight negative split.
* My last 70.3 I drank water good but went with Perpetuem and a few gels while on the bike.  It wasn't enough or I didn't do it right.  I walked the last 6 miles of the HM.

Hydration: I know this is different for everyone but I'd like to toss this out there with a question or two.  I was drinking about 20-24 oz of water per hour with the intent of added Gatorade Endurance (that's what is served on the course and I've used it before w/o issue) and I was having to pee every hour.  I mean HAVING to pee!  I thought this was excessive?  For my ride yesterday I drank about 16 oz per hour, some of that was an endurance drink, and peed every two hours.  About right?  Also, race day WILL be hotter than 75 and a lot more humid.  I assume as the temps increase I'll need to keep juggling the hydration?

Nutrition: On the bike I cut up Cliff bars to get 50 calories (that would be half a mini that they serve on the course) plus two gels is 250 calories per hour +/- 10-20.  I also used Base Salt yesterday for the first time trading in my Hammer End tabs and regular salt tabs.  It WILL be hot and humid on race day.  On the run I want to back off to around 200 calories per hr. probably just eat gels, fruit, chews, etc.

I plan on carrying some nutrition/hydration on the bike as a back up in case the course food is gone or not what I want.  For the first time in any race I'll be dependent on course food for the run.  They do have a special needs drop bag half way of the bike and run I'm thinking about using.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

She got my old Trek 8000 which is still in great shape so she's ok with it

How much Gatorade did you add on top of the 20-24 oz of water?  What is the composition of your training ride fluid intake (oz of water and oz of Gatorade)?  If you are taking in a lot more than what you normally do on your training rides your body isn't accustomed to that.  Have you conducted a sweat test?

Typically four hour ride about a third Gatorade.  I have three 24 oz bottles (one's really 28 or so) and I fill one with Gatorade mixed a little stronger than normal, four scoops or so. I have a stop area at the state park where I can get water. I also top off the Gatorade bottle.  So a four hour ride would look like 96 oz of water and 36 oz of Gatorade Endurance.  I guess that's a 1/3 G to W.  And, that's about what I did on the 70.3 course.  About every third or forth sip would be G.  I have not done a sweat test.  Is that where you weigh before and after a workout?

Thanks for the comment, Todd.  I live just south of DFW but the race is in The Woodlands.  I try to stay away from Houston as much as I can, lol.  I did Galveston a couple of years ago.  Great race!  I tried Hammer Perpetuem last year at Lubbock's Buffalo Springs.  I was new to it and probably didn't have it strong enough.  That's a hard course anyway so it's been difficult to put my finger on what went wrong other than I was wiped out about 30 minutes into the run.

EdIt: I have Cytomax now that I picked up at the local health store.  I've been using it like I do Gatorade.  But they'll have G on the course and I won't have to worry with carrying/packing for the full ride.

It seems I picked up the Cytomax not the CytoCarb.  It doesn't have a calorie count that I can find.  Thanks for the comments I might look into CarboPro as well.  

Correct.  Weigh yourself nude before and after (toweled-off) the test...an hour is recommended to keep the calculation more straight-forward.  Convert the weight lost to ounces (A).  If you consumed any fluid during the test be sure to add how many ounces you consumed (B) to the ounces of body weight you lost.  If the duration is 1.0 hour (C) then your sweat loss rate is A+B/C  (ounces per hour).  This would give you a starting point to determine your fluid needs during training and racing.  Practicing your hydration/nutrition plan during your long rides and runs well before your target race is essential.

I don't really have strong feelings one way or the other.  I haven't even registered yet but that is because I knew it wouldn't sell out so I've been taking my time.  I'm not a fan of having HIM people on the course at the same time purely for logistical reasons - no condescending aspect to it at all - purely congestion.  I visited the venue last summer and drove or ran the entire course but the one thing I did not check out was the swim start and T1 area (not easy to get to).  From past races it sounds like it gets congested with just the full participants so I don't know how it will be with 2 races going on.  I assume the HIM will start later so hopefully it won't impact the full.  I'm not sure I would call this a bait and switch because as we all know, the RD reserves the right to make changes to the race...including cancellation....and when you sign up you know things can change.  Probably best just to focus on things that we can control ourselves.