Manatees - 2018 Edition Now CLOSED (Page 71)

Robin, I haven't done the event since Ironman bought it. When it was Vineman, we took our bike and left our bag where the bike was. This was also the case for B2B which had a split transition.

Chalk Hill is big enough to get your attention for sure but mostly it's just a long grind. It's one of those where you go up what seems like a long ways, it flattens out a bit and SURPRISE! there's more! Of course the steepest part seems to be at the very top. The challenge for me was that the road needed repaving. I believe that it's been resurfaced since then (Kirsten, is that right?). I believe that both times I did Vineman I was able to do Chalk Hill seated the first lap and some out of the saddle climbing on the second lap.

There's a water stop as you turn onto Chalk Hill Road but you go a ways before you get to The Hill. It looks like it tops out at 8-9% on my Strava from the 2015 race (see ~45).

Lisa, do you have anything to add about Chalk Hill?

Woo Hoo!! Congrats!!

On the downhills on yesterday ride I kept thinking about your soft pedaling directive and would try to do that, but it's hard when there is absolutely no resistance! So, I'd through in one or two spins of the pedals and then wait til i could actually pedal before starting again.  I do try to pedal on the downhills as much as possible - except when I am just toast and just want to coast!! Yesterday's ride gave me a VI of 1.103 which is lower than last week even with 900 more feet of elevation this week. So, may those couple of spins helped! 

This question will show my ignorance as I am still  learning the power meter - how is that a benefit since you really aren't working - isn't it a sort of fake VI?  

Question for those who race hilly IM:  do you use the big or small chain ring? I'm a big chain ring person since I'm more a masher than spinner, but am thinking I need to concentrate on more spinning up the hills so to save my legs for the run.  How do you all roll?!

Good question!

That's how I remember it, too! My 2nd time up it, I was going the same speed as another racer and we traded comments back and forth so it helped it go a bit quicker. My suggestion would be to come up with a "hill mantra," where you can chant it to your pedal strokes or what not. I did this on my hilliest ride to date yesterday and it sounds silly, but really helped me out. Mine is "Go... Go... Go Lisa Go" and I just say it over and over until I reach the top.

Well I am not good at hills, so take with a grain of salt. But I shift into my small ring and spin for the long, steep hills. Physically, I have to. If it's a short hill I'll stay in the big ring.

I aim to spin up them. That doesn't always happen. My cadence at Lou last year was 87 and was similar for Chattanooga the previous year.

I got 4200 feet of elevation gain for Choo and 4700 for Lou. The profiles are quite different. Chattanooga is on the top.

My Lou cadence was 87 too. I had 4633 ft of elevation though - wonder which one of us rode the wrong course 

Those big spikey things on the Chatt graph don't look like fun!

I am more of a power kinda gal than spin, but I definitely try to spin up hills.  Spinning uses heart and lungs, mashing uses muscles that I don't want to burn out early on in a race.  

The first spike is the hill just before the hairpin turn (Hog Jowl), the second spike is the hill at the end of the first lap.

Had a pretty good race yesterday.  I haven't done a standard distance in a long time, so wasn't sure how I would do with pacing/effort. 

Started out with a non-wetsuit swim, which I have never done in a race.  The water temp was 0.2 degrees over the cutoff.  Wasn't really an issue, just something new.  Unfortunately, less than 1 min in my Garmin got kicked off.  Fortunately, I realized it immediately, stopped, walked back about 5 steps, looked underwater and it was right there (water is super shallow).  Phew!  But that put me at the very back of the pack and had to fight my way through.  It was a smallish race, so not too bad.  Didn't have the best swim, but not the worst either.

Then something happened to my Garmin in transition and it wasn't working right on the bike....So I started a new triathlon on my watch and ended up with an 8 second swim .  The bike is uphill out, down back.  Tried to be conservative out and hammer back.  It was getting hot by this point, and I knew that I was going to suffer on the run.  Run starts with about a third of a mile flat, then goes up 1 steep, and 1 long hill.  Then is along an old railway trail, so gentle grade, but uphill.  I walked the big hills and just tried to keep moving on the rest.  I was hurting, but I imagine everyone else was as well...tried to keep cool with water dumps over my head.  My HR was quite high the entire time (I set a new HR threshold on TP).  Tried to pick up the pace on the downhill back.  Guess my HR was too high, cause crossed the finish line and proceeded to barf all over my shoes, right in front of the announcers table.  "Ooh, looks like a tough day out there for some" he announces.    

Ended up 4th AG, which, while slightly disappointing, is not too shabby.  

How did all the other racers fare?

I realize that I am not currently running after I ride, so there is that.  However, spend some time on a MTB and you'll never use the term "Granny Gear" again. You'll use whatever gear makes you comfortable. And not fall over at the top of the hill. 

OK, so that is a bit flippant. Keep in mind that I ride in a region that makes the Bonneville Salt Flats look hilly, so YMMV. One thing cyclists have discovered is that spinning is a better idea than mashing.  I read a piece once on a multiple TDF winner that spent his early career mashing, but learned later in life that spinning worked better.  I don't know all the science behind it, but I'm sure it has more to do with aerobic vs anaerobic activity, large muscle use, etc.  Also, I believe it has something to do with efficient use of the body's resources.  All I know is that while the science may evade me, I dislike falling over at the top of the hill. 

Seriously, there is something to spinning more and mashing less.

Please check in on Anne. Her husband had a heart attack on a group ride over the weekend.

Very nice work, Jim!

Thanks for always keeping tabs on everyone, Janyne.  

Thank you for the heads up

Chiming in to Ann-Marie's inquiry: in my hilly race experience, I'm also strongly in the spin/little gear club.  IMO, there are hills in Lake Placid 70.3 (and 140.6) that couldn't be climbed in the big ring even if you wanted to.  Besides, it would really burn up and burn out your legs.

Oh my goodness, thanks for letting us know, Janyne.

Thanks for all the input. I guess I need to play more in the small ring. I do "spin" as much as possible in the big ring when climbing, but there are times i run out of gears in the big ring.  Guess I need to pay more attention to that little detail