Full Vineman Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 8)

Just checked the long range weather forecast.  It looks like it is trending towards hot.  High of 93 on race day.  What worries me is two days later (Monday) they are predicting a high of 100.  I really hope we don't see anything like that.

On the bright side, the mornings are relatively cool.  If it does get extremely hot, would you push a little harder to get off the bike earlier and except that the run will be a slow, cautious deathmarch or would you back off on the bike even more to reserve more for the run, or is 15-30 minutes on the bike going to make no real difference and stick with original game plan and pacing?

FWIW, I've been watching accuweather.com for several days now and the forecast for the 28th has trended slightly down over that time (like the really hot day was originally Sunday and then moved to Monday).  Now they've got the high as 93F (it was a little lower yesterday, but higher before that).

However...both weather.com (83F) and timeanddate.com (80F) have the high on the 28th as low 80s!  I tend to believe accuweather.com over the other sites most of the time (until weather.gov has the forecast up), but we can believe it's wrong this time.

Karen26.2, the Mrs, and I did IM Lou in 2010 when the high was 95 and humid.  They probably have their own opinions, but here is mine:

You need to except that you will be significantly slower if it's 93 vs. 83.  Most people set time goals (even if we say we don't) before they know the weather, and it gets them in trouble in the second half of the bike and the run.  Vineman is a little bit different because it is so cool in the morning, and then once the marine layer burns off it gets toasty like the desert.  Anyway here are some pointers for Ironmaning on a hot day:

1. Slow down.  Your body is having to work a lot harder in the heat.  Think of the load the heat is putting on you as if you were constantly going slightly up hill.  At first you don't even notice it, but eventually it wears you down.
2. Watch your nutrition/hydration very closely.  Your GI will not digest as quickly in the heat, so do not over load it.  At the first sign of bloating you need to slow down and stop consuming.  Slow down means sit up and soft pedal for 30 mins.  Yeah, that will kill your finish time, but you won't push through the GI distress.  The best thing is to not let it happen.
3. Wear light clothing.  I saw a guy zoom past me on the bike at Lou wearing all black from his aero helmet to his socks.  I also saw him laying in the grass under an oak tree on the run.
4. Do all the little things you can to make yourself slightly cooler.  Hopefully they all add up some to help you out.  Dump water on your head/arms every 15 mins on the bike, run on the shady side of the street, etc. 

So, to answer your question, I plan on riding at my normal IM pace until it warms up.  At that point I will probably slow up a bit.  Not on the flats, but mostly on the hills.  Going hard has a big impact on internal temp.  Once I get on the run I'll settle in at forever pace.  That pace will be at least :30 per mile slower than my cool weather pace.  If I feel good I might speed up a bit in the second half, but we all know that rarely happens.

I hope that helps. 

Doug - Thanks for the info and tips....helpful indeed. 

I noticed the impact the heat had on me during my 1/2 IM in May. Temp was low to mid-90's when I finished....my run time for the 13.1 was was about 10 minutes slower than I was expecting. Sure there were lots of hills, but I train on hills and was expecting the faster time taking the hills into consideration...I hadn't factored in the heat. I did walk most of the aid stations, taking on water and fresh sponges to try to stay cool.

I know a Full is going to be very different from the 1/2, so I do appreciate the advice!

Wow, a week from tomorrow!! I just finished my last 2 mile swim prior to race day last night. I'm happy to report that I'm starting to feel the refreshing effects of the Peak/Taper I've been doing for the past week. I'm feeling stronger and less fatigued than I've been over the past few months. My wife is also quite thankful that the training hours have been reduced! 

Thanks for the great information.  It is extremely helpful and something everyone should be considering if the weather gets on the hot side.

I've raced 2 HIM's in Hawaii and several running races in Arizona so I've been exposed to heat but an IM in the heat is totally new territory for me.  Last year at Vineman, the temps were very pleasant.

It has been so cool in the Northwest it has been hard to train for the heat.  I've moved some of my riding back on the trainer partly because of the weather and also to simulate a warmer environment.  I've also done my runs at the hottest part of the day but even that doesn't come close to afternoons in sunny CA.  This morning it is 60 degrees and raining.

I'll be "that guy" at VM...well, hopefully other than the whole lying under an oak tree part.  (Although I'll probably opt for my PD top with the white panel on the back, vs my usual all-black Zoot top.)

To be honest, I pretty much always wear black kit, including in some pretty brutal heat, and haven't ever noticed a difference between those races and the couple times I've worn a lighter colored top.  Given that the science is a little complicated on how much white apparel is "cooler" than dark (white reflects incident heat from the sun, but also re-radiates radiant heat from the body back into it...think greenhouse effect), that's probably not surprising.  Science seems to give an edge to white only when we're talking about tight-fitting garments (like a tri top), but not by much.

I've been packing and cleaning/prepping bikes all afternoon, and I'm no where near done!

I need to Ironman up.

Regarding the heat, I agree with everything Doug said above, but will add the following:

• Start heat-management activities before you get hot.  I find that I am better able to manage my perceived temperature if I have not yet overheated.
• I like the De Soto Cool-Wings. Mine are white.   I carry an extra bottle of water and use it just to keep them wet on the bike.  This makes me feel cooler and keeps the sun from burning me (I still wear sunblock, though).
• I stay wet on the bike.  Sure, this might set the stage for chafing on the run, but I can put vasaline or chapstick on chafing.  I carry chapstick in my bento and hand-bottle pocket for this purpose.
• Be careful not to drink too much water.  I tend to overhydrate because cool water is awesome when you are hot, but it makes me swell.  Drink to thirst, not temperature.
• On the run, stay in the shade.  Run from piece of shade to piece of shade.  Any shade is better than no shade.  It is better to run longer in the shade than shorter in an exposed area.
• Walk the big hills.  If you max your HR on the hills, it is harder to recover when you are hot.  When I say "walk," I mean "fast, purposeful stride," not "mosey." 
• Ice in the bra. At each aid station, I put one piece of ice in my bra.  It melts relatively slowly, providing several minutes of relief.  Other buddies recommend ice in the shorts, but I have not tried that.
• Ice in my hand-bottle.  Cools my water and my hand.
• Visor and/or sunglasses.  This is purely for comfort.  Squinting makes you more tired and exacerbates any headaches you might develop.
• Dump water on your head during the run, but sparingly.  You don't want wet shoes if you can help it but just a little water on the head provides relief.

Don't over drink. In the heat my HR will be elevated anyway, and when elevated my stomach cannot absorb/process much. In Louisville my stomach got sloshy from drinking too much on the bike, so on the run I couldn't eat or drink anything. Not good!

slow down and adjust goals, have a plan A, B, C & D.

I'll be clinking along with you!  I do the ice in the shorts, too.  Kinda eye opening at first, but then it's quite nice.  Makes a very strange sound and initially looks like a load in the shorts.  Totally worth it!

Athlete tracking info has been posted

Results will be at http://edge.raceresults360.com/rr360/race/h34Mke/#/results::1343047136789

• After the swim, do we pick up a gear bag or go to our bikes?
• After the bike, is their a catcher that we give our bike to or do we rack our own bikes?

• Also, the hill at mile 5, do we do that once or twice?  (Re: They will warn you about the left turn at mile 5, take it slow and don't get into a heavy gear because you are going down hill because you will very soon be going back up hill again.)

You setup T1 with your stuff at the bike beforehand.  There is no picking up your bag.  Just go straight to your bike.  One thing they allowed last year was for you to hand your swim stuff to someone over the fence.  It saved a lot of time over having to stuff your wetsuit into a bag.  There are wetsuit strippers as you enter T1 and I just handed my wife my wetsuit on my way to the bike.  Left nothing in T1.

You do have to rack your own bike.  It is a pretty long run into T2 from the dismount area.  It's all on a cement sidewalk so you may want to think about getting out of your shoes.

On another note, it looks like the weather is trending nicely.  Currently low 80's.  Now that we've talked about all the hot weather precautions it looks like it might actually be chilly at the start of the bike.  Low temps are around 50 so if thats the case it will be a little cold getting on the bike wet.  It was similar last year and wasn't too bad.  I wore a cycling jersey over my tri top.  The marine layer hung over head until into the second lap of the bike course so didn't really feel any heating issues until towards the very end of the bike. 

So you wore short sleeves on the bike?  I was debating SS and sleeveless.  My swim is someone speed challenged so I was thinking it would be high 50s/nearly 60 when I got on the bike.

What's everyone else wearing on the bike?

I wore short sleeves and was fine.  I thought about some arm warmers but probably wouldn't bother.  I also wore cycling bib shorts over thin compression shorts.  Did this to avoid the changing tents.  Changed to running short in T2 over the compression shorts.

If its anything like last year and you face the possibility of finishing in the dark, I'd throw a long sleeve shirt in your special needs bag.  It got chilly in the evening.

Where can we put in somebody's phone number to have tracking information sent to them via text messaging though?

I don't think they have that at Vineman.  At IM brand events there is an outside company that has GPS units you can wear and they will text/email people for you.  I can't remember that companies name, but if you do a google search they will probably come up.

On the climate front:  Marine layer is a given at VM.  Been the case every year I've raced (three times).  Guerneville is closer to the coast than Windsor for starters and the whole area tends to be influenced by the ocean in any event.  You might expect to be a bit chilly on the bike at the start.

That said, I've never opted for arm warmers...only worn tri top on the bike at VM/VM 70.3.  It will be plenty warm--if not outright hot--by the second loop...dress for that, not for the temporary chilliness of the morning.

Be sure you review the logistics of the day very carefully.  Every year there's someone racing without family or friends in attendance who doesn't look carefully at the logistics of the shuttle service betw. Windsor and Guerneville and has a long day get longer.  Everyone should have a clear plan as to how your car and/or bike is getting from one town to the other (whether its getting your car from Guerneville to Windsor or getting back to your car with your bike if you leave your car at the start).  For most folks, a spouse or S.O. is available to move the family car and it's no big deal, but if you're like me and your spouse is also racing (or you're on your own), make sure that end of things is covered.

You can park on most of the side streets north and northeast of the HS, btw, but those spots go pretty fast.  After that, parking is a few blocks north of the HS in the town square.

And, yes, absolutely plan to hand your swim gear over the fence to a family member...the RD loves that since it makes for less transport of gear bags on their part.

Thanks for the update. 

The weather seems unpredictable there.  Do you think the forecast will get more accurate the day before the race?