Ironman Lake Placid : Official Thread (Page 91)

Hi Jim. Oustanding 100-miler! 

I'm looking forward to the Taper/Recovery this week!! My Taper this week actually coincides with a Recovery week anyway since I was FINALLY able to put together a 4-week block of training without getting sick.  Now I can Rest and do Recovery-oriented training for the next 5-days, which serves several purposes: It allows me to absorb the training during the block; It also allows my body to rebuild and repair; Allows my immune system to rebuild as well; Mentally I get to reacharge so I am mentally and physically ready to commence Peak Training; And perhaps all this times nicely with a shot at PR'ing Quassy--which by itself, this 70.3 is perfect training for Lake Placid: lake swim, hilly bike, hilly run. 

So, yeah, I'm Tapering/Recovering this week and justifyingly lovin' it!!

I'm found the same thing Jim.  I drink A LOT more water.  Last year at LP I did two bottles of perform followed by a botlle of water.  And kept that pattern throughout the bike ride, and it was just too much - for me.  In training I've switched to 50/50 water sportdrink and it's working out much better.  If it happens to get really hot - I'll just wash down some Salt Stick pills with the water to get the electrolytes in that way.

Hi John.  I'm going to disagree - for me, and I think most people, 1,000 calories are way too many Ironman race morning.  Our heart rates are elevated to begin with, due to nerves, and we have some raised adrenalin --  all which makes for a stomach that does not want to digest too many calories the morning of.  

I know some athletes that like to get in extra calories race morning, so what they do is set their alarm for 2 or 2:30 AM - take in the calories real fast (usually through an Ensure are a similar high caloric drink) and then go back to sleep, wake up at 4:30 or 5 AM again and take in some more calories. 

The convential wisdom that I've read and been told is to have a HUGE BREAKFAST THE MORNING BEFORE THE RACE.  Ironman race organizers actually have a free pancake breakfast in the Olympic Oval (Transition) the Saturday morning before the race.  Last year it was a Church group from down south that came up doing missionary work who catered the breakfast.  They did an awesome job and it was very yummy!!

I read an excellent article a few years back written by a doctor who ran marathons, and he said the best pre-race nutrition advice he could give is: eat a huge carb-fueled meal two nights before an endurance event. (So for us, Friday night).  Then the next morning (Saturday morning) eat a huge breakfast with more carbs; eat a regular lunch; and (Saturday night) eat a light - easily digestable dinner early.  The following morning eat whatever you normally ate before your Longest Training Runs and Rides.  His reasoning was, from a medical standpoint it takes approx 12 to 16 hours for most foods to move through the entire digestive tract system and be 100% fully digested, absorbed, and stored in the body to be used as readily available fuel on Race Day.  He wrote in the article, if you have 'the huge carb dinner' the night before, come race morning and the start of the race 12 hours or less later, most people's digestive systems will not have fully digested the entire meal from the night before and the food will not have fully finished moving through your system. 

I've followed this advice ever since I read the article, and it's worked like a charm for me.  And I rarely have GI issues during long-course events following this advice.  Well, except for last years Philly Marathon where I ate a bowl of strawberries 90 minutes before the race.  Not sure what the heck I was thinking!!

If I get a chance, I'll look for the article later on-line and post the link.

Thanks for all the nutrition advice. I read somewhere to eat something between 600-750 calories the morning of race. Also, I agree with the carb loading dinner 2 nights before race day. I want to make sure my body does not need to rid of extensive amounts of food the day OF the race Of course, sometimes there is no telling what my body is going to decide to do, but I do my best to try not to upset it. So, I will experiment with some things this coming weekend.

Although I haven't done it for a triathlon yet (much less an IM) - what I've done for running races recently that has worked out well has been to follow this article.  Basically, 24 hours before the event, do a balls-to-the-wall all-out effort for three minutes.  It's not enough to fatigue you, but it's enough to incite the response in your body to take all consumed carbohydrates and convert them to glycogen - the 'holy crap we need more glycogen, store up!' response.  Then, consume a butt-load of carbs over the next 24 hours - 12 g/kg of lean body mass.

I plan on doing that for this event.  Like I said - it's worked pretty well for me since I read the article last November - but I haven't had the opportunity to do it for anything longer than a half marathon.  

Also, the folks from Endurance Nation like to top off their stores via sports drink a few hours before the start (as Dream Chaser mentioned).  Their reasoning is that you aren't going to sleep well anyway - and with the calories being in liquid form, their absorption is fast.  So you end up having topped off energy stores at the start line, but not a stomach full of food that will be churned up during the event.

Do you have any good routes for those areas?  I'm looking for some good climbing routes around there...

Not sure where you live, but I have used mapmyride.com to look for routes around Verona, Wisconsin (this is by Madison and where the Ironman Course goes through) as well as Galena, Illinois. I look for the routes that have 2,000 + elevation gain, either loops or out and backs >40 miles. I have also found some OK hills near where I live in a little town called Bull Valley (just north of Crystal Lake). You can probably do some loops around there and it's tough! The climbs aren't that long, but the grades are difficult. Let me know if you have any other questions!

--Annie

It's not a bad idea, even if just for peace of mind.  I did before Louisville but don't think I need it again this year.  Take it to a mechanic that you trust for a full and complete tune-up, they'll let you know if they need to be replaced. 

Thanks...I'm in Byron (just south of Rockford).  I've ridden the IM WI course before.  Was thinking of doing some rides in the Galena area, training for IMLP next year.  Thanks for the info...I'll check on mapmyride.

love this video!

I brought my bike to my local bike shop last year two-days before we were leaving for Placid.  I was just asking to get my derailleur adjusted.  The wrench Tom looked at me and asked when the last time I had my cables replaced.  To which I responded, Ummm... never?!   And like you, I had about 6-7k on my bike at the time.  He also replaced my chain for me, which I also had never changed before!  He also took my seat post out and then shows me a glass half-filled with water he poured out of my frame.  After that, I stopped hosing my bike off and began gently spraying it.   

I was there last weekend and that place is one of my favorites. If only they could repaved the roads. It was packed with athletes and I'm sure this coming weekend will be just the same. If you haven't been there yet I suggest eating at the Big Mountain Sub Shop, world class sandbo's. Have fun and watch the roads on the descent and coming back from Wilmington on 86 to town.

I am going to be up there the 8,9,10

Plan is to swim friday night

Bike & Run Saturday

2.5 hr run Sunday and possible swim

The schedule is to do a 180km bike ride on friday.  Im down for friday night swim!

Ill be up there as well.  Going to ride the full course on Friday morning with the EN group and would really like to do a swim lap on Friday night.  Probably do a single bike lap on Saturday followed by a single run lap on Saturday.  Cant wait!  Lets pick a time on Friday to swim.