Kar-Ming's Micro forum
sorry for posting here but no one answered my RR questions.
I completed my first RR for a HIM on 5/19. I couldn't do one earlier due to work conflicts. Some good and some bad and quite a few questions for those who have been there before.
The Objective:
Time: 2h 32 m Distance: 51.57 (made it back to the car and didn't want to ride more) Elevation: 1000 feet
FTP: 260W Target: 208-215W (80-82.5%) Avg HR: 153 bpm (max on FTP test was 183 bpm)
VI: 1.02
Avg Cad: 82 Avg speed: 20.3
TSS: 140.3 IF: 194/.74 (177/.68 for first 24 minute warmup, 198W/.76 for the remainder of rideime: 2h 32 m
Run: 26 minutes, Distance 3.15 miles
Nutrition: Breakfast: 2 hours before ride: Coffee and sticky buns x 2. Not ideal but it really tasted good!!
During ride: Infinit Isis: 500 calories total during the ride...perhaps the pH balance wasn't right as I am a dude drinking a drink designed for girls ;-) But hey, it was free.
Run: Infinit Napalm 2 servings.
Subjective:
The ride felt quite good which really surprised me. It remains a bit challenging to hit 80% FTP not because of difficulty generating power but rather the roads were a bit beat up in sections. The sections that were smooth, I flew. Never felt tired and stayed in aero approximately 95-97% of time. All that time in aero this winter really made it comfortable to stay in this position. Interestingly my HR averaged 153 bpm which is a bit higher than the 141-144 bpm that I get when I ride my 2 hours ABP ride indoors. So physically it wasn't too much of a struggle however I began running out of nutrition after hour 2 and had to stretch it. I read on the site that 150-200 calories per hour was recommended for HIM so I aimed for 200 cal/hr. In hindsight I need at least 250 as that is what I typically consume in races. Also drank a total of 76 oz during the 2.5 hours. I urinated approximately 2 hours after the bike ride and it was quite concentrated.
Unfortunately the run was a dismal failure which I suspect was due to the lack of calories. Legs felt tired but I hit the first mile @ 7:45/mi (MP+30 sec). At that point it was over as I just didn't have any energy. Struggled over the next 2 miles at 8:30/mi without water or nutrition so I called it quits. I didn't have any specific physical issues or cramps so I don't think that my inability to run was due to undertraining or overbiking. Just my old nemesis, Mr. Bonk.
Questions:
1. Should I consume 250 or 275/cal per hour?
2. How much more fluids should I drink per hour?
3. When I rode ABP x 2hours on the trainer @ 82% my HR was 141-144. Here it was definitely 153. Do you guys think it was elevated due to dehydration (although it was pretty consistent at this level early on) or just because I was outdoors (an it was 72-80 degrees for the ride). What HR should I follow when I race.
4. I was very happy with my VI but the course was definitely flat. Do you guys notice that it is a little harder to hit your target NP when the road are a little chipped up or am I being a wuss?
Thanks.
Comments
On the fluids you drank the equivalent of 30 oz per hour, I suggest you shoot for a 24 oz bottle every 30 minutes…so race day would see 5-6 bottles, or 120 oz vs 76…again, needs to be practiced and makes using on the course nutrition that much more important.
HR is elevated for both outdoors and the temps; ride your .75-.8 watt range where you feel comfortable on the day and note your HR in that space…you know between 141-144 and 153 is okay….anything over 153 is danger zone.
Hitting targets is much harder on crappy roads; it's a fact of life. Be sure to hit the lap button every 30' on race day, etc, so you can refocus the VI and IF on relevant and not "legacy" numbers!
Patrick
Thanks for the reply. I will target the higher cals and reintroduce the gels. Unfortunately I got the 150-200 cals/hr from the wiki (which was linked to the Week 18 HIM plan).
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Race+Execution,+Half+Ironman
Mon: Rest
Tues: Easy Swim Monday's workout or Rest (if still sore)
Wed: Long ride (best day this week to workout and to maintain SAUs) but uncertain as to time?
Thursday: Swim Tues workout and Sat's run (30' LRP, 30' @ MP)
Friday: 90 minute Long run
Sat: Either Mon's 3% 18' incline run or Fri's stride run
Sun: Wed's bike and Swim Sat's workout
Thanks