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IMCDA Race rehearsal #2 debrief

Julia HerrmannJulia Herrmann
in Racing Forum 🏎

I considered this RR#2 to ultimately be a success...  I rode/ran the same course as RR#1, and I think although it was warmer the headwinds were a little less strong.  Also very happy to have a bike fit issue straightened out, as last time my knee was feeling "funny" only one hour in.  

But one question...  last weekend during my Sunday ABP I bonked after the work portion.  Today I realized that I had forgotten to eat my gu at the turnaround point, leaving me at least 100 cals short for the ride.   So today I kept my head in the game much better, but could kind of feel my stomach start to slow down and not want to take more food about 5.5 hrs in (just under 100 miles for me).  Ultimately I ended up averaging 150 cals/hr on the bike between gus, shot blocks, and scratch labs drink mix.  This is actually up from RR#1, in which I ended up with 135/hr.     Anyway - I guess I struggle with finding my happy place nutrition wise on the bike because you can't fast forward to mile 18 of the run to see how things are going to work out.   I feel like I definitely dance around the too low end of things because my body has a staunch refusal to let me overfuel, it seems.    I realize it's pretty late in the game to make any drastic changes, but I thought I would ask for thoughts on this calorie level, because of course once I get running on race day I'm not going to be feasting.  At IMSG for the run I think I only ended up taking in an additional 250-300 ish calories for the marathon.  Although slightly loopy at the end, I felt much better ("lighter" if that makes sense?).  

Thanks all, for listening!!

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    Julie, you're slender/lean. I hear you about getting tired of stuffing the calories in towards the end of the bike. Better a bit too little (150 cal/hour) than having things slosh around and get stomach cramps or worse on the run. And if things do get out of control (light headed, bonk-y) on the run, remember what the coaches say - you're NEVER more than 10 minutes away from an infinite number of calories and ounces of liquid. You can always refuel and walk a bit to digest if you under-do things too much.

    I've tried the high-cal approach to race nutrition last year, and it didn't work for me - maybe something about being on the lean side means we're more efficient at how we use those calories, and so we can get by on the low side of average?

  • Dino SartiDino Sarti
    Julia! I saw you North bound on the San Gabriel path just before the lower dam at the Whittier Narrows area. You looked strong! I called your name after you passed, but I think we were each going about 20 miles per hour in opposite directions. I did my RR from Pasadena down to Newport and back...

    See you in CDA!
  • Julia HerrmannJulia Herrmann

    Thanks Dino!!  I was keeping an eye out for you, but I still must have missed you - maybe during a daydream.    See you at CDA! 

    Al - cool!  Thanks!!  I am glad that this is reasonable, because it's what seems reasonable to my body, apparently.  And you are right - way easier to slow down and fix an under calorie bonk in a few minutes, because that's what happened last weekend!   Once I righted myself I really did feel all right with the world again, but I can see how overdoing the calories would just not undo itself so fast...  I do kind of feel like my body can get the max out of what I put in it - a mean machine!  

  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg
    Julia — in addition to WSM Al's excellent thoughts, I ask about the proportions of fluid fuel (scratch labs drink mix) on the one hand and on the other the gus and shot blocks?
    Some people (me for instance) find it much easier to take most of their fuel in liquid form and just top up with other sources. I would take all my fuel in liquid form but if I did so the concentration of sodium and calories of the liquid would be too high to rapidly be absorbed. So I top up with a quarter of a power bar each 30 mins.
  • tim cronktim cronk
    Julia congrats on your successful RR. You sound in tune with your engine (body) and IMO that is more important than all the measuring and calculating of fluids/calories/sodium etc that we do. Its important to do those things for a baseline , then practice and refine them. But in the end its about managing them on an ever changing basis of heat, humidity, intensity and most of all RPE.
  • Julia HerrmannJulia Herrmann

    Thanks Tim - you've got that right about the moving target of heat/humidity/RPE, especially at IMCDA!  

    Peter - I think I am on that thin line where I am taking in as much liquid as I can without being sloshy.  It's only 1 gu and 1 shot block/hr.  I just suck on the shot blocks, which spreads the calorie intake over 10-15 minutes... But I like the suggestion, and maybe I can consider a bit more liquid earlier on in the ride.  If I make the drink mix much more concentrated I'll end up puckering up with an expression akin to the famous bitter beer face.    As for the powerbar...  Back to being an individual.  I've learned during training  - there will be no chewing.  period.  Anything that involves mastication when my HR is above even 120 is a recipe for misery.   (eep)

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