RR 2 Results - Critique Requested

tswent

Hey Coach,

Sorry if this is in the wrong area.  I wasn't exactly sure where to put this post.

This past Saturday I completed my RR 2 but had some questions regarding my performance.  First off, I'd like to discuss my pre-fueling and I know you're going to want to kill me for it.

I started off the morning at around 4:30am and went out and got a McDonald's Deluxe Big Breakfast plate and a large Orange Juice.  Approximate calorie intake 14-1500.  I waited for it to "clear out" and started my workout after a quick nap at around 7:30am.  The reason I did this is, before my prior triathlons, I usually had about 800-1000 calories in the morning.  May seem a bit excessive but that's what's always worked for me.  Typically it's peanut butter and bagels or something similar.  I just did this because prior to some longer training weekends, I've done the same thing and felt great.   The day I had my WF race, I tried to eat clean and have Naked Juice before and found myself having to do "the deed" four times prior to the start.  I have never in my life had to do that before on any of my races.

Most of the day was overcast and I split my bike into two loops so I could come back and refuel.  The beginning of my bike for the first hour and a half, I tried my best to keep my HR in Z1 and then work my way into Z1/Z2.  In the first hour I didn't eat I believe due to the pre-workout meal.  During the first loop, I took in 500 calories from Bonk Bars and 262 calories (1.5 bottles) from IM Perform.  My average HR for the first loop was 140.  During the second loop, I again took in 500 calories from Bonk Bars, but this time 350 calories (2 bottles) from IM Perform.  My concern is that giving the same effort, my average HR jumped to 152.  I didn't feel that I was giving any extra effort and a few times I tried to get my heartrate to come down.  It was only after I discussed this with a friend that she said that it was cardiac drift.  I'm not sure if this is something to be concerned about as some things that I "googled" came up with it being somewhat natural.

My main concern was during the run portion.  After coming off the bike, I had about 7-10 minutes of lag time where I downed a few spoonfuls of applesauce prior to heading out.  I didn't bring any fuel with me as I thought it was a short run which was probably a dumb idea in retrospect, but nonetheless I seemed to have made it out okay.  I didn't have any problems on the run at all, but noticed my heartrate spiking again.  This time my average HR was 165 for the duration.  I didn't feel like I was out of breath or anything and felt that I could carry a conversation at my run pace.  My average pace was 10:25/mile a little bit faster than the 30" add to my Z1.  Should I be concerned about my HR?  Also it did heat up a little bit during the run and it was no longer overcast. 

Thanks for your input.

Ted 

Coach Patrick

@Ted, the only thing that wants to kill you for your meal choice is your HEART! That's a TON of calories (you probably only eat 2x that on any given day) in a terrible form -- will sit in your gut and jam up the works. (Side note: That's a great meal the day BEFORE a race as carb loading). Maybe it's just me, but I go 4 times before EVERY RACE. It means you are free and clear to race.

On the bike, bonk bars suck because they have low sodium and aren't very digestible. You took in IM Perform but nowhere near enough (unless you weigh 75lbs and it was 45 degrees out). Your HR drift is due to dehydration for sure...in addition to just cumulative fatigue, temp changes, etc. Applesauce just before a run is like eating a timebomb...bad idea here. You would be better off with a banana or 1/2 a powerbar with some sports drink.

Basically, you got away with one but this isn't going to work on race day.

Listen to the race nutrition webinar with JEsse K, he breaks down why bonk bars are good for your desk but not for a workout or race. You also need to think about hydration. You will need at least 1 bottle per hour of Perform; most folks can do 2 depending on their sweat rate (your goal is to break even after the bike -- having lost minimal weight to water loss); as you will lose it on the run.

Please go back to that nutrition webinar....you HAVE LITTLE TIME to get this right....

tswent

Hey Coach P,

Just to follow up, this week on my hour bike, I was able to drink the entire 24 oz of perform within 45 minutes so definitely promising. Also brought IM Perform on my Tuesday and Thursday runs as well and today downed almost 32oz for my 80 minute run. Also had 4 Cliff shot blocks during the run as well. Hopefully I'll be able to implement these all the way through race day.

Out of curiosity, why are the bonk bars bad? I know they suck to chew on because you can't really breath. I'm assuming that you would prefer s to use power gels however last week when I tried it, I wasn't a big fan. The sodium content on the bonk bars is 170mg but I'm guessing you're saying they're not good enough because I do 1 bonk bar to your 2 power gels so I only getting 170 to your 400mg of sodium. I went to the webinar on nutrition and he didn't mention anything about bonk bars.

Lastly I'm a little nervous about the marathon portion. Am I to run the marathon portion at 8:57/mile as that is my z2? The reason I'm asking is I read somewhere on the site that that is suppose to be what I should run my marathon portion at,maybe with the exception of the first six miles which they state to run at z1 +30 seconds. Can you please confirm this as I'm not sure I'll be able to keep that pace after everything else.

Thanks so much!

Ted

Coach Patrick

@Ted, great work on that nutrition! The Bonk Bars are bad b/c they have so much fat in them (so hard to process...stops up your gut). The carbs are "close" but the sodium is 1/3 of a powerbar...it's just not "good enough for your body under duress." A Bonk Bar is a great snack but not a true racing product!

For the IM, your first 6 miles are a LRP + 30" per mile. The remainder is in Zone 1 / LRP. There is no Z2 in an Ironman marathon!!!!

tswent

Thank God....I almost crapped my pants....I was thinking...there's no way in hell that I'm going to be able to maintain that pace after the swim and the bike hahahaha!!! I just picked up the PowerBar gels and will be trying that on my last long ride tomorrow. It's my fault for not utilizing the website to it's capability. I never bothered to check the table of contents for Wiki and just used the search function. Needless to say I've been spending hours readin different posts and topics. The content is absolutely fantastic....just wish I didn't wait so long to discover it. I'll keep you posted on how the bike goes tomorrow.

Coach Patrick

How was it, Ted????

tswent

Hey Coach P,

I did just over a 2 hr ride this past weekend on a course with rolling hills....nothing crazy though. Unfortunately I misjudged the headwind on the way out and the tailwind got me home a lot faster than anticipated. As far a nutrition is concerned, I went through two 20 oz bottles of Perform and 4 Power Gels. No problem with digestion but it was for only two hours and it was a fairly easy ride. I am concerned though because they only offer Gu on the course so I do plan on bringing a couple of flasks of power gel with me. I also bought a bottle of salt stick capsules just in case I have to use the Gu's since they have a considerable less amount of sodium. What would your recommendation be? Use the Gu on course and just pop the salt stick capsules or bring the flasks of PowerGel? To me Gu's taste better.

Thanks,

Ted

Coach Patrick

Ted, you can get a bento box / fuel box for your top tube that will hold 6-8 gels. the rest can go in a pocket or special needs!!

http://www.fuelbelt.com/s.nl/it.A/id.867/.f?sc=12&category=-112

tswent

Have a Bento Box already but it has my spare tube in it along with the tire changing stuff...co2, levers, etc. unfortunately my jersey I plan on wearing only has one back pocket....yeah I know not smart....and I don't have a toolkit on the back seat.

Coach Patrick

@Ted, something like this can hold all you need under your seat. I can stuff 2 tubes, 2 co2, 1 lever, 2 boots, 1 CO2 adapter in there...just remember to have race tubes in there (right stem length) on race day!