IM Austria RR Part 2
What did I change from RR1 to RR2?
I moved from Powerbars (half a piece every 30min) to Gel (1pcs every 45min) only and added 2 salt-pills (one after 2,5h - second one after about 4:15). I also drank a whole bottle more than last time which felt as I was drinking all the time 
This time I got of the bike and was really ready to rock on - no tired legs, no hunger ... just perfect which indicates me that my new nutrition plan is working out really fine.
Now lets get into more details:
I rode the real IMAT course for about 99% so I'm pretty sure you can't find a better one for RR even when not starting at the actual transition area. I also managed to start at about the same time of day as on race-day to find similar wind situations (but wind normally isn't an issue here in AT).
Only bad thing - I couldn't shift up to more than 53/13 instead of 53/11 which really is an issue as there are many long downhills on that course so I believe there's still a little space for improvement here.
Well let's take a look on the metrics:
1.04
Here's the complete ride:
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/VSUPYLM33WJGBY3NFLVU2JWWO4
As you can see my HR was constantly rising as temperature went up quiet quickly so I assume that's ok because I felt really good at all times.
The brick run afterwards was also pretty nice this time but I failed to hit my pace target for the first 4km (too fast)
Finally found the correct movement and nailed the next 4km. Km-9 was downhill only so that one was way too fast but RPE-wise all in same region. Last km I tried to run my LRP (20s/km faster) just to see how this feels .... that's it 
Oh ... finally I jumped into the beautiful lake Faaker-See to get some refreshment at around 18degC
Now keep comments coming
Comments
Just had a couple of thoughts.
First, I noticed your hourly splits (NP/VI) were 1st 233/1.06, 2nd 228/1.05, 3rd 237/1.06, 4th 236/1.06, and 5th 237/1.03. You are holding your hourly NP very steady, which is a good thing. However, EN execution has peeps spending 60 to 90 mins @ an IF 0.05 lower than their target. Is there any reason you weren't planning to do that?
Also, your VI is on the high side. Your last hour VI is where it needs to be at 1.03. I also note in this regard that you didn't use your lap function? I use a 30 min lap and have lap NP and lap AP displayed and try and keep as close to each other as I can. This is how I usually have a VI around 1.02/1.03 even for hilly courses.
On hydration, it's is a good thing you drank more, but are you sure it was enough? I make sure I have at least 2 major pees on the bike (ie soak my socks) otherwise I feel I am going to be a bit under-hydrated.
Lastly your fuelling plan apparently worked for the RRs, but looks like not enough calories to me. I would make sure you carry extra fuel on the bike just in case. The run doesn't matter as an aid station is always quite close.
Just my $0.02 worth.
I usually get into my riding rythm very quickly so I'm "just ridin' around" for the first half hour. In this RR I had an IF of 0.695 for that particular timeframe.
Is there a way to setup my Edge 500 to AutoLap based on time (this would be awesome as I could need that as an eating-reminder)? I knew just of a distance-based autolap ....
Ride metrics:
You are totally right for my VI - it's too high!
I'm not 100% sure but currently I believe that the fact that I couldn't shift to my highest gear could have caused my VI to be that high as I was unable to sustain my desired power output on almost every downhill section.
So my high VI should have been a function of riding too easy on downhills which is something I can fix by applying the needed sprocket.
Hyration:
I peed one time on the bike a "LOT" and just a few km out on the run a second time so you may be right that I could drink even more. I think that if you there are aid-stations all around it's easier to fuel than riding around with just 3 big bottles on the bike.
Calorie intake:
I used a much higher cal/hour on my first RR but this one worked out way better yesterday so I will stay with that but as you've suggested I carried at least 2 extra-Gel with me just to have them if I feel the need for it. During race there are no gel handouts on aid-stations so I'm thinking of eating 1 (or maybe 2) additional powerbars which will raise my cal/hour a little.