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The hot and humid olympic

gambgamb
in Racing Forum 🏎

Ok.  Hot and humid race for you guys/gals that are HUGE sweaters.  I'm in the 5 lbs/ hour range (seriously).  I popped at this race last year about as bad as one can.  If there was a sag wagon on the out and back run I would have taken it.

 How much would you knock off power wise on the bike?  I rode an olympic a couple weeks ago in the 235-240W range and ran pretty well and it was warm but not sweltering.  This one coming up is going to be a sauna I have a feeling.  Would you knock 10W off or more?  I was thinking 220 range and if I feel ok maybe a touch more.  And I'm normally a 1 bottle guy on the bike but I think I'm going to take a bottle of water also for both my mouth and body

Comments

  • morpheusmorpheus
    My initial impression isn't that you need to back off on watts for a 1' to 1'15'' bike but that you need to take in more fluids in the time leading up to that, and during that.



    Maybe I'm misunderstanding.



    As a local in your area, I don't think that if I save a few watts, lowering IF, etc that I'm gonna sweat any less around here. It's like a ceiling effect, once I cross that line, I'm sweating like hell no matter if I'm going .85 or .9



    Though, I do like the idea of keeping an extra bottle of COLD water accessible for cooling off purposes.



    Curious as to what others will have to say.



    What race?
  • gambgamb
    Chattanooga Waterfront. Weather right now says 85F and 80% humidity for the day. Might not be as bad in the morning. Last year was miserable
  • morpheusmorpheus
    Yeah, great race but you're right about the predictable humidity. Makes that race tougher than it looks on paper. Good Luck, sending good mojo.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    My thoughts...on the bike, take three bottles of diluted sports drink, and down them all. You'll probably slow down/rest enough while doing all that drinking to not have to worry about backing off on watts. The main issue is sufficient hydration on the bike, not going slower. Don't dorget the evaporative/cooling benefit of the wind blowing on you when traveling 20 mph.

    On the run, dont be afraid of walking in each aid station so that you can get 2-3 cups of fluid each one. Your body will tell you how slow you need to go.
  • gambgamb
    Have to figure out how to carry the 3rd bottle but thanks for the tips Al
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    You can chug from a bottle in T1&T2, or put it in your pocket, or they may have an aid station, or, if you have a "normal" front end, you can try one of these gizmos:

    http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/king-cages-top-cap-cage-mount

    It fits where the stem cap goes; you just attach any water bottle cage to it. That's my solution for rides when I need more than two bottles.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    Jamie, I've done the pocket thing many times with good success. The added weight is early on the bike so it's not that big 'o deal. I drink that first bottle, one that started on the bike, pretty quick, then THROW AWAY that bottle, and replace it with the pocket bottle, now you're down to your usual setup.

    Only caveat is the location of aid stations to dump your trash (empty bottle). I don't recall how many or where they are for Chatt. And, I just tried their website which was a waste of time.

  • Bruce ThompsonBruce Thompson
    I agree with Al....best is 3 bottles and a minimum of 2 on the bike.  I sweat like crazy too, and 2 weeks ago I did an Oly in 84*F and 70%RH.  I drank two 24 bottles on the bike, and carried another bottle on the run.  I drank about half the bottle while running and poured the rest on my head & back.  I refilled the bottle at the 3 mile aid station and repeated drinking & pouring.  By carrying the bottle, I could drink & cool myself when it suited me, and I only had to stop at one aid station.  A volunteer poured water into my bottle from a gallon jug so it only took a few seconds.
  • gambgamb
    Well. Update. I did a bottle of EFS (3 scoops) and a bottle of water on the bike and drank both of them entirely. I also drank a bottle of powerade along with 2 bowls of applesauce for breakfast. My stomach isn't used to that much liquid so I was a little unsettled on the run. no nauseous, didn't slow me down. I also drank water or powerade at each aid station. Still suffered and was slower on the run but ran the entire time and pace didn't lag too terribly at the end of the run
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