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Most Important Lesson from RR2
Hi Everyone! Hello Taper!
Hope everyone had a great last race rehearsal! I thought it would be fun/helpful to share the top 3 things you learned on your race rehearsal, so everyone can benefit. Here goes;
1) Watts are to be controlled, not just observed. When I previously did the course I found it was tough to keep my watts where I wanted at all times due to the course, but this time it seemed I was barely trying to keep them under control. Doh.
2) Primarily liquid nutrition (Perform) with a couple gu's and 1/2 a powerbar is a way better way to go than the 4 powerbars I ate on RR1. Stomach much happier during run!
3) My mom potty trained me too well- just can't pee on the bike!
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It was fun to ride with you on Sat. Lessons learned for me:
1) Control what you can. I was not able to control my watts fully on the hills on the IMWI course but still kept my total ride at IF of .76 overall.
2) Need more calories!!!!. Started feeling "bonky" around 90 miles. I took in my extra gel that was supposed to be taken about 20 minutes prior to starting the run. I need to bring extras with me just in case. This is most likely due to a new medication I am on, so good to know now before race day.
3) No peeing on the bike for me either. I need to get off the bike and stretch for a few minutes.
1. Ensure you have confidence in changing flat tires. It's been a long summer
2. My Perform/gu/one third power bar per hour diet worked nicely-just add salt and should be good to go!
3. KEEP SMILING-We don't HAVE to do this-we choose to
See you all soon!
Top 3 lessons from RR:
1. Hitting target watts = important; Maintaining a low VI = even more important!: I can get to a target of 170W by riding 210 for 3 hours and then riding 130 for 3 hours, but I will be SMOKED when I try to start running. To me, hitting the target watts with a low VI (particularly challenging on a course like IMWI) is the golden ticket in setting up the run.
2. Nutrition - Have a plan, but know your body and be willing to adapt: My nutrition plan calls for around 407 calories/hour on the bike (with 890 mg of salt/hour and about 31 oz of fluid/hour) - mainly comprised of Infinit + Powergels + Salt Stick tablets. RR's have taught me that this plan provides a solid structure, but that I have to be prepared to modify it based on how I feel over the course of the ride. I've also learned that it is better to get everything in by about mile 100 to give my body a little time to process before hitting T2.
3. Just Keep Moving - No matter how solid I am in holding watts with low VI and in nailing my nutrition planning, I still feel like 160 lbs of s*%t when I start running. This is NOT the time to think about the fact that I have 26.2 miles to go. It IS the time to focus on process, cadence, breathing etc. while I wait for my legs to come to grips with the fact that it is time to run.
Bonus Lesson!: Peeing on the bike is no different than peeing in your wetsuit ... and EVERYBODY does that!
(2) Planned to replace my tires yesterday a couple of weeks before the race. No problems with my old Conti 4000S tires, so put new ones on. When removing the old front tire, found a piece of metal all the way through the tire and pushing against the tube -- no flat yet, but the tires were well-worn. I was super careful when mounting the new tires and tubes, and still managed to puncture the new tube due to a bind (pre-inflated the tube, inflated and re-inflated three times, kneaded the tires on the rims, and then STILL pinched the tube!). I'm bringing two extra tubes and my mini pump along on my race. I'd just like to finish my first IM, so I'm bringing along the tool kit, two tubes, and mini pump.
Lesson learned...don't run 14 miles the day before an IM