Gerry's Race Rehearsal "2" Plan & Report
Race Rehearsal “2” Plan/Report
“Plan/Report” b/c I was not able to post a plan prior.
“2” b/c the weather here in CT never cooperated for a 1st RR around the 14-16 HIM Intermediate program (but I’ve found that Saturday long rides have been pretty good approximates especially for nutrition training.
Race
Syracuse 70.3 on 6/22/14 (3rd HIM; 1st since joining EN in 10/2013).
Me
42yrs old; 175 lbs.; HR Athlete; VDot 47; HIM Intermediate Program; some persistent lower back/left upper hip area tightness (probably from getting used to new aero position) and muscles stretching over right heel tightness/soreness (may be over use related) but nothing that has interfered with training to a great extent.
Take Away: Get on top of the back and heel issues (at this point will have to be after Syracuse); could try to lose a few lbs.; other than that, the work has been working and I’m very happy with how the training/learning process has been going since starting with EN and the season plan (Oct. ’13 OS into GF into HIM).
1st Breakfast
2-3a.m.; 600-800 calories (apple sauce; banana w PB; 16oz Perform)
This may change depending on ability to fall back to sleep.
Actual: 3 cups apple sauce went down (easy at first, then it took some concerted effort), banana and Perform just fine. Feel back to sleep pretty easily. As a side note, my wife, who I failed to tell about my plan, woke up and thought I was leaving at 2 a.m. She already thinks I’m nuts, so seeing me chugging apple sauce from the jar in the wee hours didn’t help. Luckily, the result is that she usually just laughs at me (also lucky is that she fell back to sleep quickly).
2nd Breakfast
15-20’ before heading out; GU Roctane (espresso love) & 8oz water (no issues in execution)
Bike
Anticipated: 3:20 for 56 miles
Actual: 3:20 for 56 miles (I had to ride another 6 miles though back to where I started and was going to run from due to a wrong turn and having to double back)
Riding Plan: 1st 20’ at low to mid Z2; remainder at low to mid Z3.
Riding Actual: 1st 20’ went according to plan. The rest was a mix of low to mid Z3 as planned but the hills (I’m not talking about the rollers, but real climbing) all spiked my HR. I think the problem is my gearing. My lowest gear on the real hills doesn’t get me to the point of spinning. It puts me into a bit of a grind. I don’t need to stand, but its far from easy spinning and even at my easiest effort (feet as light as feathers), I was still having to really work. The solution is probably another gear or two for climbing. Will talk to LBS about it this week. On the upside, after summiting, my HR did recover quickly and allowed me to work on the descents. I never felt tight in the aero position and was comfortable overall. Almost too good to be true, which makes me nervous for race day.
Nutrition Goals: 40oz Perform and 1 GU per hour, salt caps if needed (per hour: 450 cal, 100-107 carbs, 950-1075 sodium, some caffeine depending on GUs I choose). This would total 120oz Perform, 3 GUs
Drink starting at 20’; GU every hour on the 30s (may take a GU every 40’ instead of every hr. depending on how nutrition plan works out).
Some concern about so many calories for a HIM but I plan on living off the course so with 2-20oz bottles of Perform an hour, that’s what I get calorie wise. I expect that I will skip a drink cycle or two every hour so actual calorie intake may be a little lower. Luckily, I’ve had no problems processing the fluids and calories in training.
Nutrition Actual: Total of 90oz Perform, 4 GUs, 1 bug of indeterminate origin (protein boost!)
Take Away: Fluid intake came up short but I do not think it hurt me. The ride started very cool and with the shade on my route, my fluid intake was probably right on. I did skip a couple of drink cycles due to feeling bloated so I feel like my adjustments were correct. On a warmer, less shady course though I will have to make sure the fluids go in though. I got off the bike feeling plenty hydrated and fueled and peed once an hour – so must have been hydrated. GU worked out fine and never felt the need for additional calories or salt caps, didn’t seem to have an issue with digesting the bug. As the day warmed up, I was able to stick to my nutrition plan, but it took some concentration. So, when it is warm on race day, I should be good with my plan (and salt caps may then come into play).
Transition
Nothing really planned. Trying to keep it under 10’ (on race day it will be faster).
Actual: About 6 minutes. Popped a salt cap for good measure. Wasn’t able to lay out a transition area, so just took care of admin stuff, changed from bike to run gear and off I went.
Run
6 mi or 60’, whichever comes 1st.
per EN’s RR2 plan: 3 @ Z2 + 30” (8:10); remainder @ Z2 (7:40) w/ 30 steps walk breaks every mile.
Actual: Felt good off the bike. Legs a bit wobbly, but that cleared up pretty quickly. 6 miles at pretty close to the paces but the HR was elevated – maybe due to warmer temperatures, stress of the bike? In any event, 1st 3 miles were fine, final mile and a half were more work.
Nutrition Goals: 3-4 oz. Perform per mile; 1000 mg sodium/hr. (1 salt tab every half hour); GU every 40-60’
Have struggled in past with hydration on the run. Some of the issue is that my pre-EN self was probably under hydrated (and over worked) coming off the bike. I’ve also never liked Perform on the run (have trained to overcome that) b/c my gut didn’t tolerate it well. Use of salt tabs (which I was using pre-EN) corrected a lot of that, but so has nutrition training.
Actual: Drank as planned. Skipped one cycle due to bloating/sloshing. Took salt cap to correct that. GU went down just fine.
Take Away: Need to slow the pace a bit more and focus on HR instead of pace on race day, especially when its probably going to be warm and humid. In particular, the first miles out of T2 will need to be a conscious effort to keep in my box as I will certainly be tempted by the speed demon. Walk the aid stations, drink, GU and salt caps as planned. Aid stations with ice will help with the heat a bit and be a welcome distraction. Coke may come into play but I haven’t used it all that much, so will be cautious with it.
This rehearsal was very useful, especially as I wasn't able to pull off a 1st rehearsal. This also gives me a great basis for my race plan -- just 14 days away! Thanks for any comments, suggestions and helpful tips, or for just reading.