Mark Maurer's RR2 report
Mark Maurer’s Race Rehearsal #2
July 12, 2014
(Here's the link to my RR2 plan if you're interested http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/16058/afnp/181965/Default.aspx)
I had to do the second RR on a different course from the first one because the Seattle to Portland bike ride was going right through the heart of my RR1 course and they had a major rest stop at the park where I staged the first one. I didn’t want to compete for space with 10,000+ bike riders. My wife was also doing a race rehearsal the same day so we staged it out of a small town about 10 miles south of here where we could do a 37.4 mile loop. Breakfast was a bowl of muesli, apple sauce, Osmo pre-workout hydration mix, and coffee.
I started from home and rode because I would be done sooner than Susan and I had to do a 6 mile run. So getting in and out of town was part of my ride. That slowed down the first and last laps a little and made them less steady. The course I did for this RR was also somewhat more hilly with lots of rollers and a few steep hills. OTOH, it is a lot closer in that way to the Vineman than the RR1 course.
It was warm when I started just before 8 and it got up into the 80’s by the time I finished the bike and started the run. I had decided to take in 30 oz. of Skratch labs drink per hour on the bike and 4-5 oz. per mile on the run as well as a 1 rice muffin per 45 minutes for the first 4.5 hours and then 2 gels for the last hour on the bike. I also took 1 salt stick tab per hour on the bike and one at the beginning of the run. I ate 1 margarita clifshot block per mile. Nutrition was good and I didn’t have any GI issues except a little burping when I drank too much too fast. I did have to pee a lot on the bike until it got hotter. I could have used more fluids on the run and I really missed the aid stations with ice and sponges. If I had had those the run would have been better I think.
I put my Garmin on autolap at 7 mile intervals. The table below shows my heart rate, average power, normalized power, variability index, and average cadence per lap as well as the overall ride statistics.
|
Lap |
HR |
Avg. Power |
NP |
VI |
Cad |
|
1 |
107 |
144 |
151 |
1.05 |
88 |
|
2 |
115 |
168 |
169 |
1.01 |
86 |
|
3 |
119 |
168 |
169 |
1.01 |
88 |
|
4 |
115 |
162 |
165 |
1.02 |
89 |
|
5 |
117 |
165 |
167 |
1.01 |
91 |
|
6 |
118 |
164 |
167 |
1.02 |
86 |
|
7 |
118 |
163 |
168 |
1.03 |
91 |
|
8 |
118 |
164 |
168 |
1.02 |
83 |
|
9 |
123 |
164 |
166 |
1.02 |
90 |
|
10 |
120 |
161 |
164 |
1.02 |
90 |
|
11 |
124 |
161 |
164 |
1.02 |
88 |
|
12 |
124 |
164 |
168 |
1.02 |
85 |
|
13 |
124 |
160 |
166 |
1.04 |
88 |
|
14 |
124 |
155 |
161 |
1.04 |
84 |
|
15 |
127 |
155 |
162 |
1.05 |
88 |
|
16 |
127 |
145 |
159 |
1.1 |
85 |
|
Overall |
120 |
160 |
165 |
1.03 |
87 |
Overall I felt like I did a very good ride though there are things I could improve. One was I found myself backing off of the power when I had a tail wind or I was going down a long gentle grade. The extra speed lulled me into complacency when I would have been faster if I had kept my power output up. I tried to adjust that as the ride went on and I did do better in some parts, but it became harder as the temperature went up.
I did use my 3rd and 4th EN race gear more this time than in RR1. That shows up a little in the VI. I had an overall VI of 1.01 in RR1 and 1.03 in this one. My VI went up in the last couple of laps because of the fatigue and in the last lap because I was getting back into town with more traffic and stops. If I can manage a 1.03 in the Vineman I’ll be a happy camper.
Speaking of fatigue, my NP was a couple of watts lower in this one than the first, but I could feel the fatigue in my legs starting after the first 20 miles. I’m hoping that the taper will restore them and that I’ll be able to get closer to my goal watts of 170.
The run went pretty well. I had to really work to keep my pace for the first three miles at 9:47. Somewhere in the 4th mile I got a rock stuck in my shoe and stopped to flick it out. When I lifted my foot up my upper inside leg muscles began to cramp. They stopped when I lowered my leg and started running again but about a quarter mile later I noticed my heart rate was high and the same muscles were starting to cramp again. I slowed down to a walk and drank some more and took a salt stick tab. I walked until my HR came down some (< 1 minute) and started running again. My leg did fine after that.
By then I had kicked the pace up to my goal pace of 9:17 and I held that until the last ¾ mile when I upped the pace to 8:45 and I held that all the way home.
I finished off the workout with some muscle milk as I walked up and down the street, then did some stretching, and finally took a shower and a nap. I lost a little over a pound during the 7 hour+ workout. As I said, I felt like I could have drank more on the run since that was when it really got hot. But a couple of more oz per hour on the bike, especially when it started getting hotter, would have helped too.
My wife and I celebrated the successful last long training ride by going out for an early Mexican dinner of fajitas and adult beverages.
As always I welcome and comments, suggestions, or critiques.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark M.
Comments
I think your overall VI was great and I agree if you can do that at Vineman you'll be fine. I noticed that your power faded off the last 21 miles and actually for almost your last 50 miles. I get the final part into/through town, but your highest power looks like it was laps 2-9. I'm not sure if that means you started a little too hard, or it was just a combination of the heat/accumulated fatigue, etc. The taper will help some of that. Also during the race you will have aid stations to drench yourself with water to stay a little cooler so take advantage of that and drink a little more if possible. How many times did you pee on the bike? Only losing 1 pound sounds pretty good for the conditions and the effort. Sounds to me like your run wasn't perfect, but still pretty good given your finishing effort. You won't want to "kick" at mile 6 of the real run, but being able to run well at mile 6 is a good sign.
Good luck in the race!