IM Choo Race Rehearsal #2
I am tweeking the day of my RR to Friday as life happens. Nothing bad, just the opposite. My son is coming home for the weekend unexpectedly. I have decided since it is a Friday and my Sherpa can't come rescue me, that I better make my RR a 4 lap course of about 25 miles each. I am rather slow, so 6 hours will come and go before I hit 112. My plan is to ride 6 hours and no more.
I am lucky to have done my first RR on course and at camp, something I am definitely benefiting from. On that ride, I did the whole (what was then) 114 miles. It took me 7 hours and 2 minutes.
I am going to take an ice chest full of resupplies to a church that is on the four lap course. I will start from my house as soon as its light and ride the first loop with a stop at each 25 miles to refill bottles. I am thinking this will keep me from riding with 5 bottles. Since I plan to drink 24 oz of perform an hour, I should be fine with just my aero bottle and one more bottle on the bike. Is it the down stem that I put my one bottle on to be aero? I can't remember.
Also, each hour I will take in one power gel and 1 sodium tablet (Salt stick plus brand). After the fourth lap I will ride home and begin my 60 minute run in the neighborhood. I will wear a fuel belt and drink 4 oz every mile while walking that 30 seconds (which actually takes me 35 to 45 seconds to drink). I will take a salt tab somewhere along the way just to see how it will affect my stomach. On race day I plan to take one every hour.
I plan to wear my aero helmet and my race kit. I have a new chain, new aero bottle (torpedo style) and have had my gears adjusted. My new tires and brakes won't be on yet. Such is life.
My concerns are it is blasted hot here, in the mid 90's. If its not hot, then it's thunder storming. Also I will have to keep my phone on in case of work emergencies, so I have my fingers crossed. If I can't complete this RR, I will have to contact a coach to make plan B.
Any input would be appreciated.
Comments
Looks good and I don't think there is really any concern to doing it Friday vs Saturday except you may have some residual fatigue if you did long run today. I think your plan to do loop is good and it keeps you from loading your bike up like a camel -- Try to minimize time grabbing at stops -- grab new bottles and go.
I'm assuming your nutrition is similar to what you have done on all your long rides? Does it line up with the nutrition plan in the Wiki? I'm a big believer in the SaltStick caps -- I take them on the bike and plan to take them on the run as well. One an hour + what you are taking in in the Perform should get you in the ballpark of 1000mg per hour which is the recommendation.
Good idea to wear aero helmet -- I recenty got a new one and wore it on one ride last week and plan to wear sat as well.
Nothing you can do about the heat except follow your hydration plan and stick to it. Start early! Hopefully race day will be cooler than what we've all trained in.
Good luck!
Jodi - good plan.
I'm a little worried about your run hydration, considering the predicted temps. I don;t know how fast you are, but if you're running 5-6 mph, then 4 oz per mile means 20-24 ounces, which is probably less than half of what you will need. The worry is, you will probably survive an hour like that, but it will not be a good test of your ability to take in the fluids you need if race day temps are anywhere north of 70-75F.
For RR's these days, I will usually prepare 2-3 20 ounce bottles of whatever fluid I'm planning on using race day (for me, it's diluted Perform this year), and do 2-3 loops back to a central spot, trying to get in an entire bottle during each loop. The bottles work better unless you have a 6 x 10 ounce Fuel Belt (I actually have one of those!)
@Al, ok I will wear my fuel belt and see if I can increase my fluids. I have been drinking 4 oz while talking 30 seconds each mile. I know I could do more if I drank every 1/2 mile but I was hoping to avoid wearing the fuel belt on race day.
@Tim, thanks for the info. 61 degrees sounds like heaven.
I fully endorse NOT wearing a Fuel Belt on race day - just dead weight, as far as I'm concerned. Every mile there is an INFINITE supply (hopefully) of water, Perform, and Cola for hydration. There's no need to drink more frequently, IMO. But you need to get used to drinking the 6-12 ounces you will need @ each aid station, depending on the temp. 4 oz per aid station will not work in an IM marathon. If you can;t get it all in @ the aid station, or need a crutch along the way, simply grab a cup and carry it with you until the next one (squeeze the top to keep the fluid in).
Thank you Al Truscott! You saved my bacon. I had a nice 6 hour ride (added one minute to make it an even 100 miles). Started my run about 2 pm, temp 93 with a heat index of 97. As advised by WSM Al, I wore my fuel belt and carried 12 oz more than planned for my 1 hour run. Drank every bit of it and might have drank more. The run felt dangerous. I just kept slowing myself down and took some walk breaks.
I didn't feel the heat on the bike except for the stops every lap (4 laps) to get fluids from my car. I was able to drink 24 oz per hour and somewhere in there I drank an extra 8 oz. I ate a gel and took a salt tab every hour. Pee'd twice. Did realize the car stops were killing my time. I need to be more efficient at refueling. About hour 5 I had a bit of trouble convincing my stomach to take the last salt tablet and gel, but I did it anyway.
On the run, I aborted the gel. I really don't think I could have done it today. I ate (as in bit into) a salt tablet as swallowing was not happening. I drank 4 oz per mile, plus every half hour I sipped more. I hate to wear the fuel belt, but I gotta admit having the option to drink every half mile is going to be the best for me. I recalculated my calories last night based on the wiki and I was way high. I only need 171 calories per hour, and I had originally planned for 275. So I can afford to lose the gel, but then I have to take in more sodium. Since it looks like I can't swallow the salt on the run, I am going to look for what Coach Patrick uses (gatorlyte diluted in a bottle that he adds to his 4 oz per mile. )
Had an ice bath to cool down (lost 2.2 lbs ) and all is good tonight. Any comments appreciated!