Beach2Battleship Race Rehearsal 2

GAndrew Gordon

Beach2Battleship Race Rehearsal 2

Thanks for reading and for offering any tips/suggestions you might have.  My main goal is to confirm the plan that I've been working with for this IM build (so far so good) and to focus on keeping fluid intake up (as its gotten cooler, I find myself slacking off on drinking).  So, fluid intake is a real concern.

Week 18 of the intermediate IM plan.  Solid fall weather now (northern CT) with significantly cooler temperatures and lower humidity.  With race in 2 weeks, this may close to race day conditions, but with the race being 12 hours south (NC) it could be warmer. 

Me

42yrs old; 177 lbs.; HR Athlete; VDot 48.  Persistent lower back and heel pain issues have eased due to more religious stretching and use of foam roller and golf ball.  Don’t expect either to be an issue as back has never bothered me on the SBR and heal loosens up to the point of just being nuisance soreness on the run. 

1^st Breakfast

3 hours before WO; 600-800 calories (apple sauce; banana w PB; 16oz HEED); back to bed.  This has worked well all season so won’t change anything.

2^nd Breakfast

15-20’ before heading out; GU Roctane (not B2B Clif gel: enough of that to come and b/c GU has higher sodium) & 8oz water.

This has worked well all season so won’t change anything.

Bike

Saturday long rides were consistently at a 16.5 to 17 mph average (I stick to HR zones during ride but check mph after).  I train in a hilly area but race is not hilly, so I am don’t expect a slower average.  If anything, race day speed may be faster as HR will stay lower without the hills.  Either way, I am going to base my ride on my training HR and speed and will just adjust on race day as needed.

As suggested by EN Plan:  Aiming at 112 miles or 6.5 hours, whichever comes first (I expect that 6.5 will come first even with the least hilly course available). 

Nutrition:  Fully indoctrinated to Heed, Clif gel and Clif bars (all offered on course) and saltcaps.

Totals per hour:  EN Food Calculator suggests: 443 cal, 115 carbs, 1000 sodium.

Application:

Fluids – approx. 48 oz/hr (200 cal, 54 carbs, 80 sodium) (will probably drink less due to cool weather)

Food – 2 Clif gels/hr (200 cal, 48 carb, 150-180 sodium) and 1/3 Clif bar (83 cal) 13 carb, 80 sodium)

Sodium – 3 saltcaps/hr (645 sodium)

If fluid intake decreases, may add a gel or Clif Blok to make up for lost calories but my primary concern is getting the fluids in and to not let the cooler weather fool me into thinking I don’t need to drink as much just to end up dehydrated later in the day (when I know it will be a struggle to get the fluids in while on the run).  If I am able to stay close to the plan, then my calories will be a little high, carbs dead on and sodium a little lower than the EN calculator suggests.  However, this has been my nutrition plan for the IM training period and it has worked well so I don’t expect any issues.

Run

1 hour or 6 miles, whichever comes first.  Zone 1 plus 30” = 9:19/mi. (at this pace, then 6 miles will come before the hour).

Nutrition:  Fully indoctrinated to Heed, Clif gel and Clif bloks (all offered on course) and saltcaps.

Totals per hour:  EN Food Calculator suggests: 283 cal, 75 carbs, 1000 sodium.

Application:

Fluids - 3-4 oz. HEED per mile (approx. 24 oz/hr for 100 calories)

Food – 2 Clif gels/hr (200 cal, 48 carb, 150-180 sodium)

Sodium – 3 saltcaps/hr (645 sodium)

I have been practicing this plan on the long Thursday long runs and it seems to be working.  I have had some trouble processing fluids later in the sessions, but as it has gotten cooler, it has also gotten easier to process.  If I still experience processing issues, then I just cut back on fluid cycles and any issues seem to work themselves out.  If I am able to stay close to the plan, then my calories and carbs will be just about dead on sodium may be a little low, but I can easily make up any differences, if needed, with an extra saltcap an hour.

 Overall Goal

Get the nutrition plan dialed in for the real deal in 2 weeks.  I expect cool temperatures for this RR2.  Race day may be a bit warmer to close to RR2 temperatures so I should get a pretty good read on whether this plan will work.  I expect it will as I’ve been practicing and tweaking for the whole IM build.

As usual, the biggest factor for me is fluid intake.  Even if cooler temperatures prevail, I must focus on getting the fluids in.  This is especially true for late in the bike and for the run (which is where I start to dread fluids).  As before, I’ve been practicing throughout and making drinking a priority focus, so I should be able to replicate these efforts on race day.

Leslie Knight

I'm on the same race and same plan as you are and have used all the calculators to determine intake. I live in NM and it is very dry here. I find that temps make a huge difference in how much fluid I need. For instance, I now lose a pound on a 15 mile run vs 2-3 pounds with the same fluid intake. I judge fluid by practice in training and by peeing. This morning, I was peeing every 30 min, with the same fluid intake as always. Min started out pretty hydrated!
I don't see any big flaws in your plan. Would love to hear how it goes. I'll be thinking of you while I do mine. My long ride pace is closer to 15 mph and my run is much slower- marathon pace is 12:30. I can go long, but not quickly! My big issue has been that I need to add to long runs and have even added time to bikes because I am slow. Telling me I can't run longer than three hours in training won't cut it...that's only 15 miles. I did that for a marathon last year and it was a disaster. When my marathon is 5.5 hrs, I need to do a 4 hour run. My longest run in this plan was 3.5 hrs... Only 17 miles. It's going to have to be enough, I guess.

GAndrew Gordon

Thanks Leslie. Your judgment of fluid is pretty much how I do it. I try to force it in until I feel like I'm peeing every 30' or can feel sloshing around. At this point, I'm sure you can guess when you are good or not just based on experience and repetition. I've been following all the B2B posts and I feel similar to the rest -- feeling the effects of a long season and the 18 week IM build. This RR isn't about fitness -- which we all have at this point -- but about confirming what we know about our plans that we've been testing and tweaking throughout. Add some amount of further tweaks and dealing with the unknown and unforeseen, and we'll all be in a very good place come race day. Looking forward to reporting back after this weekend. Good luck on your RR and be safe out there!

Leslie Knight

How did your rehearsal go?  Mine didn't go so well.  I got some knee pain last week that I thought was from increasing run distance.  My patellofemoral tendons and my quads were killing me.  I decided the better part of valor was to skip the run.  Knees are still hurting hours later as I sit here with ice on them.

It occurred to me that I had taken my saddle off and put it on another bike and when I moved it back to my tri bike, the marking had come off so I had to guess.  And I vaguely remember moving it a it farther forward because my bum often feels in the wrong spot.  So...I moved it 5mm back.  And then did some reading...turns out a saddle too far forward can cause anterior knee pain.  Gosh, I hope that's it!!!

nailed my nutrition I think.  Peed every two hours or so.  Since I'm slow, that was three times.  Got a bit hungry and ate some extra.  Salt tabs sat well.  And I my post ride weight was good.