Newbie IM questions
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I will be doing my first IM in May (Texas) and have a couple of rookie questions:
1) Bike: If you only use squirt bottles/cages for your hydration, do you just toss those once you are finished and then switch to the plastic Perform bottles at the aid stations? Or do you somehow refill your original bottles (which I imagine would be pretty difficult)? I always see the pros using, what I think, are their own original bottles throughout the race. How do they do that? Those Perform bottles are tough to drink out of and they don't stay in my between-the-bar bottle cage.
2) Peeing: Coach Rich recommends taking in enough fluid to go twice during the bike. Do you look for a portapotty each time you need to go? If so, what mile markers are they at on the course? Or is there some unspoken rule of just going while riding? On the side of the road...
3) Run: Calorie intake-wise, I need to take in 7cups of Perform/hr on the run. Do most people drink while running through an aid station or do you stop each time for maybe 30sec and chug? Any danger in cramping up or acid buildup if you stop for this amount of time each mile? Especially in the later mileage. Does it throw you off your rhythm, mental game, etc?
Thanks!
Ashton
Comments
Ashton....all good questions. Same questions I had last year before my first (IMTX)!
1) Yes. Most folks start with a bottle or two of Perform (or this year, Gatorade Endurance) already on their bike. You'll want to start rehydrating on the bike as soon as your HR comes down. I use two "throw-away" (old bottles that need to be replaced anyway) bottles and then throw them in the goal prior to the first aid station. Then you'll want to get one (or two if you need two) bottles and rack them. My cages on the down and seat tubes will hold the perform bottles with no problems (they rattle around a little, but have never fallen out). If I had behind the seat cages, they would NOT hold those crappy bottles and they would get ejected at the first serious bump for sure. I don't know what the gatorade endurance bottles look like and this is a good question.....hopefully they'll fit in a standard cage. You then just pitch the empty one as you enter an aid station (before you get to it there is usually a soccer or hockey goal and a fairly obvious "dump ground" where you can just chunk them). Then you get a new bottle(s) and rack them. Repeat and rinse at each aid station.
Coach P has a nice explanation of it here:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Perfecting+Your+Aid+Station+Technique
Now, a better way, if you have a tri/TT bike with aerobars, is to use a BTA (between the arms) bottle system. There are several good ones out there, that are easily (with some practice and not when in heavy traffic) refilled after the aid station. I use the speedill A2. These have virtually no aero penalty and have a straw that slaps you in the face constantly to remind you to drink (or you can tuck it away and ignore it). So, I would refill my Speedfill when climbing (sitting up for 30-60secs to fill it, with less aero penalty and to stretch the back). Two cages in the triangle and a BTA and you can carry all the fluid you need with aid stations every 10miles.
2) Pee'ing. Yes, this is one of the awesome aspects of IM racing. All the cool kids can pee on their bike! Takes some "practice" and some can't seem to do it, but it's not really all that hard! Firstly, I wouldn't recommend wearing socks if you're gonna do this! Tri shoes without socks works best (warning.....your shoes will stink to high heaven whenever you clean them, unless you do it that same day....which you will NOT do!). It's easiest to do on a downhill (you don't need to pedal) and while standing. Recommend doing it with your left leg straight, to encourage urine to go
3) Aid station drinking on the run: As you'll see in the race execution stuff in the wiki, and in your race rehearsal runs (week 18 and 15 or 16), the coaches recommend a 30 step walk break each mile. Do this at the aid station.....walk briskly and get what you need from the plentiful volunteers....grab cup of Perform (call out what you want and they'll direct you to it) drink it while walking, grab ice or cold sponge, ice in shorts/top/hat, ice in mouth, ice in hands, then start running again. Shouldn't take more than 20-30secs. Don't stop walking unless you absolutely have to. They'll have perform/water/coke/ice in front and usually end of each aid station. Grab what you need, keep walking and then resume "running".
Hope that helps.
Welcome!
Here are my thoughts. Others can certainly add more color.
1.) Yes, I start with two full bottles on the bike. One is disposable on the down tube and the other is an aero bottle with a pour-in spout on top. The aero bottle was new for my last IM, before that it was two cheap bottles. When you roll into aid stations, the littering rules no longer apply. This is where you are supposed to throw things off the bike. There are specific starts and stops to the litter area, but most officials will give you benefit of the doubt as long as you are reasonably close.
As you come into aid, toss the bottles you have. I even toss half full ones. "Full" is better than "half full". Plus, you never know. I like to top off. I keep perform in the down tube cage and use my refillable aero bottle for water only. To fill it, I just squeeze the crap out of it to get as much as possible and toss the carcass before I leave the "please throw your trash zone"
2.) Potties are generally, mostly, frankly almost always, at aid stations. Outside of aid stations, you will not find them. That being said. I pee on most downhills right on the bike. I stand a little on the pedals to relieve the pressure on the seat and then just let it go. When I get to aid, I take a water bottle, douche my try shorts and then put the balance in my aero bottle. It works great. My first two IMs, I stopped to pee, but its a huge time waster. At Chattanooga last year, I pee'd on the bike while rolling downhill at about 25mph 4 times. Four pee stops would have added 10-15 minutes, perhaps more.
3.) You can get perform at any run aid station. They place them at about every mile. Guidance in the Haus is walk 30 steps in the aid station so you can run the 1 mile gaps consistently. This is where you drink, while walking. If you stop to chug 30 seconds at 24 aid stations, you just stood still for 12 minutes. Ironman is not about running around with your hair on fire, but it does require constant movement. Always be making forward progress. Be efficient.
Between walking - not stoping - at aid on the run and peeing on the bike you might save 20 minutes. It sounds lame, but it all adds up.
I just wanted to quote this for posterity.
@Bob - Gatorade Endurance, check. Canceling my Amazon order of 2 giant Perform powders. Ironman needs to update their "on course nutrition" - still showing Powerbar for electrolytes. Confusing.
The mid-ride-post-pee-water-rinse was the missing piece in my mind. Without, I was thinking some serious chaffing would be going on...
Any suggestions on where to buy in bulk? Amazon, GNC, bike shops?
Reinforcing the below:
1) I buy disposable bottles for the race, throw them out on the course and replace with hand ups.
2) Learn to pee on the bike and learn how to wash your bike shoes in the washing machine............
3) practice taking 20 - 30 steps every mile of the run so you can actually drink and get that nutrition in your body - you'll need it for sure at IMTX and you can't afford to get behind in those conditions......
4) Keep posing questions to the IMTX vets.......invaluable.....and go to camp if at all possible.....
SS
I did not/do not routinely "douche" myself (oh Dino.....please tell me that was a typo!
)....wish I'd have caught that....good eyes Bob!
I didn't bother to try to "rinse" urine off my shorts/socks/shoes/etc....but I was dousing my head/torso on the bike and run. As a urologist, I do not fear urine! It's sterile you know?! Poop....not sterile.....just clarifying.
The unanswered question for me is: what do the premix bottles of Gatorade endurance look like? Will they fit/stay in a standard cage? If not (if they're 8-12oz bottles or 32oz fat bottles like a big bottle of Gatorade/Powerade you'd buy at the QuickieMart), that is going to be a HUGE problem. Anybody seen one or have any intel?
I ordered a crap-load of Gatorade Endurance from Trisports.com a couple of weeks ago. It was backordered at the time, with an ETA of a week or two. Just got an email yesterday from them saying it's expected in their warehouse 2/28. Allsports.com (where I used to get all my Perform) doesn't seem to carry Gatorade Endurance. Anybody know if we have a "deal" with anyone who stocks it? I'll post to the "what sponsors would you like" forum. My guess is that they're (whoever makes Gatorade) underestimating how much of this will be in demand in very short order.
I'd like to just add to what Shaughn mentioned - PRACTICE all of the above tips that were given while training.
1 - practice your hydration setup so that your comfortable drinking through a straw in the BTA setup and drink what's on the course in training if you plan to use it on raceday. Suggest you buy the gatoraide endurance online (Amazon or wherever is cheapest) vs your lbs...you'll get it at the best price.
2 - I would definitely try to pee on the bike on a training ride prior to the race. Once you get past the initial mental barrier the first time or two, you will be good to go on race day.
3 - Practice walking those 20-30 steps and drinking/eating on so,e of your training runs that you are doing at IM race pace....your race rehearsals days are good for this.
Maybe this is it?
"Back in the day" (it was really only 4 years ago) when Endurance was on the WTC courses, they used 20 oz bottles with a twist top, almost exactly like the Perform bottles of more recent vintage. I think PowerBar just copied Gatorade's system.
To buy the stuff, I just google it, and look for the lowest overall price (mix + shipping), which I found varies from vendor to vendor over time.Now, it looks like its in the range of $24-30 can of mix. Remember, the stuff on the course will probably seem more concentrated than what you do with the mix.
BUT! It will taste and go down a lot easier (for me at least) than Perform.
Time to place an order.
3x the sodium and 3x the potassium. Otherwise, it looks identical. And when I had it on the course last year at Rev 3 Quassy, it was a twist cap like Al mentions, just like Perform.
Good luck and enjoy Texas. The run course support is pretty awesome.
Thanks for the tips - the book sounds interesting. In my two HIMs, I was on the drink all you can program. So much Perform. I felt the added weight (mental and physical) for sure. I had to alternate with water and salt caps. Bottom line is like you said, test and retest my plan...which I have never really done but can see the importance for a full. 12 weeks out - time to start.
Also, what is an "AAR"?