Vicki's Barbs Race/(1/2 Vineman raceplan)
Race is on Saturday, this will be my third HIM (Vineman 70.3 was my first and Barb’s race last year my second so third time doing this course). This is my first riding with power.
Main goal is to enjoy the day and practice execution. This is more of a training day for me although of course I want to improve my time from last year and should be able too if I have a good day (no crash or uber-heat).
Main question I’m struggling with is how to deal with course nutrition on the bike.
Last year, I used the course Gatorade and found myself at mile 35, 105 degrees, Gatorade making me sick and no water to dilute it. Even if it is not ultra-hot this year the full strength non-powder Gatorade does not sit well on my stomach. (I also have not figured out how to train with it since I cannot find where you can buy it! - have I missed something?)
So my choices are to: 1) carry perform powder and have aid station workers help me quickly re-fill my water bottle while I put in the mix or 2) get Gatorade and water at aid stations and try to mix on the fly (will get at least 1 water anyway in case the heat is higher than expected). I’m leaning towards carrying my perform powder with me since I plan to stop at aid stations anyway (crashed last year on bottle toss) and figure I won’t save that much time by doing Gatorade. I do very well with perform powder even under very hot conditions.
Thursday
Leave San Diego around 5:00AM – goal to miss LA and San Francisco traffic
1:00-2:00 PM arrive, find house and buy food for the weekend
Friday
- Sleep in - no alarm
- Big breakfast (pancakes, eggs, potatoes etc)
- Drive bike course drink Nuun water, snack on pretzels, pita chips etc – no fiber just processed carbs and salt
- Bring photo ID
- Aim for early Mandatory meeting 12:30, 1:30, or 2:30, (Windsor High School Theater)
- Stay cool and out of the sun if hot
- Run Gear Drop-off
Race belt with number
Fuel belt with, 2 gels, salt sticks, blistex (I train with 1 gel but always seem to need 2 during the race)
Sunscreen (spray and stick for face)
Shoes
Extra pair of socks (just in case)
Hat
Bottle of water and perform powder for mixing – put frozen bottle in cooler for O/N
Cooling scarf for if it is ultra-hot again
- Swim at venue if there is time – no big effort, see temp, water level, etc
- Lunch - sandwich
- Pack gear for Saturday and rest – watch movies, eat pretzels, drink Nuun…
- Swim: 2 pair goggles; swim hat (mine plus race); wetsuit, triglide, ½ powerbar and gel pre-race, timing chip, bottle of water to rinse feet, towel
- Bike: Charged Garmin, bento with bag of power-bar bites (1.5 powerbar cut into 1/8 pieces), salt sticks (8), blistex, gel, chamois butter packet; aero bottle, 5 bottles in fridge with powerbar perform (3 for course and 2 for morning), sunscreen
- Light Dinner rice and chicken
- Bed by 9:00 – hopefully asleep soon after
Saturday
Get up at 4:30 AM – eat, get dressed, Desoto shorts, heart rate monitor, singlet, garmin 920 watch, timing chip held with safety pin
Steel cut oats with scoop of protein powder, chia seeds, raisins, honey, banana, bottle of perform, ice tea (132g carb and 668 calories)
5:00 AM transition opens for full Vineman and stays open, walk to transition around 5:45
6:00 AM arrive at transition (watch 6:30 full Vineman start), sip perform until 7:00
Set-up T1
Turn on Garmin and set to stay on
Bike with helmet on aero bars, helmet has sun glasses, cellphone and spray-on sunscreen, sunscreen stick for nose,
Towel with bike shoes and socks rolled up (fold towel over shoes), water bottle to spray feet and take gel before race
Bento box has blistex, 1.5 powerbar cut into 1/8 bites, salt sticks, mini-chamois butter, gel
7:00 AM eat ½ powerbar, load stuff I don't need in bag, put on wetsuit, spray legs and arms with tri-slide to help get wetsuit off, glide on neck, sunscreen on face, make sure I have my timing chip on! secure with safety pin
7:30 AM eat a gel with water, goggles and swim cap – head to river
7:45 AM warm-up, water in wetsuit, goggles not fogging or leaking, swim, deep breaths
8:00 AM Barb’s race start – only 2 waves with aquabikers behind us
Swim
Line up in the middle towards the front, deep breaths
Relax, fingers down, be long and swim as straight as possible
Don’t walk, dolphin dive if have to, at turnaround stay towards the middle of the river
Expect 45-50 min (last year 45 min)
Exit and find wetsuit stripper
T1 –
Rinse mud from feet and wipe dry with towel
Put on socks and shoes
Sunglasses, spray generously with sunscreen, sunscreen stick on face, blistex on lips, helmet on,
Blistex in bento
Four baggies of powerbar perform powder in jersey pocket
(waterproof) cellphone in shorts pocket
Load everything else in bag to be carried to finish line
Bike (projected starting temp ~60) – enjoy the cool start for bike around 9:00 finish around 12:30-1:00 (3:30-4hr) last year 4hr including crash and crash recovery; didn't race with power
Nutrition: Start bike with 3 bottles of perform; 1 aero, 1 front tube and 1 back tube. ~1.5 powerbars cut into 1/8 pieces and salt sticks; 4 bags of perform powder.
Walk bike up steep boat ramp
Miles 0-20:
First 20-30 min: Focus on heart-rate and power. Keep power at 120W (my normal Z2 is ~140 but I want to go lower since I’ve been a bit overtrained and do not want to run out of gas!). Goal is to bring heartrate down to 130. Nice and flat, stay aero and deep breaths. Drink small sips if I’m thirsty
Don’t crash on underpass
Rolling hills for most of the rest of the course – if road is rough, go into drops but try to stay aero as much as possible to conserve energy. Focus on power and ignore speed and everything else except heartrate. If my heartrate gets 155-160 then I need to take a look at what is going on with me. This power may be too high, in particular as things heat up. (For RR1, I was a week out from my week of doing way too much. My heartrate was around 160 at a power of ~130W. My recent ride was much better with a heartrate of ~140 for the same power). I’m shooting for 130W for this race.
Next ~1 hr to first aid station at mile 20. Keep power steady on rolling hills at ~130W. Continue to watch heartrate. Try to have finished ~2 bottles of perform (front aero-bottle and downtube) and taken 2 salt sticks in case the heat comes later in the day by the first aid station.
Aid station: Put last bottle of perform in aero bottle. Go to end of aid station. Toss one bottle. Get one bottle of water and fill one of my bottles with water and add perform powder. On my way.
Miles 20-30: Keep power at 130W. Keep an eye on heartrate. Keep drinking ~1.5 bottles/hour, Should have finished at least one by next aid station. Have a few power bar bites to supplement. (the perform should be enough calories but I tend to need more rather than less).
Aid station: Top off aero bottle and re-fill downtube with water/powder. Replace water bottle if needed (because it is hot). Make sure I’ve had at least 1 salt stick and 2-3 powerbar bites. Pour a bottle of water on myself if it is getting hot (which it probably will be).
Miles 30-40: Should be an easy stretch if heat is not bad; keep at 130W, watch heartrate, drink at least one bottle, take at least one salt stick.
Aid station: Same as above except eat gel.
Miles 40-56: A couple of big climbs with the biggest of the day at mile 45 but mostly shaded for the climbs. Focus on drinking and staying cool. Watch power on hills. Last 10 miles is mostly downhill or flat. Here, I need to focus on keeping my power up and finishing strong.
T2
Rack bike
Helmet off
More sunscreen
Put on hat and race number
Change into running shoes
Add perform powder to bottle and put in running belt
Grab running belt and cooling scarf if very hot and start walking to get legs moving. Move cellphone to belt, put it on and take salt stick. Get head set to start running
Run: predicted high of 87 expect to take ~2.5 hrs, overall aim to keep heart rate below 150 until the end. Will likely focus mainly on heartrate given the rolling hill terrain and the likely high heat (it has been very cool for my recent training runs). Run from aid station to aid station and do not camp out. Last year, it was so hot, I needed ice and made ice/Gatorade/water mix to keep cool and the stations are very crowded with a 2 loop Barb’s race and 3 loop full vineman going on at the same time. This year, get ice as I run through beginning if I need it and can and then top-off bottle with ice (if needed)/Gatorade/water at the end.
Aim for 1.5 bottles of perform/Gatorade per hour, gel and salt stick (1-2) at mile 6
· If my stomach starts cramping (which it does in the heat) cool with water, ice at aid station, take salt stick and drink. Slow down and take deep breaths.
Miles 0-3
· Get legs moving and pay attention to pace and heart-rate, keep heart rate below 140, 11-11:30 min miles
· I think there is a pretty substantial hill at mile 2-3? go at easy pace and keep heart-rate low.
Miles 4-10
· 10:30-11:00 on flats, keep heart rate low on hills and keep an eye on heart rate for signs of overheating
· Walk aid stations, get ice, cooling scarf wet, water on head
· Mile 6, eat gel, take salt stick
Miles 11-13
· Finish up last hill, take very slow if necessary to keep heart rate down, stay cool
· After last hill, maintain (or increase) pace, no walking except aid stations. I am the energizer bunny
Finish with a smile and find friends.
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