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Recap of Paul C’s First-Ever HIM Race Rehearsal

Paul CurtinPaul Curtin
in General Training Discussions

Here are some notes from Sunday’s Muncie 70.3 race rehearsal.  My day started rather late at around 10 a.m. – I golfed Saturday and wasn’t sure how my body would respond, but also I wanted to experience the day’s peak heat.  Muncie is notoriously hot.

My TSB numbers from the prior days were -35.1, -20.6, -15.9, -18.1, and -10.9.  Clearly I had some residual fatigue.  Golfing didn’t help – not the smartest thing to do but it sure was fun – a college fraternity reunion event.  I gave myself the “OK” after doing morning yoga and felt my back and legs loosen up a bit.

For the swim I went with a full wetsuit because … well, I just cannot swim alone without it … I’m never comfortable in open water.  I wore my Garmin watch to capture time and distance, but never turned it off after Friday’s run and the battery was dead.  I’m familiar with the buoy distances at the Caesar Creek State Park beach, so I know I did the 1.2 miles, but really have no idea how much time elapsed.

My T1 was slow.  T1 is always slow for me.  I have a lot of room to improve.  Heck, even my wife tells me I’m slow.  She states it quite gracefully though: “Honey, you seem to lack a sense of urgency in transition”, she tells me.

For the bike I had two bottles (Infinit Go Far and Gatorade Endurance), and an aero bottle with water.  I mapped out a 21-mile route for a refuel stop, then a 35-mile route.  My plan was to strictly monitor power for the first segment, keeping it around 225; then monitor HR for the second segment, keeping it to low zone 3 (HR 148-155).

Here’s a link to the TP bike file:  http://tpks.ws/DSkIQ

The bike felt pretty good.  I took in a ton of fluids (72 ounces per segment = 144 ounces).  Caloric intake was also high – about 1,100 calories for the 2.6 hours – but it all went down okay with no GI issues.  Well, maybe not the Infinit Go Far … that was like syrup of ipecac once it got warm.

T2 was relaxed (I was slow as a sloth).  It was pretty hot though.  My phone showed a temperature of 86 degrees and dew point of 70 degrees.  This was the real test for me – how would I do in the heat.

I planned a 4-mile out-and-back course, a refuel stop, and then a 3-mile route.  Both times I took a bottle with Gatorade Endurance (orange is my new favorite), and Shot Bloks (1-2 per mile).

The run felt okay.  It was rather hot but I kept the pace going and HR didn’t spike too much.  I think I was supposed to negative-split the run.  I didn’t.  (Zone 2 HR is 138-155)

Here’s a link to the TP run file:  http://tpks.ws/D7YEk

And here’s the Strava pace analysis for the run:  https://www.strava.com/activities/6...e-analysis

I suppose I could have pushed the run pace a bit faster.  I felt myself getting out-of-form quite often, so I focused on stride count trying to stay at 90 spm.  By the end I was tired.  And my face was flush-red from the heat.  But all things considered, I felt pretty good.

My observations on the day:

  • The only way to get used to open water is to get out there and deal with it
  • I can’t drink out of a water bottle while biking – I coast and lose all momentum.  For the second leg I squeezed both water bottles into the aero bottle – that helped
  • My TSS for the bike was 160.  I thought I was pushing it but frankly was expecting a higher number
  • Bike cadence averaged 93 - about the same average as all my other long rides
  • Given that I needed three bio breaks, I’ll assume that I took in enough fluids to avoid dehydration
  • I didn’t supplement with salt.  Between the Infinit and Endurance I think I had plenty; however, I didn’t push the run hard enough to really feel any cramping
  • HR on the run crept into low zone 3, but I wasn’t running much faster.  Not sure if that was a heat issue or lack of fitness

I’d love to hear feedback and comments from the team.

Comments

  • Shaughn SimmonsShaughn Simmons

    Paul, very nice RR man!

    1.03 V.I. with a .79 IF for 56 miles.  BAM!  ......and great job swimming first!  What kind of nutrition did you take in T1?  I will usually do something like down a  bottle of Gatorade Endurance and a banana to replenish my swim work calories.

    1,100 calories on the bike......I guess it worked for you but for an HIM could be a little high unless you can get 75% of those calories in on the first half of the bike IMO.

    Run/HR/pace looks good for 7 miles in rising temps........heat most definitely slowed the pace on that HR but you were smart to play it that way IMO....low calories on the run given the intensity and temps is always best.

    Looks strong to me with opportunity to ratchet that bike intensity up a little higher in the next go round and tighten up those transition times.

    Way to lead bro!

    SS

  • Paul CurtinPaul Curtin
    Hi SS - thanks for the comments! T1 was a banana and half of a Powerbar. I suppose it was quite a buffet, but I did load up early. First hour was probably 500 calories, second was 400, last 40 minutes were 200 using remaining Gatorade and Shot Bloks.

    Stomach felt fine for the run ... but race day will be a different intensity so I'll definitely cut back. I have felt the "slosh" before and it is not a pleasant feeling.

    For race day my plan will be to let HR dictate run pace. Some runs seem to be a lot faster than others so I'll just take what the day brings.
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