Race Rehearsal Protocol Questions & Seeking Advice
I'm doing my first EN "race rehearsal" this weekend (1st of 2 in the HIM program for Santa Rosa 70.3 in July). I'm in Week 11 of 20 using the 2017 EN*Half, Advanced training program and have lofty goals for Santa Rosa (I placed 21st in 2017 with a 4:58 and aiming for Top 10 in 2018; I figure I need to go sub-4:45 to achieve that goal so need to find 15 or so minutes to cut). I have another race rehearsal coming up in Week 15. I'm looking for some advice to maximize the rehearsal which can be rolled into learnings on race day. Here are my specific questions:
1. Swim. I'm a strong swimmer and can regularly knock out 1:15 - 1:22 / 100 yards in training. (Current swim T-pace is 1:21/100 yd). I don't have close access to open water so was planning on using local pool (25 yard, unfortunately ... long course not a close enough option to execute transition to bike/run). Race rehearsal here is to swim 1 hour continuous @ T-pace. Not sure have much to gain/lose doing anything else, but open to suggestions here. I just got a new Tri specific HR monitor from Garmin; they don't recommend using regularly in swimming pool but say it is ok once in a while. I don't have any HR data on my swims so was planning to use to get baseline data. Not sure how best to interpret HR data after the swim so appreciate anyone who swims w/ HR how to find meaning in the data. 
2. Bike. Biggest opportunity for gains here. Not sure if it's a good idea, but I want to test my limits in race rehearsal. Bike Zones are shown below. The training plan for this race rehearsal suggests -- Total Work: TSS 188; IF 0.79. So, for me, IF 0.79 = 180 watts. That seems low for a HIM "race pace", but I've never raced with power meter before on bike so have no reference. I have been training with one for last 6 months so have good baseline data from training. (Current FTP = 226W) Wondering if I should stick with 0.79 IF or try to push a bit harder and see how a more aggressive approach impacts my run. Thoughts?
3. Run. I'm a strong runner. Multiple BQs at marathon distance. Current stand-alone 5k is about 19:30 earlier this month. Have a history of injuries but am healthy now. The race rehearsal suggest Z2 run which for me is 7:09/mile pace. That feels about the right challenge pace for racing but appreciate any insights from others. Last year in Santa Rosa (flat & fast) I did a 7:25/mile after a 2:40 bike. Learned about caffeine (i.e., rocket fuel) during runup to Boston Marathon earlier this year and it had a good positive effect. Just not sure when to try it out. Caffeine for me comes in form of Hammel Gel (50mg). For run nutrition, plan to use what I do for marathons: water (2 swigs every mile) and gels (every 4 miles/30 minutes).
4. Nutrition. Have a difficult time with sweetness of Gatorade Endurance on course so plan to have 3 bottles of Hammer Perpetuem & supplement with Clif Blocks to give me the calories I need. (I calculate about 400 cals/hour.) Have had a lot of luck w/ the Hammer product. No taste fatigue and no GI issues (so far). Wondering how much experimentation to do here ... go with what I know or should I push high calories to test tolerance? Alternative is to try a rehearsal with Gatorade Endurance as that would be ideal not to have to carry so much weight on board the bike. Was thinking that may want to limit the variables on the rehearsal. Thoughts?
5. Transition / Attire. Was not planning to time trial transitions; may save that for another time. I've never done mounting w/ shoes on bike or the rubber bands. Also, for attire was not planning to test with the race kit but am interested to hear thoughts from others. (I don't have an EN kit yet; hoping to get one in time for the race. Otherwise will use kit I've used before.)
I haven't posted much to the forums so apologies if this is too many questions at once, but have learned a ton from reading about others' experiences on the team so thanks in advance for those who can offer their advice & thoughts on the above!
Training Zones
| Bike Zones | Run Zones | |||
| Z1: | 0 - 156 | Z1/LRP: | 8:24 | |
| Z2: | 156 - 167 | Z2/MP: | 7:09 | |
| Z3: | 178 - 189 | Z3/HMP: | 6:52 | |
| Z4: | 211 - 222 | Z4/TP: | 6:44 | |
| Z5: | 245 - 267 | Z5/IP: | 6:19 | |
| TRP: | 7:46 | |||
Comments
1. Race Rehearsal swim should not be thought of as something to boost our fitness, but rather literally to tire you out prior to the bike/run. Most competitive EN triathletes note that, without a swim prior to the bike, their HR on the bike will be significantly lower (~ 10 bpm) than they see on race day. Putting the swim in front will rectify that, giving you better data to ponder as you review how things went in the RR. As to the HR during the swim itself...years ago, I used to monitor and review that, but did not find it useful either for training or racing purposes. Especially as it is hard to follow the HR while swimming without messing up my stroke, and anyway, a good swimmer like yourself is going to pace himself off of RPE and not HR during a race, and interval times during training, no?
2. There is no such thing as testing your limits on the bike during the RR. You are testing your limits on the bike/run. Recall one of the EN Keys: "There is no such thing as a good bike followed by a poor run". That said, in your first and second (of three) RRs, if you want to push the envelope on the bike and see what happens on the run, go for it. "The only way you can find your limits is to go past them." But, then use that to inform your final RR, and aim on that one to hit the right balance. Now as to what your limit might be? That really depends on the time you expect to spend on the bike during the race. Given you race goals, I suspect you'll be near 2:30? In that case, you should be shooting for an IF somewhere in in the 0.83/4 range works well. Consider this chart:
It shows that a target TSS is high end aggressive, but the IF that translates to varies inversely with the length of time you are on the course.
3. You're a strong, experienced runner. You should go with what you know works for you, and pace yourself primarily by RPE, with HR as a back-up. Last three miles, race it home. Let the pace fall where it will.
4. I don't know how big you are, but 400 calories on an HIM run seems like a lot to me. At the HR you'll be hitting, it's doubtful you can absorb that much, and half of it will be sitting in your gut by midway of the run. You can probably get away with that over 90 minutes, but it seems risky and unnecessary to me. Perpetuem makes sense on the bike, but it's pretty dense for a high intensity run. Water and coke plus CLif shots ay be all the fluid and calories you'll need. The idea, I would think, would be to keep your glycogen stores topped up during the bike, and then use your internal stores of carbs (150 grams=600 calories) during the run. Again, just my opinion, if you have had success with this strategy before, go with it.
5. While Race Rehearsal means just that - test out the stuff you'll be doing on race day - if you don't yet have your race kit, then the next best thing is to wear a tri specific bottom, meaning a thin chamois, for the correct feel and fit on your bike. Regular bike shorts with their thicker pads raise you as much as 5 mm higher than the thin tri suits. Any aero trickery - wheels, helmet, tight fitting shirt - is also a good idea to get the best info from the effort you'll be making in the RR, to help inform how you strategize your next RRs, and most importantly, race day planing.
All your questions are spot on, and indicate you are focusing in the correct places as you narrow your training to become more and more race-specific.
Swim: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2728882468
Bike: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2729271260
Run: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2729374632
1. Swim - did 4,000 yards at steady pace; swam with tri kit top on which created some drag but kept HRM in place; average HR = 144 bpm for the swim. 1:25/100 yards.
2. Bike - Forgot to mention above, I'm 5'10" and 160 lbs currently. (Racing weight target around 150-155 lbs.) My goal for the bike was to ABP and see where numbers landed. I have Average Power, NP, IF & TSS on my Garmin 1000 screen. (I didn't use lap button - something for next time.) Avg Power was 189W and NP was 198W. IF & TSS were 'high' at 0.90 & 232, respectively. This is based on FTP=220 which I had forgotten to reset (it should be 226). Having a hard time interpreting the numbers based on what I thought my targets should be. Is IF calculated based on Avg Power or NP? (Appears Garmin uses NP.) I think I'm off the chart on my Fatigue Loading Score which suggested I would blow up on the run which I didn't; something is off so appreciate any help interpreting the number. HR average was 136 bpm which I think is about right for race pace. I had to stop 2 hours in for bathroom; peeing on bike is a skill I haven't yet acquired … !
3. Run - Always have needed about a mile to transition from bike legs to run legs; I assume that's common and don't think there's much I can do about that (I've heard increase cadence & decrease power on last miles of bike but not sure about that advice). I focus on leg turnover & cadence in first run mile and as things loosen my pace quickens. 7:26 for first mile, 6:57-7:05 for next 6 yesterday. Still had gas for 6:30 final mile home. HR average was 154 bpm which is high and drifted over 160 for final 2 miles. Don't think I could maintain that pace another 5 miles; will have to adjust accordingly on race day. I'm thinking for RR #2 I will try pushing harder on bike and see impact on run. Was thinking I should extend the run during rehearsal to gain insight?
4. Nutrition - 1 bottle of Perpetuem per hour & 2 Clif Bloks on bike seemed to work. That's about 340 calories per hour on bike. I can carry 3 bottles on board so I think that will be the plan for HIM. For run, it was water & Hammer gel. Took one at 3 miles & one w/ caffeine (rocket fuel!) for final 2 mile push. Seemed to work; no GI distress.
Thanks again for the advice!
- If you haven't read the HIM race execution page in the wiki, give that a look: http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Race+Execution,+Half+Ironman
- IF is based off of NP. If your FTP is 226 (I suspect it might be a touch higher), then your IF was 0.87.
- Given your comment about the run, "...Don't think I could maintain that pace another 5 miles...", I would not attempt to push the bike harder next time. Rather, focus on making it smoother, aiming to get your AP closer to your NP by working a bit more when going down, and a touch less hammering going up. But certainly try for an NP of ~200, with an AP/NP ratio of closer to 1.03 than 1.05
- From the wiki, the advice for guiding the run is to aim for an HR of "...10 to 15 beats higher than the average HR you saw on the bike, run that all day." For you, that would be about 150 bpm. Last 4 miles, if you think you can sustain it all the way to the finish, allow that to drift up as your effort increases.
- I have used the same plan as you on the run for nutrition, actually taking Hammer Gel in a flask I can carry easily. That stuff is pretty fluid, they sell it in 18 oz bottles I think... (I switched to EFS gel, I like the electrolyte mix better, but still fluid in a flask)
Your Garmin Connect files need to be made "Public". I was able to see them on Strava...- You are way ahead of the game with strong stuff on the swim and run! That's got to feel good. Frankly I think your goal time of 4:45 is soft. Not sure how hard the bike course is, but you may surprise yourself on race day
- Swim HR data isn't helpful to me. I never know what to do with it so I've stopped tracking it
- Looks like your nutrition is working, so don't change a thing. I don't like the idea of hauling 3 bottles around, but it will be well worth it
- You asked if you should "extend the run during rehearsal to gain insight". No, definitely no. Keep focused on improving the bike during these last few weeks
A couple of bike observations:You may want to experiment with GE (if tolerated), chews, salt tabs. For HIM you need carbs and electrolytes.
@Al Truscott, @Paul Curtin & @Sheila Leard - thank you very much for the feedback and insights! I have RR#2 this weekend and will be changing up a few things based on your recommendations:
1. @Al Truscott, appreciate the links; can't believe I had missed those. All the information is right there! So much to learn and explore.
2. @Paul Curtin, I definitely need some practice with gearing & evening out the power; the hills around where I live are similar to those on race day (Santa Rosa 70.3) so tons of opportunities to practice that, but will have to bike on trainer for RR tomorrow. That should make it easier (in theory) to target 1.03-1.05 IF. I am able to ride outside other days to see if I can do that on the open road.
3. @Sheila Leard, I was able to get some Gatorade Endurance which have been experimenting with. It is sweeter but I have been tolerating well on longer rides. I haven't done sweat test yet but plan to incorporate that into RR tomorrow to dial in hydration.