MY First HIM
I survived my first HIM at Buffalo Springs this weekend!
short recap.
Swim: Started in waves 5 minutes apart from the beach. I was pretty nervous before teh gun went off but after i was in the water I felt very comfortable. Before the first marker I got all my nerves beat out of me and knew I could be calm and handle it all again if need be. I Was punched, kicked, goggles knocked of my face, ankle pulled, swam over and stayed calm laughing at how you guys were not joking about some of these people on the swim ( this half was a Kona Qualifier also) I got out of the water feeling great and relaxed. My time was 31:14. However the swim was pretty short but comparing my times to other peopleI know were pretty good swimers I was only 1.5 minutes behind them which meant I had a great swim time even if it was short ,probably closer to 37 minutes)
Bike: Bike was very relaxed and great fun. Watched people stand and mash up the hills as I spun up them. not alo happened ( my aunt caught up to me at mile 46despite being 15 minutes behind my wave) There was nothing to eventful I stayed well beneath my goal Watts since I had been having problems runnign of the bike in my RR. Total time was 3:04 and was a Norm Power of 134 ( only 60% of my FTP) and a VI of 1.07 on a pretty rough course.
run: This is were the race got away from me. As sooon as I got off the bike I felt everything start to go down hill. Despite going very wasy on the bike and nice relaxed swim I was in trouble within the first 2 miles of the run. I was targetin about a 9:30 for the first few miles ( my 5K is 20:40) and I was hitting exactly the pace I wanted to but quickly noticed I was struggling. From here I began the walk jog aproach and threw all goals except finishing out the window. Long story short 13 miles and about 2:40 minutes later I was done in 6:28 with a zipped up jersey with my hat and glasses off running down the chute smiling for the cameras!
This leads me to asking for help. Any thoughts on why I keep blowing up on the run despite going so easy on the bike? Is it nutrition? I filled up my aero bottle at every station to stay topped off. I drank my 3 ours bottle of infinit. It has about 180 calories per hour. Maybe that is too low for me It seemed like agood place to start from the HIM nutrition stuff I read on here. Is my sprinter past getting the best of me in these long distance races and I just need to put in more time to convert myself to distances? Just a few thought I have had. Please ask any questions that might help.
Despite blowing up on the run I had a great time and cant wait to get back out there for attempt # 2 with some more work under my belt and try to put all the lessons from this first humbling HIM to use. 
(P.S. my Aunt that passed me finished in 5:11 for 5th in her AG and a 15 minute course PR, she was on fire that day!)
Comments
I can't offer much help on the "blowing up on the run" piece, unfortunately as I'm in the midst of rebuildiing my own run right now. I guess I'd suggest starting with a little self-interview to try to pinpoint what the issue might actually be. Have you felt like it is a nutritional issue - generally low on energy, generally low on electrolytes? Are you taking in anything on the run as well? If so, what? Could that be related? Do you feel anything while running that might be another indicator - short of breath, leg stiffness, foot discomfort? Could it have been related to how you approached the hills on course?
Again congrats on fiinishing a tough course and for already thinking toward the next one! I'm sure you'll get the running figured out with the help of the smarter people than me here.
@ olivia - was for sure a hard course.. lots of people DNF since they pushed it to the limit and over. Poor lady passed out under a mile from the finish! Sadly im really new to this stuff so im not really sure what my body is telling me yet. I did feel very low on energy when I got to the run after a a few minutes, my HR was pretty high from the start of the run but when I walked it dropped quickly. Looking back I think i was way in calorie deficit. Most likely had about 300 calories for breakfast and then a gu before the swim. Than 180 calories an hour on the bike with about 450g sodium since I sweat alot ( have to get my infinit to be sure what it was). then I got to the run and couldn't digest much. Got a side stitch at mile 7 or 8. most of the run i sipped a gatorade and poured a water on me. So Looking back at teh day I might have only had around 1000 calories.
My legs just felt like they had no energy as i mentioned earlier my feet hurt pretty bad the last 5 miles from hot spots. the hills I honestly Walked all 3 large hills.
Phillip - It was HOT. At least as far as your body was concerned. In addition to the salt pills, I think, if you haven't done it already, you need to get a really good handle on your fluid loss rate in those temperatures both biking and running at race pace. The wiki here has a good summary of how to do this. Next, you need to learn how much fluid you are actually taking in on the run. It seems a bit geeky, but figure out how many ounces you get per sip of fluid - I get about 1:1.
Your problem is much more likely to be dehydration than anything else. We are 55% water, and if you lose just 2% of that to sweating, breathing hard, etc, it can make a big difference in how EVERYTHING in your body functions. I bet you were actually behind on your fluid needs going into the run, and just kept falling behind as the day went on. Brain gets fuzzy, muscles won't work hard enough if they don't get the water they need.
More calories usually just makes things WORSE, because your blood flow will move away from your legs into your gut to try and absorb the nutrients. Set up for cramping. At your pace, you can easily do a comfortable HIM on no more than 1200 total calories over the course of the race (don't forget to count the calories in the Shot Bloks and the Gatorade.)
I may be all wet (PUN INTENDED) but air temps in that range leave no margin for error if you start to get behind on your fluid needs. Also, cooling strategies can help retard your sweat loss a little (ice under a hat, down your suit, sponges on the shoulders, etc.)
I did put ice in my hat at every chance and cold paper towels on my shoulders. That was a GREAT feeling! made the race seem much better.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Finishing the first race was great and humbling event!
Philip,
Congrats on the finish.
I might also add or ask; What did you eat the night before/morning of the race. Do you need more calories there?
Gordon
Nice job getting the first HIM done.
Never heard of anyone getting "Aunted" let alone by an hour and 15 minutes though
@ gordon - night before I had a huge baked potato and some chicken. Breakfast was Naked juice and A tiny bit of oatmeal. Breakfast I plan to play with also with some semi RR while I am in no mans training land trying to decide my next goals.
to follow up on Al's comments regarding hydration, I use the "bladder" test as a quick method to determine fluid levels. Are you emptying the bladder a couple of times on the race? What's the color of the urine? I would suggest that if you didn't pee at least twice and/or the color was pretty dark, you should be drinking more.
tom
All good advice.
I would question the 60% IF, ie, do you have your FTP set correctly, is your PT working properly, etc. 60% is...sleep riding, basically, especially for a half.
Excellent analysis from the others on the dehydration, etc and I think they are right, but 60% for an HIM is very, very low. Just sayin'
Phillip- Not sure of your size, but I am 5'4" 130 lbs and I take 200 calories/ hour on the bike. I can supplment with other stuff, but only on the bike. My run stomach is extremely finicky. I make my plan, but I test with what the course will have, just in case. My HIM 2 weeks ago- I normally drink Heed on the run. This time Heed was causing me nausea. I switched to ice and coke and was fine.
Yes, I pee on the bike in a HIM.
Once again thanks to everyone for all the help I am getting I feel that I wil be much more prepared and smarter fro round 2. You guys are great!
The sweat and bladder test is a must. Dark urine = you are dry! Really, really dark urine = you are dry and breaking down muscle protein which is leaking into your urine...this is BAD scenario for you and your kidneys.
Your aunt was on fire that day...I hope she's not in my age group!
She is 45-49 AG and she is off to lousville to hopefully get one of those last minute Kona slots since she was just shy in Arizona! So no worries!