Final RR for Lake Placid
This was to be my final RR for Lake Placid. I decided on a hilly route, with about 7000' of climbing (though sadly not much sustained) over 2 55 mile loops, so that I could have a special needs stop at my house. It was a very hot day (started in the 80s, ended in the high 90s), and I had trouble with the heat.
Nutrition:
3 hr. Infinit bottle on my downtube (replaced at 'special needs'). PD Aerolite between the bars, and two more bottles of water behind the seat to refill the Aerolite. Liquidshot flask on the top tube. SCaps in the pocket of my singlet. Caffeinatedd Gel at special needs. This mimics my expected race day setup though I'll leave the behind-the-seats empty and take water off the course. Stayed on course with my nutrition. Had some nausea around mile 75-80, but I eased up on my exertion level and it worked itself out. Drank all my Infinit on schedule (sips every 15 minutes - marked bottle to keep myself honest, trued up every hour). Used the Liquidshot ahead of some steeper sections. 4 SCaps over 6 hours (every hour starting at hour 2, when it started to get really hot).
Fit:
Seemed fine. Was able to stay aero most of the time (when I wasn't climbing steeply).
Overall:
The first lap went basically as planned. .69 IF, 1.08 VI. The second lap, though, the heat really started to kick my ass. Heat headache, general lethargicness. It was rough. Around mile 95 I stopped and emptied half a bottle of water over my head, which seemed to help. Second lap was .66 IF, 1.09 VI. When I got back home, I decided that running in the heat with my core temp so high was just risking trouble, so I took it indoors on the treadmill. Feel like a wuss, but I think it was the right call. 6 miles at 10:00 at 1.5% grade went fine on the tready.
WKO file for those interested:
Comments
I had a similar drop in power numbers from lap 1 to lap 2 at IMCDA- the temp went from 48- 83 during the bike. I held my IF the entire first lap but I did notice that I would spike my Power at the base of every hill, that took it's toll over the course of the race. IMCDA has LOTS of little hills and when you spike a little on every one your going to pay the price. My price was a 5% decline in power from lap 1 to lap 2.
Declining power in lap 2 is certainly not rare. It is almost impossible to put out more on the second loop. I would not really worry about a bit of nausea either. You are going to have rough patches out there, it is great that you were able to deal with it and keep things rolling. Same thing with running on the treadmill. I do not see the problem with it. If it is 90 plus degrees at LP we are all screwed.