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Trey' big tri day

rcyoungrcyoung
in Racing Forum 🏎

 There are some good things and some bad things:

Good

  • Was able to bike 64 miles in 4 hours and 5 minutes.
  • Was able to establish my t-pace at 17:33
  • Didnt walk at all during run other than scheduled walk breaks.
  • Boosted my confidence for IMTX
  • Appeared to be plenty hydrated.
  • No upper GI issues

Bad

  • Completely gassed on the second half of the bike. It's a leg turnover that is my limiter. Thoughts or suggestions?
  • Nutrition was right on until about 3 hours when I stopped taking gels and fluids? Tips or suggestions?
  • Didnt drink anything on the run.
  • My legs were throbbing when I got off the bike. Will this get better?
  • Cant sit in the aero position long. Thoughts suggestions?

All in all it was a positive day. Just need some advice.

Comments

  • coop6coop6
    Trey, you say you didn't have any GI issues, yet you stopped with the nutrition late in your ride? Why? I've always struggled with nutrition in training, yet manage to keep it together during a race which suggests to me that my problem is primarily one of attention, discipline, and motivation. If you're not having any particular GI issue, maybe you need to formulate a plan that you can stick to, and start searching for products that you like, and will actually consume over the course of the day. I find it helpful to switch gel flavors and sports drink halfway through the ride just to break up the monotony. Or look at a primarily liquid source of calories for your day. Check out Infinit if you haven't tried that yet.

    As far as aero position and throbbing legs, that should get better with more saddle time. Did you train in aero over the winter? If you haven't had a formal bike fit, get one. It's amazing what a good bike fit will do for you.
  • Keith WickKeith Wick
    Posted By Trey Young on 25 Feb 2012 04:46 PM

     There are some good things and some bad things:

    Good

    • Was able to bike 64 miles in 4 hours and 5 minutes.
    • Was able to establish my t-pace at 17:33
    • Didnt walk at all during run other than scheduled walk breaks.
    • Boosted my confidence for IMTX
    • Appeared to be plenty hydrated.
    • No upper GI issues

    Bad

    • Completely gassed on the second half of the bike. It's a leg turnover that is my limiter. Thoughts or suggestions?
    What was your IF for the bike (first half & second half)?  Did you go out to hard?  If it's about leg turnover, what was your cadence--were you grinding or spinning?
    • Nutrition was right on until about 3 hours when I stopped taking gels and fluids? Tips or suggestions?

    What made you stop taking in gels and fluids?  You should only be doing gels with water.  Gels + sports drink combination= bad.  Look at Infinite if you want a liquid only nutrition plan.  Agree with previous post about having a nutrition plan and sticking to it.

    • Didnt drink anything on the run.

    Buy a fuel belt and carry fluids with you.  You may or may not do this during your race, but there aren't many aide stations when your training solo.

    • My legs were throbbing when I got off the bike. Will this get better?

    Question here is what did your ride data look like?  Were you steady or did you spike a lot?

    • Cant sit in the aero position long. Thoughts suggestions?

    This could be part of your bike/leg turn over issue.  If you can't stay aero then you need a new bike fit.  Todd at TTBikefit is awesome.  You can get some initial feedback by posting pictures/video of you on your bike in the forums, but a quality fit will do wonders.

    All in all it was a positive day. Just need some advice.

     

  • jhbinscjhbinsc

    +1 on Todd at TTbikefit.com He's da bomb

  • rcyoungrcyoung

    Keith,

    Thanks so much for the input. I'm not a powermeter person so I can't tell you my IF. As far as what happened to my nutrition I think I just zoned out and didn't pay attention cloesly enough to it. I think I just need to establish something a stick to it no matter what. Great idea on the fuel belt. I think I must have spike around 1:30 hours to 2:40. I got chased by a dog and I could feel my heart rate soar. I m afraid of big dogs. Secondly I got in to some rolling hills and was breathing much harder than the first hour or so. I just got a new bike fit about 2 weeks ago and I am much more comfortable and faster than in the past. It just might take some time of sitting in the aero position to get my core solid.

    Trey

  • mgraffeomgraffeo
    Trey,

    Big Day's and race rehearsals are there for us to make mistakes in. We've all had stories of epic race rehearsal failures. Sounds like you managed to walk away with some lessons learned.

    1) nutrition plan. make one, and stick to it. the only way to find out if it works for you is to test it in your race rehearsal. For your two race rehearsals, either have a fuel belt or run a short loop with an aid station at your house. You'd be surprised how crappy it feels to run 6 miles on no fuel after biking for 100 miles. I know I was after my first RR.

    2) throbbing legs. if we had a power meter on you, there's absolutely no question you biked too hard, and to variably. We all do it, even with a power meter. Use the idea of the pressure of your feet in your shoes. Feel what that feels like at your target HR on a flat. Then never, ever, ever exceed it. Riding super-steady on HR alone is not easy, but it's not impossible. If you feel yourself pushing down more than you would on a flat, it's time to back off.

    3) comfort in aero position. Depends on what kind of discomfort. Generally just not feeling like a recliner? that's normal, ride more and you'll get used to it. Specific discomfort of a pressure point, or a muscle knot (ie. between the shoulder blades from holding your head in an awkward position)? That's more of a fit thing, and somebody needs to work on it with you. Get it addressed, one way or the other, or race day will be a long day. The goal is to feel as good in your aero position after 4+ hours as you did in the first 30 minutes. Every Saturday ride from here to the race is another chance to learn something on this front.

    Mike
  • Joe MatchetteJoe Matchette
    Posted By Trey Young on 27 Feb 2012 01:38 PM

    As far as what happened to my nutrition I think I just zoned out and didn't pay attention cloesly enough to it. I think I just need to establish something a stick to it no matter what.

     

    Trey -  When it comes to nutrition execution, I follow the Maslov Dog principle -- I hear a beep, I eat or drink as appropriate.  You haven't said what kind of HR/Pace monitor you use.... Are you using one?  Or are you going solely on RPE?

    My technique is to have my Garmin 'Auto-Lap' and give my Time Alerts.

    Bike setup is:

    • 2 or 3-mile Auto-Lap ---> drink water
    • 20 minute Time Alert ----> 'eat' (i.e. take a big sip of my Infinit mix)

    In order to go Pavlovian on the run, I execute a run-walk on all my long runs.  At, or near, the completion of every mile, I do one of two things.  At the end of every odd mile (1,3,5), I take a drink of water.  At the end of every even mile (2,4,6...), I take a sip of my Infinit run solution (or Gatorade, Heed, whatever you are training with).

    The less thinking I have to do, I figure the better.  I want to save my mental energy for the discussion I will be having with my body when things start to get hard, very hard.  If I can eliminate thinking about nutrition and hydration, that will leave me more room to concentrate on MY ONE THING.

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