Eagleman 70.3 Final RR report
Warning - this is LONG! 
I did my final RR for eagleman on Saturday. It was the first really hot training day of the season with high humidity and temps in the high 80s. So, a good day to get used to race day heat, BUT, I was no where NEAR acclimated to that kind of heat. Things kind of fell apart on the run. 
Woke up at 4:30 on Sat morning and had my breakfast of mini bagel with PB, applesauce, banana, coffee and water. Arrived in Cambridge around 7:15 and was on the bike by 7:40ish. I rented a set of Zipp wheels from Race Wheel Rentals (404 front + 808 rear) for this ride.
I don't have power yet, so have to rely on the HR data. Looking at the data, I only spent about 15 minutes ramping up the HR... I was prob into high zone3 by 15 min into the ride. So that was probably mistake #1. Once I settled in, I felt great and didn't have much trouble averaging 20+mph even with some wind. The wind was unusual for the course that day - it was windier starting out than finishing, which is usually the case. Another thing I notice when looking back at the Garmin 910XT data is that my average cadence was pretty low - low to mid 70s. I like to push a bigger gear, but maybe that is too low - considering having to run post-ride in the heat?
I have Infinit for my nutrition source - I have an Aerodrink between the bars, and I carry two additional bottles in Gorilla cages in the back. I do a bottle an hour by drinking every 15 minutes. That has served me well in the past. Well, everything was going really well until about 2 hours into the ride, I went to refill my aerodrink with the 2nd bottle, and it was gone! Dang thing fell out of the Gorilla cage! So, I was nutritionless/fluidless for about 40 minutes. Ugh. In that kind of heat, that was just the beginning of the end for me.
Rest of the ride went fine. Felt great, hit some windy spots, didn't fight the wind - switched to a smaller gear and higher cadence when I hit the wind. Eased up about 5 miles from home.
Once I got off the bike I realized how friggin' hot it was. Got everything racked back up, etc, put water belt on, etc. Started off and legs felt pretty dead, but the usual after getting off the bike. The heat though... OMG. I don't like to carry a fuel belt on race day, so I usually carry some Stinger chews with me in case I need them, but use Coke on course as my fuel source. I find that it settles my stomach and I am one that can tend to have stomach issues with the wrong calorie source, espec in the heat. So, I usually just train with the chews on the run so I know that I can tolerate them if I need the extra fuel. Well, that was fine, but the fluid situation was the issue. It was so hot, and I just didn't have enough water for 6 miles. I bombed the run. Also, I forgot my footpod for the Garmin, and I find that the GPS-based pace is so unreliable... so, I was not able to really focus on pace - I had to go by RPE, and I was so out of it by that time that all I could think was how hot it was. I made it slowly out 3 miles, but on the way back, I was at a walk-run. My average pace though, even with walking was faster than my LRP, so if I would have just slowed down the run and ran the whole thing, I might have been fine.
Oh, I also forgot my S-caps, so there was another check against me.
So, lessons learned -
1.Figure out why that dang bottle fell out of the gorilla cage, and have some extra Infinit powder on the bike so I can grab water at an aid station in the event I lose a bottle on race day...
2. settle into HR a little slower on the way out on the bike
3. DON'T forget S-caps!
4. Don't stress about the horrible run - on race day I'll be better acclimated to the heat (supposed to be hot this week too) and there will be aid stations with water and ice to cool me down.
5. Be SURE to have those mental folders of happy thoughts at hand for when I start melting down about the heat on the run... that E-man run is BRUTAL.
Sorry so long. If you read this far, you're a saint. I would welcome any comments or thoughts!
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