Race Rehearsal #2--Execution Success!!!
First Race Rehearsal a few weeks ago did not go as planned since I did not pace myself properly on the bike plus inadequate nutrition plan expressed itself during the hour-long run which ended up being more like a 35 minute walk. Well, after listening to some more podcasts, reviewing the EN race execution guidance in wiki, and making some changes I had an amazing RR #2! And I am ready to prove my EN-Race-Execution-Ninja skills at IMCDA!
Change #1--Improve HR zone discipline
I changed HR monitors to a Timex model that has an alarm that alerts when you are outside a certain range. I set this to beep when I got outside of Zone 2. Immediately I could see how useful this was. The first loop of my 52 mile route the darn thing was going off all the time. In the past, I wouldn't realize I was into zone 3 or even zone 4 at times. This thing kept me keeping my HR in the right zone and kept pedal pressure much easier than I had in the past.
Change #2--Get in more nutrition
After listening to Coach P's Ironman Texas podcast I decided to increase my frequency of intake of nutrition while on the bike. I used to be extremely overweight and 4 years ago I had gastric bypass surgery. I don't have a normal stomach and I absorb nutrients a bit differently than others so nutrition has always been difficult. I have switched to Infinit this year and it has helped a lot, but I still wind up bonking. Well, I set my countdown timer to 10 minute intervals and I would drink and/or eat every cycle. I also switched my Infinit to my aero-jug so the straw is always in my face and more apt to take a sip. I also added cut-up blocks of PowerBar (peanut butter) to my bike frame and I would occasionally eat a piece of solid food. This all made a huge difference. At no time did I have that depleted feeling. But the proof came during the run. No BONKING!!!
Change #3--Manage perceived rate of exertion on bike
I did some experimenting during my ride. On a flat section of road, I was in the big chain ring and cruising at about 21 mph but my HR monitor kept beeping every once in a while telling me I was at zone 3. I shifted to the small chain ring but then upshifted in the back. My cadence increased some, I maintained 21 mph and my HR decreased 3 BPM! So I need to use this as a strategy if I find myself trying to push the big ring too much and drop into the smaller ring to keep things steady.
So a successful RR and I have 110% confidence in my fitness, training plan, race execution strategy and the awesome support I receive from the EN family to have a great IMCDA!