RR#2 for IM LOU - feedback please

Joseph Lombardi

 Today was final RR for IMLOU;  it was horrendously hot & humid (..I know Lville could be too)....so I dialed backed  the intensity of the ride...alot...but I road smoothly and easily and felt good despite the temps...and then I got off the bike and ran an hour...felt excellent....

Some Questions:

1.) is it okay that I dialed down the intensity so much?...ie. my non-heat adjusted goal watts would have been 140-150 and I rode 130 today.....my VI was too high 1.09 but I think that was from alot of rolling climbing...I think I rode the hills well but held back on the downhills and flats...accounting for the high variation...

2.) I drank 8 bottles during the ride...and still lost 4 pounds...I got a little tired of the sweet drinks in the last hour of the bike....I finally had to stop and get plain water...chugged and threw on my head....any thoughts on that?...as in the need to having plain water in addition to energy/elctorlyte drinks? (note this is the first time I drank exclusively energy drinks I usually have some plain water on the bike)

3.) I took in about 350cal/hour between the fluid drinks and clif bloks...but because I getting tired of the sweetness/and feeling bloated I could take the bloks during the last hour....I also didn't need to wiz on the bike...but did  in transition to the run (after I chugged some more water)....not sure if the drinks were too concentrated?  

4.) in those drinks I consumed about 600mg/hr of sodium (on the bike)...I think I should have taken more? would that cause the bloating?...

All in all; aside from being slower than I would like...I was really pleased with the RR...felt great...on the bike, on the run...and after...

Anyway...any feedback, thoughts, comments, suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.

Joe Crispino

 Joe I had the same issue with the sweet stuff.  I took in perform and gels and I finally had to get some water and it felt great.  I'm thinking of slipping in some water with the gels to wash down all that sugar and it's a nice change.   I'm actually taking in closer to 900mg/hr of sodium on the bike (drinks +gels).  I don't get bloating.  a 24oz bottle of perform 570mg of sodium.  I take over a bottle/hr and a gel.  I sweat quite a bit.  all in all sounds like you had a good day.  hope this helps

Joseph Lombardi

 Hey Joe..thanks...I finally found this article again about sodium, hydration etc....and it mentions the need for dilute solutions/water....worth a read if you haven't already.

http://members.endurancenation.us/R...ion+Status

Al Truscott

Posted By Joseph Lombardi on 04 Aug 2012 07:12 PM

 ... it was horrendously hot & humid ...but I road smoothly and easily and felt good despite the temps...and then I got off the bike and ran an hour...felt excellent....

...I drank 8 bottles during the ride...and still lost 4 pounds...

All in all; aside from being slower than I would like...I was really pleased with the RR...felt great...on the bike, on the run...and after...

I don't have any specific comments on nutrition, fludis, electrolyrtes, etc, as I've found you have to figure those things out for yourself. All I'll say is that the above comments show you managed the whole process - pacing, hydration, nutrition - satisfactorily.

 

Joseph Lombardi

 Thanks Al....after initially being a bit disappointed in the bike speed.....the more I reflect on the day the better I feel about .  

matthewbward

Really nice job. The biggest thing to take away is how you felt at the end. My breakthrough workout this year was RR 1.5 (RR 1 was a disaster because of poor nutrition, poor heat management, and too much intensity). I rode 100 and ran 6 in brutal heat. But I managed it well, just like you did. My IF was low-ish (~0.67) and that had me slightly concerned at the time. When I went to do RR 2 on a cooler date, I did a great 112 + 6 at ~.73 driven my confidence from RR 1.5. Don't sweat the slightly lower IF, focus on the fact that you finished so well.