Just a quick post on how the weekend training went.
I'll back up to last Tuesday for a sec. Tried a new method at practicing pissing on the bike, which most people I talk to think is totally gross, but it can save you some precious time in a race as well as having to regain that momentum after stopping for a few seconds. Anyway, here's the trick. I drank like a fish during the latter hours of work.....to the point I couldn't stand it as I walked out of the building to head home and get ready for my evening ride. By the time I got dressed to ride I was dancing all over the place trying to hold it in. I even peed a short burst getting the bike out of the garage. Anyway, the point was to turn the pressure up so high in the ol' bladder and hold it there til I got on the bike, then allow myself the needed relief. It worked like a charm. The moment I let go, it went all over the place. And yes, I at least brought an extra bottle of water to rinse me and the bike off with when it was through.
A breakthrough in the world of triathlon urination!
Anyway, big weekend. 110 miles on my IM training course amongst the hills of eastern Raleigh on Saturday. I put three 42 minute HIM efforts in there after 1.5 hours of riding, with a 10 minute rest interval. All went very well and I completed the ride in 5:23. Still not up to par with where I hope to be come race day, but 5:15 is just around the corner and I'm still 9 weeks out so I feel good about the ride. I finished it off with 5 easy miles of running, which I say were easy but they felt so good I turned them in at a 7 min/mile pace.
Nutritionally, my breakfast was a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich (thanks, Angie!), my usual pre-workout shake made of Hammer Nutrition Sustained Energy, a Hammer gel, and vanilla soy milk. A banana, a Power Bar, and some Gatorade on the way to the ride for a last minute fuel up, and I popped 5 Sportquest VO2 Max tablets (snake oil placebo, I reckon, but I bought them for last year's Washington Half Iron and still have a few to go through so I may as well use 'em up) and 2 salt tablets 30 minutes before starting, and took enough of both with me to down every 45 minutes. I also had my trusty Carbo Pro and Power Bar Ironman Perform mixed into my water bottles and one flask of First Endurance EFS gel shot for during the session. At about mile 75 I stopped at a convenience store for a refill of straight water and a Snickers bar.
I felt great afterwards, and all afternoon was amazed at my recovery. Not the slightest bit tired, but with a 20 mile run to do in the morning I turned in early at 8:30 after fueling up with Angie's wonderful seafood lasagna that she so graciously slaved over to help me carb up!
Woke up this morning sore in the buttocks and lower back, and the gumption was having a little trouble surfacing. Oh my! My first morning in this year's IM training where I was questioning whether I could do the training session and contemplating putting it off! I fueled up though, tried a few stretches, Angie and I had a fun little Easter basket hunt for each other, and when I professed how unsure I was she was right there to tell me to get out there and run! Angie did a great job encouraging me!
I popped 5 Sportquest VO2 Max tablets and 2 salt tablets, packed one Gu gel pack in the shorts and toted one Fuel Belt flask full of water to start my 20 miler. Then I hit the road. Once I started running I was surprised to find that the legs didn't feel nearly as bad as I suspected, and the first mile went down at 7:36. Great! I thought I'd maintain the pace until I met up around mile 6 with the Sunday morning crowd, at which point the pace would surely pick up and I could bank some time before the inevitable rough slog home the last few miles. Unfortunately, nobody showed to the run and I was forced to do it on my own. Fatigue started rearing its ugly head at about mile 13 - way earlier than it should have. In hindsight, I believe the heat of the day - which eventually hit 84 - and even moreso the humidity (which I had noticed had my shorts soaked within a couple miles of the run, complete with salt slicks on it - uh oh, shoulda brought electrolytes!) is what sapped my strength. By mile 17 I was questioning my ability, and had fallen off of the 7:30 pace I had (optimistically) hoped for. By then, I was falling apart big time, and had to tell myself several times that "a Kona qualifier would not stop and walk!" I trudged on and finished the 20 miler in 2:34:30, just under 7:45/mile but those last few were really more like 8:30.
I definitely should have carried salt tablets and stashed water. Shame on me for not respecting the distance and what the humidity would do to me.
I walked in the house and went straight to the tub without even stripping down and Angie poured ice in it and fixed me my First Endurance Ultragen recovery drink. I barely had energy to spit, and when I did the trajectory only had enough oomph in it to plummet onto my chest. I was cooked.
But mission accomplished! In effort and volume, this weekend was as big as any will be leading up to Ironman CDA. I just hope I can adapt to it such that the speed and recovery will improve by then!
Happy Easter everyone!
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