Half Ironman Race Simulation
Saturday, May 15th, 2010
Today I did an epic workout. Not because it was ridiculously long or hard, but just because I tore my own legs off for five solid hours.
I want to get some final tweaks in my half iron nutrition/pacing/hydration before Rev3 Quassy next month. What better way to test out your fitness than to replicate a 56 mile bike and 13 mile run back to back?
If you like shaky videos with lots of wind noise, this explains my whole day.
If not, here is the quick synopsis.
The bike went great. I was rocking it. The best long bike ride of my life, then I cramped up at around mile 40. My legs still felt pretty good, but my stomach was all bloated and unhappy.
56 miles later, I rolled back to my car, downed some water in hopes that it would help reset my gut and jetted off on the first of five loops for the run.
I pushed it hard for the first 5 or 6 miles of the run. I got into a rhythm pretty quick and was feeling good, but then totally bonked. I kept on pushing through, tossing water over my head and alternated sucking down EFS and straight water. Nothing was really doing the trick, but I eventually made it through.
Once I got home, I realized what the problem was on the run. All that water I sucked down went right through my system and didn’t get absorbed at all. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but at least it helped me figure out what was happening to me.
So here are the lessons from today’s epic race simulation.
I have a lot juice on the bike than I thought.
Sucking down tons of sports drink is great, but I’ve gotta mix that with plenty of water to keep things flowing.
“Emptying the tank” before a race and pre-hydrating is just as important as hydrating durring the race.
The more I learn about how my body works at race pace, the better I’ll be able to rock it once Ironman race day comes around. I’m slowly getting there…
Tags: BRick workout, runners diarrhea, self supported triathlon | Posted in Cycling, Nutrition, Running, Training Log, Triathlon, Videos | 2 Comments »
