Week 14

Week of April 24th - April 30th 2006

Hmmm, this is supposed to be the week of increased effort ramping up to the next and final week.

Monday - run 38:17.66, 3.346 miles @ 6.8 mph (8'38" mile) @ 157 bpm
I am running out of steam. I finished the run at about 175 bpm and didn't really enjoy it a whole lot. I think I should have taken a day off after yesterday's test. Hmmm, this is not too good and weather is crappy, so I can't bike either. We got snow in the morning and a bit more in the evening.

Tuesday - tried my new Zoot Z2 Sleeveless wetsuit. This is about the best fit. It still feels a bit funny but I am getting used to it. Besides that, I do look good in it. I am learning not to kick a whole lot and pay attention to my breathing and strokes.
Swim - 25 laps (1250 yards, 0.71 mile) in 24:08.00 @ 146 bpm average. I saw the bpm going up towards the end, but I was swimming a bit faster, too. My normal time for 25 laps would be about 26.5 minutes. I think it may save a bit of energy, I have to do a comparison. With and without the suit with an HR, that should tell me.

Sent in for Brazil visa today. If everything goes well, we should have them in about 10 days or so. Hopefuly.

Still felt pretty exhausted today, so I didn't run. Stretched and massaged my legs for about 1/2 hour at noon, hung upside down on the inversion table for 15 minutes. Had icecream early afternoon for a treat. Yummy. Getting the weight back to 175+

Wednesday - Run, 5.846 miles in 54:36.22 @ 6.4 mph (9'20" mile) @ 153 bpm

Thursday - Swim, 42 laps in 40:40 @ 153 bpm
Run, 6.7 miles in 57:34.84 @ 6.9 mph (8'35" mile) @ 160 bpm

Friday - Day off

Saturday - Day off

Sunday - IronBaby
Weight before swim: 176.8 lbs
Swim: 42 laps (1.2 miles) in 39:37.19 @ 150 bpm
Weight after swim, before bike: 176.8 lbs
Bike:
Timex: 56.24 miles in 3:07:52 @ 17.9 mph @ 146 bpm
CatEye: 56.10 miles in 2:57:06 @ 18.8 mph
Weight after bike, before run: 172.4
Run:
9.197 miles in 1:30:27 @ 6.1 mph (9'50" mile) @ 152 bpm
3.921 miles in 43:27.84 @ 5.4 mph (11'05" mile) @ 151 bpm
for a total of: 13.118 miles in 2:13:54
Weight after run: 167.2 lbs

Total time: 5:59:44 (Timex GPS)


Things learned:
1) I did a TinMan !!! - this is the furthest I have ever gone
2) I got about a gallon of water low. Considering the weight loss of 9.6 lbs, I can probably attribute 1.6 lbs to burned fat and other things. There are 8 lbs unaccounted for, likely water
3) The reason the run time is split is because I accidentally pushed a wrong button on the watch at one time.
4) Watering schedule:
24 ounces before swim
8 ounces before bike
2 x 24 ounces during bike ride
12 ounces before run
4 x 6 + 8 ounces during run (32 ounces)
For a grand total of 116 ounces

So lets break it down (gallon of water is 8.34 lbs, 2.09 lbs / quart (roughly)):
2.2 lbs loss swimming - thats 1/4+ gallon (32 ounces) - there isn't much I can do about it at the race, other than drink 48 ounces of water before I start the race. OK, that's the baseline.
2.2 lbs loss biking in 3 hours - it looks like I need to add another 36 ounces of water to bike schedule in addition to current 48 == 84 ounces in 3 hours == 28 ounces per hour
5.2 lbs loss running - 0.62 gallons (80 fluid ounces) need to be added to existing 32 ounces while running. 80 + 32 = 112 ounces in 2.25 hours ~ 12 ounces every 15 minutes == 48 ounces per hour

Projected watering schedule

• Start the day with 2 x 24 ounces, water only
  


• Before bike, drink 8 ounces during transition


• On the bike, drink 28 ounces each hour, that means 24 ounce bottle every 45 minutes


• Before run, drink 8 ounces during transition


• Running, drink 12 ounces every 15 minutes, considering my average pace of about 6 mph, that's about 8 ounces every mile

Hmm, the above is pretty crude estimate of what I need to do on the water front. I have to consider several other facts.

• I didn't dehydrate by running alone, I started the deficit while swimming and biking
  


• Florianopolis is at sea level, probably about 75F and likely about 55 - 60 % humidity
  

So, I may go a bit up or down on the figures above. Overall, it looks like I need to start hydrating about 2 days before the race, have 2 x 24 ounces before the swim, then 8 - 12 ounces every 15 minutes on the bike, have another 8 - 12 ounce dose before the run and then 8 - 12 ounces every 15 minutes.

Hmmm, that sounds pretty unrealistic. 0.7 liters every 1/2 hour? When I was 17, I drank beer like that. 1/2 liter mug every 15 minutes. Managed to drink 13 beers like that but the only exercise I did was stumbling to the bathroom.

Oh well, got to give it a try, see what happens.

On the food front, I tried to eat more nuts (almonds, carob energy cubes). Doesn't sit very well with me. I think I still like Gu better.

Equipment wise:
Bought a Camelback "big bite" hard plastic bottle, their latest and greatest, mounted on the handlebars - totally useless on the bike, waste of money - it just takes too much energy to suck the stuff out of it and I can't see where the hell I am going when sucking on the bottle.
I think I need to buy another pump and mount it under the horizontal bar. Then I can have 2 bottles on the frame and a 3rd one on handlebars? Maybe - got to think about it. So if I have 3 x 24 oz on the bike, I don't have to stop for 2 hours, if I go with just 2 bottles, I have to stop and refill every 1.5 hours. It's probably not too bad to get off the bike every once in a while and stretch anyway. I favor 2 bottles then.

Also got a couple of 5 oz small bottles - they fit comfortably in my hands and are relatively OK to run with. Looks like a good 1/2 hour supply after a stop at an aid station. So, if there is an aid station every mile, I can drink 8 ounces there and fill up the little ones for 18 oz total. I should be good for about 1/2 hour with 18 ounces - that means stopping at every 3rd aid station. I'd have the luxury of stopping at every 2nd if it comes to it.

One thing for sure - I have to map the aid stations exactly, so I have a feel for how far I can go with the water I have.

Other:
Salt endurolyte tablets - don't put them in your jersey pockets - the caplets will dissolve in your sweat. Bummer. Other than that, they seem to be OK. I don't know whether they work or not but they don't seem to cause any harm. I'll take at least one every hour.

What a week.