Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend!
Congratulations Julia on taking on your own self motivated, virtual Half Ironman! Very impressive particularly in this weather. And it sounds like you had a solid achievement considering there were no crowds, aid stations, etc. Wonderful opportunity to enjoy this experience with your family. 🙂
A few follow up tips:
- Please do NOT ride with headphones! The roads are dangerous as it is and this is 100% a safety issue.
- As for nutrition, it is my recommendation that you take a look at your nutrition plan. You are ALWAYS in a deficit with calories whether on the bike or run. Thus you want to get in as many as you can without causing GI issues. 200 calories is quite low. Ultimately your nutrition plan on your bike affects your RUN (not so much your bike but it can too). So if you are out of energy on the run, we know it’s likely what you did on the bike. Also, your electrolyte intake was dangerously low. As Rebecca shared both at the clinic days and her online training, you must target AT MINIMUM 400 mg of electrolytes per hour. Hot and humid will likely require (much) more. If you do not meet this minimum amount, your body needs electrolytes to absorb any fluids you intake, including water. If you don’t have any electrolyte stores left, your fluids will just go right through you. Your body will not absorb it. Thus this can lead to some very dangerous and potentially deadly states including your kidneys shutting down, hyponatremia and rhabdomyesis. If you are not familiar with hyponatremia or rhabdo, I encourage you to research them.
- Nice work planning ahead and securing a hydration vest! Hopefully it worked for your needs. That said, if you find that you will use a hydration vest, they are one thing that you get what you pay for. Perhaps on the bike it is not as bad but for the run, it might be worth paying a little extra for one. In fact, here is a sale that I came upon. I can attest that Ultimate Direction vests fit like a glove. https://ultimatedirection.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial_prosp&utm_campaign=ultimatedirection2020&fbclid=IwAR3BawgjfjbqIEUYhopbD860-9rILaY8_EK5gJJYqCLjivvxeSFwxYIQBJg
- Overall, you were able to put all of the pieces in place for a strong day. You found some wins and even some areas for opportunity. Now you can capitalize on them as you ramp back up. Success!
Very impressed with your continued effort Brett! Love that you, too, are making this a family affair. During this time when we have to find creative ways to spend time with family, what a wonderful way to allow them to be part of something that is important to you.
Now for your observations
- Nice work taking on the sweat test! Impressive! 20-24 ounces is the minimum you should be getting in per hour. If you are a heavy sweater, perhaps you may need even more. And be sure that you are getting in adequate electrolytes with that fluid.
- Impressive work digging into your heart rate zone training. Yes it sounds like you have followed your training schedule to the point where retesting is necessary! When you start seeing discrepancies in your data, it’s always a good time to retest. As I shared in the online training, the better you get at testing (which is a skill in itself), the better you will learn to execute come race day. So if you feel the need to test, go for it. There are always benefits you can gain from the experience.
So how about everyone that was gung-ho for the extended Training Peaks codes? How is your training coming along? Are you still planning on racing, virtual or hopefully at the rescheduled Eagleman?
Great work Julia and Brett! You are making the most of a season where you can really elevate your training.
