Boy Meets Tri

Taper Officially Begins

My biking and running taper started after my bonk session on Monday, but the swimming taper starts today. I did not swim much at all during vacation despite our rental house being on a pond. I swam one morning, but quickly realized that vacationers don't swim right after the sun comes up (only triathletes do). So, the part of my brain concered with safety and self preservation decided that it was not a good idea. Today I went to the pool at lunch and swam a continuous 2100 yds in 47.13. Have I mentioned that I'm a rock? I'll take it.

TS Ernesto has been interesting. My running partner is a guard reservist and was activated. No damage, just wind and rain, but the temp has gone from a high of 95 on Wednesday to 67 today...way to go Ernie.

With the upcoming race, I feel prepared, but I can't quote any technical terms about my training. I don't count wattage (can't for that matter), I rarely pay attention to minutes per mile and use my HRM about half of the time. I do focus on overall time, for example I do know that the 60 mile ride before bonk Monday saw 3hrs and 17 min. I've always trained-by-feel, but a half iron requires more than that. So here is what I've come up with:

For my first attempt, I'm shooting for a 6hr 30min finish. I'll carry two 20 oz bottles of Gatorade Endurance formula for 300 caloriess, one bottle of water, 5 gels (2 with extra sodium) for 600 calories, and pretzels on the bike for another 200 calories. That makes 1100 calories to absorb in 3 hours if I consume it all. I doubt I will, but I'll have extra. I'll carry 3 more gels on the run 300 calories and there will be gatorade on the course, so that makes approximately 500 calories to absorb on the run. Totals are 1780 calories and 2000 mg of sodium; 274 and 308 per hour respectively.

Depending on the temperature I'll need a quart or less of water per hour. There are 3 water hand-off points each on the bike and run. I've not trained with salt tablets, so I don't want to start now. The pantry will be stocked, and I'm comfortable with knowing how much I can tolerate. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it...

posted by Battman @ 1:16 PM