Today's countdown race is the 2016 Ironman Chattanooga, where temperatures reach 104 during the bike and where I go dehydrated on the run. I've realized that the biggest challenge in Kona is staying hydrated. Really??!! This should come as no surprise, but my 10K on Saturday, and just walking around has brought me the realization that anything can happen on race day. Of course, it's an Ironman, so why not? With five days to Kona, this will be the most important thing for me to focus on. It will start with being hydrated going into the race, which I've been diligent about, except for my one foray into dehydration during the 10K. Effectively hydrating, however, is a challenge, because one wants to avoid "washing out" all of your electrolytes.
I've been developing a plan for Saturday, and that plan has a lot to do with being patient. Obviously, I won't be hydrating during the swim, but at least my swim won't be too long, based on yesterdays swim of 1 hour and 15 minutes on the course. My coach reminded me that I will be taking in sodium during the swim, one way or the other (although I hope I will avoid gulping or inhaling any large amount of salt water). Thus, only taking in plain water for the first half an hour of the bike will be my plan. It will also be my plan to keep my effort easy for that first half an hour. There are multiple reasons for this, not the least of which have to do with keeping my GI tract fully functioning for as long as is humanly possible.
There are athletes who have their sweat analyzed. This is probably useful data, but the one thing that this type of data won't tell you is how much your GI tract can absorb under tough conditions. In order to absorb electrolytes, you need carbohydrates and electrolytes. But your GI tract has to absorb them! I'm developing a plan on the bike to assure that this happens. That plan includes making sure I take in an adequate number of calories and electrolytes throughout the day, but it also has to do with keeping myself from overheating and riding safely. I normally ride through aid stations and grab a bottle of water form the volunteers. That can be tricky, especially if you're sweating and the volunteer isn't the best at handing off bottles. It can also be dangerous.
I realized yesterday, why not just stop briefly at each aid station. I'll have a bottle with about 1000 calories on my bike. Instead of replenishing my aero hydration system while cycling (which can be distracting in and of itself), it will take all of 10 seconds to do this when I stop. I can also replace my water bottle behind my seat at this time, and get an extra bottle of water to pour on myself. If I do this properly, it shouldn't take more than 30 seconds. That would be compared to slowing down and fumbling with all of these things, which loses time as well. If this strategy goes according to plan, the time that I save by effective hydration and cooling will easily outweigh any time lost by stopping.
The run, and hopefully, I'll be in a position to execute this if I come off the bike feeling good, will be a similar endeavor. Stop and drink, and replenish fluids, at each aid station. Grab as much ice as possible as well and stuff it wherever I can. I also have a small bag to put ice in that I can hold in the palm of my hand, which has its own cooling affect.
If you're interested in reading about how I dealt with 104 degree temperature at the 2016 IM Chattanooga, here's my blog on that race: http://wassdoc.blogspot.com/2016/09/ironman-chattanooga-2016-race-report.html
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