Half-Ironman Race Day Fueling

 On September 10th four of the Sal's Racing Team members will be competing in the Lake Placid Half-Ironman race. Two other members are their own relay team. None of us will be finishing in the 4-4:30 time range like the professional athletes, so nutrition almost becomes the fourth discipline.

Most races, whether official IM races or not, have a particular sponsor who supplies much of the nutrition sources on the course. (IM LP Suppliers Here) In longer races it's unlikely you can carry all of your own gels, fluid, etc, even if you have a preferred brand. Eventually, then, you succumb to using what the race organizers provide. This makes it vital that you try the race-day products throughout your training. At the very least figure out what, and how much, you should be consuming in transition 1 & 2 and while on the bike. With a bit of luck and good weather, this will make the run a bit easier and not a total bonk.

Jan and I began using Hammer Nutrition products years ago when she first began training for the full Ironman. They seemed to work well, weren't filled with simple sugars like many supposed endurance supplements, and didn't upset my stomach (or hers). Hammer has a guide; Hammer Nutrition's Secret of Success for Endurance Fueling Guide that is useful to read. Practicing all of this is vital though. I've gone into workouts and races feeling hungry and maybe only taking a gel or two and some water to begin and worried if I had done enough. Unless it's an ungodly hot, humid, high dew point day, it's amazing how little fuel you really need to begin a race. But maybe you can eat before a race. Fine, but figure out the best time to do so and what you really should be consuming.

All of this must be practiced. Try getting on the bike early in the morning and not eating solid food and just take a gel with water before leaving. Take gels, electrolyte fluids, maybe pretzels, Endurolytes, or other supplements during the ride and see how you feel. We did a 56 mile ride last week under cloudless, sunny skies and I thought my 60 ounces of fluids (Hammer Perpetuem, Endurolyte Fizz and water) would be enough. We also had Gatorade Energy chews. I had a really rough time over the last 10 miles and once home had 20 more ounces of water and a regular Coke before feeling better.

But now I know if race day is warm and sunny I'll need to rely on fluid from what's on the course in addition to what I carry on my bike. I'll also take a couple of minutes to hydrate in T1 and T2.  Keeping this in mind today I ordered Gatorade Endurance Formula and HotShots (supposed to help prevent cramping) online. Using the link provided by the IM site you can get 50% a six-pack of HotShots.

Good luck and keep hydrated!

Inspector Gadget

"Inspector Gadget, a bumbling detective, needs lots of help and luck to solve cases assigned by short-tempered Chief Quimby. That help comes from his young, but smart-beyond-her-years niece, Penny, and faithful dog, Brain, who has a human IQ. The trio relies on high-tech items -- i.e. Penny's watch links to a video communicator in Brain's collar -- and other tools to elude trouble from Dr. Claw of MAD. Despite Gadget's shortcomings, he manages to solve each case. Don Adams -- who played Maxwell Smart in the 1960s series "Get Smart" -- voices Gadget." Google search, 8/3/17.

 

Yesterday I went out running and realized I've turned into a replica of the Inspector. On my feet were high-tech cushioned air filled running shoes with sweat wicking socks. I wore my new triathlon race top that magically takes my sweat and converts it to a cooling mechanism (not sure if that really works, but it sounded good in the ad). I wore a water belt that can hold three 8oz bottles of fluid. I didn't carry just water though. I had two bottles of Hammer Heed and one bottle of water with Hammer Endurolytes mixed in. 

My hat was just a hat with lots of air holes. I had on sunglasses and suntan lotion. On my right wrist was a RoadID so if I passed out my body could be identified. On my left wrist was a Garmin, because what's the sense of running if you don't know the distance down to hundredths of a yard, the per mile pace, a route map in case you forgot where you ran and elevation?  On my upper left arm was the "new to me" phone carrying case a daughter gave me. 

All in all I figure I was carrying about 74 extra pounds. I guess gone are the high school days when I just ran. Sometimes at the track in training for football I would carry a big old stopwatch.

I doubt most people running today know what one of these is. It wasn't until my twenties that I got a Timex watch with a stopwatch built in. I thought it was magical. It was all I needed for years. Now it seems the older I get the more gadgets I need. Maybe I should get my heart rate monitor out of the dresser drawer and add that to the arsenal? I bet that would make me run like I was 30 again.

Run, Swim, Throw, Cheat:The Science Behind Drugs in Sport

Scientist/author Cooper discusses a number of scientific and moral issues regarding the use of "illegal" drugs and sport performance in this book. It is interesting where the authorities and public deem the line of cheating and being "clean" to be. 

An athlete can take creatine supplements without issue. Creatine is proven to increase muscle mass, testosterone levels and assists greatly with sports requiring short bursts of speed and strength. Creatine occurs naturally in the body so this is legal. 

ATP (Adenosine-5'-triphosphate) is the main energy transfer molecule in cells and is legal to take for sport enhancement. Hammer Nutrition is one of the companies selling ATP. They say ATP provides; Instant energy right when you need it, restores energy after a hard effort and helps maintain overall energy production. This is supported by much research. You place a pill under your tongue and within a few minutes get an energy boost.

Caffeine is another legal supplement that works for most people. 

Athletes with allergies or colds have to be extremely careful in what they take as many drugs found in those remedies are deemed illegal by the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). Waivers are sometimes permissible but not always easy to come by. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are known to work in short term muscle endurance events such as one mile running races and sprints on bike, swimming or running. 

There are many problems with all of this. Athletes have avoided or "passed" test for years (read the stories in the book to discover the means this was done). The WADA and other authorities have made mistakes. Labs make mistakes. There isn't really any solid scientific proof that a lot of the supplements work, yet the games still go on between authorities and athletes (really, try to find a few dozen athletes who are clean now, give them HGH, then test them again in a scientific environment. Their career is done - not going to happen). The best data we still have is the East German doping program that lasted at least 2 decades.

Blood doping is another issue all-together and illegal. Athletes used to (and probably still do) not only store their own blood and add it before events to increase their red blood cell levels (and thus oxygen capacity), but would use other people's blood. Yuck. 

One newer weapon WADA has now is biomarkers. They will take the average levels of, say, testosterone, in an athlete and if this level spikes at some point one can be fairly certain a supplement was taken. 

So millions of dollars are spent. The NFL (and most pro leagues) has yet to test for HGH and other drugs (fights with Union on how to do this and costs involved). Athletes, if not tested in the off-season, can dope then, come off the drug(s) and be clean for the season yet still reap rewards for doping by being able to train longer and recover faster between sessions.

What about college or high school athletes? Are you going to test all of them? Who will pay for that? It is all quite confusing and if I can take caffeine, creatine, ATP and a few other "legal" aids, then why not others? Do you really believe bicyclists (especially Tour de France riders) were all clean in the 60's - early 90's and this just began? No way. Our morals, society's expectations, our ability to test better may have changed, but that's all. 

This debate is going on for a long time.

Racing Fears

Hammer Nutrition's September 2010 magazine has an interesting and well-written article called, "Embracing the fears of racing" by Shane Eversfield, a Total Immersion Master Coach. Here are some quotes from the article, along with my own comments;

"If we knew ahead of time exactly how the race will turn out, or how our lives will progress and end, we probably would not bother training-let alone get out of bed each day".

"...we are drawn to racing-at least in part-by the wonderful elements of mystery and uncertainty".

"on race day, a great asset for transforming fear into acceptance and peace is gratitude". Be grateful for ..."family, health, this day, arriving at the starting line safe after training for however long to complete this distance".

The other common fear in racing is pain. Through your training there is self-discovery that takes place in whether the pain felt during hard sessions is detrimental or a stressor that will make you stronger. You also learn how to deal with the pain that may develop during a race, hold the pace longer through some distress and carry on to the finish line. Pain can be an ally in a race, ..."remain calm physically and mentally in the presence of pain, without complicating it. It is a powerful asset for our most challenging races and our lives".

Let's see if I can remember some of this for the rest of my races this fall.