Boulder Peak Race Rehearsal (Rehearsal)

Boulder Peak Race Rehearsal - Olympic Distance

Morning Air Temp: 56

The Olympic Distance Triathlon is exactly double the distances of the Sprint Distance Triathlon.

* Swim is 1500M, 100M shy of one mile (1600M)
* Bike is 42K or 26 miles
* Run is 10K or 6.2 miles

Nutrition becomes paramount in race efforts greater than two hours, and this particular race will definitely take longer than two hours for me to complete.

This year I am exploring a Hammer Product used to fuel for Endurance Events called Perpetuem. This type of sustainable fuel is used when *more* than an electrolyte replenishment (ie. Gaterade, Cytomax, etc) is needed. Perpetuem contains complex carbohydrates, soy protein, healthy fats, and key auxiliary nutrients such as sodium phosphate that support those athletes who will need to replenish their fuel after depleting their initial intake. While others use Gels and Gu's, which give a burst of energy followed by the "Sugar crash", athletes like myself who plan to be on the race course for greater than four hours will need the support of products like Perpetuem which offers a consistent, reliable, "level" energy that will hopefully allow me to swim, bike and run without cramping and fatigue.

The product comes in a power form which is portioned based on one's weight and length of activity time. My weight is > 200lbs... and I need at least 3 hours of continued fuel after I burn off my initial intake (ie. After the first 1.5 - 2 hours of my race). So about mid way the bike I will need to begin to "eat".

Another piece that I am exploring this race is the use of an aero hydration system for my new Tri Bike. Last race I rode without any hydration, which was actually a mistake... but this race it is significantly more important for me to have a way to fuel/hydrate during the ride, so the hydration system is one solution to the problem. -- The aero hydration fits between my aero bars and a long straw extends upward for me to fuel while in an aero position. This will be a new component to my race rehearsal.

I also thought I might need to carry some Perpetuem for the run, which requires yet another handy item called a "Fuel Belt". The Fuel Belt has several tiny elastic "pockets" that can carry an 8 oz bottle. The whole belt fits snugly around my waist. The bottles hold the Orange tasting Perpetuem mixture. I plan to sip during my run leg when the sun is hot and my energy is waning.

In the past, when I ran marathons and completed my first Half Ironman, the nutrition piece was always something that I got right. I remember hearing about my team mates being rushed to the hospital for consuming more than their stomach's could digest... others needed to receive aid for dehydration or severe leg cramps. One good thing about my slower pace is that it has allowed me to experience "Bonking", which is completely depleting one's body of all energy stores, so I have also had the privilege of practicing my nutrition and working through what my body might need in terms of energy stores. In the past I have eaten baked potato pieces and/or tiny "Chiclet" size pieces of Power Bars to maintain fuel while drinking Cytomax, which is an electrolyte replenisher. This year I want to take advantage of a high tech energy sustaining product like Perpetuem, so this is a new adventure for me.

I spent the night making my "Baby Bottles" as I have affectionately named them... carefully measuring powder and identifying which bottles they would go into. I planed to start my day with a meal replacement shake called Nutrimeal by USANA. I have used it in the past and noticed how it maintains my "Blood Sugar" levels. No, I am not diabetic, but I do notice when my sugar levels are low or fluxuating. So I set up the blender and identified the frozen fruit that I planned to use as a mix in the next morning.

4:30am comes earlier than one ever imagines... I casually got up and put on my tri clothes that I had staged the night before. I fed the dogs and began the "mixology" experiment I had prepped the night before. The bottles took twenty minutes for me to make... a slice of time that I hadn't accounted for... so I was actually late leaving the house! Since this was a race rehearsal and since there would be approximately one hundred people instead of the full flock of triathletes, their families and friends that will be there on Sunday July 20th, I was going to arrive later than I wanted to but not so late that I would be in jeopardy of missing my race start. I'm glad this timing issue surfaced now and not on the actual race day. The consequences would be significantly more damaging had I not realized how long it would take me to prepare my bottles until my actual race day.

While I arrived later than I wanted, I was able to register, get the appropriate color swim cap for my wave, get body marked and receive my run bib. For the first time in a long time, I realized that I forgot my bike pump... so I had to borrow someone else’s pump to top off my tires before race start. I set up my transition area and hurried to get my wet suit on. I wanted a more leisure orientation to the water than I did the last time... so I wiggled my way into my "Body Stocking" and headed toward the water. -- The race started about 8 minutes late which gave me a few extra minutes to get use to the cold water seeping into my wetsuit through the zipper. I felt "ready to go" when the race finally started.

I swam in the front of the first wave where I was quickly over come by faster swimmers. I will plan to start closer to the side and/or back in the future. We did two loops around the buoys before heading to "T1" our Swim to Bike Transition area. -- I finished the swim in a good time for myself. My watch seemed to be off that day so I don't have my splits to post. I walked quickly up through the sand and into the transition area where I changed and headed out for the 26 mile bike.

Now the bike was the greatest challenge of the day. The race course would head up Lee Hill and on to Old Stage. The steepest part is a 15% grade and the ascend lasted for 2.25 miles. I had practiced the hill once before, so I knew that I would not be able to make it up the hill the whole way. Instead, I had goals of how far up I wanted to ride before stopping. I made it to my predetermined destination and unclipped. I rested there while my heart beat so hard I thought it would come through my chest. I found a slightly level spot on the hill where I clipped back in and proceeded up the hill for as far as I could go... repeating my intervals until finally reaching the row of mailboxes which marked the end of the ascend.

Now down hill is more my forte... I'm not sure what top speed was recorded by my new Garmin GPS Wrist watch. I just enjoyed the wind in my hair as I flew down the mountain ten times faster than I climbed it! The rest of the ride bike route consisted of "Rollers" and soft ascends. While I remember riding that same course in the past, I felt particularly challenged during this rehearsal covering the same ground. My legs spun slower as I pushed myself through the remainder of the course. I was almost to the "Fire station" when my chain dropped, and I didn't have enough momentum to unclip before falling. :::sigh::: So here I was on my new Tri bike struggling to unclip after falling because of a "dropped chain". I was fortunate that I did not hurt anything except my pride... and I was also lucky to have fallen without many people around to see me. Two women training came by to see if I was ok... they weren't part of the CWW group, but were very nice, supportive and generally sweet. Needless to say I was very happy to see the transition area where I would begin T2, the transition from Bike to Run.

I had consumed about 2/3rds of the Perpetuem mixture that I carried in my aero hydration system. It was hard to swallow the thick substance with no plain water to case it. I realized then that I would need to carry an extra bottle of water, so a bottle cage was needed at a minimum. -- After the bike leg, I was tired and not feeling up for a six mile run... I thought I might cover one to two miles, but I felt self conscious about my mile pace which is closer to that of a "Walk" and not a "run"... I was concerned about keeping the race course open longer than others may have wanted to stay. ::: sigh::: I talked myself into heading out anyway. My goal was to run three miles and call it a day.

I decided to not take my run belt with Perpetuem because I didn't think I would need more fuel. In the future I will plan to take the belt anyway if only to sip a few sips from the bottle as my body adjusted to the new sport of running after sitting and cycling. I managed to get to the 1.5 mile water station and noticed an energy increase which allowed me to move from a walk to a fast trot. The sun was high and I was thirsty... I will plan to carry both water and Perpetuem in my fuel belt in the future. I finished the race with a three mile walk/run rather than the regulation run distance of 6.2 miles... and for the record, there were several other athletes still on the race course long after I came in. There was a part of me that had wished that I would have "trotted" the full 6.2 miles. I had the energy stores to complete the distance... just lacked confidence in my speed as I allowed myself to be more concerned about finishing in a "timely manner". Next time I will finish my full race.

I ended the race feeling confident about my nutrition choices. In the past, I had been feeling light headed and almost faint after previous rehearsals, but the Perpetuem product seemed to be doing it's job. While I didn't finish the full distance of the race, I did get a chance to work through my nutrition concerns and try out my new "Aero Hydration" system. Having ironed out these areas will serve me far into the future of my triathlon and endurance sport adventures.

It feels good to be back in the know about how to hydrate and fuel for the longer distances. While my endurance and weight goals are not quite where I want them to be, I feel the success of working out other critical components of Tri Training and racing. So I end the Boulder Peak Race Rehearsal feeling great about myself and my life and happy about my re-orientation to endurance multi-sport activities!

Big Fun in the Sun!!!

SWIM, BIKE, RUN!!!!!!!!