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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Rachela] [ In reply to ]
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Rachela wrote:
Congratulations, Cody!
I don't have any specific questions, I only have a selfish wish. I hope you won't stop posting your annual budget review now that you're even more famous :) Those articles are such a rare insight into a pro triathlon world like nothing else. The world that seems so far and distanced and you made it feel more real in the past thanks to your blog.

Thank you! I plan to continue sharing my annual budget! It's by far my most popular post every year. I haven't had any blowback from sponsors; in fact, many of them read it and express their approval! My only small concern with the budget is that I may be hamstringing myself in some negotiations for large sponsorships. It may be harder to ask a company for $10k+ when they can see that that was a sizeable fraction of my sponsorship revenue last year.

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Mr. Beals,

Congratulations! It's awesome to see your success at the IM distance!

I ride a '13 Cervelo P2 and I used a lot of suggestions that you had for your P2 way back then! I've been a fan for awhile!

My questions: For the IM distance, did you have to tweak your bike position at all? Secondly, how often did you get out of aero during the race?

Once again, congratulations.
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [marzrya] [ In reply to ]
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marzrya wrote:
Mr. Beals,

Congratulations! It's awesome to see your success at the IM distance!

I ride a '13 Cervelo P2 and I used a lot of suggestions that you had for your P2 way back then! I've been a fan for awhile!

My questions: For the IM distance, did you have to tweak your bike position at all? Secondly, how often did you get out of aero during the race?

Once again, congratulations.

Nope, I didn't make any changes to my position for Ironman. I wondered if I'd have to, but did several long rides outside to make sure I was comfortable.

I'd estimate that I was aero for 95% of the ride. I do my best to stay aero unless I'm going below about 20 km/h, which only happens on relatively steep climbs.

Thank you!

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
Congrats on an awesome race!

Do you plan on doing a write up showing your standard week for the last 4-8 weeks like you have for a few of the 70.3s? I've gained a significant amount of knowledge from your blog over the last several years, especially since your polar vortex cycling post. Best of luck going forward!
Thanks! I'm already planning a detailed post on my two month build. It may be unprecedented for a pro to share all their training after a performance like this. I've built a good deal of my reputation as a pro on transparency. I'm also in the position to be able to discuss training since I mostly write my own training plan. My coach/mentor David Tilbury-Davis oversees everything, suggests improvements, and helps me out a great deal with season/race planning, psychology, nutrition, recovery and more, but I'm still the one writing most of the sessions. The day-to-day stuff is the easy part. It's the overarching planning and periodization where I most appreciate his help.

if you can remember to link to that post here so I remember to read it that'd be super cool ;-)

CONGRATS!

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Cody Beals wrote:
That's a good idea. Coach David has been on me about getting rollers all year. I could see introducing them for easy rides. I'm just lazy and like to switch off on the trainer... :P

It makes me laugh when world-class endurance athletes say "I'm just lazy...". Jajajajaja

I appreciate the depth of your responses and wish I could be half as articulate as you are. Thank you for all of this.

You mentioned not having to go to the dark place during this race...have you had many experiences where you have? I find inspiration from others who have dealt with it and what kind of mind tricks they play in order to out-suffer other competitors and push the body to limits that most didn't think the human body was capable of. It's truly facilitating to see what we are all capable of, but someone of your caliber (think Dr. Evil) must have some thoughts on where the go during these times. I still tell people about a race years ago (Vineman 70.3) where my body said no, my mind said no, but I found something to drive forward. My time was mediocre at best, but it was one of the most positive experiences of my life and I tell people it was my greatest accomplishment.
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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I will have to see if I can find the apple chips at HEB.


Just thought of another question, not sure I've seen you answer it, apologies if you already have.

How did you determine your target IM power target(s)?
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats on an impressive win. What is your current FTP?


Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [znerd] [ In reply to ]
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znerd wrote:
Cody Beals wrote:

That's a good idea. Coach David has been on me about getting rollers all year. I could see introducing them for easy rides. I'm just lazy and like to switch off on the trainer... :P


It makes me laugh when world-class endurance athletes say "I'm just lazy...". Jajajajaja

I appreciate the depth of your responses and wish I could be half as articulate as you are. Thank you for all of this.

You mentioned not having to go to the dark place during this race...have you had many experiences where you have? I find inspiration from others who have dealt with it and what kind of mind tricks they play in order to out-suffer other competitors and push the body to limits that most didn't think the human body was capable of. It's truly facilitating to see what we are all capable of, but someone of your caliber (think Dr. Evil) must have some thoughts on where the go during these times. I still tell people about a race years ago (Vineman 70.3) where my body said no, my mind said no, but I found something to drive forward. My time was mediocre at best, but it was one of the most positive experiences of my life and I tell people it was my greatest accomplishment.

I've definitely dug deeper during other races in the past. 70.3 Cozumel in 2015 comes to mind as one of my best performances ever in terms of getting the most from myself. I came off the bike in a huge chase pack with a massive deficit to the leader, Andi Boecherer. I had the run of my life, by far the fastest on the day, to almost catch him in the blistering Mexico heat. I got within seconds of him with a kilometer to go before he pulled away. At the finish, I wasn't even too disappointed, since I had never been more confident that I'd given my all, something I'd struggled to go for years.

Going truly to the limit is something I can do only very infrequently, like a handful of times per year, certainly even less in an Ironman. I even shy away from all-out time trials in training because I find that it's such an emotional experience to give everything, whether it's a 20 minute effort or an 8 hour one.

I use a lot of different techniques to get the most out of myself in races. My coach and I like to develop certain "power phrases" that are repeated throughout different parts of a race. They can serve as technical cues, reminders to stay positive, banish negativity, anything really. I usually try to remain present and engage with the pain head on. But sometimes, I like to dissociate and imagine I'm somewhere else, impartially observing whatever is playing out on the race course. In the heat of Cozumel, I visualized that I was back in an ice cave I toured in Austria, cool and dark and calm. It can be a very powerful technique!

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Sean H] [ In reply to ]
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Sean H wrote:
I will have to see if I can find the apple chips at HEB.


Just thought of another question, not sure I've seen you answer it, apologies if you already have.

How did you determine your target IM power target(s)?

Those power targets were determine through 4-6 hour long rides. In particular, I did some 4-5 hour rides with a few hours steady at 220-230W, then some work in the target IM range towards the end. That gave me a great sense of what would be reasonable on race day. Calculations based on FTP, TSS, goal time, etc. seem ass-backwards to me.

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Canadian] [ In reply to ]
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Canadian wrote:
Congrats on an impressive win. What is your current FTP?

FTP is a concept I don't use at all in my training, racing or analysis. I think I could hold somewhere around 350W for an hour in aero position. That's probably ranged from 340-360W over the past few years depending on the phase of the season. I haven't weighed myself recently, but I probably raced around 156-159 lbs (71-72 kg).

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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I'm truly impressed with your transparency. I grew up in your area... A small village just west of Ancaster on some great biking roads with excellent running trails. I left that area 25+ years ago to move to the USA but have many friends and family in the Guelph area.

I was introduced to your name watching IMMT live throughout the day as I was scouting my 2019 IM plans. It was great seeing 3 Canadians in top 3 about 1 hour into the bike, and was proud to be a Canadian. Seeing the 3 of you in the top 3 hooked me in for the long haul that day to see how the race would progress. In my youth, I would never have imagined what I see with the great Canadian athletes we see today.

In your opinion, what has changed over the past 25 years that added additional focus on having athletes excel to be world class in sports besides hockey? Was it the performance at the 1988 Olympics that led to the training focus and opportunities for today's youth that didn't exist for the above average athlete when I was a kid?

Thank you for being available for us in our journey.

Mostly, though, Congratulations on an amazing finish. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Cheers,
Brian Kers
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Cody Beals wrote:
mbwallis wrote:
First, congrats, that was a huge result. I always appreciate your openness, both here and on social media.

What was your nutrition plan, and how did it differ from 70.3? Any issues with race day nutrition execution?


Thank you! My nutrition plan was one of the biggest positives from the day. I've long suspected that I'm an outlier when it comes to absorbing high rates of carbs without GI issues. That's a factor that can really start to separate the best IM athletes. I put a lot of thought, planning, research and testing into my nutrition plan. I also consulted my coach, David Tilbury-Davis, nutritionist Pamela Nisevich Bede, my friend and sports science wiz Matt Hanson, and many others.

For 70.3, I mix my own blend of all liquid nutrition. It's been a 2:1 ratio of maltodextrin to fructose flavoured with anything from Coke to Redbull to lemon juice. I'll add caffeine and light electrolytes depending on the course and conditions. I aim for about 2.5-3 bottles worth (including the 1.4 L Ventum integrated reservoir) containing a total of 800-900 calories. On the run, I use several gels and sips of whatever is on course. This works out to about 100 grams of carbs per hour. I've only once had minor GI issues and never once thrown up in my adult life.

For Ironman, I also added amylopectin to my blend. It's a starch, unlike the other two carbs. I used a 2:1:1 ratio of maltodextrin to amytopectin to fructose with a little F2C Electro-Durance for electrolytes. Here's what I carried on the bike:

-BTA bottle: 2:1:1 bottle flavored with Redbull and lemon juice (~700 cal)
-rear bottle: 2:1:1 bottle flavored with Redbull (~700 cal)
-Ventum integrated bottle: 2 scoops F2C Glyco-Durance + maltodextrin + Redbull (~400 cal)

I then picked up a bottle of Gatorade (~150 cal), a gel (100 cal) and took quick gulps of water at a few aid stations. The total for the bike was well over 2,000 calories or 100+ grams of carbs per hour, which is nearing the max anyone can absorb.

On the run, I started with a ~300 cal flask with the same 2:1:1 blend and then took in Redbull, Coke, a few gels, Gatorade and water at every single aid station.

I deliberately train with a wide variety of fuel to acclimate my GI system to all sorts of abuse. I'll often buy whatever sugary junk drink is on sale that week.

mbwallis wrote:
And I understand not racing Kona this year, even if you qualified. But are you already saying you definitely will not race it in 2019, if you qualify?


It's hard to say that for sure after such a successful debut, but Kona doesn't currently appeal to me for 2019. It's possible that sponsors or other incentives could still make it worth my while in 2019, but it wouldn't really be intrinsic motivation driving me there so soon. I'm sure my first Kona will be humbling and a learning experience, so maybe there's something to be said for a lower pressure and earlier debut there.


Hi Cody and congratulations on executing a great race and taking the course record! I was at the the Pro's Q&A session on Friday and who knew that you being the first one to show up would mirror the race day results! (Lionel was 7 minutes late and the whole panel and Mike Reilly waited.) I thought your appeared very quietly confident.

My question is related to nutrition. I had a great swim, good bike, okay first hour of the run, and then right around 12k on the run I went KABOOM!! Lots of slow walking, finally threw up at mile 15 and felt better. My first time finishing in the darkness of night. I paced well on the Swim and Bike, but I think my nutrition was off. I avg'd 260 calories per hour on the bike, derived from bars/shot blocks/gels (in that order) and gatorade. I see based off your numbers you basically avg'd 444 calories per hour, based almost entirely off liquid nutrition?

Also, what brand of maltodextrin and fructose do you use?

I'm thinking of experimenting with liquid nutrition in training, and upping my caloric intake to at least 300 cal/hour for my next race (AC 70.3). I want to figure this our before I go back to Tremblant again next year. You'd think I'd have figured my nutrition out after five 140.6 and fourteen 70.3 races!! Any help would be appreciated.
Last edited by: BT_DreamChaser: Aug 23, 18 14:05
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [BT_DreamChaser] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry to hear about your tough day. Nutrition is a puzzle for most athletes. I seem to be fortunate in that I get seemingly get away with almost anything. Some of my training long ride menus would make you laugh! So take my advice with a grain of salt.

I averaged around 450 calories/hour all day in IMMT, taking in close to 700 cal in the first hour of the ride alone! The higher the intake rate, the less room there is for error in terms of the composition. I suggest doing some research into "multiple transportable carbohydrates". The principle is that different carbs like maltodextrin (a polysaccharide or long chain of glucose monomers), fructose and amylopectin (a starch consisting of branched chains of glucose) are metabolized in different ways at different rates. Say a given athlete can only absorb 60 grams/hour of glucose before that pathway gets maxed out and they experience GI issues. But by introducing fructose, which is oxidized through another pathway, maybe the athlete could absorb another 30 grams/hour for a total of 90 grams/hour. It's a little more complicated than that and there are more considerations, but that's the rough idea behind the blend I use.

I highly recommend trying liquid nutrition. Essentially, anything that isn't a carbohydrate isn't going to help you all that much in a race, especially the faster you go. Some argue that certain amino acids can aid carb absorption, but I'm pretty sure that's based on antiquated research. Solid food and protein may also help you feel fuller and stave off hunger pangs, but I don't think that's a good enough reason. My stomach felt "hungry" all day despite my super high liquid calorie intake.

If you're going to experiment with something like my blend, I'd suggest starting with maltodextrin and a little fructose, maybe just 10%. You can ramp that up if you tolerate fructose well, but many people do not. Another option is to buy a dextrin based product (e.g., F2C Glyco-Durance) and add a little fructose to bump up carb oxidation rates. I think that many commercially available products don't include any/enough fructose simply because it doesn't agree with some people. Amylopectin (aka waxy maize) should be lower priority since it may be redundant with maltodextrin and has a lower glycemic index. It's also chalky tasting and doesn't dissolve as well.

I've purchased these products from various brands over the years and haven't noticed any real difference. You can often find maltodextrin in bulk at brewing or supplement stores.

Finally, a disclaimer: I'm not a sports nutrition expert. This approach worked well for me based on my understanding of the science. I'd welcome anyone more knowledgeable to chime in with corrections or more info.

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Cody Beals wrote:
Canadian wrote:
Congrats on an impressive win. What is your current FTP?


FTP is a concept I don't use at all in my training, racing or analysis. I think I could hold somewhere around 350W for an hour in aero position. That's probably ranged from 340-360W over the past few years depending on the phase of the season. I haven't weighed myself recently, but I probably raced around 156-159 lbs (71-72 kg).

Also impressive. Thanks a lot for the info.


Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Hello Cody Beals and All,

Thanks for posting and congratulations on your race and course record. Awesome!

(Your signature Bliiq URL does not work .... the others are OK) ....... Should be: https://bliiq.us/

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [nealhe] [ In reply to ]
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Fixed it! Thank you.

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Cody,

Am I reading correctly that you managed to get 700 calories dissolved into each bottle (assuming ~24oz bottles)??
Looking at the calorie counts of malto and amylopectin, I'm trying to figure out how you got that much powder to dissolve in each bottle without clumping etc and having an osmotic concentration low enough to be absorbed?
Could you specify, aside from the ratios, how much you actually put in each bottle?

Thanks!!
Last edited by: SBRcanuck: Aug 23, 18 17:06
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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This thread is remarkable

Thank you so much Cody

It confirms so many things which go against what so many so called experts say are facts including a coach I had.

Such as me consuming 500 calories an hour when I do long distance. I weigh 40lbs more than you and mostly muscle.

If you take in 400/hour it all makes sense.

Sort of like when you found out the teacher was wrong all those years she insisted she was correct lol

Thank you again.
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [RBR] [ In reply to ]
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Great race Cody, thanks for doing the AMA. I love it when the pros do one after a race. Been a big fan of yours since reading your blog a couple years ago. I saw a couple people mention some mods you did to a P2C. Is there a link to your mods? I have a 2008 P3C I need to clean up. I know you’ll enjoy writing your year end financial summary this year with 4 wins so far!

Let food be thy medicine...
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Cody Beals wrote:
SteveM wrote:
Cody Beals wrote:
I swim harder, longer and more often than ever. And with the group, it's way more fun! I was previously doing most of my swimming alone, with only occasional group sessions and training camps.


Firstly thanks for doing this, it’s been really interesting & congratulations on the win.

Could I ask, when/why did you start swimming 6+ times a week?


I've done swim focused weeks or months in the past and a couple swim training camps (with Magnolia Masters in Texas), but it wasn't until I moved back to Guelph last fall that I began consistently swimming 6-7 times most weeks of the year. That was also when I began consistently swimming with a group (mostly Guelph Triathlon Project, sometimes LPC).
Despite being my first competitive sport, swimming has always been my weakest discipline. I've had some shockingly poor swim performances and lost at least half a dozen races in the swim (if that can ever be said). Even last year, my swim performances were unpredictable and I often found myself in the unfortunate position of leading the chase pack (ideally, you're at the back of the fastest pack you can hang with). I knew that something had to be done about my swimming if I truly wanted to be a world class triathlete.
I experimented with various swim changes, everything from stroke analysis (mostly not helpful), technical/drill focus (complete waste of time), USRPT (good, but brutally hard), training camps (helpful, but hard to maintain gains). The two things that I found most helpful were swimming with a group and swimming more frequently. Those two factors go hand in hand, since it's easier to swim more when you're having fun with great lane-mates!
Another factor in my swim progress that I forgot the mention earlier was my switch to mostly two beat kicking. I gradually began introducing two beat kicking as an alternative to my usual and the more common six beat kick. At first, it felt awkward, but gradually became more efficient at slower speeds. The pace break point at which it was more efficient to switch from two beat to six beat gradually sped up. Now I'm at the point where I almost exclusively two beat kick and it's more efficient for anything up to high end threshold (~1:11/100scm). In long course races, a two beat kick feels so cruisy and efficient. I now use a two beat kick almost the entire swim and reserve the less efficient but more powerful six beat kick for the fast start, any surges and briefly at the end to wake up my legs. This kicking change was the closest thing I've had to a technical epiphany in swimming.

Cody - Congrats on the great race!!! As a swimmer turned triathlete, I found your comments on how you went about improving your swim very interesting. Swimming was your first sport but yet you consider, or until coming 2nd out of the water this past race, used to consider, the swim to be your weakest discipline of three; this is quite unusual in my experience but i can see how it could happen, since kids start swimming on teams at a younger age than they start running in races, much less cycling in races. Your analysis of what helped you improve squares 100% with my experiences, espec the part about drills being a waste of time. Your deliberately switching from a 6-beat to 2-beat kick is interesting b/c in my experience, most swimmers just unconsciously select the level of kicking they need/want. As a well-known swim book put it, many 2-beat kickers just fall into this kick as a way of surviving swimming 6000 or more yards/meters per workout; IOW, they find that using the 2-beat is just easier due to less effort needed in the legs. That's how it happened for me back in my teenage swim years when first started swimming twice a day. In any case, you've provided a really good case for the need to swim long and often in order to improve, and that a person needs to mostly just swim, with very limited drills. :)


"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats!!

Two questions:
- on the pictures between saddle and bottlecage there is something? What type of setup do you have there? You also had a rubber band to ensure that botle doestn eject?
- you didnt swim/ride with Suunto watch, but you tool that for the run? Have you tested aero impact of having watch while riding?

Thanks! I would say this is best performance this year from Suunto sponsored athlete

—
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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [SBRcanuck] [ In reply to ]
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SBRcanuck wrote:
Cody,

Am I reading correctly that you managed to get 700 calories dissolved into each bottle (assuming ~24oz bottles)??
Looking at the calorie counts of malto and amylopectin, I'm trying to figure out how you got that much powder to dissolve in each bottle without clumping etc and having an osmotic concentration low enough to be absorbed?
Could you specify, aside from the ratios, how much you actually put in each bottle?

Thanks!!

That's correct. In my testing, I found that 700 calories was near the maximum I could dissolve in a bottle. The amylopectin in particular didn't like to dissolve and wouldn't fully remain in suspension, settling to the bottom. I gave each bottle a shake before I drank it. I went with a lower concentration in the integrated Ventum bottle because I couldn't shake it.

The osmolality was definitely quite high, but I don't think it was to the point of severely impeding gastric emptying. I had a lower concentration solution in the Ventum bottle to wash it down, as well as pounding water at a few aid stations.

Here's what was in the bottles:
  • 75 g maltodextrin
  • 38 g amylopectin
  • 38 g fructose
  • 150-250 mL Redbull (one with some lemon juice too)
  • 2 scoops F2C Electro-Durance


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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [RBR] [ In reply to ]
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RBR wrote:
This thread is remarkable

Thank you so much Cody

It confirms so many things which go against what so many so called experts say are facts including a coach I had.

Such as me consuming 500 calories an hour when I do long distance. I weigh 40lbs more than you and mostly muscle.

If you take in 400/hour it all makes sense.

Sort of like when you found out the teacher was wrong all those years she insisted she was correct lol

Thank you again.

You're welcome! It's my pleasure to give back to the forum after learning so much here over the years.

The funny thing about carbohydrate absorption/oxidation rates is that they're apparently largely independent of body size. My understanding is that genetics and adaptation play a much greater role in how much an athlete can process. So just because a big guy is burning far more calories than a small woman doesn't mean he can process more. Perhaps this is one of the factors that accounts for the relatively smaller performance difference between men and women in ultra-endurance sports.

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [JackStraw13] [ In reply to ]
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JackStraw13 wrote:
Great race Cody, thanks for doing the AMA. I love it when the pros do one after a race. Been a big fan of yours since reading your blog a couple years ago. I saw a couple people mention some mods you did to a P2C. Is there a link to your mods? I have a 2008 P3C I need to clean up. I know you’ll enjoy writing your year end financial summary this year with 4 wins so far!

Thanks for following my career!

I had to delve deep into my blog archives to find that old post. Please excuse any formatting issues as it's been through a few website overhauls. I loved that old P2 and rode it up until my second pro season!

Cervelo P2: DIY Internal Cable Routing

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Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [ericmulk] [ In reply to ]
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ericmulk wrote:
Cody - Congrats on the great race!!! As a swimmer turned triathlete, I found your comments on how you went about improving your swim very interesting. Swimming was your first sport but yet you consider, or until coming 2nd out of the water this past race, used to consider, the swim to be your weakest discipline of three; this is quite unusual in my experience but i can see how it could happen, since kids start swimming on teams at a younger age than they start running in races, much less cycling in races. Your analysis of what helped you improve squares 100% with my experiences, espec the part about drills being a waste of time. Your deliberately switching from a 6-beat to 2-beat kick is interesting b/c in my experience, most swimmers just unconsciously select the level of kicking they need/want. As a well-known swim book put it, many 2-beat kickers just fall into this kick as a way of surviving swimming 6000 or more yards/meters per workout; IOW, they find that using the 2-beat is just easier due to less effort needed in the legs. That's how it happened for me back in my teenage swim years when first started swimming twice a day. In any case, you've provided a really good case for the need to swim long and often in order to improve, and that a person needs to mostly just swim, with very limited drills. :)

Thank you! It's interesting that our experiences with swimming align. If there's one thing I've learned about swimming, it's that there are many routes to progress, especially for triathletes. The key thing seems to be committing to one approach at a time and not bouncing around too much.

I say that swimming was my first sport, but I regrettably never had the benefit of a serious swim team as a kid. I swam on a summer league from age 9 to 16, which was four practices per week and several swim meets over the summer with mostly parent volunteer coaches. I'd do a couple practices per week over the winter as well. My high school finally got a swim team for my junior and senior years, but that was a joke compared to programs in the US. After that, I focused much more on running throughout university, but kept up a little swimming on my own. If I could return to that time, I'd absolutely swim with the varsity team. This background gave me some advantage over an adult onset swimmer, but not nearly the edge a true childhood competitive swimmer has in triathlon.

Two beat kicking was a huge revelation. I remember the first time I employed it in a race, thinking "this feels wayyy too easy... am I in the wrong pack?!" It's the closest thing to a swimming hack that I've discovered. It did take a couple years to get comfortable with. My stroke mechanics are quite different with two and six beat kicks. It feels like I have two distinct tools at my disposal for racing. My stroke rate is naturally quite slow and I find that a two beat kick helps me tempo it up, very useful for open water situations.

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