I have been asking a few questions, and doing a bit of research on pacing and strategy got HIM’s. My first HIM is this Sunday (7/29) and I was hoping to get some help/insight from all of you who have experienced this distance before. I have modified the “suggestions” slightly becasue I have found that the suggestions seem to be a way to complete the race versus racing the race. So, here are my plans for the bike and run.
What I am really looking for is insight from those of you who have done one (or more) HIM****(s****) and what you learned/how it looks like I am set up
My Bike LT is 160, and my Run is 166. I will be drinking every 10 minutes on the bike and when available on the run, and will consume a gel every 30 minutes. I will start he bike out with 2 bottles of Gatorade. There are 3 aid stations on the bike w/ water/ & Gatorade to replenish, along with 7-8 on the run.
Bike:
Miles 1-8: get to feeling good, wait to get any nutrition, only light hydration, HR ~ 130
Miles 8-20: start hydration/nutrion plan, HR ~ 138
Miles 20-45: Continue hydration/nutrion plan HR ~ 145
Miles 45-55: Continue hydration/nutrion plan, HR ~ 150
Mile 55-56: work on higher cadence, getting legs loosened up for run
Run:
Miles 1-3: Continue hydration/nutrion plan: HR ~ 140-145
Miles 3-8: Continue hydration/nutrion plan: HR ~ 150
Miles 8-10: Continue hydration/nutrion plan: HR ~ 160
Miles 10-13.1: Continue hydration/nutrion plan: (depending on how body feels) HR ~ 165
Thoughts?
What are you going to do if your HR is over 130 when you get on the bike after swimming?
Don’t forget the pre-race meal. 3hrs before race start. Something very easily digestible.
Otherwise, looks pretty good. Don’t be a slave to HR #'s, use them as guidelines.
What are you going to do if your HR is over 130 when you get on the bike after swimming?
I can gaurantee that it will be, but I have 8 miles to get it down, which should be about 20 minutes or so…more than plenty of time
Don’t forget the pre-race meal. 3hrs before race start. Something very easily digestible.
Otherwise, looks pretty good. Don’t be a slave to HR #'s, use them as guidelines.
I usually go with 3-4 pcs. of toast & peanut butter, a bananna, and gatorade for my sprints/olys, and I feel good at the start…will that work, or should I work something else in for the 4am feeding?
What are you going to do if your HR is over 130 when you get on the bike after swimming?
I can gaurantee that it will be, but I have 8 miles to get it down, which should be about 20 minutes or so…more than plenty of time
Wow! 24mph average to start off the bike leg while bringing your HR down from the swim/transition. That’s pretty impressive.
Steve
What are you going to do if your HR is over 130 when you get on the bike after swimming?
I can gaurantee that it will be, but I have 8 miles to get it down, which should be about 20 minutes or so…more than plenty of time
Wow! 24mph average to start off the bike leg while bringing your HR down from the swim/transition. That’s pretty impressive.
Steve
Yeah, I didn’t mention that I am uber fast…ok, so a little more influence on the “or so” lets look at closer to 25 minutes…or so 
OK, so you soft pedal for a while and bring your HR down on the bike.
Then you let it come back up to 150 before transition.
So, when you do your bricks in training, how does your HR look when you transition from biking to running at 1/2 IM race pace?
Are you willing to jog for 10 minutes to get your HR down to 140 to start the run?
good point…so I will have to see how the day is going by that time…knowing my attitude in races, I will probably keep it at 150…thanks for pointing that out…guess I will a little to strategic, and not realistic.
I’d go for something more simple and let PE influence you as well as your HR.
Bike 1-40 - Ease in until HR drops below 140 then keep steady effort @ ~140
Bike 40+ - Open up a little 150-160
Run - take it 1 mile at a time, run comfortable pace for the first 8 mile then check how much you have left in the tank and try to use it all up, it only 5 mile to go…
My best 1/2 Iron was raced at a average of 164hr with my LT ~173.
I guess the question I have is whether you’re there to really race or to merely finish faster. Also, the rates and zones are pretty generic with no mention of the course profile which, you know, affects HR. That said, I think HR targets are fine, but as others said what if your HR is above 130 when you leave the swim, or you’re excited and get it all geeked up? Also, what happens if you want to drop the hammer on the bike or run? There seems to be no margin for that included.
Also, will you be consuming a gel every 30 mins on the bike too? That’s at least 6 gels on the bike and maybe another 4 on the run. That’s asking for some serious GI issues.
Bob
THe course is a little hilly with one decent climb, but pretty usual for where I normally ride. http://www.midwestsportsevents.com/Files/4/1183493413.pdf
I will probably be all geeked up during the race, as I always am, but I am try to set targets for myself to help control this. Yes, my plan is to consume a gel on both the bike and run every 30, probably should push this to every 40-45 since that is what I did in my race sims. During those, I had no GI issues. My plan is to evalutate at mile 8 of the run and drop the hammer if I still have it in me
Not for nothing, but I think you need to adjust your HR zones for the bike. 1500 feet of climbing isn;t that much, but 60% occurs between mile 30 and 40 where you want to be at 145. Just my thoughts.
I am liking gavnuuns suggestion of 140 through 40, probably right after the last climb, and then open it up to 150-160. I know the HR will be a lot higher during those climbs, but if I keep it around 140 for the first 30 miles, I should be able to push a little on these climbs, but I definately won’t be affraid of using the granny ring if I need to.
As far as the race, it is my first halh, but I don’t want to just finish, I really want to be set up to race it and finish as fast as possible and leave everything on the course. I think all of the input you guys are giving me is wonderful and will pay huge dividends come race day.
If there are more, please keep them coming…I will take everything into consideration.
Thaks again
Ben
My whole philosophy is a bit different, but by no means does that make it different. I don’t want to have to think so much out there, so I have my nutrition plan set up and then let my body tell me how hard it wants to go from moment to moment. I will say that on the run I throw any notion of comfort out the window and if I need to suffer to move up spots, I simply HTFU and do it.
Bob
Don’t want to repeat others - and take this for what it’s worth.
Did my first Half at Muncie a couple of weeks ago. Was pretty confident, given the conditions, that I could go sub 4:45 (by the way, “A” race for season is IMoo - Muncie is part of the lead-up to it)
Caveat: Up until this season, I very rarely trained with a HRM. All bike racing and runnning I did in the 90s was sans checking the old heart rate. PR in a Mary is 2:55 and that was a negative split, purely on PE. As I’ve been racing endurance sports of some form for 20+ years, believe I have a pretty good handle on how hard I can push myself.
Still wanted to race with a HRM, if only as an insurance policy. Have to say, my HR was above the zones I thought it should be for most of the race. However, I felt very good, never seemed to be pushing too hard, and didn’t feel any lactate building up through the bike and the run. Had I followed the HRM to the “T” I would have gone far slower.
Came in at 4:34 and change. Funny, as it was my first HIM and as it was going into a bit of the unknown, I kept holding myself on the bike and run…now wondering a bit at how much more I could have pushed it. A very fine line, I know.
Again, hate to possibly repeat others, but if you are confident in your PE skills, don’t discount them just for the sake of some HRM strategy.
Are you seriously only going to take in less than 200 calories/hr on the bike? Assuming that you are taking a gel pack (100 calories) on the half hour. Wow…I do 400 Kcal/hr on the bike. But if that’s working for you, stick to it.
I agree with the others that you should use your HR monitor in an ‘A’ race as a guide. PE is the way to truly race a HIM “A” race. My last half, I didn’t get a steady lower HR until about mile 5 or so on the bike. Your HR is sky rocketing because you went from horizontal (swim) to vertical, you’re excited to get going on the bike and you’re passing everyone and their brother (assuming you start in a later wave).
Oh…I don’t count calories from Gatorade in my nutrition plan, so that might be where you’re getting some more Kcal.
Are you seriously only going to take in less than 200 calories/hr on the bike? Assuming that you are taking a gel pack (100 calories) on the half hour. Wow…I do 400 Kcal/hr on the bike. But if that’s working for you, stick to it.
Oh…I don’t count calories from Gatorade in my nutrition plan, so that might be where you’re getting some more Kcal.
Yes, I am counting my calories from the Gatorade, but I guess that only gets me to about 300 at best…I have used a bar (PowerBar Harvest - 250 calories) during my training, but thought I would not use it during the race since it was kind of a pain in the A$$. Looking at this, I agree, I need to use it during the race, becasue even 300 is not enough for the bike. So adding that bar, taken evenly through the bike, would put me to almost 400 Kcal/hour… now we are getting this dial in!
Thanks Dan!!
No expert here–only done 2, but fair sucess.
I was WAY to conservative on my first, especially on the bike. I felt great after finishing. (Oops!)
(my LT on bike is around 156-158 and 160-164 on run).
I’m wondering if you’re too conservative like I was.
The second time I pushed it pretty hard, only a little below OD pace and HR, on the bike. I started out briskly but not hard (so as not to fry my legs)and gradually accelerated over the first few minutes. I kept my effort just below OD pace and HR (145-150) for the bike. On the run, I started out smoothly with high cadence and kept a light touch and HR~150 increasing to 160+ by the end. I was spent at the end.
A big key is prehydrate and prenourish. I start prehydrating and salting 48 hours before the race.
I like Trader Joe’s ‘force primeval’ bars. (Apparently Costco now has them) They are an apple, walnut, raisin roll.
I start 3-3.5h beforehand with one of those (230Cal), then a Trader Joe’s Triple espresso mocha with salt (130Cal), followed shortly by a Power Bar (230Cal) chased with some sports drink (100cal). I then have some more sports drink over the next hour or so, while I’m on my way to the site. I drink some ‘Preformance’ (200+ Cal) with added salt, one hour before the start. I take 8 oz of Pedialyte before the swim (a few calories.) (it goes in FAST). I’ve had NO GI issues with this regimen.