Doing my first 1/2IM in 2-1/2 weeks. Should I use a fuel belt? Is two bottles w/calories in cages, plus aero bottle up front for water, weight overload on the bike? Is an aero TT helmet (i.e. Rudy) at all helpful? How to keep sunglasses clear (I sweat profusely and drip on them)?
My details: 51 yrs old, 165 lbs, trained 6+ hrs/wk since early spring w/Sprint and Oly along the way, if I beat 6 hours I will be overjoyed. If I finish I will be overjoyed Course is supposed to have great liquid/nutrition along the way, but probably not stuff I’m used to taking. Seems like Forum advice is along the lines of bring-your-own-stuff on both bike and run…
If you don’t want to carry too much, this is what works for me: Take 2 bottles of your sportsdrink (hopefully 200-250 calories each). Drink one of those bottles. After you finish the bottle, throw it away at an aid station and grab a water bottle. Have a gu every 20-minutes with the water you just picked up. When the water is gone, finish your second water bottle with your sporsdrink. When that’s gone, go back to the gu and water. Aim for 300 calories an hour.
On the run, have a gu with water in T2 with a salt tab or better yet, a bottle of sportsdrink. Then have a cup of gatoraid at each aid station, and maybe one more gu during the run with water.
This would not require an extra water bottle on the bike or a fuel belt during the run.
I just finished my first 1/2 IM. This is what I did:
On the bike, had aerobottle with water. Filled up with bottle hand-ups on the course. Also had one concentrated sports drink bottle on the frame (3 scoops perpeteum, 3 scoops carbo-pro, 2 scoops cytomax, dab of salt). Took a “hit” from the bottle every 15 minutes, chased it with water. Also drank water when I felt like it.
On the run I used a waist belt with a 20 oz bottle. I decided on that over the fuel belt because I could refill it from the big jugs on the run. I am terrible at drinking from the cups and find drinking from a bottle much better. Otherwise I would have gone with just the on-course aid.
In your case, I would stick with whatever nutrition plan you’ve developed. Whether that’s sports drink plus gels for calories plus water or whatever. Don’t try something new. Do try to practice with whatever aid is on the course, even if you plan on bringing your own.
– you can’t keep glasses clean. I wear clear lenses on the bike, and switch to a clean pair of shades for the run.
– I race with 2 bottle cages and a Profile up front. One bottle cage holds all my bike nutrition (800 calories, plus a tsp of table salt, for a 1/2IM). The Profile and the other cage hold water. I always run out of water between aid stations, so I like two water sources.
– Use a fuel belt; the 4-bottle type. Put ~175 calories in each one and drink at least two dixie cups of water at each aid station. Walk the aid stations if you have to to make sure you get your drinks in. Polish off 1 fuel belt bottle every 30 minutes.
I just picked up a headband since the foam-headed fella on my LBS’ counter seemed to like it. The brand is HALO. It works extremely well! It makes a line on my forehead that lasts approx. 4 hours, but essentially zero drips on the shades any more. I recommend it. I also have a hat that i wear on the run to stay cool, and it is made by “headsweats” that has some wicking band inside that takes care of the sweat alright—but nowhere near as well as the Halo.
I just did a triathlon that’s between Oly and HIM distance and used a Fuel Belt successfully during the run. I have problems drinking from those damn cups at the aid stations, so I used the aid stations strictly to dump water on my head.
gotta second that halo sweatband reccomendation to keep glasses clear. Headsweats work great as well and they are probably a bit quicker to put on than the Halo. Makes no sense but I have both and the Headsweat was faster. Unfortunately the headsweat has since stretched out so now I’m only using the halo. sometimes that little bandana tail on the headsweat can be irritating brushing on your neck. if you use a headsweat make sure to get the coolmax version and pre-tie the headsweat to size.
Thanks Tai, I will be shopping tomorrow, probably for both styles - halo and headsweats. If Rudy made a tinted visor I might get one of their aero TT helmets to help me with the problem. I am a dripping mess on the bike. Running it is much better, and I carry a small bandanna with me to clean the lenses off If necessary. If they get too sweaty, I just throw them, since they are $6 sunglasses. VERY GOOD $6 sunglasses, I might add
brother bonk
PS - thanks to the rest of you - great suggestions, many of which I will be implementing! I knew the Forum would come through for me…
More than 24 oz liquid an hour and you are over-hydrating (ie your body can’t process it.) If you are not hitting an aid station once an hour you may be lost.
I would find out what they are using for your race, and if it is not acceptable to you would go with the 1 concentrated bottle, water in the aero tank.
I thought one of the more interesting observations from the link was:
most FOP athletes under-hydrate, while most MOP or BOP over-hydrate.
I’ve seen people at sprints (10-12 mile bike) heading out with two water bottles on expensive bikes…
OK, so a question from a sweat-challenged athlete: If you are somebody (like me, say) who sweats like Mike Tyson at a spelling bee, then only taking in 24 oz of water / hr, when you might be losing 2+ qts / hour on a hot and/or humid day, seems like a recipe for some major performance declines after a couple hours.
According to the chart in that link, once you go past 3-4% of water lost to dehydration, performance drops off significantly. Here’s the chart:
Symptoms by Percent Body Weight Water Loss:
PERCENT WATER LOST --------- SYMPTOMS
0% — none, optimal performance, normal heat regulation
1% — thirst stimulated, heat regulation during exercise altered, performance declines
2% — further decrease in heat regulation, hinders performance, increased thirst
3% — more of the same (worsening performance)
4% — exercise performance cut by 20 - 30%
5% — headache, irritability, “spaced-out” feeling, fatigue
6% — weakness, severe loss of thermoregulation
7% — collapse likely unless exercise stops
10% – comatose
11% – death likely
So, for something like a HIM or IM, what does somebody who sweats heavily do??
Everyone is different, during the hot months I drink more than 48oz/hr and sometimes lose 10+lbs on a 6hr long ride. Mind you, I live in Miami, FL where the temperature and humidity are 90+.
I know this sounds extreme but that’s why everyone should calculate their sweat-rate.
I would say lose a good bit of weight. the 24 oz could be increased slightly in hot/humid conditions, but if someone weighs 180 lbs, 3% of body weight would be about 5.5 lbs~100 oz… The limiting factor is how quickyl you can process the liquid.
It is unlikely even Patrick Ewing could lose 2 qts/hour on the bike and the swim, but if you could average that, you would be running a deficit of (64 oz (sweat) - 28 oz in) 36 oz/hour. It would take you about 3 hours to lose the 3%, a little longer if you were well hydrated at the start.
Great link, good info. I rode 2 hours today in 85 degree weather with one bottle on the frame w/calories, and my aero bottle with water, all worked great and I felt great, except I had to cut the ride short because my water bottle lid blasted open when I squeezed it (from now on, I use ones with screw lids!) and covered me with high calorie liquid!
Course is supposed to have great liquid/nutrition along the way, but probably not stuff I’m used to taking. Seems like Forum advice is along the lines of bring-your-own-stuff on both bike and run…