“Start easy then back off”
i personally go all out, no regrets, i have trained for it, and follow my plan.
Good luck!
- first 1.5 hours pretty easy. Think “warm up”. Don’t think about the run. Eat a little more on this leg, about 350+ cal.
- second 1.5 hours easy but start getting up to all day pace. Eat just a little less than 1st leg (300cal).
- 1.5 hours pace your trained at for longest rides. Eat just a little less than last leg (250-300). DO NOT think ahead to the run!
- 1.5 hours or to finish line it will feel real hard, but that’s just perceived exertion. So, stick with your hr or wattage and be prepared for it to feel hard at this point. Less solid food on this leg and more liquid. Don’t start the marathon too full. Don’t think about the run!
Also, at the top of every hour, I slug about 10-12 oz extra of pure water to flush out all the food. More solids at first on the bike and then taper off solids toward the end. For special needs, I like potato chips because it’s high glycemic carbs without the sugary taste, salt, and some fat. You will become very tired of sugary foods if you eat them all day in a race! The taters gives me a break from that and it’s super-high calorie. Practice this in training, though.
Do stay aero as much as humanly possible and fight the tendency to sit up around mile 75-80.
For hills, I would set a low hr or wattage that you plan not to exceed. The longer the hill, the lower that hr or wattage. Let people pass you; you will get them on the run. My race goal is about 180 watts but my hill “goal” is about 220-230, my threshold starting at around 250w. So all day, my wattage only swings about 50 watts off my goal. Others will be hitting the hills pretty hard at the wattage equivalent of 300+ and backing off to 150w+. They go too hard on the hills and too slowly on the downhills! My point is to avoid wild excursions in wattage or hr and try to keep exertion steady. Don’t use mph…
Have fun!
First, make sure that the song that is going through your head is one you like. 5.5 hours of one Kenny Chesney song would kill me. Oh, and try to know the words to the song. Just humming the tune gets old.
Foo Fighters work pretty well. Weezer writes good tunes, too.
- I take the first 15-20 minutes and ignore everyone else and just spin, trying to get some blood out of my upper body and into the lower. I’m usually top 5-8% out of the water in an IM, so the slower swimmers/faster bikers will pass me as I’m transitioning my body. I ignore 'em, ride my own race, and at about 15 minutes, start to work my bike. Definitely take a build over the 112 approach, keeping my goal time in mind, both for bike and overall. If wind is up, or weather conditions are adverse, I let go of time goals and just monitor HR and perceived effort, as that is a better indicator for me of how I need to pace myself. My goal is to ride my race and have no one pass me from mile 80 on.
- Hills I work the spin on the up, and turn the pedals ez on the way down.
- Conserve energy? see #1
- Mental approach-spend a lot of time on this. I do sports psychology, so I put together a cd for myself for the whole race, with specific motivational and technical phrases for each phase. And I keep 'em going through my mind the whole day. When I get distracted, I just go back to 'em. Some of the phrase I use on the bike are: “push at the top, pull at the bottom”; “drive the pedals”; “one gear less than I can”; “every stroke brings me home”; “i belong here, I’ve done the work, this is what I love to do; right here, right now”
- Cals/hr: about 250-300