This past Saturday (July 16) I did an olympic distance tri (the Summit Lake Optimist tri, in a town about an hour away from Indy), the same distance as last Sunday . However, I had a vastly different day, despite the lack of a 68-mile bike ride the day before. Why?
The swim was advertised as 1500 yards, but a friend's GPS tells us it was closer to 1.3 miles, allowing for some error. That was ok, though, it was still cloudy and reasonably temperate, and the water was 81 degrees or so. The swim, while my typical slow creep, felt good. After that, things began to go downhill.
After taking my time in transition and sucking down a gel, I left on the bike. The first 15-20 mins on the bike are usually no fun, so it was no surprise to feel sluggish at the start. However, I never stopped feeling sluggish. The legs felt heavy, the body just wanted to crawl back into that nice comfortable bed that I had left at 4:30 am. Hmmm. It was only a 25-mile ride, but it felt like forever (and my time reflected that). The rough and bumpy road didn't help the disposition any, either. About half way through, the clouds dispersed and things started heating up, but it wasn't too miserable. Yet. Was happy to return to transition and choke down another gel, and get going on the run.
The run was even more pathetic than normal, 15 minutes slower than my usual trudge. By now the sun was baking everything, and there was scant shade on the run course. I didn't hurt or feel exactly tired, I just had no energy. When I was able to trudge it was at a decent pace, but I had to walk more than usual. I never felt energized. Even in the hardest races, I have moments of feeling energetic. Not this time. I finally finished in an abysmal time, but finished.
So what went wrong? I hydrated enough, I think. I got plenty of sleep the few nights before. Hmmm. I got enough rest last week so it wasn't due to a heavy training load. Maybe it was just a bad day? But why?
Pre-race nutrition looks to be the culprit. In the hot weather, I tend not to eat as much. My appetite has been down for the last couple of weeks. The night before Sunday's fabulous race last week, I had a very nice meal of steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. And wine (but I doubt that contributed to the positive day). This week, I don't even remember what I ate Friday, as it was nothing substantial or memorable. I don't think I ate a real "meal" with a plate of several items. OK, that's a start. Now what about race-day morning?
I got up at 4:30 and ate my usual bowl of oatmeal with some dried fruit in it. That was good. However, I didn't start swimming until about 8:10 or so, almost four hours later. I brought a protein shake with me, but in my morning grogginess had left it in the car. The car was parked some distance from transition, and I didn't remember the shake until we were lining up to get into the water, when I realized I was hungry. D'oh!
While I tried to hydrate on the bike and run, apparently I didn't. The lack of a need to pee until 2pm tells me that I didn't take in enough liquid, even though it felt like it at the time. This week I'm forcing myself out into the heat to practice what I've learned and try to get adjusted to the temps. Saturday is a sprint tri, which won't be nearly as tough but a good workout nonetheless. Hopefully there will be no more repeats of last Saturday!
Lessons learned July 16, 2011:
- Eat. Eat in the days before the race, eat the day of the race. Don't forget to drink the protein shake before the race (usually my ritual).
- Hydrate more than seems necessary. Make sure to drink all of the protein/carb mix on the bike. Take a gel on the bike, even if it is only a 25-miler.
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