Bike/Run Simulation

Food. Or more generally, nutrition. What to eat and drink during a race. How much to eat and drink. When to eat and drink. These are some of the difficult questions that need to be answered if you're going into a race with a plan. As much as a power/heart rate/pace plan needs to be set forth, if you don't have the calories to get through, or eat so much that your stomach rebels, the plan goes right out the window. So this morning I set out to test my nutrition plan, along with a rough test of my bike/run pacing.

I did a ride of approximately 90km (93, to be exact), and followed it with a 7km run. The ride and the run were to be at expected race pace, and I was using the same nutrition plan that I would use at Muskoka 70.3. I'm generally pretty good about drinking every 15 minutes (I'm a clock-watcher by nature), so my schedule was a Powergel with water every 45 minutes, starting at 15 minutes, and a Gatorade/protein mix with water the other times. Nutritionally, everything went well. My stomach handled everything with no issues, although I could have probably taken a bit more water. There was a little bit of fatigue in my legs by the end. I didn't feel like I overcooked any of the ride, but all the steep climbs may have taken more out of me than I expected. The ride up north won't have the same style of climbing; it will have almost all up and down, but shallower grades and longer climbs.

Once back in the parking lot, I put my bike away and changed my shoes, then headed out for a quick run. My goal was to average 4:25/km over rolling terrain. I ended up with an overall average of 4:22/km, which was pretty good. One of the better signs was a 1.5km section that included a 1km climb, where I was able to hold 4:30/km pace. The effort was harder than I expected for the whole run. I wasn't suffering, but it wasn't a cruise either. I could have held the pace for a few more kilometres. Another 14? Not sure, but I am coming into today with significant fatigue in my legs, especially the running muscles, that won't be there when I'm tapered on race morning. The heat also was an issue, so hopefully it will cool off in the next month. I guess we'll see what happens on race day. All I can do is roll the dice and see if I come up a winner.

Bike: 93 km, 32.5km/h average
Run: 7 km, 4:22/km average