Break down the wall

What are you drinking/eating during the bike portion?

Thanks for your replies.

Nutrition: On the bike, I had about 16 ozs of Gatorade, and half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (maybe 200 calories) That could be certainly part be part of it.

Is there any gel or bar or anything that has worked well for you?

Pace: Of course it could have been too fast, but it wasn't that much different than training paces. The swimming was about my pool swimming speed - the wetsuit helped, but being in open water hurt from a navigational standpoint, and I think they balanced out. The bike was a little faster than training but it felt like a strong paced race, not an all out effort.

If 16 oz of Gatorade and a PBJ was all you had for the whole race, I'm betting you ran out of fuel. I usually do 24oz of Gatorade and 3 gels during an Olympic event. Plus some extra water/Gatorade on the run.

It is almost certainly the result of your fitness and pacing. The fact that you say you typically hit the wall around two hours suggests that you are going too fast for your fitness and then hit the wall. Generally when an athlete falls apart on the run, it is directly related to going too hard on the swim and/or bike; it is likely you swam/rode too fast for your fitness and paid the price on the run.

The solution is simple; train to improve your fitness and pace your race more effectivley so that you are able to run the 10k close to your half mary pace. Of course the trick is training and pacing appropriately and that's what makes the simple solution not an easy one to implement.

Shane

Train more - what kind of advice is that?

Its like telling someone who is overweight to eat less and exercise.

Hardly. I have been running since January & I have improved to the times that you cited. My best 5K is 25 min & my best 10K is 57 min. Yes, I am working to get better & I am making progress, but those times are hardly worthless & weak.

Just remember that for every race time you are unhappy with, there are 100 others who would give their left arm for the same finish times you have.

Solid advice!

In reviewing your logs, if they are accurate you are not properly trained to do a sub 3 hr Oly.  Download a training plan and stick to it.

• July's totals

• June's totals

Interesting, because that is the exact advice I would tell someone who is overweight.

Don't read Shane's reply as just "Train more." Read the whole thing. It's all about training smarter. Find specific drills that will help your endurance. Find a nutrition plan for the race that will keep your energy up. Train in as close to actual race conditions as you can.

If you are looking for an answer or a solution that doesn't involve smarter or better training, then you are the same as the overweight person who doesn't want to hear that eating less & exercising will help them lose weight.

I got the impression the OP was being a bit sarcastic.......  I hope......

Edited by ChrisM 2013-08-05 5:28 PM

Doubt it is hitting the wall as in marathoning, although it's possible you'd benefit from some additional calories. Much more likely a matter of pacing and doing the bike leg too fast so that you weren't able to run up to your ability. Even with a run background, there's going to be some discrepancy between a run-only race and your performance in a tri. For me, if I run well, it's about 30-60 seconds over 5 km; 2-3 minutes for 10 km. I tend to run well off the bike; for many people it's more than that, closer to 10%, or about 2 minutes for someone who does 5K in 20 minutes. And it doesn't always turn out well--I've had suck (for me) races that have included 55 and 49 minute 10K's, and my first tri featured a 5K in about 27 minutes where I nearly had to walk the last half mile. (Best open times about 20/ 42 minutes.) Ugh! In both cases, my run fitness was strong at the time; it was mainly a matter of biking too hard for my fitness; in the second probably poor nutrition and hydration as well.

I find it useful to do occasional brick workouts where I really push the bike and then do a short run (maybe 2 miles if training for a sprint, 4 miles for an Oly, 6 for a HIM) to see how I feel on the run. You can probably run well off the bike if you start feeling "normal" within five minutes on the run. If you're dragging the whole way, then the bike pace is probably too fast to run well off of. I've found these very helpful in dialing in bike pace for all distances, for sprint to HIM.

For the record, this was meant to be humorous. Of course training more would help.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Huh- looking at the logs , I guess it wasn't quite as much training as I thought (though I did lose a few workouts when I hadn't charged up my Garmin). It feel like I am training all the time. I can amp up the training, at least a bit. I can certainly get to more total volume, but for me it feels like the single 3 hour block that is the killer.

I guess what I am looking for is suggestions on nutrition. What do you think is is necessary for an Olympic? I know some people who don't eat anything, and they do fine. When I have experimented with it, it hasn't made much difference - I have still felt awful after 2:30 whether or not I ate during the bike









Edited by north_north_west 2013-08-05 7:06 PM

You'll notice that I said you need to train to improve your fitness which doesn't necessarily mean more volume (although I haven't looked at your logs so more volume may be the best approach). You can also add intensity, especially in the water and on the bike, and use that to increase your training load.

Training load, which is what leads to fitness gains, should be progressive and is the product of volume and intensity. While generally the run requires more volume and less intensity, most of your swims should have lots of race pace and faster work and your bike should have lots of work right around race effort.

As for the three hour block, do some 3 hours rides or 30 minute swim, 2:30 rides or 2:40 rides, 20 minute runs, etc. If you are going to race for three hours, having your long workout be around that time can help prepare you for what it is going to be like to race for that amount of time.



Nutrition may be a small part of your problem but it is much more likely related to fitness and pacing. For someone doing a 3 hour oly, here's what I would suggest as a starting point:

Normal breakfast about three hours out

Sip (small sips) sports drink until 15 minutes out

Gel with water 15 minutes out

Sip of water 5 minutes out

Sip of water as soon as you start riding and then aim to take in 200-300Cal on the bike; I would normally go with sports drink and just sip throughout but gels and water are just as effective. Aim to take nothing in the last 5k to hit the run with a relatively empty gut.

Sip sports drink or water at aid stations, aim for about 100Cal over the first 5k and then maybe 50Cal over the last 5k.

Shane