Vineman 70.3 Race Week

Well, it is almost time. As most people do, I get really anxious before a race. To overcome this, I write down any questions I have about the race, and I write down my nutrition and race strategy. I got my bike from Edge Cyclesports yesterday. It is all tuned up, few new parts on it, and some super fast race wheels. I will post pictures of the amazing set-up they put me on.

On Friday, I will leave to go up North and will return next Tuesday. I am going to take a few days to enjoy the Napa Valley, and potentially some wine and cheese. On Saturday, the day before the race, I will stay as far away from all of the pre-race activities and crowds because I want to stay as calm as possible.

Unfortunately, this is a wave start, and the youngsters get hosed on the time. My wave does not start until the 7:30, which is 50 minutes after the pros. This is unfortunate because I have to deal with passing a lot of the slower people in earlier wave, and it will only get hotter as the day goes by. However, everyone in my age group must deal with this.

My knee is feeling much better. I have been able to do a few smaller runs. I have been making sure to ice my knee whenever possible and stop as soon as my knee starts to bother me. I should be good to go for the race, or as good as I will be.

My boys Mills and Chuck both finished the Austria Ironman last weekend in amazing times! Mills went sub 12 hours and Chuck went sub 11 hours. Not too shabby for being Ironman rookies!

I have been following Mark Allen's 2 week tapering plan to a T, which worked well for my Hawaii race a few months ago. Last week I ended up doing around 9 hours of training, and this week I will do around 6. This type of taper will allow my body to be completely healed, rested, and ready to rock. I have been able to get some of the best sleep I have had in a long time, since I do not need to wake up as early for a long training session.

For those interested in my Nutrition plan for a race, I will lay it out for you.
3-4 days before: Reduce fiber intake, increase percentage of calories that are from carbs (i.e.carbo loading), and reduce fat intake. I will drink fruit juice, rather than eating fruit, because it does not have the fiber, but still is nutritional. My carbo loading food of choice is obviously pasta.
Day before race: Big breakfast with carbs and little fiber. I will eat a big lunch of pasta when I am next hungry. For dinner, I will eat early and eat a small portion of pasta. Doing all of this allows my body to digest the food before I race. It takes anywhere from 8 -12 hours for your body to get rid of your meals. I will drink lots of water all day, and be sure to take on a lot of sodium. I do this by drinking Nuun and adding salt to my meals.
Morning of Race: Wake up around 4:30 and eat a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and soy chocolate milk. This will give me around 600 calories. I eat early so the food will digest. I have chosen this food because it is easy on my stomach, low in fiber, and good carbs.
Race time: I will drink some Nuun and have a GU 30 minutes before my race. This will hit me just in time for the bike to start.
On the bike: I will shoot to consume 1,000 calories. It's a mix of gels, carbo pro, and Gatorade. I also take a few Nuun tabs, which is great for sodium. I also drink enough water. I can tell if I drink enough because I will pee at least once on the bike, around mile 40.
On the run: I have a magic potion I start the run with that has some sodium and carbs. I will take water or Gatorade at every station. I will also take 1-2 GUs. This all depends on how I feel.

I think I have bored you enough. For those of you that want to track me on race day, Sunday, July, 20th, you can go to ironman.com and click on the link track athlete, under the Vineman 70.3 sign. Thanks for all of your support and I will report on how it all goes.