So I survived.  I will post a breakdown of the event over the next week or so. And yes I will also be finishing my preseason cyclocross series.

Prerace

I’ve been told enough times that the key to finishing an Ironman is nutrition that I took it pretty serious.  I prepared a full compliment of key food items to get me through the day.  Keep in mind that I didn’t have any support (besides a wonderful family that puts up with these hair brain ideas and gives me time to do them!) so I need to set it all up to work with my own feed.

I also set up a transition area with all my running gear in the garage and my bike gear just outside of the pool.  I set up my bike feed area with bars/gels/water bottles in the garage as well.   I loaded the van with my bike and a cooler of food/drinks/ice.  I packed extra shoes, socks, Ibuprofen, contact solution, sunscreen, a rain jacket in the van for the run.

Fuel Available (how much I used):

• 16 bottle of Gatorade (consumed about 8)
• 2 liters of Coke (which I opened and shook a few times in an effort to flatten) (consumed about 1 liter)
• 1 bag of Peanut M&Ms (ate about ½ the bag)
• 12 Strawberry Hammer Gels (ate 6)
• 100 Hammer Electrolyte Pills (used about 50)
• 24 Clif Z Bars (ate 4 bars)

I recorded the calories and the amount of sodium in each item.  After doing some research, my goal was to consume:

• 16-32 oz. of fluids per hour (This was the toughest part to plan since I had to carry my fluids with me and figure times to swap out bottles)
• 300-500 per hour calories on the bike
• 200-300 calories per hour on the run, mostly in liquids/gels
• 500-800 mg of sodium per hour

I must have done OK because I had no cramping and urinated once on the bike, once at the end of the bike, and every 3 miles on the run.  It was cool and rainy.  Clearly the weather had a positive affect on my day and I am sure I would have gone much slower on a hot day and possibly struggled more with the diet portion.

Up next…the actual event begins.