7 November 2008
Say Hello to Lake Mead
Posted by Brad Hefta-Gaub under: Ironman; Swim; swim; triathlon.
I took a quick swim in Lake Mead… part of my tradition. I want to say hello to the water, and ask it to let me swim in it for race day. Make friends with the water.
Lake Mead is a really nice lake (at least the part I got to meet)… it is so clear, it was as clear as bath water. Apparently it’s the source of drinking water for Las Vegas.
Apparently there are are lots of fish, and often scuba diving in the lake… Next time I come to vegas I think I need to go scuba diving.
Tonight I should go to sleep EARLY (to late for that, it’s 10:16pm!) and sleep in late (ok, I can still do that, but that means missing the pancake breakfast at 8am)… So Dave and Rich, have fun at breakfast without me.
I’ve taken a ton of photos of my prep… I document all the gear I brought along, I would love to upload it now, but probably should go to bed instead.
One thing I’m struggling with is my nutrition plan, and the bag drop policy for the race… I guess I should have done more research on this ahead of time, but apparently the race bags for T1 + T2 are dropped off tomorrow afternoon before 2pm. Why is this a big deal? Well, I normally would have some nutrition in my run (T2) bag… things like prepared Perpentium + water… If I could drop these bags off at race morning, then it would be no big deal… but since I have to drop them off 14 hours earlier… I’m a little dubious about preparing and leaving it in the bags for 14 hours. Hmmm…
Of course Dave, and the race director are mocking me for wanting to use a fuel belt at all… Can’t you use the fuel we supply at aid stations? Well… because I had to train with my fuel!!!!
One idea is to leave the powder in the flasks without water… and just add some water at the first couple aid stations… That might work, and actually make my belt lighter in the race.
So, I’ll sleep on it, and make a decision in the morning.
Workout:
- Type: Swim
- Date: 11/07/2008
- Time: 22:24:37
- Total Time: 00:12:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 130
- Max Heart rate: 146
- Distance: 365.76 m
- Average Pace: 3:16.22/100m
7 Comments so far...
Karl On Sea Says:
That’s a tough one. I’d probably go with powder in the bottles & mix at the aid stations, but it’s not ideal - too much faffing about when you least need it. I think you’re dead right to go with the fuel belt though. Race day should be about doing exactly what you did in training - it’s no time for innovation!
Hopefully you’re asleep by now . . .
leisa Says:
Brad–May the Ironman gods smile kindly upon you! Have a terrific race; I admire your energy and enthusiasm.
rhcp Says:
have a great race! we will be thinking of you and sending good ironman karma!
Michelle Halsne Says:
Wow another big race. God bless and thanks for sharing. See you when you get back.
Brad Hefta-Gaub Says:
FYI: I’ve decided to mix up my run fuel today, and put it in the bag.
I don’t know how stable the perpentium is, I’ve never left it out for 30 hours (likely when I will start to use it)… but I guess, if it tastes bad I can always dump it and use the fuel supplied by the race.
I little bummed that I didn’t know this race detail ahead of time (I guess it was burried in the pdf) but… oh well. Not gonna let it bug me.
Brad Hefta-Gaub Says:
Spoke to the expert from Hammer Gel at the expo, he said “NO WAY” would the perpetium (I never spell that right) be good after 30 hours… so after thinking about it some more, I’m going to take my flasks off of my belt, just keep the pockets with the sports beans in them (and my phone), and use the gels from the race aid stations.
This shouldn’t be that big of a deal, since I don’t per se depend on the perpetium during my run section…
