VFF's and Triathlons

[orlin03]

Where are you from? Are you doing the Brigantine this year?

I'm in Philly, originally from North Jersey. I may do the Brigantine; haven't done it yet. I do the Sandy Hook races, and would've done Bassman if I payed attention and realized it was this weekend. I also plan on doing the Tricat and Lums Pond in Delaware this summer.

[toastergirl]

So --- I did my first 1/2 IM (ironman) of the season yesterday.  here is a mini race report:

Wore the bikilas!! they were much easier to get on during transition than I think my KSO's would have been -i think mainly because the opening is much wider.  was debating on which pair to race in up until race morning and setting up transition.  The bikilas did well and weren't really all that wet considering it poured in the morning during setup and while waiting for the swim start.  I had one small chafe spot on my left heel - but that's from some dirt/stone being stuck in there.  but not bad at all, very mild.  No other blisters or signs of chafing!

was having a strong first half of my run --- then I hit a water station that was out of water, and I was in need of taking my electrolyte pill (I use hammer nutrition's product called Endurolytes) and they said "we have HEED".  so, i took it - before I realized that what I was drinking was actually gatorage (HEED has no color, its basically clear - and gatorade is a tell tale green/yellowish color...and the taste difference....WOAH, can't even begin to tell you!)  anyhow, I had already swallowed some to take my endurolyte - and then spit the rest out.  It was too late - what I had in my stomach was enough to upset it a few miles later.  I was SO sick to my stomach that I had to stop eating my perpetuem and eventually stopped drinking water too! SO not good.  finished, but not happy with my time, nor being sick the last 5-6 miles of a 1/2 marathon - when I was just starting to get into a good rhythm and felt really strong!  Needless to say I was VERY bummed out!   

race directors swear that all they had on the course was HEED.  Uh, I am wearing a team hammer top and hammer shorts and carrying hammer pill containers - i think that I know that gatorade is green and HEED is clear. 

saw one other VFF runner there - its someone from my area that I actually know and he was wearing his blue bikilas! got quite a few "go VFFs!!" from the non-VFFers too!  my frien carl wore his VFF flows for the run in IM China - as well as Boston Marathon this year - which was very shortly after IM China. 

One guy asked me "are they comfortable to run in" -- I said 'yeah, no problems so far!' 


My take away from this race:
1- always look to make sure you know what you are drinking
2- carry some whole wheat pretzels with me in case of GI issues, as this has worked in the past for me. 
3- just be glad that this was not at IM Lake Placid.  this was a training race - a place to work out the kinks and dial in race day nutrition. 

[jignacio_2k]

So --- I did my first 1/2 IM (ironman) of the season yesterday.  here is a mini race report:

Wore the bikilas!! they were much easier to get on during transition than I think my KSO's would have been -i think mainly because the opening is much wider.  was debating on which pair to race in up until race morning and setting up transition.  The bikilas did well and weren't really all that wet considering it poured in the morning during setup and while waiting for the swim start.  I had one small chafe spot on my left heel - but that's from some dirt/stone being stuck in there.  but not bad at all, very mild.  No other blisters or signs of chafing!

was having a strong first half of my run --- then I hit a water station that was out of water, and I was in need of taking my electrolyte pill (I use hammer nutrition's product called Endurolytes) and they said "we have HEED".  so, i took it - before I realized that what I was drinking was actually gatorage (HEED has no color, its basically clear - and gatorade is a tell tale green/yellowish color...and the taste difference....WOAH, can't even begin to tell you!)  anyhow, I had already swallowed some to take my endurolyte - and then spit the rest out.  It was too late - what I had in my stomach was enough to upset it a few miles later.  I was SO sick to my stomach that I had to stop eating my perpetuem and eventually stopped drinking water too! SO not good.  finished, but not happy with my time, nor being sick the last 5-6 miles of a 1/2 marathon - when I was just starting to get into a good rhythm and felt really strong!  Needless to say I was VERY bummed out!   

race directors swear that all they had on the course was HEED.  Uh, I am wearing a team hammer top and hammer shorts and carrying hammer pill containers - i think that I know that gatorade is green and HEED is clear. 

saw one other VFF runner there - its someone from my area that I actually know and he was wearing his blue bikilas! got quite a few "go VFFs!!" from the non-VFFers too!  my frien carl wore his VFF flows for the run in IM China - as well as Boston Marathon this year - which was very shortly after IM China. 

One guy asked me "are they comfortable to run in" -- I said 'yeah, no problems so far!' 


My take away from this race:
1- always look to make sure you know what you are drinking
2- carry some whole wheat pretzels with me in case of GI issues, as this has worked in the past for me. 
3- just be glad that this was not at IM Lake Placid.  this was a training race - a place to work out the kinks and dial in race day nutrition. 

Nice race report toaster girl. I plan to do IMFL this year. I never thought of taking wheat pretzels for GI issues. Going to try some out on my training (heading to the grocery store in a couple mins..gonna have to pick some up).

Any pics of you wearing the bikilas from the tri that you don't mind sharing?

[orlin03]

Good job Toastergirl; glad you went with the Bikilas! My next race is coming up next weekend, and I'm going to turn some heads with my race gear.
 I finally tried out my biking sandals with the KSOs and the Bikilas last weekend, and they are going to rock. Here's the sizing stats: the Nashbar sandals I ordered are 'multisized' at 47/48 and my Bikilas are 43. They are a tad big, but a 45/46 (which is my regular size) would have been too small; in another brand, a 47 would be perfect.
 The sandals have excellent power transfer, and are quite easy to slide in and out of. I've never been one to leave my biking shoes on the bike for transition, but I still feel I will fly faster through T1. Getting off the bike in T2 will be even better, though; I can loosen one strap and leave the sandals on the pedals, hoping off into a run and ready to go. And I can't wait to exploit the best advantage of running in Vibrams for a multisport race: my bike and run cadence are equal, so there will be little transitioning into the final run! Now I just need to keep the bike on two wheels (last year I wrecked out of first in this race... )

[toastergirl]

Have some pics and videos too!  need to get them downloaded from the camera this week and will be sure to post here when I do!!

[toastergirl]

BTW-- I used to use wheat thins, but since my last Ironman (2007, where I discovered this worked for me) I have changed my diet and have cut out sugar totally and basically only eat whole wheat type grains - I think the wheat thins might not work for me anymore.  hence the idea for whole wheat pretzels.  am going to try them on my next long training day. 

I found that after about 80-85 miles into a bike ride, just eating perpetuem for my calories, i found that I needed something solid in my stomach, as I do suffer from acid refulx and all that liquid in my stomach and nothing solid would upset it.  I'd never had an issue at the 1/2 IM level though.  but perhaps its a good idea to pack a just a few as "first aide", you know??  worst case, I wind up throwing them out.