Peter Vu's Ironman Blog - Vineman 7/31/10

Quick rundown:

1/18/2010:  Nothing - resting day after marathon.
1/19/2010: 45 Minute trainer ride. 1 hour pool session. New drills and longer swims.
1/20/2010: 1 hour trainer ride
1/21/2010: 45 Minute pool session - 64 laps in the rain. Session would have been longer but lightning and thunder caused the Santa Monica Swim Center staff to shut down the pool. Good news - SMC is open again!!! I love that place.
1/22/2010: 1 hour pool session - 80 laps or 5 x 400 yds. Longest distance yet. Btw, I love having a lane all to myself. Luckily, the weather had calmed down too so no pool closures.
1/23/2010: 40 mile bike ride (2 loops around Palos Verde peninsula) + 30 Min Nutrition Information Session- about 3.5 hours.

• Solid bike ride with lots of hills (that 2 miler in the middle is like whoa) and one really fast downill on the coast - I wish I could describe the feeling of zooming down PV, going about 30 mph, with the beautiful coast to your right - breathtaking! (also kind of dangerous)
• No falls!!!
• Each loop is 20 miles. after the first one, we came back and practiced changing one tire. then we were off for our 2nd loop. I was quite exhausted by then, but kept thinking about all the things I could eat afterwards to stay motivated. once again, a triathlon program is NOT a diet program. (craving a juicy cheeseburger so bad - Umami Burger, I'm thinking about you)
• Revelation: Ironman training is way more intense than marathon training. I was more beat up today then after my marathon last weekend.
• Nutrition session: no more Gu! (or "kid stuff" as coaches like to call it") - you need to build up reserves throughout the day for your run, so basically those 6-7 hours on the bike require proper energy intake. And no, you can't eat or drink during the swim. First hour on the bike - only liquids. Second hour - start munching on food/liquids. Third / Fourth / After - Food / Liquids. Key is to ingest your weight/2.2 = amount of carbohydrates per hour. About 70+ for me. Coach recommended CarboPro, a flavorless carbohydrate powder, that you can add to your energy drink. He also recommends a recovery product like Fluid that will help you heal faster and feel less sore. You are supposed to take it within 30 mins after exercise. The thing about triathlons is that you always have to be thinking about the next day of training. NUTRITION IS PROBABLY THE MOST CRUCIAL THING TO FINISHING AN IRONMAN. Also, you need to know what works for your body - Fluid and CarboPro might not work for you. Maybe peanut and butter jelly sandwiches work or Powerbars. You have to use these months up until training to figure all this out! What helps is to label your water bottles with numbers so you know what you need to take every hour on the course. And yes, you have to consume something every hour or you will SUFFER. Once you stop with nutrition for any brief period, you cannot gain that time back. 
• Overall, great, beautiful ride. A challenge, but sooo worth it. 
• My Saturdays are only going to get busier - we started at 7AM and finished around 2PM today too.

Diet/Nutrition: Rashmi (roommate), Stephanie (her friend) and I made this wonderful Portuguese potatoe/kale/sausage soup the night before my Saturday ride. I was still hungry later so I whipped up a quick whole wheat pasta (from TJ) with some chicken breasts and vegetables. A lot more fruits/vegetables this week for me: asparagus, tomato soup, bananas, blueberries, apples, etc. However, I get so hungry sometimes from training that I just want to eat anything (minus super greasy/fatty foods).

Tomorrow: 1.5 hour run and 1 hour swim.

Go Team!!!