Anybody interested in working out some logistics for the Tango? We might need to figure a few things out.
In the meantime, I took my new shoes outside for a real world run tonight. Did a 5K in reasonable time (for me). Shoes are good. I think these might work. I'm feeling surprisingly spry for my size right now. I really hope I can drop a few more pounds before the race so it will be even easier than the cakewalk I'm imagining now. I also took along my new Nathan hand-bottle with reflective strap (interesting brand name given the nature of this blog), and it seemed to be acceptable too. I was concerned that it might feel like doing 16 oz. curls for half an hour, but it was hardly noticable. Of course my arms are not the lightest things to start with, so I suppose it isn't much to add. I might have to end up going with one in each hand by the time of the Tango. This whole "no-aid-station" thing adds an interesting element of problem-solving to the race. I sweat a lot, so hydration, especially early in the race, is going to be very important. Anyone have any hints?
I tried on the 4-bottle fuel belt and that isn't going to work. I can explain in more detail later, but in a nutshell I would say the design flaw is that it can't handle a guy of my waist measurements, even though it fits. I swear I could start a company just making stuff like this. I can never find what I want. How hard is it? We could be the next Camelback.
Do you guys have your team figured out?
4 comments:
My shoes are the Adrenaline 7s (model from a few years ago.) It seems we are running in the same shoe now.
Hydration: Glass of water before you go to bed. Take a glass of water with you to bed. Drink that a couple hours before you wake up. (set an alarm if necessary). This will make it so you don't start the morning dehydrated.
If it's a hot day, I would think a camelback is going to be an important accessory. Better to carry too much than not enough.
Maybe you need to wear suspenders to hold up the fuel belt. :-)
Our Team:
Chris Johnson 13.1
Craig 20 mile Mt Bike
Matt 2.5 mile swim
Chris/Jim Orienteer
Jim 4.5 mile run
Craig/Jerry Canoe
I have a friend out here that is interested in the tango. It's kind of too late for me to get a team put together for him. Maybe if he really wants to make the trip just to do the swim for the team. I'll make other plans. The team would be better with him as the swimmer.
I was thinking that you could make 1 larger fuel belt by velcroing 2 together end to end. That also gives you double the number of bottles.
Or maybe you could devise some fuel belt like suspenders. I suppose it would sound more manly if you called it a "hydration bandolier".
Although, a camel back is probably the way to go. Better weight distribution and more water.
I was actually thinking of getting one of the bottles with the hand strap to use for my track workouts. I've been carrying a bike bottle to the track, but it's a track to hold during the warm-up and cool down runs. glad to hear that you like yours.
I am thinking I don't want to wear a Camelback for the first run. That is just too much liquid sloshing around on your back, and straps slapping you on the traps. I might toss one on for the orienteering and canoe sections, but I am confident with pre-race hydration, as Matt advises, and two hand-bottles, I will be good for the run. The bike has plenty of liquids on it, and we can have as much as we want at the transitions.
The issue with the hydration belt is not that it doesn't stay up, it's that the bottles are all loose in their holsters when it is stretched around me. Then when I run, they bounce out. See, the designers apparently mistakenly thought that people who weigh 275 pounds don't typically run far enough to require hydration. Perhaps they should be right. Unfortunately, there are at least two guys in this race alone who need water and weigh a lot.
Ah, well. It's an adventure race. Might as well be an adventure.
Note on Matt's Hydration Plan - Sleep deprivation from getting up to pee so many times throughout the night, HA!
Get the belt just under your chest line. Cinch tight, shouldn't be a problem.
If only you had had your legs removed and replaced with hollow prosthetics, the size of your thighs, hydration wouldn't be an issue. Put a hole at the top for a fill mechanism. Second advantage you could empty during the swim for flotation. Man! If you only had time to train and recovery from surgery? Bummer.
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