So to answer your original question, my guess (and we’re all guessing a bit!) is that with ~8-10 hours/week of cycling plus presumably running and swimming on top of that, you’ll have pretty decent fat utilisation. And at 200W it’s reasonable to assume you’ll therefore be getting maybe half your energy from fat, maybe a bit more. But the way to look at that part of the race when you’re cruising at 200W is not an opportunity to “not pound sugar every second” but the opposite - that’s the time when you can take on a lot of fuel and set yourself up well for later in the race when it’s going to be harder to fuel. E.g. At 200W you’re burning a bit over 700cals per hour, assume half of that comes from fat, so ~360 cals from carbs which is 90g per hour. You can probably replace all of those carbs, maybe even a little more, without pushing your limits. Which means you’re going into the hilly section and then the run with your glycogen stores still pretty full.
Great way of looking at it cheers, il make sure i have the flapjacks on board and ready to go for the first half! Itll be busy on the roads too, 3000+ people, and descending, so chances are there will be loads of opportunities to reach for the food
Great summary.
Are you on the IM thread there is some experienced people that contribute to that thread?
Which IM is it you are doing? Tracked a few people this last Sunday doing IMs (and no I’m not tempted myself lol)
Its IM Wales
I have been dipping in and out but sometimes it can be hard to follow. IF i do another il choose a flatter one with a lake swim (IM Talinn in Estonia looks lovely) rather than the one in my own country that happens to be one of the harder in the world…
Complete disclosure i started to learn to swim in March/April, so its been a learnign curve for sure
Tenby, nearly went there the week before last.
Went to Swansea the week after the 70.3 instead, in the heatwave. It was a base to go around the Gower but it was too hot to travel much. Lovely around there.
Anyway, good luck, I have heard its a tough course. I started learning to swim last September, I can do a mile (with stops) but not an IM swim.
I’m chuckling here, sorry. Yes, Wales is a tougher one.
Riding up hills below your FTP is an acquired skill, as is keeping the power on the descents, and is essentially the antithesis of all road cyclists I’ve ever met. It took me a few years to be honest, but doesn’t have to. And it reaps huge rewards in the second half of the bike leg.
Come and say hi over here:
We’ve got two others down for Wales at the moment