At Half Vineman this weekend, it was brutally hot conditions on the run – probably around 95 degrees and that’s not counting the heat radiating off the blacktop. It’s when aid stations become crucial to your ability to survive and race well. You look for each aid station and are glad for a few steps of walking while you guzzle down a cup of Gatorade, water, or Coke.
But this year, the aid station right before the turnaround ran out. For me, they had fluids on the way out. On the way back, they had only ice cubes to give. Lucky for me, I always carry fluids with me to sip along the way between aid stations. However, I really felt for all the other people who chose to run without fluids, and especially on such a hot day like this last Sunday.
So there are two solutions to this. One is to carry fluids. The other, well…, is to finish sooner.
I do want to try racing without fluids one day. It is extra weight to carry so theoretically it should mean I should expend less energy and perform better.
The other I am EXTREMELY motivated to continue developing. I do everything I can to get faster now. I don’t burn myself, but I just train smart and consistently to keep improving my strength, speed, and time. Because finishing sooner means there is less chance that they will run out of fluids.
I’ve already experienced this last year at Ironman Austria where on the BIKE they were running out of fluids! If they run out on the bike, then what will happen when I hit the run? And I was not slow either. There, I REALLY FELT for the athletes who came in after me. It must have been really taxing to not have nutrition out there as it was mid-80s at Austria last year.
Get faster. Don’t risk the race planners screwing up and not having enough fluids on the run (or the bike for that matter).