Posted at 13:16 on Sep 5, 2011 by Fuel Blog
Maxifuel athlete and Beat your Best winner 2011, Melissa Brand is about to embark on the Marine Corps Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Las Vegas, Henderson Nevada, in just under a week. Melissa earned the right to participate in the championship when qualifying at an Ironman 70.3 event this year and will be looking to compete at her very best at this highly prestigious event.
After a two week training camp in Lanzarote - Melissa has now landed down in the US and will be keeping us updated right up until race day as well as a detailed post race report.. Keep tuned in and good luck to Melissa from all the Maxifuel team......
Day 1
I arrived in Las Vegas yesterday afternoon, home to the gambler and stag party, less well known to the British triathlon community. Since my arrival I have had a lot of strange looks. I guess not wearing a t-shirt saying 'what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas', a fluffy feather boa, and not clutching any gambling chips makes me stand out....that or the compression socks and the lycra? I went to Walgreens to get some essentials and the man in the shop told me I looked like I needed some candy - thanks!
So all in all, I'm fitting in well! But I like it here. The sun is shining (>40 degrees C), and there's lots to see and do. This morning I went to check out the swim venue. You can't swim the actual course until the day before the race, but I went to Lake Mead where apparently the conditions are very similar. Both lakes are fed via the Hoover Dam and the surroundings are stark but stunning. The water was clean and warm, perfect.
I took a run round the baseball park near the hotel, I got some funny looks doing that too! I think the locals will learn to expect this sort of absurd behaviour year on year as the Championships becomes established here. Running in this heat is kind of foolish to the casual onlooker I must admit, but needs must. Tomorrow I will ride the bike course, I'm really looking forward to that. I saw a reasonable amount of the course from the car today and it looks like it is quite rolling but on good roads. The wind and heat could be tough though.
One week to race day and counting!
Day 2
I can't help noticing, and I know I'm not the first, quite how big everything is here. Whether it be the portions of food and drink or the size of the hotels and casinos. Not only that, things have names like, maximus, 'whopper' etc etc. It seems that size is everything here!
Today I recced the bike course. It is a cracking course, rolling throughout and very hot. I didn't actually feel too hot whilst riding, but the salt all over my arms, legs, face and kit was testament to how much fluid I had lost. My heart rate was a lot higher than normal for a given perceived effort. I need to plan my race nutrition carefully given the difference in conditions from the European climate I am used to. Maxifuel's expert nutritionist, Lynn, kindly advised me that it is generally recommended to replace between 400 and 700mg sodium per hour in the heat depending on your sweat rate, so I will be adding a Maxifuel Electro tablet (250mg sodium) to my Viper Active Drink to help replenish sodium.
To be continued.....
Reader Comments
Posted at 4:32 on Oct 27, 2011 by Cathleen
Algirht alright alright thats exactly what I needed!
Posted at 14:36 on Oct 24, 2011 by Satchell
This does look promising. Ill keep coimng back for more.
Posted at 13:14 on Sep 12, 2011 by toby Brand
Hi Mel,
Happy Birthday, by the way. Hope you are not too stiff, and that all is well. How did you get on
Lots of Love from Em, the little one and me.
Posted at 14:2 on Sep 10, 2011 by Mum
Go, Mel, go
Posted at 17:35 on Sep 9, 2011 by Barnaby Brand
Good luck Mel, enjoy your Birthday
Make sure you see all the places in CSI.
Barni Christine.
