Getting tired of not sleeping. Been averaging about 5 hours over past week. Doesn't help that my youngest is having nightmares and forcing my wife or myself to sleep in her room. Sleeping on floor is just not comfortable. Swim Wko: 3600 meters. Race prep so intervals are longer. Pace is race pace except for 100-200s. Usually race pace minus 3-4 seconds
Morning guys. @John...sorry to hear about your youngest...hope that gets rectified soon.
I'm hitting the trainer at lunch and then I leave for Panama City Beach this afternoon. Riding 80 miles on the IMFL course tomorrow; 66 miles and an ocean swim Saturday, and then the first loop of the IMFL course on Sunday. Really looking forward to it.
@Joe sounds like a nice ride... still having trouble getting outside here in NH... gonna be another crappy weekend..grrrr.... glad Im going to tex early
@JK Bummer about the sleep interuptions... Shut down the brain and go take a nap at work... You got an in with the boss right :-)
@Dwight sounds like an awesome training weekend....
@Roy thanks for the heads up on the swim changes I missed that will check it out....
I think we (in general) underestimate the swim and the toll it takes on the rest of the race... Wanted to get in a few swim/bike bricks so threw a short swim in before todays bike..... 2100yds steady in 33:05 , 20min transitions to drive home get on bike, 1.5hr bike with 6 min v02work and 2 x 25 .85 and above intervals.... short run later..
Gonna mix it up this weekend with a longrun on Saturday and a longbike on Sunday , not because I want to but because I'm doing a 5k on Saturday , so the plan is to race the 5k for a test and then try to get in another 1-1.5hr run later in the day..... Should be interesting since I think I adapted pretty good to the longrun day after the longbike not sure how it will feel reversed.
15 progressive fun miles...started sluggish finished strong...(8:32,8:15,8:21,8:20,8:014,8:07,7:45,809,8:04,7:48,7:47,7:32,7:32,7:23,7:32)...felt strong.
Tim- I agree that we underestimate potential negative impact of lack of swim fitness impact on the race day...last year I did not swimming in the OS...then when my race prep was interrupted by bike crash...I was way way way behind on the swim fitness...it definitly put me behind the eight ball getting onto the bike (v the prior year when I was fresh hopping on the bike); so this year I was swimming all along
I 100 percent agree that value of swim training is under estimated. I've been swimming 2-4 days per week since November. Did take some weeks off or had weeks when swam 1x. Each discipline sets up the next.
Ran into some serious persistent GI issues yesterday during the long run. I'm lucky that my base is a wooded area... and I'll leave it at that. So I only ended up with ~12 miles before I had to pull the plug and call it a day. Had a hard time recovering last night and ended up eating everything in the house. Going to scrub today's assignments and see how I'm feeling tomorrow. Not stressed over it, confident in where my fitness is right now.
@Roy... all your posts always sound like you have your head screwed on right! That is the most important part of the puzzle especially as we get closer and closer... :-) Reference your run... I feel your pain or discomfort in that situation ..... I had an event a few years ago , After working a midnight shift from 10:30pm-6:30am , I decided to stop at a local park on the way home for a run , fired down an energy drink , and got to work, about 3miles into a 6mile loop I was reminded about the large bean based dinner I had , OMFG I was dying , and this park had nowhere to go , trails everywhere.... No more details.... very uncomfortable LOL
Ditto Tim Re: Roy....by the way does a bear sh*t in the woods....?..
I really abhor Thursday nite long runs...not the runs per se...but the finishing up a workout like that at 8pm...by the time I eat, relax, get to sleep... I end up not sleeping long or really well...so early Friday AM swim comes even earlier...So early that today I got to the pool and realized I forgot my bathing suit!..................aaahhhh....it may have been a subliminal action with my mind/body telling me to skip it...possible.....BIG DAY tommorrow...and I was going to do a big swim on Sunday anyway...so maybe I will just take the day.....
WTG Tim - good swimwork!...btw ...do you like the 910xt?
Longrun today done in 3 pieces..... 2 mile warm up , 5K race , 2hrs later finished up w/10 miles at EP... 2HRS total
5K was a huge PR and validates my vdot HM PR a month ago... Using Garmin data the HM vdot was 52.4 and todays 5k is 52.53 ...just uncanny isnt it???? However using the course data the HM vdot was 51.9 and the 5k is 50.9...... this is due to garmin measuring the 5k .08 miles long and the HM .11 miles long..... Either way racing and training with the garmin based numbers appears to be validated... Today's course was not flat and it was windy with numerous out and back sections , First 2 miles were the easiest and reflect in the splits 6:04,6:02, and the last mile was by far the most difficult hill/wind wise with a 6:25 pace... The elevation seems screwed up worse than normal on the Garmin files lately.
First Race Rehearsa (RR)l in the Books & I'm sorry its over...I felt great.....I did 100miles in just over 5:30 followed up with a progressive 10k run @ 8:12 avg. 8:52,8:24,8:10,7:59,7:50,7:51)....my best RR ever..I know...I know...not 6hrs or 112...but I have a route that I have used for the past 3 years since my first ever century ride/rr...and this is my RR....I see no need to add an out&back or odd loop just to do 112 or add another 20-30 min...I love comparing the results on the same course year to year etc....I rode&ran the same route last year..this year my power was right on target and I was 30min. faster on the bike and 6min (1min/mi) faster on the run...and I felt great- I hesitate to use the words easy when discussing this volume of work...but compared to how I have felt on previous similar efforts...I'm very pleased with todays results...no bike or nutrition issues (except a little too much solid food in my system which resulted in a longer than expected stop at the turnaround - I had to refill water bottles and use the porta potty at the halfway...I won't have the solid food issue during race week...was just poor planning this week...seems like all systems go.
Data: Avg. 141/NP 152/VI 1.08 (a little high but hilly and Wicked Windy today)/Avg. HR122/IF.72
Note: 1 botttle of Perform or Cytomax + 1gel per hour...I still lost a couple of pounds...need to try to get 1.5-2 bottles per hour..but it was windy and cool so thought I would be okay...I did "overdress" so micorclimate was warm...my A2 worked perfectly!
This has not been a good week for me. Unable to finish long ride due to fatigue and knee discomfort. I think the lack if sleep finally caught up with me. Crashed last night @8:30 and woke up at 7. Suppose to do long run today.
@Tim, way to throw it down! I think you posted an AG win on the dashboard? Boom!
@Joe, great work on the RR, but why didn't you go the full distance on the bike? Seriously, good job and a really nice pace build on the run.
@John, at this point, I would spend the majority of my effort trying to figure out what's going on with your recovery and your knee. With less than a month to go, there are not serious marginal fitness gains that can be made. However, there are all kinds of damage you can do to how you/your body show up the start line. I recommend dialing things back and sorting out what's going on with your issues. Good luck.
With the wife working yesterday and today, I'm taking what time and the daughter's naps will allow. I got 2:30 on the trainer yesterday ending up with a total of 0.73/220 NP. Will probably get something similar in today.
Bib numbers are up on the IMTexas website. 992 for me!
2 Quick Questions...and one I should probably know the answer to...but....is IF of a ride calculated off of Avg. Watts or NP?...and also...Target Watts (from power calculator)...are Avg. or Normalized? (for this I assume the Target is the Avg. Watts with VI of 1.00)...
@Roy. Recovery was/is hindered by lack of sleep. 4-5 hours of sleep mainly on child's floor. that plus 2 bike FTP workouts and an ABP ride (which included FTP sets) left me fatigued. With regards to knee lateral quad is tightening which means I'm going to have to dry needle the quad
@John, sounds like you've figured out the 'what' with your recent problems. My main point was to hopefully 'fix' the problems before throwing more hard sessions at your body. If we had months to go til start time, we'd have a bit of space to see how any treatment protocols affected downstream sessions. However, we don't have a lot of time. Too many of us think we have to get these last few 'key' workouts in before race day. My belief is that ironman racing really rewards the MONTHS of consistent work that we've all put in more than hard sessions crammed on top of little injuries weeks prior to gun time. We've all definitely punched the hard work time card in the last 6 months.
For example, if i missed the mark on my last long run due to fatigue, poor nuitition, or other issues, i'd note the lessons, impliment changes and move on. I wouldn't reschedule the session to try to make it up. Frankly, i did exactly that this week.
At the end of the day, we're each our own best coach. Wishing you the best of luck dialing in the last few weeks and see you in Texas!
The pool gods are seriously aligned against me this weekend....Friday I got to the pool for my pre-work swim and found that I forgot my bathing suit...honestly it was all good as I had finished up my long run really late on Thursday and as a result got little sleep was exhausted...with my RR scheduled for Saturday...I just took a rest day...with plans to swim on Sunday...Today I sleep in after my pleasant RR yesterday...wander over to the pool only to find it is closed for a swim meet today!...So it will either be a recovery day..and just kick off the week as normal and move on (heck after the RR I figure it ain't no big deal to take a recovery day)......but I just put on some new tires so I may go out and ride around a bit just to make sure all is okay (plus I want to fiddle with some seat height...) so seems like it might be a good day to do those things...
Anyway Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
BTW....was only in the 50's yesterday and today...sunny but a chill in the air...was looking at Houston weather and it was in the 70's....IDK about y'all but after my two IMLou experiences- I would love the temps to be in the 70's (even 80's)!...thoughts? I'll be ecstatic with anything between 70-90.
@Joe, funny you bring it (fiddling with seat height) up. I just got done playing with my saddle angle trying to dial in some comfort issues based on RR1. I used the ubersense app to help me adjust the saddle height after I lowered the nose a bit. Going to see how it feels during this evening's session (which hopefully happens). I don't want to adjust anything too drastic this close to game day, but I think I see a fitting in my future after Texas prior to resetting for the Ville. I hope it went well for you.
@Roy...nothing to radical here...I had moved my seat incrementally up...and on my RR I felt some irritation/pinching on my right side/sit bone...and felt it was from reaching with my leg...so I wanted to try moving the seat back down...and it felt much better today...I ripped of an hour @21mph/203NP/.92 IF/1.05VI...amazingly good ride after yesterdays RR!..(also alot of energy from being pi$$ed about the pool )
Easy/ rest/ recovery day today. Did some light swimming working on reaching, rotating and pulling. Felt good to just work on technique and not worry about pace. Was thinking of going for light jog but didn't feel right so pulled the plug. Will spend rest of day chilling
@Joe -- IF is calculated from NP. Target watts is NP. VI is calculated by NP divided by AP. Therefore the steadier the ride , the closer AP and NP are , the lower the VI . Hitting your lap button every 30 minutes makes monitoring NP much easier and will probably result in a more even ride as you target that reset number every 30 mins.
Low 30's in NH with a high just hitting low 50's today at 4pm , meant another trainer ride for this freeze baby today. 5hrs with 4 x 25 at .80 , 5 x 25 @ .75+ , IF .74 , TSS 276 , it wasnt easy but I gotta say I think it was easier doing a longbike day after and longrun day than the other way around... Did a 7 mile brick after and felt really good....Note on my run my hands were cold... sick of this weather!!! Looking forward to a swim only day tomorrow. http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/299706
Wrapping up the biggest week for IMTX build to date with 12k yards in the pool , 8hrs on the bike, 38 miles run , TSS 1141 and total hrs 16:43..... Next week will be big as well and then its all down hill....
@Joseph - April is very fickled here on the gulf coast. We tend to have a prevailing wind off the gulf that keeps the temps mild. As we move into May, this will change. Expect the highs in the upper 80s/lower 90s by the time the race comes around. The bigger challenge is the humidity. Expect it to be about 80%, This increases the heat index considerably.
Finally did get the file fixed, but lost 15 miles of the ride. Looks like I rode a little harder than plan, but not bad. I will have to see how RR#2 goes.
John - getting into and out of The Woodlands is a complete pain in the ass without the race going on. With the race it is more of a hassle. Give yourself plenty of time/patience to get into the area and to get out of the area. Also, when you get there, do some planning for parking the day of the event. You don't want to finish 140.6 miles to find that the mall has towed your car.
Penny and I always stay at the host hotel for this, it is just easier to be able to walk around versus spending an hour+ driving from our house.
Spent the day with the kiddos. Got a grand 1:37 in this evening on the trainer after they went to sleep , 0.77 and 233 NP. 3x20 @ 0.8-somethings. Not 3 hours, but better than nothing. W/U, 1st 20 minute interval and then I dropped in on SF Hell Hath No Fury. I dialed back the targets, but its hard not to jump when the music starts.
2 more good weeks, keep the consistency up and make good choices everyone!
@ John, thanks for the insider knowledge. Its good to have someone on the inside.
@ Dwight - You should like the SpringHill. It is reasonably new and the staff is terrific. I had a project team staying there for about 9 months and they took good care of them. One thing on the rooms. They are trying to be modern,so there is not much storage space.
Getting to/from the hotel can be a little bit of a challenge. Unless you are approaching the hotel from the north, it is best to cut through the Walmart parking lot off of College Park. From the race Start/Finish you would take I45 north, exit College Park. Go under the freeway and then turn right into the parking lot. Take that all the way to the hotel.
Comments
I'm hitting the trainer at lunch and then I leave for Panama City Beach this afternoon. Riding 80 miles on the IMFL course tomorrow; 66 miles and an ocean swim Saturday, and then the first loop of the IMFL course on Sunday. Really looking forward to it.
@Joe sounds like a nice ride... still having trouble getting outside here in NH... gonna be another crappy weekend..grrrr.... glad Im going to tex early
@JK Bummer about the sleep interuptions... Shut down the brain and go take a nap at work... You got an in with the boss right :-)
@Dwight sounds like an awesome training weekend....
@Roy thanks for the heads up on the swim changes I missed that will check it out....
I think we (in general) underestimate the swim and the toll it takes on the rest of the race... Wanted to get in a few swim/bike bricks so threw a short swim in before todays bike..... 2100yds steady in 33:05 , 20min transitions to drive home get on bike, 1.5hr bike with 6 min v02work and 2 x 25 .85 and above intervals.... short run later..
Gonna mix it up this weekend with a longrun on Saturday and a longbike on Sunday , not because I want to but because I'm doing a 5k on Saturday , so the plan is to race the 5k for a test and then try to get in another 1-1.5hr run later in the day..... Should be interesting since I think I adapted pretty good to the longrun day after the longbike not sure how it will feel reversed.
15 progressive fun miles...started sluggish finished strong...(8:32,8:15,8:21,8:20,8:014,8:07,7:45,809,8:04,7:48,7:47,7:32,7:32,7:23,7:32)...felt strong.
Tim- I agree that we underestimate potential negative impact of lack of swim fitness impact on the race day...last year I did not swimming in the OS...then when my race prep was interrupted by bike crash...I was way way way behind on the swim fitness...it definitly put me behind the eight ball getting onto the bike (v the prior year when I was fresh hopping on the bike); so this year I was swimming all along
Happy Friday everyone!
Reference your run... I feel your pain or discomfort in that situation ..... I had an event a few years ago , After working a midnight shift from 10:30pm-6:30am , I decided to stop at a local park on the way home for a run , fired down an energy drink , and got to work, about 3miles into a 6mile loop I was reminded about the large bean based dinner I had , OMFG I was dying , and this park had nowhere to go , trails everywhere.... No more details.... very uncomfortable LOL
Big Swim today 4500yds 9 x 500 .... Have I mentioned how much I really like that 910xt?
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/300039785
Ditto Tim Re: Roy....by the way does a bear sh*t in the woods....?..
I really abhor Thursday nite long runs...not the runs per se...but the finishing up a workout like that at 8pm...by the time I eat, relax, get to sleep... I end up not sleeping long or really well...so early Friday AM swim comes even earlier...So early that today I got to the pool and realized I forgot my bathing suit!..................aaahhhh....it may have been a subliminal action with my mind/body telling me to skip it...possible.....BIG DAY tommorrow...and I was going to do a big swim on Sunday anyway...so maybe I will just take the day.....
WTG Tim - good swimwork!...btw ...do you like the 910xt?
5K was a huge PR and validates my vdot HM PR a month ago... Using Garmin data the HM vdot was 52.4 and todays 5k is 52.53 ...just uncanny isnt it???? However using the course data the HM vdot was 51.9 and the 5k is 50.9...... this is due to garmin measuring the 5k .08 miles long and the HM .11 miles long..... Either way racing and training with the garmin based numbers appears to be validated... Today's course was not flat and it was windy with numerous out and back sections , First 2 miles were the easiest and reflect in the splits 6:04,6:02, and the last mile was by far the most difficult hill/wind wise with a 6:25 pace... The elevation seems screwed up worse than normal on the Garmin files lately.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/300532122
Feel pretty good right now but something tells me tomorrows long bike will not be fun!
How did everybody do today? I know we got a mix of RR's and Big Days going on?
First Race Rehearsa (RR)l in the Books & I'm sorry its over...I felt great.....I did 100miles in just over 5:30 followed up with a progressive 10k run @ 8:12 avg. 8:52,8:24,8:10,7:59,7:50,7:51)....my best RR ever..I know...I know...not 6hrs or 112...but I have a route that I have used for the past 3 years since my first ever century ride/rr...and this is my RR....I see no need to add an out&back or odd loop just to do 112 or add another 20-30 min...I love comparing the results on the same course year to year etc....I rode&ran the same route last year..this year my power was right on target and I was 30min. faster on the bike and 6min (1min/mi) faster on the run...and I felt great- I hesitate to use the words easy when discussing this volume of work...but compared to how I have felt on previous similar efforts...I'm very pleased with todays results...no bike or nutrition issues (except a little too much solid food in my system which resulted in a longer than expected stop at the turnaround - I had to refill water bottles and use the porta potty at the halfway...I won't have the solid food issue during race week...was just poor planning this week...seems like all systems go.
Data: Avg. 141/NP 152/VI 1.08 (a little high but hilly and Wicked Windy today)/Avg. HR122/IF.72
Note: 1 botttle of Perform or Cytomax + 1gel per hour...I still lost a couple of pounds...need to try to get 1.5-2 bottles per hour..but it was windy and cool so thought I would be okay...I did "overdress" so micorclimate was warm...my A2 worked perfectly!
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/UND...T4EEAWE6QM
Congrats on the PR Tim!...
@Joe. Nice work with RR.
This has not been a good week for me. Unable to finish long ride due to fatigue and knee discomfort. I think the lack if sleep finally caught up with me. Crashed last night @8:30 and woke up at 7. Suppose to do long run today.
@Joe, great work on the RR, but why didn't you go the full distance on the bike?
@John, at this point, I would spend the majority of my effort trying to figure out what's going on with your recovery and your knee. With less than a month to go, there are not serious marginal fitness gains that can be made. However, there are all kinds of damage you can do to how you/your body show up the start line. I recommend dialing things back and sorting out what's going on with your issues. Good luck.
With the wife working yesterday and today, I'm taking what time and the daughter's naps will allow. I got 2:30 on the trainer yesterday ending up with a total of 0.73/220 NP. Will probably get something similar in today.
Bib numbers are up on the IMTexas website. 992 for me!
2 Quick Questions...and one I should probably know the answer to...but....is IF of a ride calculated off of Avg. Watts or NP?...and also...Target Watts (from power calculator)...are Avg. or Normalized? (for this I assume the Target is the Avg. Watts with VI of 1.00)...
Thanks.
@John, sounds like you've figured out the 'what' with your recent problems. My main point was to hopefully 'fix' the problems before throwing more hard sessions at your body. If we had months to go til start time, we'd have a bit of space to see how any treatment protocols affected downstream sessions. However, we don't have a lot of time. Too many of us think we have to get these last few 'key' workouts in before race day. My belief is that ironman racing really rewards the MONTHS of consistent work that we've all put in more than hard sessions crammed on top of little injuries weeks prior to gun time. We've all definitely punched the hard work time card in the last 6 months.
For example, if i missed the mark on my last long run due to fatigue, poor nuitition, or other issues, i'd note the lessons, impliment changes and move on. I wouldn't reschedule the session to try to make it up. Frankly, i did exactly that this week.
At the end of the day, we're each our own best coach. Wishing you the best of luck dialing in the last few weeks and see you in Texas!
The pool gods are seriously aligned against me this weekend....Friday I got to the pool for my pre-work swim and found that I forgot my bathing suit...honestly it was all good as I had finished up my long run really late on Thursday and as a result got little sleep was exhausted...with my RR scheduled for Saturday...I just took a rest day...with plans to swim on Sunday...Today I sleep in after my pleasant RR yesterday...wander over to the pool only to find it is closed for a swim meet today!...So it will either be a recovery day..and just kick off the week as normal and move on (heck after the RR I figure it ain't no big deal to take a recovery day)......but I just put on some new tires so I may go out and ride around a bit just to make sure all is okay (plus I want to fiddle with some seat height...) so seems like it might be a good day to do those things...
Anyway Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
BTW....was only in the 50's yesterday and today...sunny but a chill in the air...was looking at Houston weather and it was in the 70's....IDK about y'all but after my two IMLou experiences- I would love the temps to be in the 70's (even 80's)!...thoughts? I'll be ecstatic with anything between 70-90.
@Roy...nothing to radical here...I had moved my seat incrementally up...and on my RR I felt some irritation/pinching on my right side/sit bone...and felt it was from reaching with my leg...so I wanted to try moving the seat back down...and it felt much better today...I ripped of an hour @21mph/203NP/.92 IF/1.05VI...amazingly good ride after yesterdays RR!..(also alot of energy from being pi$$ed about the pool
)
Low 30's in NH with a high just hitting low 50's today at 4pm , meant another trainer ride for this freeze baby today. 5hrs with 4 x 25 at .80 , 5 x 25 @ .75+ , IF .74 , TSS 276 , it wasnt easy but I gotta say I think it was easier doing a longbike day after and longrun day than the other way around... Did a 7 mile brick after and felt really good....Note on my run my hands were cold... sick of this weather!!! Looking forward to a swim only day tomorrow.
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/299706
Wrapping up the biggest week for IMTX build to date with 12k yards in the pool , 8hrs on the bike, 38 miles run , TSS 1141 and total hrs 16:43..... Next week will be big as well and then its all down hill....
@Joseph - April is very fickled here on the gulf coast. We tend to have a prevailing wind off the gulf that keeps the temps mild. As we move into May, this will change. Expect the highs in the upper 80s/lower 90s by the time the race comes around. The bigger challenge is the humidity. Expect it to be about 80%, This increases the heat index considerably.
Finally did get the file fixed, but lost 15 miles of the ride. Looks like I rode a little harder than plan, but not bad. I will have to see how RR#2 goes.
John - getting into and out of The Woodlands is a complete pain in the ass without the race going on. With the race it is more of a hassle. Give yourself plenty of time/patience to get into the area and to get out of the area. Also, when you get there, do some planning for parking the day of the event. You don't want to finish 140.6 miles to find that the mall has towed your car.
Penny and I always stay at the host hotel for this, it is just easier to be able to walk around versus spending an hour+ driving from our house.
2 more good weeks, keep the consistency up and make good choices everyone!
@ John, thanks for the insider knowledge. Its good to have someone on the inside.
@ Dwight - You should like the SpringHill. It is reasonably new and the staff is terrific. I had a project team staying there for about 9 months and they took good care of them. One thing on the rooms. They are trying to be modern,so there is not much storage space.
Getting to/from the hotel can be a little bit of a challenge. Unless you are approaching the hotel from the north, it is best to cut through the Walmart parking lot off of College Park. From the race Start/Finish you would take I45 north, exit College Park. Go under the freeway and then turn right into the parking lot. Take that all the way to the hotel.