I'm doing (another) modified week this week. I'm racing a half marathon Sunday, assuming there's no ice storm. Hey, it'll be late April, but why not? The weather has been crap all month!
Monday and Friday Swim only
Tuesday and Thursday Hard Bikes (Tuesday longer than Thursday) Short runs as time/life/stress allow.
Wednesday Swim and moderate interval run.
Saturday off (if you can count a 15 hour day of driving kids to early swimming practice and then half way across the state for four soccer matches and back) "off". :-)
Sunday race.
So today was swim.
500 warmup easy at 1:40 pace
300 various drills
20 x 50 on 1 minute take off intervals: mostly 42.x (1:24-1:26 pace)
600 pull with buoy moderate 1:33 pace
3 x 100 as last 25 "Tarzan" 1:36 - OK...this was the best thing.....that "Tarzan" really slows you down...so i was moving pretty well.
50 more as the pool was about to close....1:24 pace.
2600 for the day...a little lower on the volume because of the rest on all the 50s and the slow drills.
I was going to run this morning but my calendar broke the wrong way and I had to fly out to DC tonight. So with no swim on the horizon I elected to swim in the morning and defer the run to tomorrow (when I'll hopefully be able to do the swim/run day that was scheduled for today).
In any case it was a decent swim. I was able to keep up my pace throughout the workout although it became progressively more difficult throughout.
Overall 2900 SCY, avg pace 1:39/100. Avg efficiency 38, 10 strokes/length. Took 1:00 rest between each MS.
Matt, why are your warmu up and cool down so FAST? Maybe translate running ethos to swimming ... "Americans run their slow runs too fast and their fast runs too slow" according to East African training philosophy.
My wko today was running intervals on the track. Biked there (7.5 to track, 9.5 back @ 0.7 IF), then 2 x 1 mi @ 6:43/46. Abou 10-15 seconds/mile faster than I had been doing last month.
1:50 IF 0.94, TSS 160....still a little lower than those 3 hour rides, but nothing to be done about it. The last interval started getting really pretty hard. Started standing, playing with different gears, etc etc. Hoping for a brief run later.
@ Al -- really I'm still trying to find more "gears". I've gotten a bit better about this in running but if I'm going to up my run volume and do a marathon this year I have to do even better at this. In swimming I just have no sense for pace. I guess I have sense for effort level but I'm a shitty enough swimmer that the correlation between effort and RPE is weak and I spend most of my time just trying to maintain my form and concentrating on that. There's also a strange phenomenon during my warmup whereby my arms don't begin to feel at all tired for the first 200 yards or so and thus I always end up being really fast out of the gate before settling into a pace that is more that the one I'll hold for the longer sets.
I got the run in this morning in DC. It was not "warm" (mid-60's) but it was warmer than I'm accustomed to given the Chicago temps have been 40's or colder up to now. I also went into the run pretty hungry, having eaten a decent dinner last night but not much throughout the day, and no breakfast before the run other than a gel. As a result the run was pretty tough and my HR was MUCH higher than normal.
I did the usual run from this particular hotel, which involves a slight elevation gain in the warmup and first mile repeat, then a more significant gain in the second mile repeat. It's an out-and-back route so this makes the second interval really tough but the third interval easier. The fourth is flat but tough because you're starting to tire, and today it had a headwind. I could tell I was tired and that my cadence dropped by a step or two (which a later look at the data confirmed).
I felt okay and hit pace targets although as I mentioned my HR was super-high and the end of the run was damn hard. But as usual I felt great once it was done and dusted.
When I landed back in Chicago this evening I went home to spend some time with my kids, then after they went to bed I headed to the pool. The workout didn't feel tough but my paces were about a second per 100 off what they were yesterday. Also I felt a hint of a cramp in my calf during the last 300 so I stopped it, took 60' rest / stretching, then did my 50's and added 4 extra 50's to account for the missed yardage in the incomplete 300.
RUN – overall 8.58 miles in 1:00:02, 7:00 pace. Current training VDOT 52 (z4 – 6:38, z3 – 6:45, z2 – 7:02)
500 x 2: 1:36, 1:35 400 x 2: 1:35, 1:35 300 x 2: 1:34, 1:35
6 x 50 as fast/slow: 1:23, 1:34, 1:27, 1:40, 1:27, 1:40. Total 3100 1:36 ave.
Later I ran. My legs were feeling fatigued from yesterday, and I want to be fairly fresh for Sunday, so I kept it pretty easy: warmup plus 4 x half-mile. Kept warmup VERY easy. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299518390
4 x half miles at 6:26, 6:18, 6:20, 6:27 pace. Average 7:47 pace for 5.5 miles.
In NYC tonight and tomorrow so no way to ride the bike. So the plan was to swap Wednesday/Thursday and get the long run knocked out tonight in Central Park. I even changed my hotel to be on the park so I could do this run.
I got to NYC after some brutal delays at ORD. My original UA flight ended up arriving LGA 4.5 hours late, although I transferred to an AA flight that was only 2.5 hours late. I got to my hotel and had 90' until sunset – which was exactly how long I planned for the run (I'm truncating many of my long runs as I did last year…I'll do some 105' and 120' runs but need to build to that given I haven't run >86' all year).
I had a gel and hit the park. I was worried because my legs were still feeling pretty shot from the intense 60' run yesterday morning, and sure enough I had nothing. My cadence was incredibly low and after the 15' warmup it was clear that accelerating to HMP for the 12' intervals was not going to happen. In fact I couldn't even hit my z2/MP at any point during the run. It was quite brutal and I thought about quitting a few times during my first loop of the park. But I forced myself to begin the second loop and sure enough I settled into a rhythm and felt ok. I still wasn't running anywhere near my target paces, but my legs felt ok and I was just cruising along. It turned out the second loop was quite a bit faster than the first.
I will say that all of this volume is a shock to the system. I'll be really interested to see how the bike goes tomorrow night (and it will be LATE…my flight doesn't land until almost 9pm). Also the Central Park loop is not at all flat so I do expect some quad soreness from the downhills as well as general muscle soreness overall.
Overall 12.15 miles in 1:27:37, 7:13 pace. Current training VDOT 52 (z4 – 6:38, z3 – 6:45, z2 – 7:02)
Loop 1 – 6.08 miles in 44:25, 7:19 pace. Avg HR 158, max 175, avg cadence 87 Loop 2 – 6.08 miles in 43:12, 7:06 pace. Avg HR 171, max 182, avg cadence 88
Took Monday and Tuesday off, back at work yesterday. Started the day with a 2700 SCM swim, started off well, then a few minutes of what felt like running out of energy after about 1000m, but 10 minutes later my rhythm was back. Good swim.
Did the bike that was scheduled for Tuesday last night - 3 x 15' z4 which went well but I had to take 20" breaks every 3' during the FTP intervals. Those breaks were just standing up without changing gears for 25-30 pedal strokes, without trying to maintain power. So, considering that a good workout also!
I'm starting to get burned out a bit though. Last year I lost a lot of fitness when life got in the way, started again with the NOS and have basically been doing intervals continuously for the last 5 months. For a guy like me that needs mental and physical breaks every now and then, it's too much.
Ben - I am totally with you. It's one reason I was pleased with the shortening of the OS season. Did you take a week off at the end of NOS? When is your race? if it's 6 weeks or more, maybe talk to Patrick, but if the mental thing isn't there NOW and you have several weeks left, I think you're better off taking off a whole set of weekdays...just going for an easy run or ride if you feel like it TOTALLY GUILT FREE than you are trying to mow through when there is no mojo at all. I had a great brain reset last week (ending my OS) just doing stuff that wasn't mentally taxing to me...I swam a few times because I enjoyed doing it. I went for a 4-5 mile run for the heck of it mid week...and then the next weekend back I still didn't do any FTP, even if I WAS doing a lot of 85%. For me, that was a big mental reset and I'm feeling ready to go again. Getting burned out is like getting sick...it's usually better to address it up front than it is to let it linger!
Great advice William, thanks! I'm only 2.5 weeks out from IM 70.3 SG so luckily it's close enough I'll make it without too many problems. Once that is done I'll do some unstructured training for a bit, it will do me good for sure. :-)
After NOS I planned to take a week off but ended up sick and had to do a lot of travel for work that week. It definitely did not help with my recovery. Week after I gradually felt better and ran a half marathon at the end of that week and then jumped into HIM adv wk 10.
With 2.5 weeks left, you've still got a little time if you want to take a few days...especially if you can move your life around enough to get in the "weekend" workouts some time during next workweek. The two key workouts are the long run and the Saturday ride. Sunday bike comes next. If you need a weekend off to get your head straight for race day, I still say do it. You can think about whether to rejigger the week (or ask Patrick) or just move on.
It is MUCH too early for you to get burned out. Based on your sig you have a hell of an aggressive race schedule stretching all the way out to IMWI and spread in such a way that you'll always be in the throes of training. Not all of these can be "A" races, so I suggest you insert some unstructured weeks into the schedule and chunk your season into "halves" (maybe unequal in duration…depends on your most important races).
Overall I'd really think some unstructured time after Syracuse and before you start the IMWI build would be warranted. The issue is that the start of the IMWI build is probably right about the time of Syrause…
Matt, Syracuse is a race for fun with no goal expectations, and about 10 weeks out from IMWI. My focus will definitely be on IMWI after IMSG. I'd like to go back to something I did 2 years ago when training for IM California and Vineman FUll (first IM distance race), when I took a 5 week break in between 12 week HIM plan and race, and starting the 12 week IM plan. (I was not an EN member but using the EN training plan). That worked really well, I set record FTPs during IM training and had an IM race that beat all my expectations. That 5 week rest was random training, club rides, do what I felt like, but monitoring PMC to not let the CTL drop too far, but still trying to maintain a somewhat positive TSB as much as possible.
Ben, sounds like a good plan. You may surprise yourself at Syracuse. Last year my goal races were Kansas in June and Vegas in September, but I had Racine in the middle of those two in mid July. From Kansas to Racine I did totally unstructured training including a vacation in Colorado over July 4 where I brought my bike and did a couple of long rides but with no intervals or structure at all. I did minimal running and only did one run over 60' between Kansas and Racine. My CTL dropped ~18% from 2 weeks before Kansas to 2 weeks after then stayed flat until Racine. My TSB was around zero or very slightly negative during that period. I approached Racine as a B race where I would experiment with some new execution ideas including a sodium loading protocol that could have easily left me as a DNF if it backfired. AND...in that race I set a 9 minute half-iron PB. So, as I said, you may surprise yourself!
Brief bike ride yesterday: 110% FTP intervals. 71 TSS in 47 min. 237 NP. Jelly legs at end. Today just a swim; tomorrow drive kids around all day, ans Sunday race!
The race I'm doing is a small one. Just got this email. I'm hoping this doesn't portend bad things:
Half marathon’ers: As a reminder, this is an open course. The route will be similar to last year’s event with a different start location – St Edmond’s School at the Martin Luther King Drive and 6th Ave North intersection (or there about). It will be an open course, consisting of road with concrete and asphalt surfaces, cement trail, gravel, and some grass. Road portions of the course will not be fully blocked off, so please be cautious of traffic. Please see attachment for route map and become familiar with it, which also includes porta-pots and water/PowerAde locations. Please also help keep our city clean and be kind to our volunteers by being mindful about where you throw your cups. Thank you J
I'll let you know if there are steeplechase pits, too. :-)
Today's swim wko was an EN classic, one I could compare to at least 4 others since 2009 at this point in a long course build, an endurance swim geared for RR pace minus 2-3 sec. Overall, a successful wko based on the RR I did less than a week ago, and compared to others in years' past. Now if only the water in Sand Hollow Reservoir is somewhat calm on race day, I can shoot for a 35 min swim.
2 x 500, target 8:10-15: 8:18/10
3 x 300, target 4:54-57: 4:54/53/54
4 x 200, target 3:16-18: 3:15/14/18/15
To summarize the comparison: I'm still about 2 sec/100 slower than I was in 2009/10, and about 1-2 sec faster than I was after I first re-built my swim stroke in first half of 2011. Confidence means everything going into a race.
With the crazy weather in Chicago the scene at the United gates at LGA was bedlam yesterday. Luckily I made it home, but I didn’t get on the bike until almost 10pm and hadn't eaten much all day long. From the start of the z3 portion of the warmup I could tell the workout would not go well. I had intended a MS of 4x5' @110% but during the warmup already decided to cap the interval length at 4'. Strangely my HR was not out of the normal range, but my legs were not feeling it and RPE was off the charts.
Halfway through the first interval I decided to cut it at 3' and knew the second one wasn't going to happen. I resolved to do 2' more just to get to the 30' mark then I got off the bike. Immediately I felt it was the wrong call to totally throw in the towel so I turned the TV back on and finished the 60' workout with 2x14'(2') for an even 30' at z3…a set that was way harder than it should have been.
Overall 60' NP 211, IF 0.829. Full warmup of 10' easy/z1 then 3x3'(1')@z3. Then the main set:
Despite two failed workouts in a row – including the bike at 10pm last night – I hit the pool this morning. And it was a great swim!! I was able to keep my form throughout the whole workout with a strong stroke and felt great.
Overall 2800 SCY, avg pace 1:39/100. Avg efficiency 37, 10 strokes/length. Took 1:00 rest between each MS. My watch triggered a 25yd length during my rest due to some arm movements.
So on Thursday I did the run as per plan, legs feeling tired from the bike the day before, but it went well. Pace was a little affected by some rollers and hills in the course. 30' z1 --> NGP 8:27 min / mile (target 8:54) 20' z2 --> NGP 7:12 (target 7:30) - there was a big hill in this interval, which caused my NGP to go up 15' z3 --> NGP 7:16 (target 7:14) - there was a big downhill in this interval
Then some z1, 4 x 20" strides and 10' walking as per plan. Good run!
Friday wasn't able to go swim as I had to be at work early. Today is supposed to be a race rehearsal, but right now it's snowing outside so I've pushed it out to tomorrow when weather should be much better. Today I'm catching up on what I was supposed to do yesterday, started with a 3000m swim, and will do the run later this morning.
Matt - It's legit...chip timed. But we'll see! Maybe the swim was great cuz you weren't so tired from the last couple days! :-)
My Friday swim was my only workout, as I ease into the running race on Sunday. I've been working on my swim in a way more than just doing the yards in yet another attempt to improve a bit swimming...this year with not as much time commitment given to it as I did last year with the masters swimming. Anyway, today was a day for fast swims with lots of rest. More like a swimmer's workout than a normal triathlon one...but again, I'm trying to build some specific arm strength.
You can tell the rest from it being only 4000 yds in almost 90 minutes pool time. :-)
600 wu at 1:29 pace 300 us as 25 fly/75 free 1:42 pace
Here, I should note that my fly sucks. It's a strength exercise, not because I am trying to be studly. The 75 is mostly "recovery" from the fly...
10 x 50 as 4 with 10" rest, two sets of 3 with 2-3 sec rest, 1:25-1:28 pace 8 x 25 as last 10 yards sprint, then 100 cool down 10 x 50 very hard on the 1:30 release...almost like a VO2 bike set. Mostly 1:20-2:22 pace
4 x 200 as 25 fly/75 free
4 x 100 hard at 1:28-1:29 pace with ~1 minute recoveries
Run done per Plan, the math didn't quite match with the description i noticed so did 15 min warmip on the trainer at z1 pace 8:54/mile, then 1 mile at 2% at 8:12/mile, 1 mile at 3% at 8:/mile, then 1 mile at 4% at 8:12/mile, then 5' z1 and 5 min walk for a total of 50 mins. Felt good, every increase in incline would raise the heart rate by about 5 beats / min. Legs did great, it seemed like a rather easy workout compared to threshold work on the treadmill.
Today's workout was the typical EN Saturday FTP bike. Per my usual protocol I intended to reduce the 180' to 130', but by the time I finished the structured sets it was almost 145' of trainer time down and dusted. I watched all of Mission Impossible and then a TV show about a BBQ competition. After skipping the run yesterday and eating a big dinner my legs were fresh and despite the workout being a tough one, I hit all the numbers with only a slight power fade in the final z4 interval. I also made the call for the z3 to do 3x16'(3') instead of 4x12'(2')…after all the z4 I just couldn't bear the thought of 4 intervals of anything! By the last z3 my legs were just dead. I have no idea how they'll respond to the 120' ABP on the trainer tomorrow…yikes…
For the brick run I committed to myself that I'd settle into whatever pace my legs would give me and be happy with it. I started off seeing around 7:30 pace on the watch and I committed to being perfectly happy jogging it at that pace the whole time. Somehow my legs felt okay and my stride was quick and smooth (maybe due to the massive "warmup" on the bike!) and I ended up settling into a typical 6:40-ish pace for most of the rest of the run. In the last 2 minutes I started to feel an early onset quad cramp but by then the run was almost over.
Overall a great workout!
Bike – overall 143', NP 222, IF 0.875. Full warmup of 10' easy/z1 then 3x3'(1')@z3. Then the main set:
Today i did my first Big Tri Day (details below). I posted this in the CDA forum, but thought i would also post here as i'm doing St. George in 2 weeks on my way to CDA. Any comments , suggestions, or advice is very much welcome. Thanks!
*******
Today i caught a break with the weather and was able to complete my Big Tri Day. Overall i finished feeling well and like i could continue to keep running. That's a good thing, because the last i checked IM CDA doesn't end at mile 8. But all in all, today was a good day. I welcome any input or suggestions so have at it.
AM - Woke up about 6:30 had a 1 cup applesauce and whey protein powder. Drank a sports drink and slammed 1 gel before heading to the pool
Swim - Started the swim at 8am. Did 3200yds in 1hr and 2 mins for a 1:55/100yd pace . I took it easy and just tried to stay steady. This was the longest swim i have done in several months and by the end i was dragging and i could feel my form slipping. I need to increase yardage on swims as i get closer to CDA. I'm assuming the IM plan will start to ramp up the swim volume.
Bike - The bike went well today. The stats are:
75.6 miles in 4hrs 13mins: Avg Power:151 W Max Power:485 W Max Avg Power (20 min):174 W Normalized Power (NP):171 W Intensity Factor (IF):0.721 Training Stress Score (TSS):218.4 Work:2,285 kJ
Again, i tried to take today steady. My VI is getting better but it is still over 1.1. Riding steady is most definitely a skill that will take me some time to master. The good news is sometimes when i bike i hit a rough patch around mile 50-55, but not today. I felt great the whole time. By the end my neck was pretty sore but i believe that's me getting used to being aero again. In terms of nutrition i had one power bar, 3 power bar gels, 1 salt stick, and about 54ounces of ironman perform.
Run: - I think i totally mis-paced the run. I did 8.56 miles in 1:07:33 for 7:54 pace. My Z1 pace is 8:32 so i believe the guidance is to take your zone 1 pace and add 30 sec/mile. I just couldn't make myself slow down to that pace without it seeming like i was walking. Also, i felt really good for pretty much the whole run although at the end it was starting to catch up with me. My learning here is slow down no matter how slow it feels when you start the run. Easy to say, but tough to put into practice. That will be an area of focus during my upcoming RR. In terms of nutrition i took in 3 cliff blocks, 1 gel, and about 12ounces of IM perform during the run.
One question.. Does 54oz on the bike and 12 oz for the run seem a little light or is that OK. It was very cool today about 45-52 so that's one data point. I felt good throughout, although i did have a slight headache when i finished.
Again, any input is very welcome. Now i'm going to relax for the rest of the day so i can crush tomorrows rest day
Race rehearsal today! Opted for a local route with a loop I repeated 7 times, each time there's approx 500ft of climbing. Most of it comes from one specific climb. I opted for a climbing route because SG isn't flat either, and it would be a good test to minimize VI on a course that would tend to lead itself to a high VI. Total bike time was gonna be somewhere just under 3h, probably a bit longer than what I should expect at SG. (My bike split at Oceanside was 2h35, as a reference).
Target for the bike was 240 Watts NP for the first 30', and 260 for the rest. I did 275 at Oceanside but because the SG course will be harder I lowered target power to end up with a similar TSS since SG course will take longer. Target for the run was z2 + 30" = 8:00/mile for the first 3 miles, then 7:30/mile for the remaining 3.2 miles
Nutrition - opted for Infinit at 250kcal / hr on the bike, and same on the run. Nothing else.
Bike: - first 30' felt great. Ended up at 246 watts, VI 1.05 - remaining part took 2h24', averaged 262 watts, VI 1.05 Legs felt good, steady, powerful and consistent. THe main climb is too steep to stay low enough in power (I'm doing >300 watts every lap) and parts of the descent are too fast and just require cruising. So I'm happy with a 1.05 VI.
Run: - was also hilly, did an out an back. Out = gradual uphill, steep downhill, and coming back it's the other way around obviously. - first 3 miles had some difficulty finding my rhythm, and was HUNGRY. I had a powerbar in my pocket, took one bike of it and felt much better. Normalized pace 7:58 - return did great, the hill was tough but then felt great. NGP 7:23/mile
In summary, I think it went perfect, good bike, great run, had good speed and would have been able to keep it up for longer. No stomach issues / bloating like at Oceanside.
Still have a few things to figure out (and advice would be very much appreciated): - Today's weather was cold, it was 32 when I started. SG is gonna be hot. How do I adjust for that? - Nutrition on the bike is all set but what should I do on the run? I ran with Infinit powder and a fuel belt, but do't want to be carrying my nutrition up and down those hills - I need to figure out how to pace myself at SG. From what I recall, it'll be either uphill or downhill, whereas our typical training paces are based on flats... so how do I determine the optimal pace on the climbs? RPE?
@ Mark & Ben...good job today guys with your Big Day & RR, respectively. Your preparation is on track for some good races in the next couple of months.
Mark - I suggest you practice walking 30 steps each mile on training runs to simulate walking thru aid stations. This will help you from cooking yourself at the start of the HIM or IM run, which is where most people get themselves into trouble. Save the speed for the last 6 miles of the IM run & run will pass dozens if not hundreds of people who went out too fast and are now walking while you're still running. Also, your liquid in-take seems low. Ok - it was a cool day today, but on a day with temps above 65*F I think you'd get dehydrated with that same amount of fluid. Have you done sweat test to know how much you sweat? If not, see the wiki for instructions on how to it. Finally, I did CDA 2 years ago and the weather can be deceptive @ that race. It was 45*F when we went into the water but it was 80*F by the run. Many people got into trouble b/c they didn't increase their H2O intake as it got hotter. Much better to drink too much and have to pee more often than cramping up at mile 18 of the run.
Ben- If it is hot, you just have to slow down. Some of the EN stats gurus created a heat adjustment calculator based on hundreds of IM run data points. It tells you how much you have to slow down depending on the temp and humidity expected on race day. You put in your VDOT and forecasted weather conditions and it gives you a new a new targeted run pace. It has proven to be very accurate. Check out the Wiki for how to use it. It is one of the coolest things in EN and isn't shared outside of EN.
Not sure what to tell you about carrying Infinit. I use it, it works great for me, so I'm happy to carry it. For a HIM, I run with a fuel belt and fill 2 bottles with concentrated Infinit and supplement with water from the course. For an IM, same plan except I place 2 additional filled bottles of concentrated Infinit in my run SNB. When I get to SN, I just swap the 2 by-now empty fuel belt bottles for 2 full ones. so I am carrying the nutrition but at least I never have to mix the powder with H2O during the race and I can sip it whenever I want.
I've had a crazy week with traveling for work, delays on flights, flooding of my backyard (at least house was dry, thankfully). I got all the workouts in a completely mix-up schedule vs. the plan, but at least they are done & went well. Yesterday, I was hoping to ride outside but there was a dusting of snow on the ground so it was 3.5 hour indoor ride. Did 2 spin classes...I ignore what the instructor says and follow the EN interval plan, monitoring my watts. The TTT is 4 weeks from this weekend. Today I'm doing a TTT mini RR...this morning I swam 2200 meters (WU then, 10x 200 with 20" rest between each 200), rode 25 miles on the trainer @ 225W (low Z3), then ran 3 miles on TM with 1.5 miles @ 9:06 pace (Z1) and 1.5 miles @ 7:50 (Z2) pace. Resting now and then later today I'm going for an outdoor 25 mile ride followed by another 3 mile run. Trying to get use to doing 2 race efforts the same day to simulate the Saturday of the TTT which has us doing an Oly in both the morning and afternoon.
@ Ben - congrats on what sounds like a perfect RR, except for the weather. I'm delaying my RR until Wed, when it promises to be the warmest day of the year so far (maybe hitting 70F)
My thoughts on your questions: adjusting for the temp: not a worry on the bike, you'll be moving, so will remain cool, and it probably won't get over 80F during that time. On the run, follow the obvious cooling measures - sponges under shoulder straps, ice in various spots (I found the back pocket of my tri-bibs to be a great spot to stuff ice, others say hold some in your fists), more fluid intake. see pacing below.
Run nutrition - go with the course provisions, no need to carry *anything*. Mix water and perform to taste, drink to thirst, probably one-two cups each aid station. 4 oz of perform @ each aid station @ your pace will = 250 cal/hour +/- - should be plenty for an HIM, considering you're taking perpetuem on the bike.
Run pacing affected by gradient of course and temperature. Myself, I just go by RPE, but then I've been dialing it in for over a decade. You can use HR instead of pace as a fairly good indicator, remembering that it will lag a bit (30 sec or so) as you transition from down to uphill. Trying to hold a steady HR throughout the run is part of how I learned to race, allowing for a bit of drift upwards towards the end. Some people have said you can start the run @ the HR you were holding for the last part of the bike.
Thanks for the recommendations Al - for the run i can not use Perform, i have had many problems with bloating during the run and what they all had in common was that i used drinks like Perform or gels with fructose. Otherwise I would definitely just rely on Perform - but i think it is one of the contributors to serious bloating like at IMSG last year, and IM California this year.
HR as target seems like a great suggestion, i think i will dig through a bunch of run and race files and see if i can find a bit of a target.
Comments
I'm doing (another) modified week this week. I'm racing a half marathon Sunday, assuming there's no ice storm. Hey, it'll be late April, but why not? The weather has been crap all month!
So today was swim.
In any case it was a decent swim. I was able to keep up my pace throughout the workout although it became progressively more difficult throughout.
Overall 2900 SCY, avg pace 1:39/100. Avg efficiency 38, 10 strokes/length. Took 1:00 rest between each MS.
Paces:
Warmup 400 – 1:37
MS:
- 2x500(20) – 1:39, 1:40
- 2x400(15) – 1:39, 1:39
- 2x300(10) – 1:38, 1:39
Cooldown 100 – 1:42
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298417643
Matt, why are your warmu up and cool down so FAST? Maybe translate running ethos to swimming ... "Americans run their slow runs too fast and their fast runs too slow" according to East African training philosophy.
My wko today was running intervals on the track. Biked there (7.5 to track, 9.5 back @ 0.7 IF), then 2 x 1 mi @ 6:43/46. Abou 10-15 seconds/mile faster than I had been doing last month.
Indoor trainer, 7 x 10 min at FTP to make up for the shorter length. 2.5 min rest intervals http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298940851
1:50 IF 0.94, TSS 160....still a little lower than those 3 hour rides, but nothing to be done about it.
The last interval started getting really pretty hard. Started standing, playing with different gears, etc etc.
Hoping for a brief run later.
I did the usual run from this particular hotel, which involves a slight elevation gain in the warmup and first mile repeat, then a more significant gain in the second mile repeat. It's an out-and-back route so this makes the second interval really tough but the third interval easier. The fourth is flat but tough because you're starting to tire, and today it had a headwind. I could tell I was tired and that my cadence dropped by a step or two (which a later look at the data confirmed).
I felt okay and hit pace targets although as I mentioned my HR was super-high and the end of the run was damn hard. But as usual I felt great once it was done and dusted.
When I landed back in Chicago this evening I went home to spend some time with my kids, then after they went to bed I headed to the pool. The workout didn't feel tough but my paces were about a second per 100 off what they were yesterday. Also I felt a hint of a cramp in my calf during the last 300 so I stopped it, took 60' rest / stretching, then did my 50's and added 4 extra 50's to account for the missed yardage in the incomplete 300.
RUN – overall 8.58 miles in 1:00:02, 7:00 pace. Current training VDOT 52 (z4 – 6:38, z3 – 6:45, z2 – 7:02)
Warmup: 10' @ 7:18
4x 7'(4') – 6:36, 6:38, 6:21: 6:28
(4' recoveries 7:42, 7:58, 7:54, 8:02)
Remainder time 6' @ 6:47
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298851327
SWIM – overall 3300 SCY, avg pace 1:38/100. Avg efficiency 38, 10 strokes/length. Took 1:00 rest between each MS.
Paces:
Warmup 400 – 1:39
MS1:
- 2x500(20) – 1:38, 1:39
- 2x400(15) – 1:40, 1:41
- 1x300(10) – 1:41
MS2:
- 10x50(20) – 1:31:, 1:30, 1:29, 1:30, 1:30, 1:30, 1:28, 1:30, 1:31, 1:32
Cooldown 150 – 1:42
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299110470
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299387962
400 warmup at 1:44 pace. (I go slow.) :-)
500 x 2: 1:36, 1:35
400 x 2: 1:35, 1:35
300 x 2: 1:34, 1:35
6 x 50 as fast/slow: 1:23, 1:34, 1:27, 1:40, 1:27, 1:40.
Total 3100 1:36 ave.
Later I ran. My legs were feeling fatigued from yesterday, and I want to be fairly fresh for Sunday, so I kept it pretty easy: warmup plus 4 x half-mile. Kept warmup VERY easy.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299518390
4 x half miles at 6:26, 6:18, 6:20, 6:27 pace. Average 7:47 pace for 5.5 miles.
I got to NYC after some brutal delays at ORD. My original UA flight ended up arriving LGA 4.5 hours late, although I transferred to an AA flight that was only 2.5 hours late. I got to my hotel and had 90' until sunset – which was exactly how long I planned for the run (I'm truncating many of my long runs as I did last year…I'll do some 105' and 120' runs but need to build to that given I haven't run >86' all year).
I had a gel and hit the park. I was worried because my legs were still feeling pretty shot from the intense 60' run yesterday morning, and sure enough I had nothing. My cadence was incredibly low and after the 15' warmup it was clear that accelerating to HMP for the 12' intervals was not going to happen. In fact I couldn't even hit my z2/MP at any point during the run. It was quite brutal and I thought about quitting a few times during my first loop of the park. But I forced myself to begin the second loop and sure enough I settled into a rhythm and felt ok. I still wasn't running anywhere near my target paces, but my legs felt ok and I was just cruising along. It turned out the second loop was quite a bit faster than the first.
I will say that all of this volume is a shock to the system. I'll be really interested to see how the bike goes tomorrow night (and it will be LATE…my flight doesn't land until almost 9pm). Also the Central Park loop is not at all flat so I do expect some quad soreness from the downhills as well as general muscle soreness overall.
Overall 12.15 miles in 1:27:37, 7:13 pace. Current training VDOT 52 (z4 – 6:38, z3 – 6:45, z2 – 7:02)
Loop 1 – 6.08 miles in 44:25, 7:19 pace. Avg HR 158, max 175, avg cadence 87
Loop 2 – 6.08 miles in 43:12, 7:06 pace. Avg HR 171, max 182, avg cadence 88
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299531242
Did the bike that was scheduled for Tuesday last night - 3 x 15' z4 which went well but I had to take 20" breaks every 3' during the FTP intervals. Those breaks were just standing up without changing gears for 25-30 pedal strokes, without trying to maintain power. So, considering that a good workout also!
I'm starting to get burned out a bit though. Last year I lost a lot of fitness when life got in the way, started again with the NOS and have basically been doing intervals continuously for the last 5 months. For a guy like me that needs mental and physical breaks every now and then, it's too much.
After NOS I planned to take a week off but ended up sick and had to do a lot of travel for work that week. It definitely did not help with my recovery. Week after I gradually felt better and ran a half marathon at the end of that week and then jumped into HIM adv wk 10.
It is MUCH too early for you to get burned out. Based on your sig you have a hell of an aggressive race schedule stretching all the way out to IMWI and spread in such a way that you'll always be in the throes of training. Not all of these can be "A" races, so I suggest you insert some unstructured weeks into the schedule and chunk your season into "halves" (maybe unequal in duration…depends on your most important races).
Overall I'd really think some unstructured time after Syracuse and before you start the IMWI build would be warranted. The issue is that the start of the IMWI build is probably right about the time of Syrause…
Half marathon’ers: As a reminder, this is an open course. The route will be similar to last year’s event with a different start location – St Edmond’s School at the Martin Luther King Drive and 6th Ave North intersection (or there about). It will be an open course, consisting of road with concrete and asphalt surfaces, cement trail, gravel, and some grass. Road portions of the course will not be fully blocked off, so please be cautious of traffic. Please see attachment for route map and become familiar with it, which also includes porta-pots and water/PowerAde locations. Please also help keep our city clean and be kind to our volunteers by being mindful about where you throw your cups. Thank you J
I'll let you know if there are steeplechase pits, too. :-)
Is it officially timed in some way??
Today's swim wko was an EN classic, one I could compare to at least 4 others since 2009 at this point in a long course build, an endurance swim geared for RR pace minus 2-3 sec. Overall, a successful wko based on the RR I did less than a week ago, and compared to others in years' past. Now if only the water in Sand Hollow Reservoir is somewhat calm on race day, I can shoot for a 35 min swim.
2 x 500, target 8:10-15: 8:18/10
3 x 300, target 4:54-57: 4:54/53/54
4 x 200, target 3:16-18: 3:15/14/18/15
To summarize the comparison: I'm still about 2 sec/100 slower than I was in 2009/10, and about 1-2 sec faster than I was after I first re-built my swim stroke in first half of 2011. Confidence means everything going into a race.
Halfway through the first interval I decided to cut it at 3' and knew the second one wasn't going to happen. I resolved to do 2' more just to get to the 30' mark then I got off the bike. Immediately I felt it was the wrong call to totally throw in the towel so I turned the TV back on and finished the 60' workout with 2x14'(2') for an even 30' at z3…a set that was way harder than it should have been.
Overall 60' NP 211, IF 0.829. Full warmup of 10' easy/z1 then 3x3'(1')@z3. Then the main set:
3'(3') @110% – NP: 278 (IF 1.094), VI 1.00, HR 157/167, cad 94
2' @110% – NP: 283 (IF 1.113), VI 1.01, HR 154/168, cad 88 (used a higher gear)
---------------------------------
14'(2') @z3 – NP: 215 (IF 0.847), VI 1.00, HR 147/153, cad 89
14' @z3 – NP: 218 (IF 0.859), VI 1.00, HR 151/156, cad 90
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299940801
Overall 2800 SCY, avg pace 1:39/100. Avg efficiency 37, 10 strokes/length. Took 1:00 rest between each MS. My watch triggered a 25yd length during my rest due to some arm movements.
Paces:
Warmup 300 – 1:40
MS:
- 3x400(20) – 1:38, 1:38, 1:38
- 3x300(15) – 1:38, 1:39, 1:37, 1:38
Cooldown 100 – 1:34
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/300122709
30' z1 --> NGP 8:27 min / mile (target 8:54)
20' z2 --> NGP 7:12 (target 7:30) - there was a big hill in this interval, which caused my NGP to go up
15' z3 --> NGP 7:16 (target 7:14) - there was a big downhill in this interval
Then some z1, 4 x 20" strides and 10' walking as per plan. Good run!
Friday wasn't able to go swim as I had to be at work early. Today is supposed to be a race rehearsal, but right now it's snowing outside so I've pushed it out to tomorrow when weather should be much better. Today I'm catching up on what I was supposed to do yesterday, started with a 3000m swim, and will do the run later this morning.
My Friday swim was my only workout, as I ease into the running race on Sunday. I've been working on my swim in a way more than just doing the yards in yet another attempt to improve a bit swimming...this year with not as much time commitment given to it as I did last year with the masters swimming. Anyway, today was a day for fast swims with lots of rest. More like a swimmer's workout than a normal triathlon one...but again, I'm trying to build some specific arm strength.
You can tell the rest from it being only 4000 yds in almost 90 minutes pool time. :-)
600 wu at 1:29 pace
300 us as 25 fly/75 free 1:42 pace
Here, I should note that my fly sucks. It's a strength exercise, not because I am trying to be studly. The 75 is mostly "recovery" from the fly...
10 x 50 as 4 with 10" rest, two sets of 3 with 2-3 sec rest, 1:25-1:28 pace
8 x 25 as last 10 yards sprint, then 100 cool down
10 x 50 very hard on the 1:30 release...almost like a VO2 bike set. Mostly 1:20-2:22 pace
4 x 200 as 25 fly/75 free
4 x 100 hard at 1:28-1:29 pace with ~1 minute recoveries
600 pull as 75 easy/25 hard for cool down at 1:36
For the brick run I committed to myself that I'd settle into whatever pace my legs would give me and be happy with it. I started off seeing around 7:30 pace on the watch and I committed to being perfectly happy jogging it at that pace the whole time. Somehow my legs felt okay and my stride was quick and smooth (maybe due to the massive "warmup" on the bike!) and I ended up settling into a typical 6:40-ish pace for most of the rest of the run. In the last 2 minutes I started to feel an early onset quad cramp but by then the run was almost over.
Overall a great workout!
Bike – overall 143', NP 222, IF 0.875. Full warmup of 10' easy/z1 then 3x3'(1')@z3. Then the main set:
8'(3') @z4 – NP: 253 (IF 0.995), VI 1.00, HR 158/165, cad 89
10'(3') @z4 – NP: 257 (IF 1.013), VI 1.00, HR 164/170, cad 90
12'(3') @z4 – NP: 256 (IF 1.007), VI 1.00, HR 166/173, cad 90
12'(3') @z4 – NP: 255 (IF 1.003), VI 1.00, HR 168/175, cad 90
10'(3') @z4 – NP: 251 (IF 0.990), VI 1.00, HR 165/171, cad 89
-------------------------------------------
16'(3') @ z3 – NP: 215 (IF 0.848), VI 1.00, HR 152/159, cad 89
16'(3') @ z3 – NP: 215 (IF 0.847), VI 1.00, HR 151/157, cad 89
16' @ z3 – NP: 217 (IF 0.853), VI 1.00, HR 151/156, cad 89
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/300564953
Run – overall 4.46 miles in 30:01, avg pace 6:44, avg HR 161 / max 175
Split........Time........Distance........Avg Pace
1........3:40.9 ........0.51 ........7:12
2........3:24.2........ 0.49 ........6:54
3........3:33.2 ........0.52 ........6:47
4........5:00.6 ........0.74 ........6:47
5........4:53.4 ........0.73 ........6:41
6........3:26.7 ........0.53 ........6:31
7........3:09.6 ........0.50 ........6:21
8........2:52.5 ........0.43 ........6:38
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/300565364
Today i did my first Big Tri Day (details below). I posted this in the CDA forum, but thought i would also post here as i'm doing St. George in 2 weeks on my way to CDA. Any comments , suggestions, or advice is very much welcome. Thanks!
*******
Today i caught a break with the weather and was able to complete my Big Tri Day. Overall i finished feeling well and like i could continue to keep running. That's a good thing, because the last i checked IM CDA doesn't end at mile 8. But all in all, today was a good day. I welcome any input or suggestions so have at it.
AM - Woke up about 6:30 had a 1 cup applesauce and whey protein powder. Drank a sports drink and slammed 1 gel before heading to the pool
Swim - Started the swim at 8am. Did 3200yds in 1hr and 2 mins for a 1:55/100yd pace . I took it easy and just tried to stay steady. This was the longest swim i have done in several months and by the end i was dragging and i could feel my form slipping. I need to increase yardage on swims as i get closer to CDA. I'm assuming the IM plan will start to ramp up the swim volume.
Bike - The bike went well today. The stats are:
75.6 miles in 4hrs 13mins: Avg Power:151 W Max Power:485 W Max Avg Power (20 min):174 W Normalized Power (NP):171 W Intensity Factor (IF):0.721 Training Stress Score (TSS):218.4 Work:2,285 kJ
Again, i tried to take today steady. My VI is getting better but it is still over 1.1. Riding steady is most definitely a skill that will take me some time to master. The good news is sometimes when i bike i hit a rough patch around mile 50-55, but not today. I felt great the whole time. By the end my neck was pretty sore but i believe that's me getting used to being aero again. In terms of nutrition i had one power bar, 3 power bar gels, 1 salt stick, and about 54ounces of ironman perform.
Run: - I think i totally mis-paced the run. I did 8.56 miles in 1:07:33 for 7:54 pace. My Z1 pace is 8:32 so i believe the guidance is to take your zone 1 pace and add 30 sec/mile. I just couldn't make myself slow down to that pace without it seeming like i was walking. Also, i felt really good for pretty much the whole run although at the end it was starting to catch up with me. My learning here is slow down no matter how slow it feels when you start the run. Easy to say, but tough to put into practice. That will be an area of focus during my upcoming RR. In terms of nutrition i took in 3 cliff blocks, 1 gel, and about 12ounces of IM perform during the run.
One question.. Does 54oz on the bike and 12 oz for the run seem a little light or is that OK. It was very cool today about 45-52 so that's one data point. I felt good throughout, although i did have a slight headache when i finished.
Again, any input is very welcome. Now i'm going to relax for the rest of the day so i can crush tomorrows rest day
Target for the bike was 240 Watts NP for the first 30', and 260 for the rest. I did 275 at Oceanside but because the SG course will be harder I lowered target power to end up with a similar TSS since SG course will take longer. Target for the run was z2 + 30" = 8:00/mile for the first 3 miles, then 7:30/mile for the remaining 3.2 miles
Nutrition - opted for Infinit at 250kcal / hr on the bike, and same on the run. Nothing else.
Bike:
- first 30' felt great. Ended up at 246 watts, VI 1.05
- remaining part took 2h24', averaged 262 watts, VI 1.05 Legs felt good, steady, powerful and consistent. THe main climb is too steep to stay low enough in power (I'm doing >300 watts every lap) and parts of the descent are too fast and just require cruising. So I'm happy with a 1.05 VI.
Run:
- was also hilly, did an out an back. Out = gradual uphill, steep downhill, and coming back it's the other way around obviously.
- first 3 miles had some difficulty finding my rhythm, and was HUNGRY. I had a powerbar in my pocket, took one bike of it and felt much better. Normalized pace 7:58
- return did great, the hill was tough but then felt great. NGP 7:23/mile
In summary, I think it went perfect, good bike, great run, had good speed and would have been able to keep it up for longer. No stomach issues / bloating like at Oceanside.
Still have a few things to figure out (and advice would be very much appreciated):
- Today's weather was cold, it was 32 when I started. SG is gonna be hot. How do I adjust for that?
- Nutrition on the bike is all set but what should I do on the run? I ran with Infinit powder and a fuel belt, but do't want to be carrying my nutrition up and down those hills
- I need to figure out how to pace myself at SG. From what I recall, it'll be either uphill or downhill, whereas our typical training paces are based on flats... so how do I determine the optimal pace on the climbs? RPE?
@ Mark & Ben...good job today guys with your Big Day & RR, respectively. Your preparation is on track for some good races in the next couple of months.
Mark - I suggest you practice walking 30 steps each mile on training runs to simulate walking thru aid stations. This will help you from cooking yourself at the start of the HIM or IM run, which is where most people get themselves into trouble. Save the speed for the last 6 miles of the IM run & run will pass dozens if not hundreds of people who went out too fast and are now walking while you're still running. Also, your liquid in-take seems low. Ok - it was a cool day today, but on a day with temps above 65*F I think you'd get dehydrated with that same amount of fluid. Have you done sweat test to know how much you sweat? If not, see the wiki for instructions on how to it. Finally, I did CDA 2 years ago and the weather can be deceptive @ that race. It was 45*F when we went into the water but it was 80*F by the run. Many people got into trouble b/c they didn't increase their H2O intake as it got hotter. Much better to drink too much and have to pee more often than cramping up at mile 18 of the run.
Ben- If it is hot, you just have to slow down. Some of the EN stats gurus created a heat adjustment calculator based on hundreds of IM run data points. It tells you how much you have to slow down depending on the temp and humidity expected on race day. You put in your VDOT and forecasted weather conditions and it gives you a new a new targeted run pace. It has proven to be very accurate. Check out the Wiki for how to use it. It is one of the coolest things in EN and isn't shared outside of EN.
Not sure what to tell you about carrying Infinit. I use it, it works great for me, so I'm happy to carry it. For a HIM, I run with a fuel belt and fill 2 bottles with concentrated Infinit and supplement with water from the course. For an IM, same plan except I place 2 additional filled bottles of concentrated Infinit in my run SNB. When I get to SN, I just swap the 2 by-now empty fuel belt bottles for 2 full ones. so I am carrying the nutrition but at least I never have to mix the powder with H2O during the race and I can sip it whenever I want.
I've had a crazy week with traveling for work, delays on flights, flooding of my backyard (at least house was dry, thankfully). I got all the workouts in a completely mix-up schedule vs. the plan, but at least they are done & went well. Yesterday, I was hoping to ride outside but there was a dusting of snow on the ground so it was 3.5 hour indoor ride. Did 2 spin classes...I ignore what the instructor says and follow the EN interval plan, monitoring my watts. The TTT is 4 weeks from this weekend. Today I'm doing a TTT mini RR...this morning I swam 2200 meters (WU then, 10x 200 with 20" rest between each 200), rode 25 miles on the trainer @ 225W (low Z3), then ran 3 miles on TM with 1.5 miles @ 9:06 pace (Z1) and 1.5 miles @ 7:50 (Z2) pace. Resting now and then later today I'm going for an outdoor 25 mile ride followed by another 3 mile run. Trying to get use to doing 2 race efforts the same day to simulate the Saturday of the TTT which has us doing an Oly in both the morning and afternoon.
@ Ben - congrats on what sounds like a perfect RR, except for the weather. I'm delaying my RR until Wed, when it promises to be the warmest day of the year so far (maybe hitting 70F)
My thoughts on your questions: adjusting for the temp: not a worry on the bike, you'll be moving, so will remain cool, and it probably won't get over 80F during that time. On the run, follow the obvious cooling measures - sponges under shoulder straps, ice in various spots (I found the back pocket of my tri-bibs to be a great spot to stuff ice, others say hold some in your fists), more fluid intake. see pacing below.
Run nutrition - go with the course provisions, no need to carry *anything*. Mix water and perform to taste, drink to thirst, probably one-two cups each aid station. 4 oz of perform @ each aid station @ your pace will = 250 cal/hour +/- - should be plenty for an HIM, considering you're taking perpetuem on the bike.
Run pacing affected by gradient of course and temperature. Myself, I just go by RPE, but then I've been dialing it in for over a decade. You can use HR instead of pace as a fairly good indicator, remembering that it will lag a bit (30 sec or so) as you transition from down to uphill. Trying to hold a steady HR throughout the run is part of how I learned to race, allowing for a bit of drift upwards towards the end. Some people have said you can start the run @ the HR you were holding for the last part of the bike.
HR as target seems like a great suggestion, i think i will dig through a bunch of run and race files and see if i can find a bit of a target.