Wow Betsy I dont know how you do it with your crazy work schedule!
I got super spoiled the past 2 weeks with being furloughed, getting to sleep in and take my time prepping for each workout, now I miss it. Back to 5am wake-ups to get in the runs and swims. Fatigue hit me hard this am, could not hold my power zones, so I cut short my ride, to conserve and not drain myself down to zero.
I'm getting the "I'm so ready for the race to get here" feeling, counting days till I can start taper....Hang in there!
Pushed today's ride out to 4.5 hours since I had to cut the Saturday ride short due to some unexpected rain and a minor mechanical issue. Got in a solid 4 hours at .83IF.
Burgers on the grill and football the rest of the day
Way to go everyone. Beeeen my schedule and some lack of motivation this has been a weird week. Ran the 1/2 Mary last Sunday. Had a really good bike Wednesday and did 3 hours on the drainer friday. Did Thursdays long run today(17.5 miles in 2:36 doing a run 8', walk 1' the whole way. Will try to do a longish bike again tomorrow. Looking forward to the RR next Saturday. @Betsy: I am thinking about leaving my bike and case out there. Last year only rode the trainer between RR and IMAZ. Is there a shop you RX for a tune up?
Great weather day in SoCal. Approx 1 mile ocean swim, followed by 10K up tempo run. Tomorrow a 100+ mile solo Tri bike cycling 50% flat - 50% small rolling hills route to put finishing touches on nutrition and hydration strategy.
Dave there are actually 3 shops I use: Landis-strictly a cycling shop at Scottsdale and Shea; Faster-another cycling shop, high end, has excellent fitting and wind tunnel Tribe, northeast corner of Miller and Indian School-big local tri store. I am going to use them to reconfigure my front end this week with torpedo bottle cage and hopefully reposition my computer. (only ones that have everything in stock). Ive never used them for tune up but I know they are well regarded Last year I was using trisports for tune up right at Mill and Rio Salado but they closed the store this summer-not as profitable as the mail order
Dear lord you boys are rocking those Thursday long runs with 17+ miles...wooowee, great job!!! Had to switch up the weekend workouts again due to a road race I signed up for many months ago. It was the Army ten miler here in DC and it its one of those races that are hard to pass up. So, after my long run on Thursday (net 16 miles), I rode 2 hours on Friday and 4 hours on Saturday. Sunday morning I ran the Army 10 miler at a comfortable pace (8:30). I chose to not go all out and risk injury and I wanted to have some energy for a RR swim later that afternoon. I was pleased to cross the finish feeling great in 1:24.
Back home, protein shake and switch into the bathing suit...I hit the poo at 1pm to do Friday's RR swim. Last time I swam 2.4 was a few weeks ago in a lake with a wetsuit. My time was 1:08 for the 2.4, on Sunday in a pool with no wetsuit it was 1:16 for 2.4....hmmm, an 8 minute difference. Am I regressing or maybe just tired from the race in the morning? I felt strong so I dont know why the 8 minute difference.
Had to take today as a rest day (husband in London and I volunteered for one of my kids all day field trips). To be honest, if felt good to take a day off...it has been many weeks of no day off. It was nice
Thanks everyone for the feedback on my post about feeling fatigued after Thursdays run. Im glad it is not just me and that it is happening at the appropriate time. A Lot of work left to do and after today I feel ready to get at it!
Mama Turtle checking in - for all you rabbits out there. Work and travel interrupted some of last week's training, but had a good work-out week-end. Started with a 3,000 meter OWS event Saturday morning - concentrated on going in a straight line and being consistent on time for each loop. Finished the day with running one loop of the IMAZ course - 13 miles. Actually ran the whole thing, which is an accomplishment for me. Rode 2 loops of the Beeline Highway Sunday morning - headwind on the way up both loops and headwind on the way down on the second loop. Had other obligations for the day, so had to quit at 2. Work/travel until Friday, so not sure what I'll accomplish before getting back to Tempe on Friday. For those doing the course on Saturday, bring extra tubes. The shoulders are pretty trashy and seeing a lot people on the side fixing flats.
Please say the roads are not that bad. I am planning to come out with my bike and leave it. That means with the race wheels. I am riding Hed 3 with the super duper Italian tires that I got thru the team last year. They are about impossible to change.
David-those great Italian tires were shot after my 6 hour ironman 2012. The front in shreds, the back maybe usable but I wouldn't chance it. You better have plan B after Saturday's ride!!! I didn't think the debris was too bad Sunday and I haven't had flats the last 3 times I've ridden the course. But always prudent to have spares-when it's your day it's gonna happen.
The race itself is run on the roadway, not in the shoulders of Beeline Highway, so there's less chance of flatting on that part of the course. The other roads are not as much of a problem and are usually swept before the race. There is a section of Rio Salado that has the bike lane and part of the right lane coned off due to construction on the adjacent lot - not sure how that's going to be handled on race day since the right lane of that section is usually open for car traffic.
Danielle-Patricia is absolute correct. We have one side of the highway and it is clear. I don't remember seeing much flatting last year. I didn't have a flat but my special Italian race tires bought with the group buy did not hold up well. A local bike mechanic told me they were not made for Arizona conditions.
Posted By Jason Brandt on 23 Oct 2013 04:11 PM Does EN have a write up on IMAZ from last year that I could review with course tips and strategies? Looked in a couple forums but didn't locate.
Thanks Al for providing the link. I went back and tried again to find for myself and couldn't. I am not very good at navigating and searching thru the forums.
Did the 150 min run this morning. Ran .5 miles further than last week's run of same time due to the extra time in Z2 this week. Felt good, I think skipping Monday's run was helpful. My wife bought me a powertap SL+ off craigslist for B-day/early X-mas and just picked it up last Sunday from the bike store after they mounted it on my Ziipp 404. Did a Power Test this last week and look forward to learning to ride watching the power meter these last key rides we have before the race. FTP was 257W with nothing to compare it to but understand all the benefits it will give me using that to measure work/effort vs HR which I had been using.
Jason, that's a great bday gift! I hope to have one (Stages) in January and look forward to training with power versus HR. Just too many external factors to contend with when training with HR...with power "a watt is a watt".
I too finished my 150min run this am and I have to say after the all out bike test yesterday my legs were still screaming at me on the run today. The temps are cold in VA these days and the wind this morning at times was pretty strong. I'm pleased to once again hit 16 miles in my 150min, but will say it was hard earned. If I didnt have 4 kids to shuffle around to different activities, I think I would go take a nap, but I'm not so lucky, hehe .
Betsy and Patricia, thanks for the feedback on the road conditions. Wish I could join you all this weekend for the supported ride (RR) on the course.... Good luck!!!
I had to change it up due to work schedule. I have to work late tonite (thurs) so decided to do 150min run Wednesday night and bike this am. Figured I would be running in evening after a long day so may as well start practicing. I did the full 150 min but was unable to hit my z2-30s slower. 14 mi covered and I hurt at the end (Emma my ever ready pit bull ran the whole way and seemed disappointed to be done!). Realizing just how fatigued I am!!! I chose to skip power test-I'm going with current numbers-so did next weeks bike. But, as I had 8 hours between run and bike this am, I only hit .93 IF for my 15 min x2 sprints (ran out of time for the 3rd)-my legs are tired.
I have to add-it was a gorgeous evening for running and reminded me of conditions on last years course in the evening.
Betsy and other locals, What are the expected air temps for IM AZ after the sun goes down? I am planning to put a light jacket in Special Needs to put on when walking the latter part. I hate to be cold when it is dark. Also, will we need a headlamp? What I mean will there be places where it is so dark that a headlamp would be helpful? I used to do lots of trail running so running with packs, jackets around the waist and headlamps are normal for me. Thanks.
I've done IMAZ twice - once I needed a light jacket after sundown and the other I didn't. Put something in special needs just in case - the daytime temps don't always dictate the night time temps due to cloud cover or lack thereof. You shouldn't need a headlamp. There are only a couple of short spots on this run that doesn't currently have regular lights, but I would expect race to add some lighting in those areas. I ran the whole loop last Saturday night and didn't have any problems with being able to see.
No headlamp necessary. Last year I didn't need a jacket-I did have compression arm sleeves on all day though. I ran last night 6-9 and temps were 70s-perfect sleeveless running. Felt just like conditions last year. Have dry clothes for after-then you get cold
Everyone is doing great...I've been happy running, but Michigan is cold ish and windy now. OWS is over too. Mentally didn't have the mojo to test on the bike yesterday. Smacked my noggin hard in the am and almost bagged the ride altogether, but headed out to the local park anyhow, intending to do at least one set of 20' at TH. Yeah, no. Got to almost 10' and decided to just abp the rest of the ride. Last loop in gusting winds I almost got blown off the bike twice! And I'm not a petite flower either!
Got that last long run in today at the same park with the same chill and wind. Happy to say I hit the 17 mile mark, but it felt harder this week than last. Mother Nature is such an obliging training partner sometimes!
Bummed I will be riding indoors this weekend. At least I get to ride with friends at our LBS computrainer lab.
Betsy, a 70 degree run sounds like heaven right about now!
My training seems to be coming around more and more, hopefully right on time. The weather has been cooperating to a degree. No drizzerable soaking mist, no drenching Pineapple Express rains, just 50F and a Stephen King-like fog enveloping everything, visibiity down to several hundred meters at best in the morning, lifting a bit in the PM. Nice weather for running, tolerable for biking.
Monday, I improved my times in the swim intervals, compared to two months ago building to IMLT. Tuesday ... well, I don't use an alarm clock. My belief is that sleep is more important than anything I might miss if I happen to "oversleep". I can almost always get up anyway at the time I plan on. But Tues was my one work day this week, so I have to be there @ 0800, no ifs ands or buts. IO needed to wake up around 0530 to get in my run intervals; my wife had to wake me @ 0630 so I could make it to work on time. No worries, as my philosophy is I needed the sleep more than the intervals.
On to Wed, and instead of a true 5/10/20 bike test, I hit the trainer for 5 minutes of VO2 intervals and 2 x 10' FTP intervals, followed by a 3.8 mile run with strides at the end.
And today...last week, I was unable to finish the long run. I gave up mentally on the thing. Coupled with my failure to do the full marathon @ IMLT, I began to get worried. This morning, I wrote on my white board where I plan out my upcoming wkos, "I'm scared and mad". Scared I wouldn't be able to go to the well for the second half of our upcoming marathon in Tempe, and mad, cause I know that getting angry about it would probably help me (from past experience). The run today was hard work, but went like clock work. I tried to think about it as mimicing the RPE I would feel on race day as the run progresses. Meaning the first six miles were over the top easy, and then I gradually built the effort.
My mile splits/HR/Cadence: (My LRP is 9:07, and my HR goal is 123, cadence 90-93) First 4 miles, 9:10/115/92; next 2 mi, 8:55/120/92, 8:35/121/93, then 8:20/126/93, 3 miles @ 7:45/131/95, a mile @ 8:18/128/94, and finish with 3 miles @ 7:37/140/96. Total of 17.56 mi in 2:30. (There was some time sprinkled in there at "recovery"/LRP.)
That makes me no longer scared, knowing I can get the run done if I put my mind to it. This wko was more about training my mind than gaining run fitness. What I noticed is, as I was transitioning from the slower pace to the faster, my legs were starting to get tired and painful. Then, once I got up to MP speed, I no longer noticed how my legs were feeling, only what they were doing. Because my attention was more focused on working than how I was feeling. That's when I know I'm "in the zone" in a race, and the focus I was trying to recapture during the workout. Job done, successfully.
The weather promises to hold thru next Tuesday at least, with the fog dissipating on Sunday. I'm planning on getting in 13-14 hours of biking Sat-Tues to take advantage of dry roads while I can, meaning RR on Tuesday if I'm awake for it.
Al, I was thinking about moving my RR to Wed as the weather here in VA looks to be the best (high 60s) on that day this upcoming week. If I move it from Sat I'm not sure how to approach the rest of the week. What will your workouts look like if you move your RR to Tues?
@ Danielle ... Hmm, I hadn't thought that far ahead (I'm somewhat of a day-to-day guy when it comes to training, eg, I just now looked at the swim workout due today, that I'm about to head out the door for!). Now, remember, EN IM plans have switched back and forth over the years the timing of the second RR. Sometimes 3 weeks before, sometimes 3 weeks before the race race. I think the "best" time is right in the middle of that.
But, thinking out loud (subject to change as I think more about it), here goes:
Monday - I've only got 45-50 minutes available before work, I can't fit in a swim then, , and I'll have done the Sat/Sun bikes over the weekend, so it's probably the day off for the week, or a short run before work.
Tuesday - RR
Wednesday - Should be a day off, but I need to swim, so Monday swim here
Thurs - Long run day, so just plop that in here
Friday - Another swim, and short run of about 40 minutes.
Saturday - FTP bike intervals, with a transition run afterwards of 30 minutes
Sunday - Normally I always swim Sun AM with my wife, but I'm working again, so only run intervals before work.
Looks like, for me, swimming gets the sort end of the stick this week, due to the two work days (which are 24 hours long each)
@AL -- Great job in getting this week's run done and hitting your goal zone splits. Its obvious you have mental toughness something I am trying to develop as I worry that I'll slow down on the run too much if I don't will myself to keep pushing. Liked the Angry and Mad pre run ritual, I need to develop something that will be in my mind those last few miles.
I live across the sound from you, same pea soup thick fog now going on two weeks. But I'll take that over the rain that we would usually be having this time of year. Planning to do RR#2 tomorrow vs next Saturday as it works out better with my schedule and it seemed like have the IMAZ crew was doing the same though I won't be in tempe, I'm jealous. Doing the RR swim tonight though it will be in a pool
Got to run in Boise on Tuesday and it was near 70 degrees there so that was great.
Thanks Al for the detailed response. Im thinking my week will look something like this (please comment with adjustments if you think something is off):
Sat: very early morning 3.5hr ABP ride on trainer (kids sports stuff for most of day)
Sun: 4.5hr ride with 30 min transition run
Mon: Run (treadmill inclines) & Mon Swim
Tues: Tues Swim & Run WKO
Wed: RR#2
Thurs: Off
Fri: Long Run
Sat: FTP Bike and Friday's Swim
Sun: Bike
@ Jason, I thought about doing my RR#2 this Sat as well (along with AZ crew riding the course) but too many kid activities to fit it in Good luck!
Comments
Wow Betsy I dont know how you do it with your crazy work schedule!
I got super spoiled the past 2 weeks with being furloughed, getting to sleep in and take my time prepping for each workout, now I miss it. Back to 5am wake-ups to get in the runs and swims. Fatigue hit me hard this am, could not hold my power zones, so I cut short my ride, to conserve and not drain myself down to zero.
I'm getting the "I'm so ready for the race to get here" feeling, counting days till I can start taper....Hang in there!
Pushed today's ride out to 4.5 hours since I had to cut the Saturday ride short due to some unexpected rain and a minor mechanical issue. Got in a solid 4 hours at .83IF.
Burgers on the grill and football the rest of the day
Landis-strictly a cycling shop at Scottsdale and Shea;
Faster-another cycling shop, high end, has excellent fitting and wind tunnel
Tribe, northeast corner of Miller and Indian School-big local tri store. I am going to use them to reconfigure my front end this week with torpedo bottle cage and hopefully reposition my computer. (only ones that have everything in stock). Ive never used them for tune up but I know they are well regarded
Last year I was using trisports for tune up right at Mill and Rio Salado but they closed the store this summer-not as profitable as the mail order
Back home, protein shake and switch into the bathing suit...I hit the poo at 1pm to do Friday's RR swim. Last time I swam 2.4 was a few weeks ago in a lake with a wetsuit. My time was 1:08 for the 2.4, on Sunday in a pool with no wetsuit it was 1:16 for 2.4....hmmm, an 8 minute difference. Am I regressing or maybe just tired from the race in the morning? I felt strong so I dont know why the 8 minute difference.
Had to take today as a rest day (husband in London and I volunteered for one of my kids all day field trips). To be honest, if felt good to take a day off...it has been many weeks of no day off. It was nice
Thanks everyone for the feedback on my post about feeling fatigued after Thursdays run. Im glad it is not just me and that it is happening at the appropriate time. A Lot of work left to do and after today I feel ready to get at it!
I didn't think the debris was too bad Sunday and I haven't had flats the last 3 times I've ridden the course. But always prudent to have spares-when it's your day it's gonna happen.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=IMAZ+Race+Guide
Remember, the run course, while covering much of the same territory, is different this year.
I too finished my 150min run this am and I have to say after the all out bike test yesterday my legs were still screaming at me on the run today. The temps are cold in VA these days and the wind this morning at times was pretty strong. I'm pleased to once again hit 16 miles in my 150min, but will say it was hard earned. If I didnt have 4 kids to shuffle around to different activities, I think I would go take a nap, but I'm not so lucky, hehe
Betsy and Patricia, thanks for the feedback on the road conditions. Wish I could join you all this weekend for the supported ride (RR) on the course....
Good luck!!!
I had to change it up due to work schedule. I have to work late tonite (thurs) so decided to do 150min run Wednesday night and bike this am. Figured I would be running in evening after a long day so may as well start practicing. I did the full 150 min but was unable to hit my z2-30s slower. 14 mi covered and I hurt at the end (Emma my ever ready pit bull ran the whole way and seemed disappointed to be done!). Realizing just how fatigued I am!!! I chose to skip power test-I'm going with current numbers-so did next weeks bike. But, as I had 8 hours between run and bike this am, I only hit .93 IF for my 15 min x2 sprints (ran out of time for the 3rd)-my legs are tired.
I have to add-it was a gorgeous evening for running and reminded me of conditions on last years course in the evening.
What are the expected air temps for IM AZ after the sun goes down? I am planning to put a light jacket in Special Needs to put on when walking the latter part. I hate to be cold when it is dark. Also, will we need a headlamp? What I mean will there be places where it is so dark that a headlamp would be helpful? I used to do lots of trail running so running with packs, jackets around the waist and headlamps are normal for me. Thanks.
Last year I didn't need a jacket-I did have compression arm sleeves on all day though.
I ran last night 6-9 and temps were 70s-perfect sleeveless running. Felt just like conditions last year. Have dry clothes for after-then you get cold
Everyone is doing great...I've been happy running, but Michigan is cold ish and windy now. OWS is over too. Mentally didn't have the mojo to test on the bike yesterday. Smacked my noggin hard in the am and almost bagged the ride altogether, but headed out to the local park anyhow, intending to do at least one set of 20' at TH. Yeah, no. Got to almost 10' and decided to just abp the rest of the ride. Last loop in gusting winds I almost got blown off the bike twice! And I'm not a petite flower either!
Got that last long run in today at the same park with the same chill and wind. Happy to say I hit the 17 mile mark, but it felt harder this week than last. Mother Nature is such an obliging training partner sometimes!
Bummed I will be riding indoors this weekend. At least I get to ride with friends at our LBS computrainer lab.
Betsy, a 70 degree run sounds like heaven right about now!
My training seems to be coming around more and more, hopefully right on time. The weather has been cooperating to a degree. No drizzerable soaking mist, no drenching Pineapple Express rains, just 50F and a Stephen King-like fog enveloping everything, visibiity down to several hundred meters at best in the morning, lifting a bit in the PM. Nice weather for running, tolerable for biking.
Monday, I improved my times in the swim intervals, compared to two months ago building to IMLT. Tuesday ... well, I don't use an alarm clock. My belief is that sleep is more important than anything I might miss if I happen to "oversleep". I can almost always get up anyway at the time I plan on. But Tues was my one work day this week, so I have to be there @ 0800, no ifs ands or buts. IO needed to wake up around 0530 to get in my run intervals; my wife had to wake me @ 0630 so I could make it to work on time. No worries, as my philosophy is I needed the sleep more than the intervals.
On to Wed, and instead of a true 5/10/20 bike test, I hit the trainer for 5 minutes of VO2 intervals and 2 x 10' FTP intervals, followed by a 3.8 mile run with strides at the end.
And today...last week, I was unable to finish the long run. I gave up mentally on the thing. Coupled with my failure to do the full marathon @ IMLT, I began to get worried. This morning, I wrote on my white board where I plan out my upcoming wkos, "I'm scared and mad". Scared I wouldn't be able to go to the well for the second half of our upcoming marathon in Tempe, and mad, cause I know that getting angry about it would probably help me (from past experience). The run today was hard work, but went like clock work. I tried to think about it as mimicing the RPE I would feel on race day as the run progresses. Meaning the first six miles were over the top easy, and then I gradually built the effort.
My mile splits/HR/Cadence: (My LRP is 9:07, and my HR goal is 123, cadence 90-93) First 4 miles, 9:10/115/92; next 2 mi, 8:55/120/92, 8:35/121/93, then 8:20/126/93, 3 miles @ 7:45/131/95, a mile @ 8:18/128/94, and finish with 3 miles @ 7:37/140/96. Total of 17.56 mi in 2:30. (There was some time sprinkled in there at "recovery"/LRP.)
That makes me no longer scared, knowing I can get the run done if I put my mind to it. This wko was more about training my mind than gaining run fitness. What I noticed is, as I was transitioning from the slower pace to the faster, my legs were starting to get tired and painful. Then, once I got up to MP speed, I no longer noticed how my legs were feeling, only what they were doing. Because my attention was more focused on working than how I was feeling. That's when I know I'm "in the zone" in a race, and the focus I was trying to recapture during the workout. Job done, successfully.
The weather promises to hold thru next Tuesday at least, with the fog dissipating on Sunday. I'm planning on getting in 13-14 hours of biking Sat-Tues to take advantage of dry roads while I can, meaning RR on Tuesday if I'm awake for it.
@ Danielle ... Hmm, I hadn't thought that far ahead (I'm somewhat of a day-to-day guy when it comes to training, eg, I just now looked at the swim workout due today, that I'm about to head out the door for!). Now, remember, EN IM plans have switched back and forth over the years the timing of the second RR. Sometimes 3 weeks before, sometimes 3 weeks before the race race. I think the "best" time is right in the middle of that.
But, thinking out loud (subject to change as I think more about it), here goes:
Monday - I've only got 45-50 minutes available before work, I can't fit in a swim then, , and I'll have done the Sat/Sun bikes over the weekend, so it's probably the day off for the week, or a short run before work.
Tuesday - RR
Wednesday - Should be a day off, but I need to swim, so Monday swim here
Thurs - Long run day, so just plop that in here
Friday - Another swim, and short run of about 40 minutes.
Saturday - FTP bike intervals, with a transition run afterwards of 30 minutes
Sunday - Normally I always swim Sun AM with my wife, but I'm working again, so only run intervals before work.
Looks like, for me, swimming gets the sort end of the stick this week, due to the two work days (which are 24 hours long each)
I live across the sound from you, same pea soup thick fog now going on two weeks. But I'll take that over the rain that we would usually be having this time of year. Planning to do RR#2 tomorrow vs next Saturday as it works out better with my schedule and it seemed like have the IMAZ crew was doing the same though I won't be in tempe, I'm jealous. Doing the RR swim tonight though it will be in a pool
Got to run in Boise on Tuesday and it was near 70 degrees there so that was great.
Sat: very early morning 3.5hr ABP ride on trainer (kids sports stuff for most of day)
Sun: 4.5hr ride with 30 min transition run
Mon: Run (treadmill inclines) & Mon Swim
Tues: Tues Swim & Run WKO
Wed: RR#2
Thurs: Off
Fri: Long Run
Sat: FTP Bike and Friday's Swim
Sun: Bike
@ Jason, I thought about doing my RR#2 this Sat as well (along with AZ crew riding the course) but too many kid activities to fit it in