LAST BIG WEEK!!
Can you tell I'm looking forward to the taper
Seriously, we are almost there, let's get in one more solid week, ending with a RR that will pay big dividends on Nov.2nd. Now is not the time to let our focus drop, we are almost there!!
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I am planning on taking thursday off from work to do RR #2. Only 10% chance of rain and the only clear looking day this week. I'm not going to ride in the rain. After 2 weeks, I am finally starting to be ale to ride in aero without it hurting. I am not going to temp fate by doing a RR ride in the rain.
So glad that is over.
As for me, I had some good swims and runs Monday and Tuesday which I am happy about. Could not hit the intervals on today's ride though: 90%, 86%, and 83% respectively. And I was pushing as hard as I could go. Me and my bike are just not getting along right now.
Weather was nice when I got home, counter to the forecast, so decided to ride outside....turned into a downpour @ 30 min mark....that sucked especially since I had just cleaned the bike from the rain on Sun ride....my ride was a repeat power test....last couple rides I've been having intermittent problems with my PT so I decided to swap using the PT from my road bike....just wanted to confirm both are similar output....last week vs. this week only 3 watt difference
112mi in 5:37 IF of .72, VI of 1.01 1300ft of climb. TSS was 289 which is as high as I would like to see it. Lost a couple of minutes to a fuel swap out at the 3hr mark and a little time at the 1hr mark when I saw that I had left the door to my car open...
Run went fine. about a 9:30 pace which I doubt that I would be able to hold for the whole 26.2. It isnt the first 6 miles that I worry about. It is the next 20.2.
I will write up more and post garmin data in the forums. Good luck to everyone heading out this weekend!
unfortunately weather not looking good for this wkend...50's & rain...hate the thought of indoor RR...uggg
Just about over the KONA to NH jetlag. Body feels pretty good and survived 3 days of binging...Had a couple really easy SBR recovery workouts... Tomorrow back to a long swim... Sat 2.5 hr bike with some .80 intervals and Sun 90 min run. Planning the same bike and 70 min run the following sat/sun.... I'll do some intensity next week but will be reduced effort and time compared to what I was doing pre-KONA...Just trying to stay sharp, recover , and rely on the work I have already put in..... Gotta keep my head in the game for 2 more weeks !!!
Really looking forward to IMFL and meeting everyone.
@tim. Great to have you back for the final push.
Nice race. You beat a lot of people who beat a lot of people to get there.
I wanted to get the team's opinion on my RR tomorrow. I have 2 loop rides I can do. One has more climbing (2300') but smoother roads and the other is less climbing (1700') but rougher road, as far was smoothness. Unfortunately, I don't have route that's closer to the IMFL course as far as elevation gain. Which would you pick?
As for me, had a good RR swim this morning with pretty even 1000y splits. Although the "go hard the first 400y" is completely wasted on me. I tried, but I really only have one gear when in comes to swimming. shaved a few minutes off my time a couple weeks ago, so that was positive.
Getting my bike gear ready for tomorrow's RR. not looking forward to it as the only flat for me is a multi-use trail that I am going to have to go up and down 4x dodging fall marathon chitty-chatting-headphone-wearing groups.
Had to juggle my schedule and did RR swim Thursday and RR today.
RR Swim - dropped about 45 seconds to ~ 1:10:30. Pleased with that and felt more under control late where last time it felt more sloppy.
RR - Went as well as I could have hoped. Last one didn't go so well (power/HR fade late and tummy issues). Today was much better. I am still (perhaps) a tad conservative on the bike at ~.66. I don't test in the bars so think my 230W FTP is slightly overstated. Last hour I am fairly sure had best power (~.7 IF). Did 45-50' JRA at 145W then tried to stay at 150W for the next several hours (has 1-2 15' intervals closer to 160W. Finished feeling strong with HR still well under control. Run was a slight struggle to stay at EZ+30" until about mile 3.5 when it all clicked. HR was ~10 BPM over my bike HR of 128. The weather was mid-upper 40's so rather chilly to start but the right gear makes a difference. Just like last time - windy too - 10-15 with gusts to 25.
On the stomach issues, after talking to Coach P, went to 2 x 1.5H bottles of Infinit versus 1x3H bottle for each 3 hour "loop". No stomach issues at all. How much of that was the colder temps?!? Peed a record 7 times during the 6 hour ride -- 4 times in first 3 hours.
So feeling much more confident now but will still likely stay looking at .66-.67 as my target IF since I will be out there 6+ hours.
I will post a proper RR in the morning.
For now, I am pooped.
TAPER TIME
Sat was RR....cut a little short cuz of weather ....5 hrs + 5 mi run....overall went well...
Taper time
Finished swim RR last night 1:17:31, 3:30 faster then last RR. Still not what I wanted, but to late to do much about it at this point.
Looking forward to riding my road bike this week, much more comfortable.
Second Race Rehearsal- 19 Oct.
Started the ride at 0815 with 5 other riders. Temp was 60 degrees with 4 mph winds. The goal was a 50 mile out and back loop times 2. Water bottle and nutrition swap out done at the car at mile 50. Wore all tri clothing that I am wearing on race day minus an aero helmet. I eat on the 30min/1 hour mark and drink on the 15/45 min marks. Also, plan was to add one salt stick tablet on the hour. The weather was extremely mild. Road next to a rider with a powermeter and she helped talk me through effort during the ride. Goal was to maintain 15-17 MPH with a 130 HR. The route has a couple decent hills, rollers, and a couple grinders.
Spent most of the ride in the aero bars and nailed the nutrition. Ate a total of 3 power bars and 6 power bar gels. I also experiment with a bonk breaker bar at mile 95 to set up the run. Also, I made it a point to force down 24 oz of Perform every hour.
Came off the bike and felt fantastic! I ran 6 miles just to make sure my shoes were good. Drank about 20 oz of Perform and ate 3 blocks of Cliff Shots. Fought to maintain Z1+:30 for the duration. Also worked hard at keeping HR below 150.
Run: 6 miles. 1:09 Avg speed 11:35, Avg HR 149
Bike 100 miles 6:16. Avg Speed 15.9, Avg HR 127. Elevation gain 1273
Open Water Swim, 20 Oct
I swam a 1.44 mile out and back loop in a lake. I have had severe anxiety issues with open water/wet suit swimming in the past. Picked up a Desoto 2 piece wetsuit and it seems to have solve my issues. This is my second weekend in a row doing this swim. Took off 3 minutes! I am still slow and clunky in the water, but I now feel confident.
Held .69 IF on first RR which got me 108 miles in 6hrs on a windy day, followed with a no problem 6 mile run- LRP is 9:30 and had to hold back to keep splits slower than that.
Held .70 IF on 2nd RR which got me 112 miles in 6hrs on an even MORE windy day (20-25 mph gusts). Was 40 degrees at start and got up to mid 50's by the end I think. I was seriously dreading the ride because of the weather, then thought of IM Tahoe peeps, and told myself,"stop being such a sissy and just GET ER DONE". Super glad I did, no way I would have gotten anywhere near same quality ride on trainer. Followed up with 6 mile run that seriously felt like I was crawling with each split being around 9:30. Going to have to REALLY go slower 1st 6 when looking at full marathon.
Nutrition on both were dialed in- total 440 cal/hr. between drink and gel (100 cal. Every 30 min. from EFS by "First Endurance"), with s cap on the 45 min. mark. Exception to this is first hour where I take in extra 140 cal. Via 1/3 Bonk Breaker bar on the 30min. and 1hr. mark (total 580 cal. 1st hr.).
Swim RR's are funny I guess, except not quite sure what to expect race day. First one was 1:09, which is faster than I expected, but I thought I just miscounted laps, which I definitely struggle to keep track of. Second one was 1:12, which was more what I thought it would be. Last one I made a concerted effort to keep track of laps, and ended up with...... 1:06. So from three swim RR's I've learned two things....... 1. DONT know what to expect on race day. 2. I have lap counting ADD