Ralph's Micro Thread
Hey Coach,
no problems here, just entered my HIM plan 8 weeks out from my race on April 19th. I just did a run test last Sat (new PR at 23:05) and the plan calls for a test today. I was just going to do a 6-7 mile run with a couple of 1 mile intervals at my Z4 pace, does that sound reasonable?
R
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Comments
I am in week 14 of the HIM intermediate plan and I have to go out of town next week after my first RR this weekend. I am going to be on the road from Tues thru Sat of the following week. I will be able to run OK and probably locate a swim venue in New Orleans but I will have to push my Sat bike off till Sunday and I was wondering about the Thursday bike. Should I just try to find a spin class for Thursday even though that does not help with my aero position or should I just concentrate on some run and be satisfied with doing the long Bike on Sun when I get back?
FYI, I did pretty well last on weekend's long ride with 50 miles in 2:58 so It probably won't be a crisis if I miss a little bit of bike volume.
BTW Great coaches chat last PM.
THanks
R
I wouldn't sweat the trip really. If you can get in the interval ride before you leave on Tuesday, then we only need your interval run and long run when you are gone (anything else is bonus, could be just a 30' easy run and some light core / flex work)....then long ride when back Sunday. Plan on monday off / swim only to transition back. The hardest part about this stuff at this point in your year (building fitness) is the chance to get sick....gotta avoid that with hydration and rest!
quick question:
I notice in the training plan long runs that it says not to go over Z4 as you pick up the pace near the end of the run. I have noticed that my HR is often in a zone higher than it should be for my predicted pace zone. case in point: in the long run below, my HR is steady on zone 2-3 while my pace is slower than my predicted Z1 pace for most of the run. I can maintain it pretty well and am able to pick it up at the end but it drives my HR up above Z4.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/452786024
From the wiki race guidance I gather that I should go by HR on Race day and shoot for a negative split. when I get near the end, just give whatever I have left.
Do I understand that correctly or do you have any additional recommendations?
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/439423171
We'd use that common HR number to then determine racing HR targets...
Nutrition execution question:
I completed my HIM Sat and had a little GI upset (may be viral since it was present prior to the race) but the comments after my race report suggested that I may have overdone it on the nutrition for the HIM distance. I took in 116 oz of perform and 9 gels not including the 20 or so oz of coke that I drank. I arrived at these amounts from the EN nutrition spreadsheet and trained with the same amounts with no problem. I have read the nutrition section of the wiki and have listened to the core nutrition seminar and was wondering what advice you would offer on fine-tuning my nutrition plan.
On the plus side, I was steady all day and finished pretty strong so it didn't hurt me much.
The whole write up is here : http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/15195/Default.aspx
The short version is that it was in the 60s and totally overcast.
The EN Nutrition spreadsheet suggested 515 cal/hr for me. My plan for 1 bottle of perform every 30 minutes and 1 gel every 30 min gave me closer to 570 cal/hr on the bike and since I couldn't tolerate the Heed, I cut back on the run and had just coke and gels for a total of 293 cal/hr.
Total Cals in was 1865 on the bike and 685 cal on the run for 2550 overall intake.
I am set up for Beach to Battleship Full IM in 2 weeks, here is my question: I have done 2 RR rides and worked hard on my nutrition plan, By the spreadsheet, I should drink about 2 bottles per hour on the bike. In the heat of the summer (the first RR) it was perfect because I peed only twice on the bike but for RR #2 it was much cooler and I peed about 5 times with the same amount of fluid , I think because I sweated much less. My question is this: if Race day is cooler(which it is forecast to be) how should I modify my nutrition plan or should I keep it with what I have tried and has been shown to work.
THanks
You are right to train that way, because we never know what race day will bring. I'd like you to have two bottles for the first hour for sure, bye then you should've already Peed. At that point in time you can make a decision on whether not you want to cut it back. Maybe you aim for a bottle every 40 minutes instead of every 30 and see how that goes.
If you check this than you are working too hard in your coach hat. Have a Great Race in Kona and I will be pulling for you.
R
I have had a bit of a setback since our call the other week.
I was in week 2 of the run durability plan when I demonstrated why I need that plan!
I did my Long run at race pace and set a new 10 PR by about 4 minutes and the next day, my left hamstring was crampy and sore. Backed off over the thanksgiving weekend and tried to do strides and the problem returned. I am stretching, on NSAIDs and in PT.
It seems like my ability to do significant intervals will be limited for a while as I rehab this injury. I certainly don't want to compromise my OS which starts in Jan. My tentative plan is to go to short (1-2 miles), easy (Marathon Pace) daily runs and see if that bothers the hamstrings.
Should I go to a bike focused plan for the next few weeks since I can't really do the Run Durability plan as it is written or should I just make the changes above andstay in the run Durability plan?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
~ Patrick
I am hitting the pool more and steady state biking as you suggested. The hamstring is not really limiting or painful while I am running but it gets really tight and spasmy afterwards or when I sit for any length of time and I want to be able to hit the OS hard. I just want to make sure that I am not losing some of my hard-won fitness gains in the mean time. Gentle runs in the MP range focusing on form seem to be in order. I will give you an update in a week or so. R
Hope that helps!
~ Patrick
Hamstring is better but not yet normal, also just getting over cold/flu. I have laid off of the running for now, only doing gentle biking and swimming and stretching. My concern is that I start JOS in a week and I am hesitant to go all out for testing because of the chance of reinjury. I would welcome any suggestion fpr managing that you have to offer.
THanks
Hope the holidays went well. Still seeking advice about JOS testing as above.
Thanks
Ralph
Since we worrying about your hamstring, the second one is off the table. and we can rely on your internal "effort- o-meter" to do the right pieces now.
In other words, I'd rather have you running consistently with minimal intensity for 3 to 4 weeks before you start pushing yourself. We need to give a hamstring a chance to get into a good rhythm. At the earliest to be testing in a week four maybe a week five. What do you think?
I will do the bike testing since that does not seem to make things worse.
I am going to run most days for short intervals at my MP and continue stretching and foam roller with no hard interval or hill runs since that seems to irritate things.
THanks
Things are looking up. The hamstring is almost well. Still occasionally achy if I do hills or hard intervals but I have been doing 2 miles per day on the treadmill at Z1 pace for a couple of weeks with minimal discomfort. Trying to work on Frequency for durability. The bike is going well (FTP up 12% so far this OS). I feel like I will be able to test on schedule with the OS crew half way through (In about 3 weeks).
My question is this : at what point do I transition from the high frequency lower intensity running to more speed specific work? Should I just finish out the OS working on durability and the ability to maintain Z1 for longer rather than working on speed? Or should I test on schedule and continue the frequency while beginning to work intervals back into my plan over the last half of the OS? I am leaning towards the former since I am a bit skittish about irritating the hamstring again as I approach race season.
If you are really adventurous you could also play with some incline in on the Tmill -- 2% or 3% (no higher).
What do you think?
I have been running the treadmill at 2% incline the whole time. I will start increasing my mileage slowly and I will shoot for 15 miles per week over the next few weeks and 20 miles per week by the end of the OS. Interestingly, the hamstring seems more irritating when I don't run and less so when I run.