@Linda, there's no 10-min penalty for wearing a wetsuit if they're optional (water temp of 76-84 or something like that). It's just that the non-wetsuit wearers start at 7:00, the wetsuit crowd at 7:10. Your time will be adjusted according to chip time. What Jimmy was saying is, when he crosses the line at 9:51, he wants to buy that photo showing his 9:51 finish, and not a photo showing a far-weaker 10:01 finish. The only true "penalty" for wearing a wetsuit when they're optional is ineligibility for AG awards and Kona slots, neither of which is even a remote consideration for me. As far as advantages of a wetsuit, if you're a 1:30 swimmer, which means you've got some stroke issues (probably including dragging legs), a WS may save 10 minutes. But if you're 1:10 or faster, the WS will probably save 3-5 minutes, about double what a speed suit will. These are just anectdotal guesstimates, not science.
17-miler done this morning. First hour at 8:31, right on target. Felt OK. But there wasn't much gas when I tried to accelerate after that. By 10, the legs were pretty fatigued, and the "push" at the end really didn't happen. Averaged 7:41s. Marginal time negative split, but pretty huge effort negative split. It's pretty typical for me to struggle through the first couple of long runs (15+), then improve through the remaining ones. I'm hoping that plays out here as well. Also, after doing long runs for 15+ years all at conversational pace, I think this old dog is struggling to learn this new negative-split trick. Hope everyone does much better. BTW, it's 10:05 a.m., and I'm still sweating.
Yup. That is what I was trying to say. Purely ego and posterity at stake as far as the 10 min goes. Still, if we are wetsuit eligible, I will most likely be wearing one. I was 1:16 in FL with a wetsuit and it was a really easy 1:16. Plus this will be a deep water start meaning 15 or so min of either treading water (no wetsuit) or just loading on my back (wetsuit).
Tim - you mentioned finding a canoe to hang on while you waited last year. Was it easy to find one? were there lots of them or were they just up at the front anyway around the fast people?
Hey gang...sorry to be such a lurker and not as active with the group as I would like...work...and this week my mother has been in the hospital...I had to drive up to RI and spend some time...there...still kinda touch and go.....
I was able to swim and run in RI...hitting all the key workouts....had to cut my long run short but felt great ...
Today I got back on got to try out my new crank on my bike wrkout...wow...I went to a 165 crank from 172.5 and it did exactly what I had hoped....it eliminated the dead spot at the top of my stroke...and opened up my hips...made spinning easier.....it also made my legs feel better coming off the bike...so pleased pleased please.d
also scored this new wheel cover for my jeep
This stuff is getting real and serious....and you are all doing great...lets take it home.
Long run done. Today I made sure I did NOT run the first hour any faster than LRP, hoping to actually be able to do the last 30' at Z3. Epic fail. Although Z3 is only 0:16/mi faster than Z2, I could not manage it. Last 60' was right on Z2, including walking breaks to drink each mile. That last 20' really sucked a whole lot. Form was falling apart, time standing still, etc.
For you vets....how much worse is the last 1/3 of the IM marathon compared to this? Just trying to get mentally prepared for the "suck" that is inevitable.
@JL, I see no fail. In fact, sounds like a great run. My last 1:20 yesterday was 20 seconds slower than Z2 and nearly a minute slower than Z3. But I was running 7:40s in the heat for 10 miles, it was real work, and I gave my legs a good thrashing. Those are the workouts that will pay big dividends in 6 weeks. If you drove yourself to walking, standing, hurting and still got some distance in, that's a big success in my book.
As to what to expect, here is what people told me before my first and, sure enough, it's consistent with what I've experienced: (1) IM runs don't hurt as bad as standalone marathons (strange, but true), (2) your IM pace will be less than perceived effort the last 6-8 (I feel like I'm running 8:30s, look at Garmin and it says 10:08, WTH?), (3) you're almost guaranteed to hit a pretty dark point at some point (stomach, cramps, dead legs, time to take a nap, etc., but they usually don't last long), (4) by the time you experience #3, most of the course will be walkers (be prepared mentally to use that as motivation to keep running and NOT as justification that it's OK to join the crowd and walk her in), and (5) the last 2-3 miles are really, really fun (goose bumps) as the crowds are thick and you know you're about to finish off something monumental (I'm in full celebration mode at the Mile 24 aid station). For you, yesterday was probably just a little practice for #3. All good.
@ Jeff...my only experience was at IMWI and I have to say it went really well! I'm hoping for something close to the same feeling at TX. My x=1 is the Vdot calculator has my to at 7:10, hmp at 7:25, mp at 7:40 and lrp at 8:57. My hmp is right on the $, but my real life pm is more like 8:00-8:15. So when I run mp I run at 8. Lrp is usually 8:30-8:45 in real life. In IM my plan was to start about 9:30 pace, my lrp +30, and stay between that and 10:00. I wanted to be comfortable and have it feel enjoyable. I had a few walk breaks up hills and stopped 3x to use bathroom. My marathon was great and I ran a 4:23 avg 10 min miles. I can tell you I felt and looked like a total rock star as I BLEW by tons of people walking the late stage of the marathon. Like RnP say, the more work you do now, the faster you will be. 10 min miles may not seem fast, but let me tell you...it was! Lol! Follow their pacing advice and relax. Go by feel and execute over chasing a pace. You will do well as we have ll been working hard/smart!
I keep hearing (mainly from the coaches) how 90% of the field does not know how to race an IM (overcook the bike, run too fast too soon, bad nutrition, dehydration, etc.). But I just can't understand how that can be possible. I can completely understand how one can EASILY screw it up like this, but how can 90% of the field not know that this will not work? Is EN the only program/plan that teaches this strategy? Are people just ignoring similar advice from other coaches/blogs/plans/etc.? Even if I were "self coached" (which we sort of are....but not really), I would be reading everything I could get my hands on about how to pace. Who in their right mind would work this hard/long, pay $$, and just "wing it". Just seems inconceivable (insert voice from the smart guy in Princess Bride).
@JL, the proper concept of pacing has been out there for years, It's just hard to buy and accept for many. I was so scared for my first, I listened to Dave Scott who said: once on the bike, find an easy, sustainable gear, then shift down to the next easier gear and hold that for the first half, only pushing a little in the second half if you truly feel great. Same for the run: first half easy, negative split it by effort. It's simpler, but not that different from EN philosophy. But the two times I've done FL, for example, I thought I was going so easy the first miles of the bike, but computer said 23 mph. How can 23 feel so easy? Maybe the training this time did make me Superman? Hmmm . . . if I can hold 23 mph for the entire ride, I can ride a 4:___ . . . ? I think those thoughts creep into a ton of ultra-competitve minds, only to be bolstered by the guys racing by at mach speed. If those guys are going 25, surely I can go 23, right? And, sure enough, as I slowed to 20-21, I got passed by hundreds of guys going 23-25. Seriously, hundreds. A lot of them were laying in the grass at Mile 95. I passed most of the rest on the run. The few who followed it up with a fast marathon went 9:15 and were actually pacing correctly by going 23-25. This is why the coaches harp on The Box. Ignore the others or, if you're like me, use them as confirmation that you're doing it the right way and will see them soon.
Extremely good wisdom being shared. Even if you're a veteran, read these posts and remind yourself of the pacing, nutrition and other words of advice shared below. It is true, 90% either don't know what they are doing or don't incorporate what they have been trained to do. Why?
IM, like life, is an emotional event with many unexpected mood swings, twists and turns throughout the day. Many of those items are going to be out of your control, i.e., heat, wind, humidity, other competitors. Those uncontrollables make it easy to lose focus on the controllables.........
Additionally, unlike your training period leading up to the race, it is likely going to be the first time in your season you will experience both a rested body/mind combined with race day Adrenaline.......a deadly combination. Stay true to your box, stay true to what your instruments are saying. The first half is going to feel uncomfortably easy for these reasons......BUT, (read the 4 keys) stay in your box because, at some point, things are going to get very, very hard and you will either pay the price for misinterpreting those 1st half feelings of awesomeness or use that focused discipline to manage your way through the second half of the run and hold the line.
Had a laugh reading MR's comments about the run. I've only done 1IM and 7 marathons but I can agree with every one of his points.
I would do a seriously horrible job pacing the bike without a power meter. Speed will lie to you. I don't even look at it.
For the first 3 miles of imfl, I ran 45 sec too fast. And I knew better. In fact, it was the learning that kept me from going out 1:45 too fast. The dark sucky place came about the 1/2 way point on the run. Bent it didn't last long. And then there is that experience of being sure I was running 9's only to be told by my friends at garmin that I was in fact putting up 10:30's. And the last 2mi were euphoric. Not any faster mind you, but euphoric none the less.
Sure am looking toward to doing it again.
Concocted a plan to skip out of work Thursday and Friday of next week and do my own personal "camp". RR swim on Wednesday, RR brick on Thursday, second big bike day on Friday, swim or rest on Saturday (kids soccer) then longish run on Sunday. Got it blessed by coach p. now if only I can get the weather to play along.
Wow. I am really wasting time at work today. was curious about what finishing times are for texas vs fl. So I took Tim's time by leg from his last texas and his last florida and solved for the % increase per leg, then applied that % increase to my fl times. Which is silly. But it kept me occupied for 10min.
I got my long run in this morning. Yes, I know I'm behind.:-( Family is town, so getting time away is more challenging than normal.
So the EN plan is different in two key areas. First, the heart rate zone calculations are much lower than Ironfit. Second, running negative splits is a non existent concept in Ironfit. They are more focused on brick runs. Tuesday's run was my first attempt at negative splits. Which was a big failure, mainly because of the course that I chose to run. Which is an out and back with the out being all down hill, you know the rest of this story.
With this morning's run, I tried to stay on pretty level ground, which is not easy in this area. I was a little more successful on the negative split front. Still need to work on getting my heart rate down more when working in zone one.
@Bill-are you running by pace or HR? It's rare when my HR zone matches my pace zone, so I now rarely pay close attention to my HR unless I'm struggling to hit my paces. My Z1 LRP is almost always in low HR Z2.
@Chris - I was using HR for today's run. I thought we were suppose to focus on HR. I guess I should read up on how pace can be used/measured into zones. On the treadmill, I generally focus on pace especially for intervals.
@ Bill...I think most (if not all of us train/run based on pace zones, rather than HR zones. Check out the ebook in the wiki in the running section on training with pace. That said, recently coach P has suggested/advocated determining initial pace by HR. WSM Al Truscott also has written a lot on this. This is one of the main threads on this topic:
I asked coach P about how to determine initial pace at a hot race like IMTX (given the need to back off of paces due to the heat/humidity) and he basically responded by saying to use HR (he suggests 10bpm higher than avg on bike I believe....I think Al recommends starting off with avg HR for the bike, but he is a little older).
So, I would summarize by saying that we are encouraged to train by pace, but race (at least initially) based more on HR? (vets...feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!).
I think if you read the ebook on running with pace and at least coach P's initial post in that link above you'll see what I'm trying to say!
Anyone interested in an EN trucker hat? Coach P recommended a "trucker hat" for the run, as it's stiff enough to hold ice until you can slap it on your head. Rather than using one from Lucky's Truck Stop, how about this? $14.95 from Zazzle....Coach P recommended them. I designed it on their website...totally easy. If you're interested, I can email you the link directly to this and you can order it yourself. Or, I can take orders and buy them in "bulk" and bring them to The Woodlands. Let me know if you're interested or if you have a better idea/design....I'm not the king of creativity. If you think this is a good idea and should be shared with the WHOLE team, I guess I could start a thread or something.
@Jeff Thanks for the info on pace. I've read the Running with Pace guide now. I think I've got it now. Also, I'm interested in a EN trucker hat if you do an order.
@JL, thanks for the offer, but I'll probably pass because:
1) I already plan on wearing my EN Coolmax hat; 2) I don't really want to run with a pile of ice on my head or in my shorts (just personal); 3) I have enough trouble attracting the ladies and don't need my hat compounding the problem.
My teenage daughter is training me to use the reverse camera option on the iPhone to take photos of what I'm doing. She calls them selfies.
This is me after finishing today's long ride. 30 minutes earlier, there was no smile. 8 x 25' is tough. The good news is, the watts that weren't there last weekend (camp residue?) returned today. Holding in the 200s (80%) was very manageable for the first 4. Then the W's started sliding a bit and I pretty much wobbly-legged #8 at 72%. I guess this means, if I go out the first half at 80% at TX, I shouldn't expect to come home at 80%?
It was in the 80s the whole ride and I went through all 12 bottles of Perform. Lived off water the last hour. Any notions of doing 2 bottles/hr at TX are pretty much out the window. It could become 4/hr if really hot.
Hope everyone is having a safe and productive weekend. 4 more weekends to top off the tanks.
.73 IF today vs. .72 last week on same distance. Avg speed was slower even with a slight higher IF due to about 30 stop lights and hitting lunch hour traffic on the way back in. It was 45-50 degrees and 10-15 mph winds, so a bit cold for this one today. I did 8X25' at .76 - .80 then a bonus interval at .84 at mile 90......legs were gone after that point.
Looks like my race day is going to be (with a disk on the back and a closed course) about .72, 5:30 and 285 TSS from what I am seeing which puts me in the green to run. Could I go 5:00, yes I could but there is no way I could run after that. I recorded 4:37 for the HHH including a 20 mph headwind from miles 80 to 100 but, I spent the next 3 days hiding under my desk at work.......so, my race day target is set currently at the 5:30ish time frame. I am told that if one were to mix some MR juice with Cronk powder and sprinkle it with EB dust, your IM times will drop anywhere from .5-1 hour all other things equal.............
For some reason I am starving......... Hope all had a safe, good quality day!
put in a decent day of work. Couldn't do the planned wo without getting in the way of the fan so I did 1hr run with 1mi z4 then 3hrs ABP. My power tap pooped out at about the 1/2 way point for about 20 min till I took the time to unclip and re calibrate so I can't say for sure what the whole ride was like. The first half was an IF of .81 but I think I might have faded a bit. I figured if I was going to only get 3 hrs I better make them count. Tomorrow I will get another 4hrs in and will do the intervals then.
Lots of nice work going on across the boards! Team EN is gonna rock IMTX!
I had to race today.... Just had to....Felt good to finally do a Tri again. Was a busy day and maybe not optimal longride training I would have preferred . Anyway I think I'm done playing around with races until IMTX. Was a good Sprint with 3rd OA and 1st AG.... And I almost got my 5hrs of total biking that was planned for the day (ended up with 97 miles with a total 4:50 bike all added up). Close enough and looking forward to that longrun tomorrow...
800meter swim to start in 13:04 including climbing out of pool and running over matt... I had submitted 13min estimate ... good for 9th overall swim T1 1:34 Bike 14.32 miles in 37min IF .95... fastest bike split of the day T2 58 seconds Run 2.91 miles in 19:10 6:35pace.... good for 11th overall Bike home 11.42 miles Last Bike ... 3.5hrs , steady .71 for 3:15 and then pushed it to .85 for 13.5min finish!
I had a crappy day today. Soccer game at noon 1hr from home just killed me. Got the run in with 1mi Z4 during soccer game warmup (multitasking!) and felt great. Not enough daylight to ride in AM and got called in to work anyway. Not enough daylight to ride after getting home either. Could have done the 90' ABP outside in afternoon, but lost my mojo I think. Just flat out didn't want to do it. No good excuses either. So, did the 90' on trainer late, at 0.8 IF, which sucked. I hate the trainer, but did it to myself today. I hope my mojo is back tomorrow. First day in a long time that I just could NOT convince myself to do it. Plan for the 5hr ride tomorrow afternoon.
5 hours on the trainer yesterday. This is getting SO OLD!! I was just mentally dragging yesterday. Need.to.get.outside!
The weather is supposed to finally break this week so I hope that if not this coming weekend, the following and there on out until the race we hopefully can get outside. Except it is spring in MN and that means rain. I hate biking in the rain. Fingers crossed for nice training weather.
My training partners have vetoed a 6 hr trainer ride this Sat. I think I remember reading that Tim, you cap your trainer rides at 5 hrs? Doesnt 5 on the trainer count for more...like 6 outdoors? Someone please say yes!??
We will have a slew of 5 hr trainer rides and will for sure do our last RR 100 mile outside in a local bike ride we signed up for, so that is good. But I figure being inside and sweating way more than being outside biking in 40 degrees is ultimately better for me for this race? Just such a crazy winter.
@Annie... Doing the best you can sounds like plenty! Reference Trainer ride vs outside.... Power is power in or out, Time is time in or out , TSS is TSS in or out. HOWEVER I AM a firm believer that not all TSS is created equal... There is not doubt that a trainer ride feels much more difficult when compared to an outside ride of the same numbers... This is due to No micro breaks in pedaling (coasting), more heat generation due to airflow (even with big fans), with no movement of the bike it feels like the Aero position even takes its toll on the trainer compared to outside... So having said all that I really am a firm believer in say maybe 10% less on the trainer is equal to the stress imposed on your body NOT TO MENTION your mind.... Trainer's make you strong physically and mentally.... YOU GOT THIS keep it up... IOW my theory is 300min or 5hrs outside is 270min or 4.5hrs on the trainer! I say NO to a 6hr trainer ride.....
@Jeff L... Crappy day is all relative.... Sounds like you still got in a bunch of work (dont know how you guys manage juggling kids its like your training for 2 IM's at ethe same time) .... Don't fade now were on the home stretch... Good skill on todays ride!
Week 6 about to be in the books! I'm gaining some SAU today while the hubs is on the golf course. This week has been the most challenging for me, but I set a goal to complete ALL the workouts I could, and boom, I did. Crosby and I went out for our 5 hour ride yesterday. We ended up with about 4.5 due to his chain somehow getting stuck in his aero break. Luckily we were by a bike shop. He thought is was great to head out on a ride and it only cost him $100.
Fri Swim & Run: I was HURTING after the long run Thursday but thanks to you guys, I got the job done. Switched up the swim to a few kick drills to help loosen up my legs a bit. Got through 5X400 before my splits and my swolf began dropping quickly -- thus began implement drills in between sets. Are you all really getting in 4,000+ 3 times a week?
I snuck out early on the bike before hubs tee time with a friend and fellow EN'r. Got her on my old road bike and helped her focus on proper gearing. Not the 90' I had planned, but it was really cool to help her out. Plan is to get another hour of some work on the drainer today... and possibly clean this house. I think I've forgotten how.
OH!! And wanted to share this post from an old EN'r, Steve Hall. He is on my local race team and put this up on our team page the other day. I figured I'd share seeing that we were just having the discussion about the skins.
"I learned today I was the numbers guy... Anyway, because I was interested in testing swim skins since Texas will probably not be wetsuit legal. I have tested the Kiwami Amphibian one piece tri suit, Tyr Torque Pro and the Roka Sports Pro Viper. I had a hard time believing it would be much of a difference over just a swim jammer. But my results spoke for themselves. My N=1 showed the Kiwami was 2.5 seconds faster per 100yd. My Tyr Torque was 3s faster per 100yd. My Roka was 4s faster per 100yd. For me, they appear to work quite nicely. I used the same protocol for all three tests. Suit on 3 x 100 warm up. Then 7x 100 then take suit off. 7x 100 without suit, jammer only. Then 7 x 100 with suit to compare. I did all intervals on 1:40."
Comments
Yup. That is what I was trying to say. Purely ego and posterity at stake as far as the 10 min goes. Still, if we are wetsuit eligible, I will most likely be wearing one. I was 1:16 in FL with a wetsuit and it was a really easy 1:16. Plus this will be a deep water start meaning 15 or so min of either treading water (no wetsuit) or just loading on my back (wetsuit).
Tim - you mentioned finding a canoe to hang on while you waited last year. Was it easy to find one? were there lots of them or were they just up at the front anyway around the fast people?
Hey gang...sorry to be such a lurker and not as active with the group as I would like...work...and this week my mother has been in the hospital...I had to drive up to RI and spend some time...there...still kinda touch and go.....
I was able to swim and run in RI...hitting all the key workouts....had to cut my long run short but felt great ...
Today I got back on got to try out my new crank on my bike wrkout...wow...I went to a 165 crank from 172.5 and it did exactly what I had hoped....it eliminated the dead spot at the top of my stroke...and opened up my hips...made spinning easier.....it also made my legs feel better coming off the bike...so pleased pleased please.d
also scored this new wheel cover for my jeep
This stuff is getting real and serious....and you are all doing great...lets take it home.
Long run done. Today I made sure I did NOT run the first hour any faster than LRP, hoping to actually be able to do the last 30' at Z3. Epic fail. Although Z3 is only 0:16/mi faster than Z2, I could not manage it. Last 60' was right on Z2, including walking breaks to drink each mile. That last 20' really sucked a whole lot. Form was falling apart, time standing still, etc.
For you vets....how much worse is the last 1/3 of the IM marathon compared to this? Just trying to get mentally prepared for the "suck" that is inevitable.
http://app.strava.com/activities/126731391
Really looking forward to Sunday!
As to what to expect, here is what people told me before my first and, sure enough, it's consistent with what I've experienced: (1) IM runs don't hurt as bad as standalone marathons (strange, but true), (2) your IM pace will be less than perceived effort the last 6-8 (I feel like I'm running 8:30s, look at Garmin and it says 10:08, WTH?), (3) you're almost guaranteed to hit a pretty dark point at some point (stomach, cramps, dead legs, time to take a nap, etc., but they usually don't last long), (4) by the time you experience #3, most of the course will be walkers (be prepared mentally to use that as motivation to keep running and NOT as justification that it's OK to join the crowd and walk her in), and (5) the last 2-3 miles are really, really fun (goose bumps) as the crowds are thick and you know you're about to finish off something monumental (I'm in full celebration mode at the Mile 24 aid station). For you, yesterday was probably just a little practice for #3. All good.
@MR...thanks. Very helpful.
Like RnP say, the more work you do now, the faster you will be. 10 min miles may not seem fast, but let me tell you...it was! Lol! Follow their pacing advice and relax. Go by feel and execute over chasing a pace. You will do well as we have ll been working hard/smart!
@ Annie....thanks. Very helpful as well.
I keep hearing (mainly from the coaches) how 90% of the field does not know how to race an IM (overcook the bike, run too fast too soon, bad nutrition, dehydration, etc.). But I just can't understand how that can be possible. I can completely understand how one can EASILY screw it up like this, but how can 90% of the field not know that this will not work? Is EN the only program/plan that teaches this strategy? Are people just ignoring similar advice from other coaches/blogs/plans/etc.? Even if I were "self coached" (which we sort of are....but not really), I would be reading everything I could get my hands on about how to pace. Who in their right mind would work this hard/long, pay $$, and just "wing it". Just seems inconceivable (insert voice from the smart guy in Princess Bride).
Extremely good wisdom being shared. Even if you're a veteran, read these posts and remind yourself of the pacing, nutrition and other words of advice shared below. It is true, 90% either don't know what they are doing or don't incorporate what they have been trained to do. Why?
IM, like life, is an emotional event with many unexpected mood swings, twists and turns throughout the day. Many of those items are going to be out of your control, i.e., heat, wind, humidity, other competitors. Those uncontrollables make it easy to lose focus on the controllables.........
Additionally, unlike your training period leading up to the race, it is likely going to be the first time in your season you will experience both a rested body/mind combined with race day Adrenaline.......a deadly combination. Stay true to your box, stay true to what your instruments are saying. The first half is going to feel uncomfortably easy for these reasons......BUT, (read the 4 keys) stay in your box because, at some point, things are going to get very, very hard and you will either pay the price for misinterpreting those 1st half feelings of awesomeness or use that focused discipline to manage your way through the second half of the run and hold the line.
Happy Friday all!
@ SS...you ok? Heard some tornadoes rolled through north DFW last night.
Had a laugh reading MR's comments about the run. I've only done 1IM and 7 marathons but I can agree with every one of his points.
I would do a seriously horrible job pacing the bike without a power meter. Speed will lie to you. I don't even look at it.
For the first 3 miles of imfl, I ran 45 sec too fast. And I knew better. In fact, it was the learning that kept me from going out 1:45 too fast. The dark sucky place came about the 1/2 way point on the run. Bent it didn't last long. And then there is that experience of being sure I was running 9's only to be told by my friends at garmin that I was in fact putting up 10:30's. And the last 2mi were euphoric. Not any faster mind you, but euphoric none the less.
Sure am looking toward to doing it again.
Concocted a plan to skip out of work Thursday and Friday of next week and do my own personal "camp". RR swim on Wednesday, RR brick on Thursday, second big bike day on Friday, swim or rest on Saturday (kids soccer) then longish run on Sunday. Got it blessed by coach p. now if only I can get the weather to play along.
Wow. I am really wasting time at work today. was curious about what finishing times are for texas vs fl. So I took Tim's time by leg from his last texas and his last florida and solved for the % increase per leg, then applied that % increase to my fl times. Which is silly. But it kept me occupied for 10min.
I got my long run in this morning. Yes, I know I'm behind.:-( Family is town, so getting time away is more challenging than normal.
So the EN plan is different in two key areas. First, the heart rate zone calculations are much lower than Ironfit. Second, running negative splits is a non existent concept in Ironfit. They are more focused on brick runs. Tuesday's run was my first attempt at negative splits. Which was a big failure, mainly because of the course that I chose to run. Which is an out and back with the out being all down hill, you know the rest of this story.
With this morning's run, I tried to stay on pretty level ground, which is not easy in this area. I was a little more successful on the negative split front. Still need to work on getting my heart rate down more when working in zone one.
Here is todays file: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/LYBZVJ7HCPNSAZRTA6CVLTXFNU
@Chris - I was using HR for today's run. I thought we were suppose to focus on HR. I guess I should read up on how pace can be used/measured into zones. On the treadmill, I generally focus on pace especially for intervals.
@ Bill...I think most (if not all of us train/run based on pace zones, rather than HR zones. Check out the ebook in the wiki in the running section on training with pace. That said, recently coach P has suggested/advocated determining initial pace by HR. WSM Al Truscott also has written a lot on this. This is one of the main threads on this topic:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/9607/afpg/2/Default.aspx
I asked coach P about how to determine initial pace at a hot race like IMTX (given the need to back off of paces due to the heat/humidity) and he basically responded by saying to use HR (he suggests 10bpm higher than avg on bike I believe....I think Al recommends starting off with avg HR for the bike, but he is a little older).
So, I would summarize by saying that we are encouraged to train by pace, but race (at least initially) based more on HR? (vets...feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!).
I think if you read the ebook on running with pace and at least coach P's initial post in that link above you'll see what I'm trying to say!
Anyone interested in an EN trucker hat? Coach P recommended a "trucker hat" for the run, as it's stiff enough to hold ice until you can slap it on your head. Rather than using one from Lucky's Truck Stop, how about this? $14.95 from Zazzle....Coach P recommended them. I designed it on their website...totally easy. If you're interested, I can email you the link directly to this and you can order it yourself. Or, I can take orders and buy them in "bulk" and bring them to The Woodlands. Let me know if you're interested or if you have a better idea/design....I'm not the king of creativity. If you think this is a good idea and should be shared with the WHOLE team, I guess I could start a thread or something.
@Jeff Thanks for the info on pace. I've read the Running with Pace guide now. I think I've got it now. Also, I'm interested in a EN trucker hat if you do an order.
1) I already plan on wearing my EN Coolmax hat;
2) I don't really want to run with a pile of ice on my head or in my shorts (just personal);
3) I have enough trouble attracting the ladies and don't need my hat compounding the problem.
This is me after finishing today's long ride. 30 minutes earlier, there was no smile. 8 x 25' is tough. The good news is, the watts that weren't there last weekend (camp residue?) returned today. Holding in the 200s (80%) was very manageable for the first 4. Then the W's started sliding a bit and I pretty much wobbly-legged #8 at 72%. I guess this means, if I go out the first half at 80% at TX, I shouldn't expect to come home at 80%?
It was in the 80s the whole ride and I went through all 12 bottles of Perform. Lived off water the last hour. Any notions of doing 2 bottles/hr at TX are pretty much out the window. It could become 4/hr if really hot.
Hope everyone is having a safe and productive weekend. 4 more weekends to top off the tanks.
@ JL, thanks but already have about 17 hats, looks cool though!
@MR - What a solid, well executed long bike bro! I felt similar to you in ability to hit the intervals well today.
Friday Swim: http://www.strava.com/activities/126940168
Pre ride 2X1s: http://www.strava.com/activities/127076791
Century Ride: http://www.strava.com/activities/127229543
.73 IF today vs. .72 last week on same distance. Avg speed was slower even with a slight higher IF due to about 30 stop lights and hitting lunch hour traffic on the way back in. It was 45-50 degrees and 10-15 mph winds, so a bit cold for this one today. I did 8X25' at .76 - .80 then a bonus interval at .84 at mile 90......legs were gone after that point.
Looks like my race day is going to be (with a disk on the back and a closed course) about .72, 5:30 and 285 TSS from what I am seeing which puts me in the green to run. Could I go 5:00, yes I could but there is no way I could run after that. I recorded 4:37 for the HHH including a 20 mph headwind from miles 80 to 100 but, I spent the next 3 days hiding under my desk at work.......so, my race day target is set currently at the 5:30ish time frame. I am told that if one were to mix some MR juice with Cronk powder and sprinkle it with EB dust, your IM times will drop anywhere from .5-1 hour all other things equal.............
For some reason I am starving.........
Hope all had a safe, good quality day!
Tomorrow I will get another 4hrs in and will do the intervals then.
I had to race today.... Just had to....Felt good to finally do a Tri again. Was a busy day and maybe not optimal longride training I would have preferred . Anyway I think I'm done playing around with races until IMTX. Was a good Sprint with 3rd OA and 1st AG.... And I almost got my 5hrs of total biking that was planned for the day (ended up with 97 miles with a total 4:50 bike all added up). Close enough and looking forward to that longrun tomorrow...
800meter swim to start in 13:04 including climbing out of pool and running over matt... I had submitted 13min estimate ... good for 9th overall swim
T1 1:34
Bike 14.32 miles in 37min IF .95... fastest bike split of the day
T2 58 seconds
Run 2.91 miles in 19:10 6:35pace.... good for 11th overall
Bike home 11.42 miles
Last Bike ... 3.5hrs , steady .71 for 3:15 and then pushed it to .85 for 13.5min finish!
Way to represent!
I had a crappy day today. Soccer game at noon 1hr from home just killed me. Got the run in with 1mi Z4 during soccer game warmup (multitasking!) and felt great. Not enough daylight to ride in AM and got called in to work anyway. Not enough daylight to ride after getting home either. Could have done the 90' ABP outside in afternoon, but lost my mojo I think. Just flat out didn't want to do it. No good excuses either. So, did the 90' on trainer late, at 0.8 IF, which sucked. I hate the trainer, but did it to myself today. I hope my mojo is back tomorrow. First day in a long time that I just could NOT convince myself to do it. Plan for the 5hr ride tomorrow afternoon.
5 hours on the trainer yesterday. This is getting SO OLD!! I was just mentally dragging yesterday. Need.to.get.outside!
The weather is supposed to finally break this week so I hope that if not this coming weekend, the following and there on out until the race we hopefully can get outside. Except it is spring in MN and that means rain. I hate biking in the rain. Fingers crossed for nice training weather.
My training partners have vetoed a 6 hr trainer ride this Sat. I think I remember reading that Tim, you cap your trainer rides at 5 hrs? Doesnt 5 on the trainer count for more...like 6 outdoors? Someone please say yes!??
We will have a slew of 5 hr trainer rides and will for sure do our last RR 100 mile outside in a local bike ride we signed up for, so that is good. But I figure being inside and sweating way more than being outside biking in 40 degrees is ultimately better for me for this race? Just such a crazy winter.
Doing the best I can!!!
Keep it up peeps!!! Time is a tickin'...
@Jeff L... Crappy day is all relative.... Sounds like you still got in a bunch of work (dont know how you guys manage juggling kids its like your training for 2 IM's at ethe same time) .... Don't fade now were on the home stretch... Good skill on todays ride!
Fri Swim & Run: I was HURTING after the long run Thursday but thanks to you guys, I got the job done. Switched up the swim to a few kick drills to help loosen up my legs a bit. Got through 5X400 before my splits and my swolf began dropping quickly -- thus began implement drills in between sets. Are you all really getting in 4,000+ 3 times a week?
I snuck out early on the bike before hubs tee time with a friend and fellow EN'r. Got her on my old road bike and helped her focus on proper gearing. Not the 90' I had planned, but it was really cool to help her out. Plan is to get another hour of some work on the drainer today... and possibly clean this house. I think I've forgotten how.
OH!! And wanted to share this post from an old EN'r, Steve Hall. He is on my local race team and put this up on our team page the other day. I figured I'd share seeing that we were just having the discussion about the skins.
"I learned today I was the numbers guy... Anyway, because I was interested in testing swim skins since Texas will probably not be wetsuit legal. I have tested the Kiwami Amphibian one piece tri suit, Tyr Torque Pro and the Roka Sports Pro Viper. I had a hard time believing it would be much of a difference over just a swim jammer. But my results spoke for themselves. My N=1 showed the Kiwami was 2.5 seconds faster per 100yd. My Tyr Torque was 3s faster per 100yd. My Roka was 4s faster per 100yd. For me, they appear to work quite nicely. I used the same protocol for all three tests. Suit on 3 x 100 warm up. Then 7x 100 then take suit off. 7x 100 without suit, jammer only. Then 7 x 100 with suit to compare. I did all intervals on 1:40."