Week 8 of 12 IMTX-The Forging
The week 7 dust has settled, from BTWs to RR1s to HIM PRs and AG wins! Wow, what a week!
Super important week 8 relative to race date, holding the line, hitting the volumes.
Stay focused and ALWAYS, Keep moving forward!
SS
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Comments
Is it time to taper yet?
Rich,
Notes:
There is really no standard formula for "if temps > baseline temp of X, then adjust IF by Y." In my experience, the hotter the temps the more you need to dial things back/be conservative not only to maximize your own performance but also to avoid the attrition caused by people who do not dial it back.
.73-.75 is a "hot" Ironman IF. That is, if someone is planning to race in that range they are/should be a legit Ironman racer with solid bike fitness. If it were me, my decision process would have been "the tables put me at .73-74. I'm going to start with the goal of .72, maybe even .71, due to the heat on the bike and the run. And I'm going to totally noodle the first hour or so at .69-70 to make sure I get settled in and maybe get ahead on my hydration."
400cals/hr: I don't race at 400cals/hr. I'm more 250-300/hr. And frankly I'm a little leery of our own guidance (higher calories) because I think it can be abused too easily by our athletes --> they tend to aim for the higher numbers vs the lower numbers. In my experience, going with the lower side is better. But what's more important is fluid vs solid, especially in a hot race. Drink 1.5-2 bottles of Perform per hour, pop a gel now and then and you should be fine. But solid food in a hot IM, especially if you ride too hard in the first hour, is no buen
No. Not much intensity in my big week. I just tried to follow the camp week protocol which meant that the bike work was around IF of .70. Had a couple of hrs of Z2 runnig in there. Mostly just a lot of missed work and long sessions. 2hrs swim, 5:20 run 10:20 bike. But I needed it badly. Too many rides cut short by weather, family and work this spring. By the end of the second bike day, I could still turn the pedals but I could barely lift my head to see!
Now the question is, "how long till I feel normal again"? I swam today but didnt hit paces and spent more time than normal on the wall. In reviewing my notes from IMFL, I hit a valley after RR1 so Im not that worried. Last time it took a week or so to get back up to speed. Im guessing this time will be about the same.
I am strongly considering (ie....I registered for one of the "secret" spots) doing 2014 IM Maryland. Four months is enough time, to recover and re-train right? (I know Tim only needs 2 weeks, but I am a mere mortal). I would do this instead of Austin 70.3. Advice/comments/opinions from vets welcome. I haven't paid yet, but have to do so Thursday I believe.
In retrospect, I'm glad I signed up for IMNYC because after the '12 race, they cancelled it and it was the only one ever run. Other than that, though, for me, 2 IMs in one year was too much. "Triathlete Mike" would love to sign up for, train for, and compete in 2+ IMs a year, but "Dad Mike" and "Worker Mike" couldn't make that happen. All depends on your life circumstances, I guess...
btw, Gonzalo and I are considering IMMD for 2015
Mid Morn RR swim pushed out from Friday due to various goos attack related issues...
Evening EZ IM paced 5 mile run.
All done for the day. Drinking tea...feet up!
Jeff, I did IMTX, imcda, and imcanada in 2012 and IMTX, imcda, and IMAZ in 2013 (yes I know, I'm crazy!). Four months between ironmans is plenty of time to recover and peak again if you're considering Maryland.
Thanks Tom. Just trying to feel out the wife to see what the implications might be.....
Lunch time was 40 min and 4.5mi. 1mi z4 followed by 1mi z3. better pace at avg of 8:55. The second session always feels so much better than the first. Yes there is more muscle fatigue but all of the joint aches are gone and I can trust myself to run hard without getting hurt.
Overall, Im happy about where I am run wise coming out of camp week. Bike is still a question mark. We will see tomorrow.
@JL - spousal implications are extreemly personal. For me, I put myself in position to do an IM every 6 mos more or less from IMFL to IMTX to IMCOZ. In my house there is more strain around the time spent trianing for IMTX then there was for IMFL. I think that after IMCOZ I will be spacing them out more to earn more SAUs. Your mileage may vary.
@ Annie - at least once a week I am forced into the indoor 25 yd pool and just really dislike it. For one, the chlorine smell is much stronger and it feels like I am lapping forever........I did 4,200 yds yesterday at lunch in the 24 hr fitness pool......not fun.
@ Jimmy - nice work putting Z4 intervals inside of a 100 min run and following that up with round two later in the day! A lot of work!
My lunchtime TP interval run: http://www.strava.com/activities/130583338 ....which I will pay for tomorrow.....
Aiming to swim this afternoon in the outdoor 50M, heated monster..........
Happy Tuesday!
Wish I could fine a 50m pool locally. The only one I can find has lap swim from 10-2 and 8-9:00 and is in Timbuktu.
JL - there is a 50m pool in san antonio. a couple of them actually. If you havent done so yet, try downloading the iphone app "swimradar". It will find pools nera your current location, give you 25m, 50m or whatever the size is and get you a link to a website or a phone number. good stuff.
I ended up taking yesterday off due to the bee sting reaction. Come to find out, the booger got me 4 times before losing the stinger. Sucked.
Decided to go easy today, and then was forced to when I realized I hadn't charged my 910 that was out of juice. Easy 5 mile/ 45 min at IM pace. 3500 yds in 1:06 w/ rests.
good luck recovering to all from geese, bees, self inflicted, etc. let us all get in one pierce to the big day.
thoughts on pool work. with race approaching, starting all my workouts with a simulation. 500 m fast start without warmup. trying to simulate race start. and trying to get into the race mid set before hand. simulating the panicked feeling of getting pounded at the start, inhaling water, etc thinking of the redlining heart rate at the start. sort of a desensitization so that whatever is encountered on race day is old hat.
Monday run 6.2 miles in 47 min and swam 2000 m improving TT for 1000 m by 22 sec compared to last month
Tuesday run 6 miles in treadmill (snow outside!) and then swam 1 mile before pool closed
Swim boxes for yesterday and today checked off. Getting really tired of swimming for an hour and a half
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Run tonight felt surprisingly good and "fresh"....I guess two days off the legs did some good.
http://app.strava.com/activities/130713500/laps
@JA....I downloaded that app....but I don't think it's very accurate re the lengths you can actually swim. It lists Dub Farris (NISD Natotorium) as a 50m pool....which it is technically, but they never allow 50m lap swimming. I'm gonna try to go to Blossom on Friday for the long swim...supposedly the outdoor pool is set for 50m right now....if it's not heated though, I'm not doing that
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All......You know deep down inside you want of these bad boys....
So far this week I failed to complete monday's swim to my normal standards, I ran just fine tuesday, then this morning could not hold my watts on the FTP bike session.
My question is do I power through and swim as best I can at lunch, or do I go find a place to take a nap? I am sleeping hard at night by the way. I just could have used a few more hours of it this monring I think.
I will go back through my notes from IMFL but ya'lls input would be appreciated.
@ Jimmy - adding volume is a delicate balance. Drastic increases vs. moderate increases week over week can put you in a hole early and risk illness/injury. If you are adding more than a 10% increase week over week in load (combined intensity/volume) you will need to listen carefully to your body. That said, a spike in volume like Camp Week, can really help you in your progression if you allow your body a few days to absorb all that work.....give yourself a break a few days after that kind of increase and don't expect to hit your targets as written.........you should come back online fully by Friday if you can eat/rest properly throughout that adjustment period...........Key is to keep listening and pull back if in doubt........
Great work with your camp!
SS
@ JA....I'm not a vet of this volume of training, but what Coach P told us at camp was to take Mon/Tuesday off (maybe a swim, that's it though). Wed bike was optional, depending on how you felt. Main goal was to be back up for the Thursday long run. So, sounds to me like you're maybe trying a little too much too soon after your big week?
So...Wed...facing the weekend which for me will be either...Camp/Big Tri Weekend or Traditoinal Simple RR#1 Weekend...and I remain undecided as which I will pursue.....So I will ask this group for their thoughts...
a.) if you haven't done a Camp Weekend (6 weeks out from race day)...how do you feel coming out of the weekend? Its Wednesday...to you feel you have recovered? How much more tired do you feel? How much better do you feel psychologically?
b.) if you have done a Camp Weekend and in the past done a Tradtitional RR weekend at week 6....which do you prefer or feel preps you better....?...not makes you fitter overall....preps you better for race day...5 weeks away?...
I will couch this question by stating that I'm a bit skeptical of including this in my build at this point..its a weekend not week or a month..I'm a firm believe that fitness is built by consistentcy over time...not in any single workout or weekend...so I'm more interested in the necessary recovery and not overtraining in the final weeks....my peaking is coming along just fine...I feel I'm in a good place (comparing to last years build to IMTX....were I just did regular RR's...)....and don't want to overshoot/get stale....I tried to do that coming off of an accident in my build for Louisville in 2012...and feel like I never fully recovered from the Big Tri Week/end (I did 5 days Wed-Sun)....everyone around here is getting sick...which scares the heck out of me at this stage...so...very concerned about digging a hole..., jumping in...and not chaving the strength to climb back out..and then climb higher...so to speak
Understanding that training is always an individual experiment of N=1....and what works for one doesn't mean its the best for everyone...what are your thoughts on the relative benefits/issues of the two choices?
@ MR....I think SS is officially "over-achieving" now. I may have to tell the coaches.
It's for his own good though.
@Chip, it sounds like you're in solid shape, with no need to throw a Hail Mary, so I would go with Option C if I were you. And that is to do this weekend's rides as scheduled, probably getting a solid 170+ miles of volume riding. Way more than a RR weekend, and you can get away with only one RR in Wk 18 b/c you're a vet. The danger of doing camp this late, IMO, is the long run on Sunday while quite fatigued, especially if you also go long tomorrow on the run. If you really want to top off your weekly run volume and get a psuedo-camp sim, you can do the 170 miles of riding this weekend and follow Sunday's ride with an optional brick run (can shorten or cut if need be).
As you noted correctly, IM fitness is a long, slow, gradual thing. One or two mega-workouts at the end aren't going to magically shave 15 minutes off your finishing time, nor will a mega-weekend in Wk 16. Sure, there are probably a few ways to push the envelope to try and gain an extra 1%, but for the MOP mortals like me who are currently 100% healthy (yes, I just knocked on wood), the risk isn't worth it at this point. Me . . . I'm staying away from the edge. But that's just my $.02.