@Bill I was down in Charleston last weekend too! We should have planned to meet up. My original plan was to ride down there but the hubs was a little weary about me riding alone. Oh well. You had an incredible two days of weather to ride in, that's for sure.
@MR Whoo hoo!! You broke an hour! That is awesome regardless of it being in the pool. I certainly hope you did the funky chicken in your swimskin when you got out. I'll be searching for your feet at the race while you draft Linda. We'll have a EN train chugging along...
I'm bouncing back from my cold. Why am I just now hearing about the "Taper Tantrums" or the "Taper Flu?" My body is already doing some crazy things and I haven't even officially STARTED to taper! If anything, my body is forcing me to start. Wednesday was the worst of it so I did an incredibly easy 45 min on the trainer. Yesterday I took my long run easy just so I didn't push myself back into a hole. Today I felt ready to rock and got 3200 yds in -- did Monday's 20X100 broke them up by 5 with 200 PB in between. I had planned to run afterwards, but felt a little weak so decided to come home and eat first, run later.
Well it looks like my swim RR will have to be on Sunday...no biggie....
Jimmie - the bike course is all downhill....but seriously...my garmin recorde elevation gain/loss as 1932/1930 and my VI was 1.05...I had some issues with the heat last year and grossly under-watted finishing right around 6hrs....I think the bike course ride downhill into the finish from about mile 60-80 in...Comments from other previous TXans?
Tim - What were you saying about riding the first part of the course harder than EN guidance??? what was the rationale?
Also...I am not a swimmer...so I don't expect much there...but looking a this years swim plan v last year...a ton more yardage in the plan??? why?...and how has everybody handled adding on 600-800/yds per workout given the same amount of available time?...for me ...I tried to maintain last years volume and only occassionally was able to go further...
@Emily - If you ever go back to Charleston then Steed Creek Rd and Halfway Creek Rd are the two best roads to ride on. It's all within Francis Marion National Forest, so there's no traffic and the pavement is very smooth. The rest of the roads within the forest are dirt or really rough pavement.
[Tim - What were you saying about riding the first part of the course harder than EN guidance??? what was the rationale?]
Disclaimer....My theory is based on a tactical decision to "Race" and the willingness to pay the price with a possible blow up or even worse a DNF .... But my thought is ride harder while I can..... the first half has a tailwind, its cooler temps earlier in the day, and has quite a bit of shade.... The second half has the headwind, much hotter temps, and fully exposed.... EVERYBODY will fade a little on the second half almost regardless of how you ride the first half ..... I rode about 5 watts above target for the first 3.5-4hrs last year and then I purposely backed off and rode about 10 watts under target for the last 1-1.5hrs as I became increasingly concerned about the heat I was feeling on the bike I knew how bad the run was gonna be...I felt like I could have held my power if I wanted to but made that conscious decision to slow it down and try to cool off a bit (FWIW I really didnt feel the heat until that last hour or so on the bike but when I did there was no mistaking it) .... It worked well and I intend on executing the same way this year... Its very risky and you never know how it will effect your run so I certainly don't recommend it.... I would recommend the tried and true EN bike execution....
Joe - yes. way more yardage in this year's plan. I developed a process to mange it: I do what I can do in an hour then I get out of the pool and go back to work. Some days I dont make the whole hour. But that is just me. If I make massive strides in my swim fitness and skill I might get down from a 1:12 to a 1:05. But I could take 40 minutes out of my marathon and 40 minutes out of my bike.
Well I was beat all day...kinda thrashed my legs on Wed & Thursday and the Wed. trainer ride kinda kinked up my hips due to a different position from outside...so I was going to push my long swim to Sunday...and give myself a day to rest for my bike-run Race Rehearsal tommorrow....I ended up going to the pool and I was just going to swim a couple a K as recovery ...but once in the pool and swimming I felt ok...ended up swimming my 4000 ..again not the fastest but actually :02/100 faster than my first RR...so I felt just fine...& done....I might repeat on Sunday.
Made a personal decision to cap the ride today at 3 hours instead of 4. Felt awesome! How much easier 3 is on the trainer than 5! After 4 weeks of 5 hour trainer rides, we felt the need to really pull back this week. I know myself well enough to know this is just what I needed. Followed up with an EZ 6 miles. Felt great!!! Finally a beautiful day in MN!...spectacular actually! We opted to ride inside again though to get the heat and humidity instead of 40 degrees and sun. Well worth it. Over 80 degrees in the sweat box!
I checked back to what I did for IMWI 2012 and my last long ride was 3 weeks out, and I felt great and rested at the race, so I wanted to do the same. I'm going to cut back on the swimming this week too...running out of time to fit it all in w/o flying into work on two wheels.
SO GLAD THE CRAZY STUFF IS OVER!!!!! Now to stay healthy, strong and taper SMART!!!
Rockin RR complete...100miles/19mph/152NP/VI 1.06/132 avg. HR...followed up with 6miles @ 8:32 that included 20 steps each mile...so run pace was 8:15ish.....feel great......and I didn't fly over the handle bars once!
Nice job, Chip! No doubt at all about your readiness. Enjoy the rest.
In light of early afternoon forecasted storms, my RR ended up being a 80/4.2 brick. Which is more than enough for me 2 weeks out. The forecast was correct, and lightning and sideways rain cut the run a bit short. Ride felt fantastic. Really struggled to keep the watts down (instead of struggling to keep them up like the last several weeks). 80 miles at 183 NP, 71.7% IF, 1.005 VI, 21.0 mph avg. Plenty of gas at the end, run was pretty easy.
Don't know what race day will bring, but I'm fully satisfied with my training, which has been far more/better than anything I've done before. And I'm extremely indebted to this group for its collective wisdom, support and encouragement throughout the journey.
Swim RR Friday without swimskin 1:05:34 1:33/100yd. 2sec/100yd faster than last RR without swimskin. Still 2sec/100yd slower than w Swimskin. Pretty pleased with current swim fitness.
Today's 101mile RR. Was planning on full 112 but had a flat and had to make an emergency detour to the restroom, so my elapsed time was over 6hrs., but actual moving time was only 5:20. Did it with race garb on, i.e., race kit, aero helmet, aero wheels, latex tubes (flatted and not using in race). NP 173, .68IF, 1.017 VI. 18.9 avg. If I can replicate this on the 17th, I'll be happy
@Annie that is just too funny..... I too had the first really nice day today in NH to ride outside and what did I do? Rode 4hrs on the trainer and 4 mile TM brick..... All in the order of needing to be finished by 11am to do other stuff... Oh well like I keep saying..... It makes you strong!
@Joe L.... Nice RR... You sound ready and confident!
@MR ... great minds think alike :-) 4hrs bike/ 4 mile run LOL.... tapering will start for real now
Tim-I haven't investigated it yet. Just changed it and went on. After all the talk about latex and the first time out I flat, I'm taking it as a sign. BTW where did you find the larger latex tubes?
I chose to do a local charity metric ride today since it was for an incredible cause, and it was supported. After some issues with my garmin, talking way more than I needed to, and peeing friggin 4 times, I ended up just under 100 with a .68 IF and elapsed time at 6 hours. http://www.strava.com/activities/137028236
Got the RR bike done. I have been sick (mildly) with this nagging dry cough and sore throat the past few days. Yesterday was the worst of it, with frequent dry coughing (I don't mind productive coughs, but dry coughs are just annoying). I think it took more out of me than I thought it would. No fever or any of that stuff, so I went ahead and rode. Noticed immediately that 0.7 was much harder than usual. I'm usually fighting myself the first 4hrs to stay at or under 0.7. Today that was never an issue. Legs just thought 0.6 or so was fine. Fairly hot today (on purpose), but not bad at all, so I don't think that was the problem. Actually came home at mile 60 with plan to just stop, get a shower and go back to bed. But....starting feeling guilty, lazy, etc. (and felt a little better after 5mins inside the house), so I figured I only have to do the 51mi out and back that is flat that I do all the time, to get the 112. So, refilled bottles, and headed back out. Had to switch to coke at mile 90 b/c the Perform was just making me nauseated and I couldn't bear the taste anymore (along with the sore throat, I've had this weird "soapy" taste....which is not enhanced with Perform). Noodled home with some gatorade and coke. Not sure that I made the right choice, but being my first, I just felt I needed to follow through. Ended up with IF of 0.67 (instead of 0.7), but still finished 112 in under 6hrs, avg speed 19mph, VI 1.04, Avg HR 123 (with aero wheels and helmet). I'll take it. I think I can still target 0.7 on May 17, but will not hesitate to back off if not feeling chipper.
Did some of the brick run, but cut it short...every mile when I stopped to drink (water at this point), I began another coughing fit, etc. I was having no problems running Z1 + 30" and HR was actually lower than avg bike HR (it was cooler then though).
Friday - 4200M. Garmin shows 3725 but it's incorrect because I didn't stop during the 3750 1:08 But I did miscounted my laps. Picked up an extra 100 in the cool down to make up for it. Swim http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/DZGMAALTNKP5EOZ3ZTHYCT47KA
It is done! Thanks to all of you, I survived myself through 18 weeks of IM training! Great day out there yesterday with all wrapping up the main portion of the plan on a strong note!
Jeff, Jimmy and I had some warm weather down here in Texas yesterday. Low 90s, light winds, and not a cloud in the sky. I drank 2, 24 ounce bottles of perform / hour and never peed on the bike.........thinking I will now need 2.5/hour at IMTX.........was not dehydrated but could have taken in more. Sweat just pouring out for the second half of the bike and the entire run......no clouds and the sun felt hotter that it actually was. I was ingesting 1,000+ mg of sodium / hr which helped tremendously and finished with dried salt on kit, sunglasses and bike...............
I had to work until about 10:00 a.m. and finally got started about 10:30 and it got hot fast. Good training day and reminder of what is to come, Houston will bring a higher heat index.........we are all in for a treat!
As Tim would say, it is time to taper like we have been training!
South texas weather is all over the map right now. Could be 60, could be 96. Went to run a bit today. I juggled the week to do the RR on thursday and was going to do the thursday run today. After the 60min of z1 I went to speed up a bit and my achilles started talking to me. If it had happened a month ago I would have kept going but given how close we are to race day, I just shut it down at 1:06. Congrats to all who have made it this far. Time for some rest and a 140.6mi victory lap.
Jimmy-had an achilles problem yesterday myself. Just came out of nowhere. Has me worried a bit, but luckily it's taper time so I won't feel too bad for resting it.
@Jeff Leslie.... while I applaud your ability to push thru yesterday's RR it sounds like you need some rest! Need to get over that little sickness you have.... DO NOT follow this plan into a brick wall..... You have done the work , do not be worried or feel guilty about easing up on ANY wko's in the next 2 weeks.... You have a FREE PASS !!!
Well my taper officially began on Saturday with a shorter ride 4hr vs last sat 5hr , and today's long run I cut all the way down to 1:40 from last sunday's 3hr 2/1 split sessions. http://www.strava.com/activities/137273827
My family and I are out eating dinner when a women limps by grabbing her hamstring. Jay asks what's wrong and she says she played a lot of tennis today. Immediately out of my mouth is "drink a coke!" And it worked. Ha
Good weekend workouts, actually did 2 x 57 mile rides (Sat and Sun) . Brick run 5 miles in 39 mins on Sat
On Sat ride, my powertap run out of battery, I was really lost without seeing power during the ride. Changed the small battery in the wheel hub on sunday and it was OK. Better this happenning now that during race !!!
Swim race rehearsal planned for today using new Roka swimskin, we'll see how that goes!
Comments
@MR Whoo hoo!! You broke an hour! That is awesome regardless of it being in the pool. I certainly hope you did the funky chicken in your swimskin when you got out. I'll be searching for your feet at the race while you draft Linda. We'll have a EN train chugging along...
I'm bouncing back from my cold. Why am I just now hearing about the "Taper Tantrums" or the "Taper Flu?" My body is already doing some crazy things and I haven't even officially STARTED to taper! If anything, my body is forcing me to start. Wednesday was the worst of it so I did an incredibly easy 45 min on the trainer. Yesterday I took my long run easy just so I didn't push myself back into a hole. Today I felt ready to rock and got 3200 yds in -- did Monday's 20X100 broke them up by 5 with 200 PB in between. I had planned to run afterwards, but felt a little weak so decided to come home and eat first, run later.
Looking forward to final RR tomorrow!
Well it looks like my swim RR will have to be on Sunday...no biggie....
Jimmie - the bike course is all downhill
....but seriously...my garmin recorde elevation gain/loss as 1932/1930 and my VI was 1.05...I had some issues with the heat last year and grossly under-watted finishing right around 6hrs....I think the bike course ride downhill into the finish from about mile 60-80 in...Comments from other previous TXans?
heres a link to that file if interested: http://tpks.ws/gk1i
and my RR...
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/11887/Default.aspx
Tim - What were you saying about riding the first part of the course harder than EN guidance??? what was the rationale?
Also...I am not a swimmer...so I don't expect much there...but looking a this years swim plan v last year...a ton more yardage in the plan??? why?...and how has everybody handled adding on 600-800/yds per workout given the same amount of available time?...for me ...I tried to maintain last years volume and only occassionally was able to go further...
@Emily - If you ever go back to Charleston then Steed Creek Rd and Halfway Creek Rd are the two best roads to ride on. It's all within Francis Marion National Forest, so there's no traffic and the pavement is very smooth. The rest of the roads within the forest are dirt or really rough pavement.
[Tim - What were you saying about riding the first part of the course harder than EN guidance??? what was the rationale?]
Disclaimer....My theory is based on a tactical decision to "Race" and the willingness to pay the price with a possible blow up or even worse a DNF .... But my thought is ride harder while I can..... the first half has a tailwind, its cooler temps earlier in the day, and has quite a bit of shade.... The second half has the headwind, much hotter temps, and fully exposed.... EVERYBODY will fade a little on the second half almost regardless of how you ride the first half ..... I rode about 5 watts above target for the first 3.5-4hrs last year and then I purposely backed off and rode about 10 watts under target for the last 1-1.5hrs as I became increasingly concerned about the heat I was feeling on the bike I knew how bad the run was gonna be...I felt like I could have held my power if I wanted to but made that conscious decision to slow it down and try to cool off a bit (FWIW I really didnt feel the heat until that last hour or so on the bike but when I did there was no mistaking it) .... It worked well and I intend on executing the same way this year... Its very risky and you never know how it will effect your run so I certainly don't recommend it.... I would recommend the tried and true EN bike execution....
But that is just me. If I make massive strides in my swim fitness and skill I might get down from a 1:12 to a 1:05. But I could take 40 minutes out of my marathon and 40 minutes out of my bike.
I checked back to what I did for IMWI 2012 and my last long ride was 3 weeks out, and I felt great and rested at the race, so I wanted to do the same. I'm going to cut back on the swimming this week too...running out of time to fit it all in w/o flying into work on two wheels.
SO GLAD THE CRAZY STUFF IS OVER!!!!! Now to stay healthy, strong and taper SMART!!!
Happy rest day tomorrow!
Rockin RR complete...100miles/19mph/152NP/VI 1.06/132 avg. HR...followed up with 6miles @ 8:32 that included 20 steps each mile...so run pace was 8:15ish.....feel great......and I didn't fly over the handle bars once!
In light of early afternoon forecasted storms, my RR ended up being a 80/4.2 brick. Which is more than enough for me 2 weeks out. The forecast was correct, and lightning and sideways rain cut the run a bit short. Ride felt fantastic. Really struggled to keep the watts down (instead of struggling to keep them up like the last several weeks). 80 miles at 183 NP, 71.7% IF, 1.005 VI, 21.0 mph avg. Plenty of gas at the end, run was pretty easy.
Don't know what race day will bring, but I'm fully satisfied with my training, which has been far more/better than anything I've done before. And I'm extremely indebted to this group for its collective wisdom, support and encouragement throughout the journey.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/492300897#.U2VpypPPHzI.link
Today's 101mile RR. Was planning on full 112 but had a flat and had to make an emergency detour to the restroom, so my elapsed time was over 6hrs., but actual moving time was only 5:20. Did it with race garb on, i.e., race kit, aero helmet, aero wheels, latex tubes (flatted and not using in race). NP 173, .68IF, 1.017 VI. 18.9 avg. If I can replicate this on the 17th, I'll be happy
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/492207322
Brick Run - Felt good coming off bike. It really warmed up from when I started this morning.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/492300952
@Joe L.... Nice RR... You sound ready and confident!
@MR ... great minds think alike :-) 4hrs bike/ 4 mile run LOL.... tapering will start for real now
@CK.... Nice RR.... what caused your flat?
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/935517-4hr-ride-for-IMTX
5 x 25' @ .75 , 1 x 25' @ .80 , and last was 1 x 25' @ .85 , requiring a few primal screams to get through .... Starting to unleash the racing beast!
http://www.artscyclery.com/Vittoria_Latex_Tube_700c_51mm_Valve/descpage-VTLAT7.html?crumb=RDRUBBER
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=25c latex tubes
I chose to do a local charity metric ride today since it was for an incredible cause, and it was supported. After some issues with my garmin, talking way more than I needed to, and peeing friggin 4 times, I ended up just under 100 with a .68 IF and elapsed time at 6 hours. http://www.strava.com/activities/137028236
The run went great! I went out faster than I intended, but was able to hold my pace and finish strong : ) http://www.strava.com/activities/137030380
Pumped for a mini beach trip tomorrow with the family.
Got the RR bike done. I have been sick (mildly) with this nagging dry cough and sore throat the past few days. Yesterday was the worst of it, with frequent dry coughing (I don't mind productive coughs, but dry coughs are just annoying). I think it took more out of me than I thought it would. No fever or any of that stuff, so I went ahead and rode. Noticed immediately that 0.7 was much harder than usual. I'm usually fighting myself the first 4hrs to stay at or under 0.7. Today that was never an issue. Legs just thought 0.6 or so was fine. Fairly hot today (on purpose), but not bad at all, so I don't think that was the problem. Actually came home at mile 60 with plan to just stop, get a shower and go back to bed. But....starting feeling guilty, lazy, etc. (and felt a little better after 5mins inside the house), so I figured I only have to do the 51mi out and back that is flat that I do all the time, to get the 112. So, refilled bottles, and headed back out. Had to switch to coke at mile 90 b/c the Perform was just making me nauseated and I couldn't bear the taste anymore (along with the sore throat, I've had this weird "soapy" taste....which is not enhanced with Perform). Noodled home with some gatorade and coke. Not sure that I made the right choice, but being my first, I just felt I needed to follow through. Ended up with IF of 0.67 (instead of 0.7), but still finished 112 in under 6hrs, avg speed 19mph, VI 1.04, Avg HR 123 (with aero wheels and helmet). I'll take it. I think I can still target 0.7 on May 17, but will not hesitate to back off if not feeling chipper.
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/H5VG7BTQF6HQ2DAIKMO5GBOWVU
Did some of the brick run, but cut it short...every mile when I stopped to drink (water at this point), I began another coughing fit, etc. I was having no problems running Z1 + 30" and HR was actually lower than avg bike HR (it was cooler then though).
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/REH2BKQKSPWQDIOL5U37WNAOCM
Great job all around today!
Friday - 4200M. Garmin shows 3725 but it's incorrect because I didn't stop during the 3750 1:08 But I did miscounted my laps. Picked up an extra 100 in the cool down to make up for it. Swim http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/DZGMAALTNKP5EOZ3ZTHYCT47KA
Saturday - Long bike 6:31. Lots of stops lights so added enough to make it 6 hours of moving time - 101 miles. http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/5BJGLX3EKAZJ6EZGBVFLTGAKCQ. Did Friday's run as a brick run. Just felt like I needed one more brick run. 50 minutes - 6.25 miles http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/77NM4XMVFATLPHPIZRJC75Q7UA
Felt really good after the run. Feel ready for IMTX.
It is done! Thanks to all of you, I survived myself through 18 weeks of IM training! Great day out there yesterday with all wrapping up the main portion of the plan on a strong note!
RR2 bike: http://www.strava.com/activities/137078960/overview
RR2 Run: http://www.strava.com/activities/137078892 A good reminder of how unnatural it feels to make yourself run slow.
Jeff, Jimmy and I had some warm weather down here in Texas yesterday. Low 90s, light winds, and not a cloud in the sky. I drank 2, 24 ounce bottles of perform / hour and never peed on the bike.........thinking I will now need 2.5/hour at IMTX.........was not dehydrated but could have taken in more. Sweat just pouring out for the second half of the bike and the entire run......no clouds and the sun felt hotter that it actually was. I was ingesting 1,000+ mg of sodium / hr which helped tremendously and finished with dried salt on kit, sunglasses and bike...............
I had to work until about 10:00 a.m. and finally got started about 10:30 and it got hot fast. Good training day and reminder of what is to come, Houston will bring a higher heat index.........we are all in for a treat!
As Tim would say, it is time to taper like we have been training!
SS
Went to run a bit today. I juggled the week to do the RR on thursday and was going to do the thursday run today. After the 60min of z1 I went to speed up a bit and my achilles started talking to me. If it had happened a month ago I would have kept going but given how close we are to race day, I just shut it down at 1:06.
Congrats to all who have made it this far. Time for some rest and a 140.6mi victory lap.
Jimmy-had an achilles problem yesterday myself. Just came out of nowhere. Has me worried a bit, but luckily it's taper time so I won't feel too bad for resting it.
@Jeff Leslie.... while I applaud your ability to push thru yesterday's RR it sounds like you need some rest! Need to get over that little sickness you have.... DO NOT follow this plan into a brick wall..... You have done the work , do not be worried or feel guilty about easing up on ANY wko's in the next 2 weeks.... You have a FREE PASS !!!
Well my taper officially began on Saturday with a shorter ride 4hr vs last sat 5hr , and today's long run I cut all the way down to 1:40 from last sunday's 3hr 2/1 split sessions.
http://www.strava.com/activities/137273827
two week taper not quite enough for me either.
so four hour bike yesterday which was a lot harder than the five hour a week ago. but a touch over race goal. and did fast 4 mile run brick.
12 miles on the treadmill today. 7:20 pace including the aid stations.
so seem to be where I need to be. ready to bring it down.
Yep. I think I'm ready. Let's bring it on down.
On Sat ride, my powertap run out of battery, I was really lost without seeing power during the ride. Changed the small battery in the wheel hub on sunday and it was OK. Better this happenning now that during race !!!
Swim race rehearsal planned for today using new Roka swimskin, we'll see how that goes!