IMTX Week 12 - Patience & Discipline
Welcome to Race Week! Hope all are pulling a Z4 on their taper focused landing!
Early morning Taper brick for me: http://www.strava.com/activities/140252982 (bike) http://www.strava.com/activities/140252973 (run)
I remember my first IM RR1. At mile 80 of the bike I became impatient, decided to move outside of my box, pushed a little too hard, beyond the guidance given because I just wanted to get off that bike and get done. The thought of 32 more miles at that point was convincing enough to me that I could make it all work. Wrong, about mile 3 of the run, I bonked
, had to actually stop running, lay down, and stop in the spinning landscape around me..
......a good lesson and reminder for me of the importance of executing Patience and Discipline.
Hope your visualizations this week of miles 70, 80, 90, 100, and so forth have you constantly looking down at your forearms and reading the words you have Sharpied in as a reminder along the way; Patience and Discipline! 
IMUA!
If I can be of any help this week/weekend please call/text me: 214.449.8391
Comments
SS -- thx for kicking off the race week thread (and all the other weeks!). you've been a great captain throughout and thanks for your enthusiasm and leadership!
catching up on the last few days, as I am now fully recovered from food poisoning a week ago:
Friday: Swim RR -- confidence builder and 3rd RR in the speedsuit. 1h12m+ and pushing the pace the whole time. in the word's of Al Truscott, I'm planning to race the swim in my 4th IM
Saturday: no tri bike, so took in a spin class. more intensity but way less volume than the plan called for. no brick run
Yesterday: Mother's Day 5k. #6 overall and #1 in AG; super consistent pacing of 6:10, 6:11, 6:09 / mile. could have killed myself to have a chance at 2nd place overall, but saving that dark place for miles 20+ on Saturday
Today: another spin class (backed off the intensity) and 30' swim
packing today and tomorrow and fly to TX on Wednesday am!
@ Mike - thks, very kind/generous....
Conditions for IMTX looking good so far:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...adDay.y=12
....knock on wood.....
On the schedule for monday - get nervous and mildly freak out while making lists.
Still coughing yesterday, so called myself in some steroids...now I gotta avoid overeating!
Thought I was gonna make it through a week of call without getting called in in the middle of the night, but nooooo....got called in at 2:45 last night. Got a few hours of sleep at least.
@SS, hope you didn't jinx us with your weather talk. But, since you started it . . . with the rain and chilly nights expected this week, everyone should be mentally and gear prepared for:
- WS optional, split start @7:00 and 7:10 as expected
- WS legal, mass start
- WS legal, rolling time trial
- WS legal, wave start
No real chance of WS complete ban at this point. Even if temps hit 85, IM would probably use magic thermometer to keep the weak swimmers afloat.
yes race coughs suck. though I have had good races with them.
good healing all.
careful on the weather optimism. it is creeping up. regardless, it is going to be hot (even if cooler than other years) and I assume humid. So the heat index will be high regardless. still need to be careful with hydration, electrolyte intake, cooling maneuvers, etc. so heat concern will be shifted a bit more from the bike. and more directly to the run.
What are the 1:10 to 1:20 swimmers planning on doing?
@Jimmy, assuming it's WS-optional, here are the factors I see in deciding whether to wear WS or not (everyone has their own, in different priority):
- KQ/podium: no-brainer.
- Safety: If you suck in water and really shouldn't be attempting this, no-brainer.
- Overheating: If you're only swimming 1:10-20, you're fully hydrated, ambient tems remain high 50's/low 60's as forecast, and the water isn't 82 or 83, you're probably not going to overheat at all in a WS. If you start to cook, let some water in. If the water is really warm and you plan to be out there 2 hours, I would go with the Speedo + Camelback option.
- Time: If you want to break __:__ in the water or you think you can break 10, 11, 12, etc. hours, but 5 minutes could make/break it, go with the WS. It'll give top swimmers 3-5 minutes. More form-challenged swimmers will get even more savings.
- Clean water: If you can go sub-1:10 without a WS, go in the first wave. Very few WS swimmers will go :55 and catch you, especially after they have to swim around 1,300 non-WS swimmers who started at 7:00. If you're 1:10-20 and go in the first wave, you'll be swallowed up by a couple hundred WS-clad swimmers in the canal. If you take the WS route, regardless of speed, you will have to swim through/around some portion of the 7:00 a.m. group.
- 10 minutes. By going in the first group, you will ride in cooler temps for about 10 minutes longer than the WS crowd. And, if 4 pm is truly the hottest point of the day, I'd rather be at Mile 17 on the run instead of Mile 15.7 when 4 pm comes around (actually, I'd like to be at Mile 140.7 making a dent in SS' bar tab, but that ain't happening until long after 4 pm).
- Pass vs. Passed: If I can get on the road in front of 2,000 athletes by going in the first group and swimming fast-ish, I won't have to do as much VI-challenging passing in the early miles. Let the meatheads pass me at 27mph. I will, however, have to pass most of them during the last 20 of the bike.
- Finish Line photo: If you go WS, you'll have to photoshop it to get real time.
For me, I want to get ahead of 2,000 people and have a relatively low-stress final 3,000m swim and more peaceful early ride, so I'll go at 7:00. Plus, if a Kona slot rolls down 60 or 70 places in my AG, I've got a legitimate shot.
I am a 1:15-1:20 guy in the pool (speedsuit or just jammer). My HIM WS swim times are ~39mins though in WS. Nevertheless, I am a confident swimmer and I believe and have been told by objective coaches and such that my form is good. I really don't think a WS will give me more than a couple to 3-4minutes, so I plan to go in the first wave in speedsuit. This is my first and I want to do it totally legit (not that using a WS when it's optional makes it non-legit....but you know what I'm saying). I want my time above my head to be right.
However, the biggest factor for me is the sweat loss. I have lost over 2 lbs in a RR swim in a pool recently (albeit warmer than most lap pools, but not a hot tub; and...not in a WS obviously). I am so concerned about dehydration that I do not want to lose any extra fluids on the swim, so I will use my brand spanking new speedsuit which might net me 45"!
The second concern is the 10' delay, as MR pointed out. On the one hand, if I go in the first wave, the WS folks are going to be on me in the canal. If I go in the WS wave, I will be on the MOP non-wetsuit folks in the canal. It's a total crapshoot for me. I do think I swim faster when cool, vs. when I'm hot in the water (couple of RR swims in different pool temps confirm this).
If I was fast (MR, EB, TC, LM, RS, others I'm probably forgetting), I'd definitely go in the non WS wave and try to "stay away" from the WS fast folks (which will be few in my opinion) the whole swim. Plus, those guys/gals have podium/KQ possibilities anyway, so as MR says..."no brainer".
If it happens to be totally WS legal, I suspect everyone will wear one (that has one), at I will too (sleeveless though).
My advice is completely free and mostly wortheless
.
I am being challenged today.... Staying in my Box...
Great swim this am to celebrate my 52nd Birthday 52 x 50yds in 52 min was the plan... Heather joined me but used fins to keep up at 1 per minute... Alternating slow/fast I was getting 10-20 sec rest per interval and staying with 1 per minute until someone had to get in our lane and circle swim... So we had to pick it up and finished the 52 in 51 minutes instead! That was NOT the problem... http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498124967
Grrrr Hate Quarq Yep the Powermeter Was cleaning bike by wiping everything down with a wrung out wet cloth and then drying... Wasnt even getting the basement floor wet... Took her out for one last spin on the roads and NO PM.... Calibration was 32000 ... WTF.... Tried all kinds of stuff.. Put bike on CT and was getting the same thing so it was not Garmin it was PM... Just replaced battery a month ago and was going to replace later today anyway when I had one... Ran out and bought a couple more new ones , threw it in , got the calibration down to 1000 and it started reading power but nowhere close to the CT which it usually is... Did an easy 30 min spin recalibrating several times and each time the calibration dropped and finally got it to 70 ... used to be 30-40.... Again my CT and PM were always within a couple watts of each other and today they were 16 watts difference , 32 watts difference and the last one only 7 watts difference. Called Quarq and left message with a machine... I'm out of warranty and this is my 3rd Quarq after having the first 2 fail.... Hopefully I'll get normal consistent numbers on tomorrows 1hr ride... I will not try to get it fixed before, during or after I travel... Just too much stress... Unless Quarq has a booth in Texas and will do it onsite ... I will just ride without , just like I did at IMLOU when the first Quarq failed.... If its bad and they won't replace it I am going to buy a Power2Max for my Rotor 3d crank ... This really stinks , but I'd rather ride without than ride with one that is wrong or a new/different one that could be off from mine by 5 watts...
OK I'm done... mighta come out of the Box just a little bit but I'm crawling back in....
IMUA!
Tim...if anyone can manage this PM issue and still have a great ride, it's you.
Agree with the Doc. TC once got in a fight with Superman. The winner got to wear spandex. The loser also had to wear a cape.
In contrast, without power, my back-up plan for the bike this Saturday would be: "Ride consistent, steady 21mph regardless of grade, road condition, wind or weather."
@MR...very funny.....you just go right ahead and do that and let us know how the run goes!
On another note : We finally had a hot day in NH @ a whopping 80 degrees ..... Threw on my new ROKA wetsuit I bought a month ago and went down to the lake... Guessing high 40's to low 50's...Was only gonna swim a few hundred yards.... Waded in .... feet acclimated fine.... hands in ... nope... hands out... hands in... nope.... after about 5 dips of 10 seconds my hands and wrists actually hurt..... NO THANK YOU.... got out !!! I have been able to swim in 53 degrees before with gloves and booties and hat but it was painful..... I was not about to attempt to put my face in today... needs to be 5-10 degrees warmer for this freeze baby.
Tim glad you got to the solution I was going to suggest. The latest generation Quarqs seem to be rock solid. You will enjoy the stable numbers in Texas. Bear in mind the battery is different size. 2032 I believe ? So get a couple new ones to replace the new one on your new meter.
Yes ironic. Temps in Tacoma/Seattle will be hot the next couple days then in Texas.
We have another Santa Ana like conditions here in SD. It's expected to be 99* here on Wed, and 100* on Thurs. My son came home with a fever on Fri but has sprung back, not before giving his sister a cold. I started sneezing/runny nose a few hours ago. I hope it's only from the Santa Ana winds and not from the cuddies my children brought home. Loading up with minerals and Emergen-C. Will start packing this evening & tomorrow.
I have LOVED being part of this group. The quality of athletes, the level of knowledge and support has really been a blessing. I have enjoyed the comraderie and knowing that we're all in this together. I cannot wait to meet each and everyone of you so that I could give you a big hug.
I'll take it.
Happy Tuesday, all!
Bike came apart remarkably easy last night after a final, sweaty 4 x 8 @Z3 on the Maiden. Now safely packed into its case. All my gear/clothes easily fit in the bike bag and wheel bag, so I'm carrying nothing but a backpack containing a strange-looking helmet, a book, an iPhone, and a 4-page list of things to do.
1,600y swim this morning. Felt great. And short.
Alarm set for 4 am tomorrow, so I can get to the airport really early to minimize stress. First class upgrade already confirmed. Now it's time to practice my, "No, this isn't a bike, and you don't need to charge me $200 to check it" speech for the airline personnel.
@MR....can you post a couple of pics of your bike bags? I'm looking at what to get or whether to use TBT....I've never had to fly for a race, but plan to do so in the future.
All.....how do your legs feel? Specifically, if you did the 3x3' Z2 run yesterday......how did your legs feel? Mine still don't feel "right"....just more burning than usual and seems to take more effort than usual for even Z1. I was convinced (by you all and Coach P) that I was overtrained/needed to rest last week, and didn't do much (only one swim wed, nothing Thur/Fri). I expected to feel great last night on that easy run. It wasn't horrible, but has me a little concerned. I know that "it is what it is" at this point and I can't add anything at this point and can only create more fatigue, etc.....but I also wonder if I just don't need to do some short easy jogs/runs (a couple more this week) to clear out whatever cobwebs/toxins/etc. are in there. The 4 x 8' bike intervals were better than I expected, although I only did them at 0.75.
Safe travels to all.
This AM on the Trainer riding next to Heather and listening to Pandora ..... I continued to unleash the racing beast within and joined in on the below lyrics with some minor ad libs.....Good thing the Computrainer was on ERG mode to keep me from going above my 3 x 7' @ .85 wko..... 3 mile TM run w/ 3 x .25 @ Z2-3
Boom! Here comes the Boom!
Ready or not, here comes the boy from the North
Boom! Here comes the Boom! Ready or not, how you like me now?
Is that all you got?
I?ll take your best shot.
Is that all you got?
She looked at me like I was insane... Said Your Ready!....
@ Jeff - just rest, keep it simple, you will find that when Saturday rolls around, everything will fall into place and you will being trying to hold yourself back from jumping out of your box. Trust the plan and trust the veterans.
@Tim - want to thank you for generously sharing and leading the group. Unselfishly sharing your race plan details, workout details and taking the time to respond to each and every team question thoroughly with great advice. Easy to see why the podium is yours for the taking come Saturday.
@MR - I am going to go ahead and call it......I am seeing 11:00 to sub 11:00 territory most likely come Saturday. Look forward to lunch Thursday bro.
Short maintenance run for me early: http://www.strava.com/activities/140614239
I am reading lists over and over then reviewing the MR and TC race plans and comparing to mine. Suggest we all take advantage and compare these plans to our own.....great stuff!
SS
@Jeff, here's my travel set up. Wheel bag clips to bike bag, roll it through the airport. Meet all luggage size restrictions.
More important, Jeff, you must stop playing defense! It's officially over. Relax, follow the plan this week, and move to 100% offense mode. It's not I hope I can or I wonder if I can? It's "I will" from now on. See TC's song lyrics for an e.g. of offensive mindset.
@SS, if you're calling sub-11 for you, go make it happen! If you're calling that for me, I plan to be showered and two beers into your tab when 11 comes around.
there were 1000 other meters swum but they were not as noteworthy.
90% packed last night. Hitting the road early tomorrow morning. I have a work call that I have to take from 12:15 to 1. My plan is to get as far north as I can by then and pull over. After the call I will ride the northern ugly chipseal loop. It will be interesting to see how it actually compares to the god awful chipseal that I ride on the other 364 days of the year.
wheels up at 10am tomorrow -- let the packing begin!
Why can't I start packing?
A brush fire broke out a couple of blocks from my house 3 hrs ago. We have Santa Ana conditions with 91* heat and 30-40 mph winds. My kids school was evacuated & had to pick them up at the Evacuation Center. Hours later, I secured my 3 kids & headed straight for the gas station. Made it there in time before the huge lines started. Winds shifting towards the Coast right now, but still over 75 acres burnt and up to a possible 300 acres.
@ Linda....terrible news. I have prayed for you and will continue.