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Week 17... 4 to go!
Well Ladies and Gentleman, we have less than a month to go until Race Day! Getting nervous yet?
Today's swim was the shortest swim I've done in a month, but it wasn't easy. I think the accumulated fatigue is wearing on me. I got it done but the PE was high. I know that most of you are not testing tomorrow, I am although I usually wouldn't this close to race day. I think my FTP is higher than I have been riding lately as the ABP rides come a little easier than I remember. Hoping for a few watt bump after tomorrows test.
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Took a rest day on Sunday, and did last week's long run today. 2:30/16.5 mi A lot better mojo than last week.
This is usually the biggest week on our schedule in terms of training hours. And the point of greatest fatigue comes in this next week. Always be willing to take a rest of 24-30 hours if you're not hitting your paces.
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/926798-2014-Test-Power-5-min-20-min
I was able to do the VO2 at 288 watts, which is 120% greater than 240, which I was hoping I could test at. At 240 I needed to hold just over 250 watts for the 20' which I attempted to do, but blew up big time.
Should I make another go at it? My previous two tests both put me at 231.
Peter- How have your weekly rides been going? Have you hit all your intervals? Has the ABP ride been at .85? If you have been meeting your numbers for the weekly rides and your ABP rides have been in the mid to high 80's then I think you should test. Thats where I find myself.
Peter - no comment about whether or not you *should* test … I advise watching Coach P's Coach Chat podcast on this very topic from one week ago for guidance on that question. But, if you DO decide to test and want to see if you can make 250, consider this protocol: Work the 5 minutes as a build up from 250 during the first minute to 280+ by the end. Then, after 10 minutes of rest ("free wheeling" is all you need to do), START your efforts at about 220-230 for the first 2-3 minutes, then build from there. If you just want to see what you can do, start at about 210-220 for those first 2-3 minutes, then build.
The general principle in any TT like this is your first 10-15% (2-3 minutes in this case) should be done @ 10-15% BELOW your anticipated max effort. THis had been studied in the lab and shown to be the most effective way to do a cycling TT.
That's why I made a vow (one night in August while driving through Iowa) in 1972 never to live east of the Continental Divide. The only ting I miss is fireflies.
Just finished my bike test...the 5 minute VO2 test was at 330 watts and the FTP 20 minute test was at 293 watts. Deducting 5% would put my new FTP at 278 which is an 18 watt bump from my last test. Pretty happy about that since I've been so beat up lately.
Here is my Garmin file.
No FTP test for me today. It would be futile at altitude. So I did 40' worth of FTP intervals. Three hill climbs of 700'/2 mi, 600'/1.9 mi, and 350'/1.2 mi @ 0.98, 0.95, and 0.93 IF. I realised that today - with short hard swim intervals in the morning, the FTP climbs in the PM - would have bee a hard day during the OS. I see it as the easiest day in this week's training.
Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/513476855
Congrats on the hard work guys! Still truckin' along in my world, longest long run of the build tonight and looks like the weather will be beautiful! Also, really excited that I was able to hit my TP on a run earlier in the week. I thought that gear would have been long gone by now...
@ Peter I had the Rocky theme song as my alarm the ENTIRE year of my first IM. Hubby was not amused...
Got my swim in this morning but opted to skip the scheduled 45 minute run (even though today is National Running Day). Yesterday I noticed some minor pain on the outside of my right foot. Not bad...but a little tender. I figured I'd spend the day icing it and resting it to get ready for tomorrow's RR run.
Keep going!
I did the long run this morning as well. Went great, really upped my fluid intake to match what I intend to drink on course and no issues other than having to pee which I guess is a good sign.
74 degrees with 85% humidity at 5 a.m.....are you kidding me! Never really felt like I got into my groove - had to do a lot of self-talk to get through it - intentionally did not listen to music to try and mimic having to "suck it up" without the aid of some solid 80's hair bands to propel me to greatness!! I think this run may have helped me more mentally than physically.
Took down 145 ounces of 50/50 perform/water and still lost 1.2 lbs...which I feel like is a victory considering I had to wring the sweat out of my shirt, shorts, iPhone armband, compression sleeves and socks!
@Steve (Cummings) - regarding "I was getting a lot of sloshing around in my stomach so my fluids didn't seem to be absorbing fast enough" - the sloshing is usually a sign that you need more sodium to help move the fluids out. Do you take any salt tabs to supplement your fluid & GU intake?
On another note, i'm jealous of some of these long run paces i'm seeing thrown around....keep it up guys!
This question comes up about this time in every IM training group. I wrote a wiki post so I didn't have to keep repeating myself. The post includes a link to a summary of research on this topic. Key takeaway ... You only need two weeks , one hour a day, to get most of the effects possible to acclimate to hotter conditions. Truth is, it could be anywhere from 48 to 98 F on race day.
http://members.endurancenation.us/R...matization