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Macro Thread- Steve Swanlund

SwanieSwanie
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Rich- Having mentally recovered from a disappointing IMCdA and physically ready to hit again, I wanted to get your take on something that has bothered me since race day. 

I had a good JOS where I hit all the workouts, I did do a marathon hack for Boston where I had a less than stellar performance. Although most of that could be the result of having the full blown flu that week (missed 3 days of work). I ran a 3:43:xx and my expected time was a 3:20:00. After Boston I took a week off and then jumped into the Ironman Intermediate plan. The plan went smooth, I hit all the bike workouts, but had trouble hitting the intervals of the longer runs. I DID get all the run volume in. I followed the plan through the taper and then felt that I was conservative on race week, making sure I wasn't running around too much. I felt good on race morning and felt that my nutrition was spot on through out the day. But I had a horrible bike and fell apart on the run. Some of that can be blamed on the wind, some can be blamed on imperfect execution. But I don't think my execution was off enough to cause a 1:20:00 slow down. And then to hear about Jenn, Jason, Judson, Jed V, and  Peter having excellent races makes me think there is something that I am screwing up. 

I have Ironman Maryland in 10 weeks and want to redeem myself. Is following the plan enough? Is there more work that I could be doing? Is it too late for this year? I know that Jenn put in extra work all year and it showed on race day. I want to have one of those race days.

Comments

  • jendatjendat

    Hi Steve,

    I know this was meant for Rich, but I have to let you know that I too had a disappointing day at IMCDA. I had nutrition issues even though I had practiced and raced with the same plan all year with no problem. I also did 90-95% of the workouts and felt good going into the race.  I walked most of the marathon and finished 1.5 hours behind my time from last year. I know this probably doesn't help you feel any better, but I wanted you to know you are not alone. 

  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Posted By Steve Swanlund on 10 Jul 2014 06:45 PM

    Rich- Having mentally recovered from a disappointing IMCdA and physically ready to hit again, I wanted to get your take on something that has bothered me since race day. 

    I had a good JOS where I hit all the workouts, I did do a marathon hack for Boston where I had a less than stellar performance. Although most of that could be the result of having the full blown flu that week (missed 3 days of work). I ran a 3:43:xx and my expected time was a 3:20:00. After Boston I took a week off and then jumped into the Ironman Intermediate plan. The plan went smooth, I hit all the bike workouts, but had trouble hitting the intervals of the longer runs. I DID get all the run volume in. I followed the plan through the taper and then felt that I was conservative on race week, making sure I wasn't running around too much. I felt good on race morning and felt that my nutrition was spot on through out the day. But I had a horrible bike and fell apart on the run. Some of that can be blamed on the wind, some can be blamed on imperfect execution. But I don't think my execution was off enough to cause a 1:20:00 slow down. And then to hear about Jenn, Jason, Judson, Jed V, and  Peter having excellent races makes me think there is something that I am screwing up. 

    I have Ironman Maryland in 10 weeks and want to redeem myself. Is following the plan enough? Is there more work that I could be doing? Is it too late for this year? I know that Jenn put in extra work all year and it showed on race day. I want to have one of those race days.

    Hey Steve,

    Sorry you're not satisfied with your day. I know you put in a lot of work and were expecting a better result. A few note, observations and questions:

    • As you know, we're not fans of marathons within a triathlon training schedule. I get that it's Boston and I know what that means. However, I think 12wks out from IMCDA is early April, which is when everyone else racing IMCDA dropped into their plan and Boston is mid April, so I suspect you weren't fully on board with the IM plan until the end of April? This may offer some explanation about why you weren't able to hit all of the intervals in the long runs?
    • What race execution errors do you think you made at IMCDA, specifically on the bike?
    • Following the plan: as you and I have discussed elsewhere, we have an "Ironman Revenge" training plan. That said, actually getting faster post Ironman and then jumping straight into an Ironman training plan is a tall order, as there are simultaneous requirements to recover, get faster, and build endurance, though I suspect you likely don't/didn't need as much recovery time as is typical, post IMCDA. 
    • Depending on what race execution errors you made, that could easy account for 1:20 of slowing down. Also, without looking at results from '13 to '14, I'd say the swim could have easily been 5-6' slower and the bike 15' slower, assuming equal fitness from year to year, etc. More specifically, everyone was riding generally uphill into a strong headwind for full ~30 miles of the course. I bet that a TON of people really screwed that up and it show up in the '14 vs '13 results. 
  • SwanieSwanie
    - Yup, I get that Boston had an effect on my race. I was pretty sure you were going to call me out on that one. And yes I was not back into my Ironman plan until the end of April. I won't run Boston in an early Ironman year again.
    - I know I didn't go out too hard on the bike in the first hour- but I think I might have had a few spikes on the climbs which would have been just after that first hour. I probably pushed too hard into the wind although you can't see it in my WKO+ download. I definitely did not reset my IF for a 6:45 bike ( I was expecting a 6:00 bike) I should have dropped my target watts by about 8-10 watts towards the end of the first loop seeing that I was going to be over my predicted time.
    - I am going to hack the plan with the revenge plan and keep a close eye on my RPE, resting HR, and general attitude and then re-evaluate as I go.
    - I am rededicating myself to the next 2 years to get to where I want to be. I'm calling it the WORLD DOMINATION TOUR, 2 years of solid work and no stupid races. If I can get close to the pointy end in that time then I will continue to work hard. If it doesn't happen then I will just enjoy being fit and having fun at races.

    Thanks for your help and any other tweaks to the general plan that you think might be helpful would be greatly appreciated. I know that Jenn Edwards had some extracurricular work through out this past year.
  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Yes, I'm going to open up a race scheduling and consultation business called "Better Performance through Intelligent Race Selection." 

    Yep, everyone probably should have dialed the bike down a tick when they realized the winds were going to keep them out there longer. In the end, it's similar to a very hot day: you know that the majority will not adjust their effort for the hot conditions of the day and will pay for it later. So you make that adjustment and win through attrition / not slowing down as much as they will. 

    With regards to extra curricular stuff, the method that has been proven to work here is to train and race like an SC / HIM athlete until about 12wks, then put on the IM hat, then schedule some high volume pops within that 12wks. See IM Wk15 training camp schedule in your training plan. 

    I believe that Jenn worked directly with Patrick for an additional fee, outside of the monthly EN membership.  

  • SwanieSwanie
    - I would like to subscribe to your first newsletter once you get "Better Performance through Intelligent Race Selection" off the ground.

    - I have spent the last two weeks in SC mode just to break the monotony of what I have been doing for the past 15 weeks. Placed top 10 OA in a sprint last weekend and am doing another sprint this weekend. I am actually really enjoying doing .90 IF rides for 90-120 minutes vs .75 IF rides for 240 minutes. I will get back on the IM train next week to lead into Ironman Maryland at the end of September.

    - I didn't realize that extra curricular training support was a thing. Do YOU do that sort of thing? I get that you are babysitting 800 athletes year round and may not want to take on more duties.
  • SwanieSwanie

    Rich- 

    Thanks for the TSR- I like the idea of the get faster instead of OS in the spring. As far as biking during the Marathon build, Right now I don't even want to LOOK at my bike much less get on the damn thing. I am running 5 days per week right now, If I can stomach the bike later in the build then I might start cycling a couple days during the week. Otherwise I will just hit it hard in the spring, like you said I have a LOT of time before IM Maryland in Oct.

  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Posted By Steve Swanlund on 07 Nov 2014 10:33 AM

    Rich- 

    Thanks for the TSR- I like the idea of the get faster instead of OS in the spring. As far as biking during the Marathon build, Right now I don't even want to LOOK at my bike much less get on the damn thing. I am running 5 days per week right now, If I can stomach the bike later in the build then I might start cycling a couple days during the week. Otherwise I will just hit it hard in the spring, like you said I have a LOT of time before IM Maryland in Oct.

    Ok, sounds good, thanks!

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