Long run yesterday about killed me. Did 16 miles in 2:20, but I swear it felt as though my legs were going to fall off by mile 14.
Today I did the 6 hour ride. Did not have time to make it a true RR and do the run. I plan to do the real RR on Sunday. Today's ride was 101 miles in 6:15. I was really bummed I was so slow and my watts were way lower than I was aiming for. When I down-loaded the data from my Garmin, I saw that I climbed over 7,000 feet! Doh! Did not realize there was so much elevation gain!
I am also coming off of racing Challenge Rancho Cordova 70.3 last Sunday. Took Monday and Wednesday completely off and did the long swim on Tuesday. Probably have a lot of fatigue built up.
Well here I am, 42 miles into my Saturday long ride, sittin on the the corner of McDowell and Alma school (just west of the gas station for those who know he course). Waiting for my husband to rescue me. I flatted 10 min into the ride and used up both tubes I had with me, fixing the flat and now it's flat again. Not my day. Ride was actually going pretty well. Im not that far from the two south Scottsdale tri shops so hopefully back on the road soon!
Went back to the pool last night after work and did the other 3000 of the swim. I'd had a lesson the day before with a new 'aha!' Moment so was practicing new things. This is a TI instructor and she got me to totally relax my pull-all of a sudden 1.1 on the tempo trainer was an easy pace. Now stroke count is increased. I was faster at the lesson on short 50s but not overall last night??
@Jennifer - sounds like you're doing quite well for some who has just come off of a half. Next week will be better.
@Betsy - ugh. We've all been there. Hopefully you finished your ride well and were able to come back strong after some unexpected rest.
Did my second 112 mile ride today. It was 34 degrees when we started. I couldn't feel my hands for the first two hours and it took me about for hours until I could feel my feet again. I didn't really eat or drink much during the first part of the ride. I was just so cold that I didn't want to sip cold liquids or try to get my fingers working well enough to open gel packs.
By the time we turned around the wind had picked up and I was running out of gas. It took me about 2:45 to get to mile 56 and almost 4:00 to get back home. Not fun!
Looking forward to not sitting on my bike for a few days
@Joe, ugh, riding in the cold is just about the worst second only to bad headwinds, so you got it good today. Way to persevere!
@Betsy, hope you got back on the road ok. What tires do you ride with? I highly recommend the Conti GatorSkins…super tough training tires.
@Jen. Fatigue no question about it. I'm amazed you could get out there so soon after the half. Way to go!
Did a reset of my FTP and IF for today's ride and it made all the difference. I targeted 190-195 NP and cruised comfortably all the way to mile 95, then it got a little tough, but I finished without dropping off my power. So it looks like that will be my new target for the race! 112mi in 5:13. (Not including stops!) ~ 2200ft of climbing. HR was much better today down in the 140's instead of high 150's yesterday.
I'm curious to see how this run goes tomorrow morning….
So I did get my 107 done today-took all day. Home after 5pm. I had a gater skin on the power tap but on a new bike (haven't told y'all yet about my P3!) and hadn't changed out the front which was the problem. So my husband got me to Tribe and it took a while but got good training tire and tubes. Back on the road at 12:45 with 60 more to go. And I had a third flat-back tire this time. Anyway, I did my 107 in about 6:15 ride time. Haven't looked at my power profile but I know I'm probably .67-.68. I have a real hard time keeping my watts where I want them coming downhill from Shea
Rian-sounds like a great day! 5:15 sounds great to me!
Joe-ugh on the cold weather. I hate to admit it but I wimp out here in the winter and do trainer rides
@Betsy -So... you live in AZ and ride the trainer in he winter?! You are definitely conditioned for warmth. I'm sure you're running people down when others are suffering in the heat. Looks like you finished well after a stressful day.
I'm nursing a tibial anterior tendon inflammation after two days of hard riding (which, by the way, I am still questioning the value of). Basically, when I raise my foot/toes upward I get some pain from my ankle and up the front of my calf. It's definitely cycling overuse injury. I'm bagging the run today just to be safe. Gonna RICE and see how I feel tomorrow. Not sure if running would really aggravate it, but why take the chance? If I'm not feeling 100% tomorrow, I'll just drop it all together and pick up on Thursday per the plan.
My SAU's are at quite the deficit right now. This is a well-deserved chance to spend time with the fam and perhaps do some long neglected domestic projects.
Happy Sunday everyone. Get some miles in on my behalf!
112 in 7:37. It was a bit windy (up to 30 mph headwinds, with 45 mph gusts). Then I ran 10 miles @ 10:30 pace (it was a bit hot for me - 88F), and strolled a while in the warm dark evening. Oh yeah, I started with a swim for 1.5 hours.
I'm hoping this pays benefits on Nov 16th, cause it sure was a bear to do.
I've been tracking my training through Strava but since I just finished camp week, I thought I'd add a summary to this thread. I usually read the updates from the team and enjoy hearing about your training experiences. It would be great to see more of the team on Strava.
This was a tough week outside of training. Wednesday my youngest daughter and I were both sick. Since my wife was traveling, I spent the day at home taking care of my daughter. Thursday I was still feeling terrible but had to go into work to take care of important business. I skipped my interval run Wednesday and had to push the race rehearsal swim from Thursday to rest and recover.
Friday: Century Ride
I woke up feeling much better, so I headed out early for my race rehearsal ride. Most people are scared of the swim or the run on an Ironman. I was actually most afraid of the bike because I ever century ride I've done ended in misery and feeling like I was going to barf at the end. I suspected that I wasn't taking in enough nutrition previously, so I careful read the EN nutrition plan. Dino also gave me tips on where to stop along the LA bike trails to refuel.
I did a grand tour of the bike trails of the LA rivers and covered nearly every inch of them. I stayed in aero when on the trails. I had to cross Long Beach on a busy path and rode on the bullhorns. I probably stayed aero about 85% of the ride. I stuck to my nutrition plan and finished feeling strong. I think I conquered my fear of the century ride!
The run at IM pace seemed pretty easy. The hard part was slowing down. I felt like I was running in slow motion after the century ride. It was about 80F, which is an improvement over the heat wave we've suffered through lately.
I couldn't bring myself to get on my tri bike again, so I meet up with the Pasadena Tri Club on my road bike. Dino led the ride, although I didn't see much of him after we got going because I stuck with the B group as my legs were torched. After the solitude of the previous day, it was fun to ride and chat for a while. Coach Rich joined the group and he dropped back to chat with me and provide encouragement since he knew it was my camp week.
I did one loop on the bike trail with PTC, and then flipped it and did the loop in reverse to get in more work. I had to get home by 10:30 for a family commitment, so the ride ended up being 56 miles. I tip my hat to those of you who managed back to back centuries.
My wife gave me 90 minutes to go swim before I had to be back for a family dinner. I figured I could squeeze in 2 miles straight through. I went to the Y and cranked it out. The hardest part was the boredom. I am shooting for 2:00/100yds at IMAZ. My swim came in at 2:06/100yds. More work to be done.
I was feeling pretty shelled at the beginning of the run. I went at Z1 for the first 7 miles to simulate my target race pace. I set my Garmin Fenix 2 to autolap every mile. When it buzzed at the mile, I would walk 20 steps and sip from my Fuel Belt bottle to simulate walking through the aid stations. At the turnaround point, I filled my bottles from fountain, and kicked it up to Z2 to simulate things getting harder. I held that for 5 miles and then did the remaining 2.5 miles at Z3, which was a stretch for my dead legs.
Even though I was sick two days, I still managed to get in nearly 900 TSS of work this week.
I feel much more confident about my ability to execute a century ride and not end up a zombie at the end. EN really has the nutrition plan dialed in.
I need to plan at least two open water swims before IMAZ. I'll have to make the trek down to Belmont Shores and swim the buoy line. A 2+ mile swim in a pool has so little stress that it is boring. It will be different when I am not staring at a lane line.
I'll need to stick to my slow pace targets on the run, even when I feel good. Coming off the bike, it was hard to run so slow. I basically stared at the pace on my watch for the first mile. From the open marathons I've done, the last 4-6 miles are an unrivaled hell on earth. I need to leave some in the tank so I don't shuffle across the finish line.
I have been following all of you and your stories since Thursday. Incredible mojo here watching each and everyone get it done and fit it into your schedule/challenges. Just amazing!
@Joe - incredible inner strength to pull off a second long ride in that kind of cold and wind. I know I could not get that one done.
@Al - Just can't wrap my ahead around what you accomplished in those conditions and that close after CHOO.......You are my hero!
@Clark, Jennifer, Rian, Gabe, Betsy- you guys are killing me not letting up, nailing it every CAMP day! Way to LEAD!
My summary:
1,500+ TSS this week - felt that for the Sunday Long Run.
360+ miles on the bike Saturday to Saturday.
13,000+ yds swimming this week.
40 miles running and a successful Sunday Long run with negative split - no heat and good focus on nutrition: http://www.strava.com/activities/206615806 wish it was faster, but, with, that TSS load going in, it is what it is......
You all are doing an incredible job of holding it together!
Today was my RR. I chose a flat course today. Although it WAS super windy.
Did not seem to have much left in the legs. 112 miles in 6:20 ish. Run felt good. Kept it slow for 1st 3 miles and then ran out of patience and picked it up for 2nd half. Surprised that I felt so good after a mediocre ride.
Question: My FTP is 230. I was targeting 165-168 watts for this IM. I attempted 170-175 ish at IM CDA and had disastrous results. I know I came in too hot on the bike, but I also screwed up my hydration/nutrition. Result was a finish 2 hours slower than predicted with nausea and mostly walking the marathon. Today's ride resulted in a NP of 148. IF of .66. WAY slower than I was projecting my IM split to be. The route today was somewhat crowded which resulted in slowing to go around people, dogs, etc. but I also was just plain tired. Physically and mentally. So to get to the question... Do I keep my target at 165 watts or lower it to 150ish based on this RR? No trouble running off the bike today.
P.S. HUGE congrats to Al !!! What an amazing accomplishment. You are always wise in your execution. I have already learned so much from you. My favorite quote is "No more half-assed races". That has been my training mantra.
Swim RR this week on Thursday, in the pool but got it done. Friday, left work at 12 to get in the bike. Worried that I should have really been still working to catch up due to all my travel. Windy and cold but got it done. Saturday only rode 75 because it was getting late and no run. Today was 12 miles on pretty toasted legs. Travel this week Monday - Wednesday so will swim tomorrow and run intervals on Tuesday. Probably will skip Wednesday due to getting back late. Getting really tired....
Thursday long swim was, as always, a competition between focus and boredom. I just can't take it swimming that many laps in a 25m pool. That said, I was pleased with the outcome. I lapped my watch every 500m to get a idea of how well I held my pace, but I swam the rehearsal as 4k straight through. I'm happy with the result. http://www.strava.com/activities/205426564
Friday ride/run rehearsal went well. I picked a flat trail with no stop signs or other slow downs. I used my car as an aid station and stopped only to refill nutrition and pee. It was cold but nothing like last week when I froze. I finished 112 in 6:03 which is a RR personal best. I've still got some work to do, but I felt pretty good with this result. http://www.strava.com/activities/205708737
I'm one of the lucky people who love to run off of the bike. I don't know why, but I'll take it. I feel like I nailed this one - no blazing fast first mile, generally negative splits and well within what I expected from a time and pace perspective. Winning. http://www.strava.com/activities/205708601
Saturday I needed a change of scenery so I broke out the gravel grinder and rode on the rail trail. I got in 100 miles in a touch over 6 hours. I don't have power on that bike so I watched my heart rate, keeping it in the same range as my Friday ride. This is the first time I've ridden back-to-back centuries, so I'm stoked about that. http://www.strava.com/activities/206166097
The long run today was just the icing on the cake. I felt strong from the start, I was mentally in the game and I executed really well. Every time I asked my legs for more they came through with flying colors. Super happy with the result. http://www.strava.com/activities/206678041
I love the work and effort that everyone here is putting out and the mental toughness is legendary. Lots of hurdles to overcome and everyone is figuring out how to make it work. I'm really impressed and motivated by everyone's effort.
Really looking forward to meeting all of you in AZ in a few short weeks.
So here I am on my new P3 at my fit (name of the shop is Faster). It is not intuitive to post a pic in these forums. I had to ask the zen desk for help then go through a very complicated procedure.
So Im not sure it was the best idea to upgrade so close to the race but Coach P said I had time to get used to it. I was having a lot of problems with my feet. Part of the problem was new inserts which were making my mid foot, esp right, feel like hot pokers were there after about an hour. Old inserts back in, problem solved. But i also was having pain on the inside, above ankle bone (medial mealeolus for those with anatomy bent) and blistering. And also, pain and numbness, esp right. The reason I mention all this, is by the end of yesterday I finally found the sweet spot for my feet. Also, the perfect upper body position so I had very little pain in neck and shoulders. So today's 100 was a great day-no flats, feet felt great and so did upper body. Lots of wind, and blowing northwardly, so the ride up from McDowell was fast, and slow (relatively) coming down. I also am amazed I did back to back centuries and i feel the best ever after a100 miler. I'm sorry I couldn't run as it was late and had an obligation.
TSS yesterday, 264; today 256. IF yesterday, .68, today, .67. I like to think its the slowing for lights etc that makes it less than .7 but as I said yesterday, I have trouble on that downhill spin from shea keeping my IF up. I don't have that problem on the uphill.
Great job all on your camp weekend!
And Bruce and Al, super KONA efforts in really windy conditions. Just amazing that you are doing so many IMs!
Question: My FTP is 230. I was targeting 165-168 watts for this IM. I attempted 170-175 ish at IM CDA and had disastrous results. I know I came in too hot on the bike, but I also screwed up my hydration/nutrition. Result was a finish 2 hours slower than predicted with nausea and mostly walking the marathon. Today's ride resulted in a NP of 148. IF of .66. WAY slower than I was projecting my IM split to be. The route today was somewhat crowded which resulted in slowing to go around people, dogs, etc. but I also was just plain tired. Physically and mentally. So to get to the question... Do I keep my target at 165 watts or lower it to 150ish based on this RR? No trouble running off the bike today.
Hi Jennifer, what amount of total TSS did you rack up today during the bike leg compared to total TSS on the bike at CDA?
If you were lower than 285 TSS today, I would continue to shoot for the 165 target (all this assuming your FTP is accurate based on a recent test)
The IF X amount of time you are out there on the bike results in the total load/TSS you are accumulating (you prob know that.)
Keep an eye on that total TSS and target the 285ish range....
I can't find the link in the wiki but I have chart for figuring your %IF for an Ironman race based on the time you think it will take. I've attached a screen shot of it, since I can't find the link. The spreadsheet was called the EN_Power_Racing_Calculator.xls.
Anyway its invaluable for finding the right IF. The trick is having some ball park of the time it will take you to ride. For me, I know I'm in the 4:50-5:00 hr range for IMAZ so if I drop down to those time ranges and look in the green zones I should be targeting TSS from 265-281. Which means I should be targeting 73% - 76% effort. I'm a pretty strong runner and I'm shooting for a KQ so I could slip into the blue zones in which case I'm targeting a solid 76% output this year which should have me 279-289 TSS for the ride.
Based on this chart my range should be 161-165, with max at 168 to keep me in the green. Absolute max would be 173 in order to stay out of red zone. I am fairly certain my FTP is correct. I tested it about a month ago. That would project out to a 5:30-5:40 split.
I did 5:44 at IM Canada in 2012 and 5:48 at IM CDA in 2013, so I think this is realistic for a flat course.
tough weekend for me. I did the long run last tuesday, a great one! 18 miles at 8:25
I have been dedicated to the pool for the last few weeks and I guess it is paying dividends, RR pool swim was 3 mins faster than the one right before IMMT.
Saturday's ride was a disaster. was cold and rainy here, went out at the tail end at 12:30, giving me barely enough time to get this done by dark. Flatted after 45 mins 2nd flat after another 5 mins now headed towards LBS, wasn't far at this point and flatted a 3rd time. rode 6 miles on a flat, got to watch soome of the kona bike while they worked their magic. Now back out and powertap batteries die (why did my joule notify me of this, but garmin doesn't?) ended up with 80 miles at 5:10 with 5000 ft of climbing
Sunday I went out with great intentions, explored new area near me that i picked up on a friends strava. Legs were shelled after 2 hours. Rode 31 miles with 2500 ft of climbing, and wait for it, yes, flatted again, rear wheel this time!
Got in a good brick. hitting faster paces than i hoped. felt like shizz since the Saturday ride and woke up with some kind of Bug today (Monday) worked today despite the holiday, came home at 4, crawled into bed, feeling a bit better, should be back at it tomorrow... no time to be a princess!
@ Jen D … 165-168 is perfect for your FTP range. Your bike split should be the same as mine (5:30-40), and I intend to run @ 0.725 IF.
@ Scott D … Either new tire(s) and/or rim tape might be what you need.
I'm taking 4-5 days off now, but so far I've gone "swimming" the first two days, meaning snorkeling for 20-30 minutes. Next three days are up @ Volcano Natl park, maybe some easy hikes.
Luckily (from a training perspective), my wife will be off on a Nepal all-women;s trek from Oct 19 - Nov 7, so I'll have no excuse about getting in some quality training just when I'll need it.
@al T - brand new gatorbacks! saturday's culprit was a piece of glass i couldnt find that got it's way in, my trusty LBS found it... Sunday's was a compression flat from hitting a steel plate at about 24...
Comments
Had to re-arrange camp week a bit.
Long run yesterday about killed me. Did 16 miles in 2:20, but I swear it felt as though my legs were going to fall off by mile 14.
Today I did the 6 hour ride. Did not have time to make it a true RR and do the run. I plan to do the real RR on Sunday. Today's ride was 101 miles in 6:15. I was really bummed I was so slow and my watts were way lower than I was aiming for. When I down-loaded the data from my Garmin, I saw that I climbed over 7,000 feet! Doh! Did not realize there was so much elevation gain!
I am also coming off of racing Challenge Rancho Cordova 70.3 last Sunday. Took Monday and Wednesday completely off and did the long swim on Tuesday. Probably have a lot of fatigue built up.
Ready for bed!
Went back to the pool last night after work and did the other 3000 of the swim. I'd had a lesson the day before with a new 'aha!' Moment so was practicing new things. This is a TI instructor and she got me to totally relax my pull-all of a sudden 1.1 on the tempo trainer was an easy pace. Now stroke count is increased. I was faster at the lesson on short 50s but not overall last night??
Hope everyone's morning going better than mine!
@Betsy - ugh. We've all been there. Hopefully you finished your ride well and were able to come back strong after some unexpected rest.
Did my second 112 mile ride today. It was 34 degrees when we started. I couldn't feel my hands for the first two hours and it took me about for hours until I could feel my feet again. I didn't really eat or drink much during the first part of the ride. I was just so cold that I didn't want to sip cold liquids or try to get my fingers working well enough to open gel packs.
By the time we turned around the wind had picked up and I was running out of gas. It took me about 2:45 to get to mile 56 and almost 4:00 to get back home. Not fun!
Looking forward to not sitting on my bike for a few days
@Joe, ugh, riding in the cold is just about the worst second only to bad headwinds, so you got it good today. Way to persevere!
@Betsy, hope you got back on the road ok. What tires do you ride with? I highly recommend the Conti GatorSkins…super tough training tires.
@Jen. Fatigue no question about it. I'm amazed you could get out there so soon after the half. Way to go!
Did a reset of my FTP and IF for today's ride and it made all the difference. I targeted 190-195 NP and cruised comfortably all the way to mile 95, then it got a little tough, but I finished without dropping off my power. So it looks like that will be my new target for the race! 112mi in 5:13. (Not including stops!) ~ 2200ft of climbing. HR was much better today down in the 140's instead of high 150's yesterday.
I'm curious to see how this run goes tomorrow morning….
Rian-sounds like a great day! 5:15 sounds great to me!
Joe-ugh on the cold weather. I hate to admit it but I wimp out here in the winter and do trainer rides
Jenn-strong work! That's a lot of climbing!
@Betsy -So... you live in AZ and ride the trainer in he winter?!
I'm nursing a tibial anterior tendon inflammation after two days of hard riding (which, by the way, I am still questioning the value of). Basically, when I raise my foot/toes upward I get some pain from my ankle and up the front of my calf. It's definitely cycling overuse injury. I'm bagging the run today just to be safe. Gonna RICE and see how I feel tomorrow. Not sure if running would really aggravate it, but why take the chance? If I'm not feeling 100% tomorrow, I'll just drop it all together and pick up on Thursday per the plan.
My SAU's are at quite the deficit right now. This is a well-deserved chance to spend time with the fam and perhaps do some long neglected domestic projects.
Happy Sunday everyone. Get some miles in on my behalf!
112 in 7:37. It was a bit windy (up to 30 mph headwinds, with 45 mph gusts). Then I ran 10 miles @ 10:30 pace (it was a bit hot for me - 88F), and strolled a while in the warm dark evening. Oh yeah, I started with a swim for 1.5 hours.
I'm hoping this pays benefits on Nov 16th, cause it sure was a bear to do.
I've been tracking my training through Strava but since I just finished camp week, I thought I'd add a summary to this thread. I usually read the updates from the team and enjoy hearing about your training experiences. It would be great to see more of the team on Strava.
This was a tough week outside of training. Wednesday my youngest daughter and I were both sick. Since my wife was traveling, I spent the day at home taking care of my daughter. Thursday I was still feeling terrible but had to go into work to take care of important business. I skipped my interval run Wednesday and had to push the race rehearsal swim from Thursday to rest and recover.
Friday: Century Ride
I woke up feeling much better, so I headed out early for my race rehearsal ride. Most people are scared of the swim or the run on an Ironman. I was actually most afraid of the bike because I ever century ride I've done ended in misery and feeling like I was going to barf at the end. I suspected that I wasn't taking in enough nutrition previously, so I careful read the EN nutrition plan. Dino also gave me tips on where to stop along the LA bike trails to refuel.
I did a grand tour of the bike trails of the LA rivers and covered nearly every inch of them. I stayed in aero when on the trails. I had to cross Long Beach on a busy path and rode on the bullhorns. I probably stayed aero about 85% of the ride. I stuck to my nutrition plan and finished feeling strong. I think I conquered my fear of the century ride!
Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/205734493
Friday: Brick Run (6 miles)
The run at IM pace seemed pretty easy. The hard part was slowing down. I felt like I was running in slow motion after the century ride. It was about 80F, which is an improvement over the heat wave we've suffered through lately.
Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/205734268
Saturday: Long Ride (56 miles)
I couldn't bring myself to get on my tri bike again, so I meet up with the Pasadena Tri Club on my road bike. Dino led the ride, although I didn't see much of him after we got going because I stuck with the B group as my legs were torched. After the solitude of the previous day, it was fun to ride and chat for a while. Coach Rich joined the group and he dropped back to chat with me and provide encouragement since he knew it was my camp week.
I did one loop on the bike trail with PTC, and then flipped it and did the loop in reverse to get in more work. I had to get home by 10:30 for a family commitment, so the ride ended up being 56 miles. I tip my hat to those of you who managed back to back centuries.
Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/206067451
Saturday: Race Rehersal Swim (2 miles)
My wife gave me 90 minutes to go swim before I had to be back for a family dinner. I figured I could squeeze in 2 miles straight through. I went to the Y and cranked it out. The hardest part was the boredom. I am shooting for 2:00/100yds at IMAZ. My swim came in at 2:06/100yds. More work to be done.
Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/206205728
Sunday: Long Run (14.5 miles)
I was feeling pretty shelled at the beginning of the run. I went at Z1 for the first 7 miles to simulate my target race pace. I set my Garmin Fenix 2 to autolap every mile. When it buzzed at the mile, I would walk 20 steps and sip from my Fuel Belt bottle to simulate walking through the aid stations. At the turnaround point, I filled my bottles from fountain, and kicked it up to Z2 to simulate things getting harder. I held that for 5 miles and then did the remaining 2.5 miles at Z3, which was a stretch for my dead legs.
Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/206565815
Key Take Aways
All,
I have been following all of you and your stories since Thursday. Incredible mojo here watching each and everyone get it done and fit it into your schedule/challenges. Just amazing!
@Joe - incredible inner strength to pull off a second long ride in that kind of cold and wind. I know I could not get that one done.
@Al - Just can't wrap my ahead around what you accomplished in those conditions and that close after CHOO.......You are my hero!
@Clark, Jennifer, Rian, Gabe, Betsy- you guys are killing me not letting up, nailing it every CAMP day! Way to LEAD!
My summary:
1,500+ TSS this week - felt that for the Sunday Long Run.
360+ miles on the bike Saturday to Saturday.
13,000+ yds swimming this week.
40 miles running and a successful Sunday Long run with negative split - no heat and good focus on nutrition: http://www.strava.com/activities/206615806 wish it was faster, but, with, that TSS load going in, it is what it is......
Resting Monday and moving forward!
SS
You all are doing an incredible job of holding it together!
Today was my RR. I chose a flat course today.
Although it WAS super windy
.
Did not seem to have much left in the legs. 112 miles in 6:20 ish. Run felt good. Kept it slow for 1st 3 miles and then ran out of patience and picked it up for 2nd half. Surprised that I felt so good after a mediocre ride.
Question: My FTP is 230. I was targeting 165-168 watts for this IM. I attempted 170-175 ish at IM CDA and had disastrous results. I know I came in too hot on the bike, but I also screwed up my hydration/nutrition. Result was a finish 2 hours slower than predicted with nausea and mostly walking the marathon. Today's ride resulted in a NP of 148. IF of .66. WAY slower than I was projecting my IM split to be. The route today was somewhat crowded which resulted in slowing to go around people, dogs, etc. but I also was just plain tired. Physically and mentally. So to get to the question... Do I keep my target at 165 watts or lower it to 150ish based on this RR? No trouble running off the bike today.
P.S. HUGE congrats to Al !!! What an amazing accomplishment. You are always wise in your execution. I have already learned so much from you. My favorite quote is "No more half-assed races". That has been my training mantra.
Swim RR this week on Thursday, in the pool
but got it done. Friday, left work at 12 to get in the bike. Worried that I should have really been still working to catch up due to all my travel. Windy and cold but got it done. Saturday only rode 75 because it was getting late and no run. Today was 12 miles on pretty toasted legs. Travel this week Monday - Wednesday so will swim tomorrow and run intervals on Tuesday. Probably will skip Wednesday due to getting back late. Getting really tired....
http://www.strava.com/activities/205426564
Friday ride/run rehearsal went well. I picked a flat trail with no stop signs or other slow downs. I used my car as an aid station and stopped only to refill nutrition and pee. It was cold but nothing like last week when I froze. I finished 112 in 6:03 which is a RR personal best. I've still got some work to do, but I felt pretty good with this result.
http://www.strava.com/activities/205708737
I'm one of the lucky people who love to run off of the bike. I don't know why, but I'll take it. I feel like I nailed this one - no blazing fast first mile, generally negative splits and well within what I expected from a time and pace perspective. Winning.
http://www.strava.com/activities/205708601
Saturday I needed a change of scenery so I broke out the gravel grinder and rode on the rail trail. I got in 100 miles in a touch over 6 hours. I don't have power on that bike so I watched my heart rate, keeping it in the same range as my Friday ride. This is the first time I've ridden back-to-back centuries, so I'm stoked about that.
http://www.strava.com/activities/206166097
The long run today was just the icing on the cake. I felt strong from the start, I was mentally in the game and I executed really well. Every time I asked my legs for more they came through with flying colors. Super happy with the result.
http://www.strava.com/activities/206678041
I love the work and effort that everyone here is putting out and the mental toughness is legendary. Lots of hurdles to overcome and everyone is figuring out how to make it work. I'm really impressed and motivated by everyone's effort.
Really looking forward to meeting all of you in AZ in a few short weeks.
So here I am on my new P3 at my fit (name of the shop is Faster). It is not intuitive to post a pic in these forums. I had to ask the zen desk for help then go through a very complicated procedure.
So Im not sure it was the best idea to upgrade so close to the race but Coach P said I had time to get used to it. I was having a lot of problems with my feet. Part of the problem was new inserts which were making my mid foot, esp right, feel like hot pokers were there after about an hour. Old inserts back in, problem solved. But i also was having pain on the inside, above ankle bone (medial mealeolus for those with anatomy bent) and blistering. And also, pain and numbness, esp right. The reason I mention all this, is by the end of yesterday I finally found the sweet spot for my feet. Also, the perfect upper body position so I had very little pain in neck and shoulders. So today's 100 was a great day-no flats, feet felt great and so did upper body. Lots of wind, and blowing northwardly, so the ride up from McDowell was fast, and slow (relatively) coming down. I also am amazed I did back to back centuries and i feel the best ever after a100 miler. I'm sorry I couldn't run as it was late and had an obligation.
TSS yesterday, 264; today 256. IF yesterday, .68, today, .67. I like to think its the slowing for lights etc that makes it less than .7 but as I said yesterday, I have trouble on that downhill spin from shea keeping my IF up. I don't have that problem on the uphill.
Great job all on your camp weekend!
And Bruce and Al, super KONA efforts in really windy conditions. Just amazing that you are doing so many IMs!
Hi Jennifer, what amount of total TSS did you rack up today during the bike leg compared to total TSS on the bike at CDA?
If you were lower than 285 TSS today, I would continue to shoot for the 165 target (all this assuming your FTP is accurate based on a recent test)
The IF X amount of time you are out there on the bike results in the total load/TSS you are accumulating (you prob know that.)
Keep an eye on that total TSS and target the 285ish range....
Thanks so much Shaughn!
TSS at CDA was 322 (IF .72) compared to yesterday's RR TSS 262 (IF .62)
Thanks for clarifying... makes sense to target 285ish TSS.
Jen
Jen,
I can't find the link in the wiki but I have chart for figuring your %IF for an Ironman race based on the time you think it will take. I've attached a screen shot of it, since I can't find the link. The spreadsheet was called the EN_Power_Racing_Calculator.xls.
Anyway its invaluable for finding the right IF. The trick is having some ball park of the time it will take you to ride. For me, I know I'm in the 4:50-5:00 hr range for IMAZ so if I drop down to those time ranges and look in the green zones I should be targeting TSS from 265-281. Which means I should be targeting 73% - 76% effort. I'm a pretty strong runner and I'm shooting for a KQ so I could slip into the blue zones in which case I'm targeting a solid 76% output this year which should have me 279-289 TSS for the ride.
Hope that helps you a little.
Rian,
Thank you! So helpful!
Based on this chart my range should be 161-165, with max at 168 to keep me in the green. Absolute max would be 173 in order to stay out of red zone. I am fairly certain my FTP is correct. I tested it about a month ago. That would project out to a 5:30-5:40 split.
I did 5:44 at IM Canada in 2012 and 5:48 at IM CDA in 2013, so I think this is realistic for a flat course.
I did the long run last tuesday, a great one! 18 miles at 8:25
I have been dedicated to the pool for the last few weeks and I guess it is paying dividends, RR pool swim was 3 mins faster than the one right before IMMT.
Saturday's ride was a disaster. was cold and rainy here, went out at the tail end at 12:30, giving me barely enough time to get this done by dark.
Flatted after 45 mins
2nd flat after another 5 mins
now headed towards LBS, wasn't far at this point and flatted a 3rd time. rode 6 miles on a flat, got to watch soome of the kona bike while they worked their magic. Now back out and powertap batteries die (why did my joule notify me of this, but garmin doesn't?) ended up with 80 miles at 5:10 with 5000 ft of climbing
Sunday I went out with great intentions, explored new area near me that i picked up on a friends strava. Legs were shelled after 2 hours. Rode 31 miles with 2500 ft of climbing, and wait for it, yes, flatted again, rear wheel this time!
Got in a good brick. hitting faster paces than i hoped.
felt like shizz since the Saturday ride and woke up with some kind of Bug today (Monday) worked today despite the holiday, came home at 4, crawled into bed, feeling a bit better, should be back at it tomorrow... no time to be a princess!
@ Jen D … 165-168 is perfect for your FTP range. Your bike split should be the same as mine (5:30-40), and I intend to run @ 0.725 IF.
@ Scott D … Either new tire(s) and/or rim tape might be what you need.
I'm taking 4-5 days off now, but so far I've gone "swimming" the first two days, meaning snorkeling for 20-30 minutes. Next three days are up @ Volcano Natl park, maybe some easy hikes.
Luckily (from a training perspective), my wife will be off on a Nepal all-women;s trek from Oct 19 - Nov 7, so I'll have no excuse about getting in some quality training just when I'll need it.
saturday's culprit was a piece of glass i couldnt find that got it's way in, my trusty LBS found it...
Sunday's was a compression flat from hitting a steel plate at about 24...
see you in AZ