Wow... get rid of all that bad mojo! You're going to have the greatest day of your life... fun in the sun ..with a whole bunch of cool people.... ending with a big..." Chris Davis from somewhere in Texas... you're an Ironman Chris!" get that other stuff out of your head!....lol
I'm still trying to figure out when to do all this. If things go smooth at work, and the weather cooperates, I might try for Friday as well. But right now, friday is looking like 80% rain. Saturday is 100% chance of son's birthday party, so I'll likely have to put it off till Sunday.
Ha! I love the 100% chance of son's bday : ) I have a 12 year old boy and can't really do the long bikes on weekends...that's why I have to do it Friday
I felt my form start to drop off around 2500 yesterday and decided to not keep reinforcing the bad technique. You might think about signing up for Strava... great way to see what a lot of the team is doing. Here is a link to my swim yesterday...
@Kim... You know that the workout times are really just rough estimates.. right? There is a link somewhere that talks about how the workout time in the upper right corner of the workout is just a rough guideline of the average length people would do. The important part of any WO is the intervals that have been assigned... they don't really care about anything else.
I wouldn't apply any importance to getting in the time listed. Some days you're going to want to do a little more... some days a little less. That may be even more important with the swim because it's so technique driven. Forcing yourself to push for the last interval... or to finish within that time can be counterproductive. Sometimes it might be better instead of doing 100's with crappy form to just do some slow drills...
Okay!!! Big Protocol Work Out DONE! The only heart break was I could not do the ride outside! The wind was at 30mph and I was told NOT to do it. So I did my 1:07 hour 3000 in the pool at 5:30am! Then the 4 hours (about 72+ miles) on the bike trainer! Then right into the 1 hour run! I am so PROUD! It's the most I have ever done! Good luck to most of you doing it this weekend! Y'all can do it!
Chris..nutrition went well but glad I got back on working on it with a big work out like this. I did great with my nutrition in my Half Ironman in Oct. I really got it dialed in. I knew I had to take in at least 300-350 calories on the bike per hour. I use Carbo Pro in my water bottles. I eat a bonk bar. And I am thinking peanut butter and jelly sandwich for sure. Need some more ideas for the full Ironman. I have not taken Carbo Pro since the Half Iron...so it did bother my stomach a little yesterday. which made eating my sandwich TOUGH (tummy not super happy). So I really need to ease back into the carbo pro so it does not bother me again. I could only take in about 250 calories per hour on the bike yesterday...I had to force that sandwich down. I took a GU 10 min before my ride ended for the run.
What do you use for nutrition? Are there any good podcasts EN does on nutrition? Chris are you on Strava? Ed got me on and it's kind of fun
Hey Kim. Take a look in the wiki under "resources" for nutrition info. There's a GREAT spreadsheet (I'm a spreadsheet geek) to help get your nutrition plan together. They have a 5 step program to help walk you through nutrition too. The link is:
What's the advantage of Carb Pro over Gatorade Endurance? How do you plan to carry enough carbpro on raceday? Will you have to stop to mix it with on course water, or will you be carrying it all mixed right from the start?
I'm going to try to stick to on course nutrition as much as possible. This will be my first major tri where nutrition is an issue, so I figure I'll train my gut right from the beginning to minimize the need to carry extra weight. For drinking I'm using Gatorade Endurance, and for calories I'm currently using Honey Stinger Gels, but I plan to switch over to GU gels very soon, since they'll be available on course. I want to try to find a way to mix some sort of solid "bar" in as well, but I think I've seen that Coach P would rather have us "chew on glass" rather than eat a Bonk Breaker. So I'm still trying to figure that all out. This weekend (tomorrow when I do my BIG DAY) will be a great test for my nutrition plan.
As for Strava, I've got a "dummy" account that I haven't hooked up to Garmin or Training peaks yet, so it doesn't update. I've been told it's a bit like crack/cocaine for triathletes. So I've been trying to avoid it. I'm sure I'll succumb to peer pressure very soon though...
Lurking here and offering help to you guys along the way....... (IMTX vet)
Chris has it right - highly recommend you learn to drink what is available on the course come race day. Wiki has very good advice if you do the research.
Key is to practice, practice, practice nutrition during your long ride/brick and dial it in over several weeks. You have to train your gut to absorb while working. There is no one magic formula as we are all a little different with different tolerances - hence the need to practice and dial it in over several weeks of training.
I try to drink all of my calories on the bike with the exception of a half of a power bar each hour for the first 3 hours. For me personally, I know I need about 400 cal /hr in total on the bike for the first 3-4 hours then I taper that off. Because I sweat about 56 ounces / hour under those conditions, I know I need 1, 24 ounce bottle every half hour and, I know I need to pump about 1200-1500 mg sodium/hr on the bike given my sweat rate at 85 degrees and 75% humidity. These things can be tested performing a sweat test under like conditions.
I know if I get that right and follow my IF goals of .72-.74 I have set myself up well for the run leg.........deviate from that by not getting in enough fluid, sodium, calories on the bike or pushing a higher IF and I begin to roll the dice regarding my ability to run on the back half of that marathon.
The great thing is that you have weeks to figure this out and practice what works for you.......but you must focus on this and practice it, it will not magically take care of itself come race day......it has to be a habit/afterthought at that point whereby all you are doing is executing your plan.
Chris... Do Strava... You'll learn so much by seeing what some of these other guys are doing and getting feedback from them. Guys like Shaughn are on there providing a huge amount of support and encouragment. It's also a wonderful accountability tool...knowing everyone's going to see if you did what you set out to do!
@Kim... You were asking about the .74... thats a percentage of FTP. I know you said you just started using power so I'll just give you the quick version...
do a power test.. take the average watts for your 20 minute test and multiply by .95... that's your FTP.
For an optimal bike split (one which leaves enough in the tank to run effectively) in Ironman you must ride somewhere between at .68 -.72 of that number... unless you're a real beast.. then maybe just a tad higher.
Ed is correct, need to set your baseline first by testing. Ed mentions the 20' test.
To perform this and get an accurate estimate of your baseline, we do the 5/20 test. Very important to do a thorough warm up then, when ready, do an "ALL OUT" 5 minute test first. If you skip the 5 minute test, you will overstate your 20' test, so do the 5 min test first, then lightly spin for 10 minutes, get off the bike, stretch, and start the 20' test.........hold the highest wattage output you can sustain for 20'.....
Per Ed below, 95% of the Normalized Power generated for the 20' test is your FTP. It is an estimate of what you could really hold for one hour under perfect conditions.
The normalized power for the 5' test is your V02 and, under perfect conditions, it is normally about 120% of the FTP number mentioned above.
Make sure you are somewhat rested coming into the test, i.e., no hard running or long bike rides the day before.
Testing and setting the baseline is very important. Once we have those numbers we can help you learn how to use that power meter to train for IMTX.
Okay! Yes...I have done the Power Test. My FTP 20 min is 180. I input that into the calculator on EN and follow the power zones they recommend. Did that on my 4 hour ride Friday.
OK, I went back and looked at your 4 hour ride and noted 127 avg power which prob translates into ~130 NP, so 130/180 = .7222 IF or Intensity Factor - that is right on the money for a long ride.
Well done!
If you become a Premium member of Strava and load your FTP results into your profile, Strava will calculate and display this information for you....
Thanks SO much Shaughn for looking at my numbers! I tried to just stay in the zones that EN gave me for the ride. So I guess that's where I should be Yeah! That's the furthest ride I have ever done. Wish I could have done it on the road, but I am telling myself that if I can do 4 hours on a trainer..I CAN DO AN IRONMAN
I don't like to use much Endurance Gatorade because I'm sort of a health fanatic It has "artificial flavors" and dye in it Boo! I wish they would not use those things! I might have 4 bottles ready with my carbo pro (and I add SKRATCH for electrolytes) and then when those are done switch to the Gatorade Endurance for the end of the ride. I will have to practice with the gatorade too...which I did drink it for Chicago Marathon and my body did fine with it.
Swim went well. Face in the water for an hour. Nothing too exciting except maybe the surprisingly high number of dust bunnies in the bottom of the local YMCA pool. Gross.
Bike. I'm frustrated with the bike. I traditionally enjoy the bike the best. I've done all the testing on the trainer and came up with an FTP of 199. I skipped this last test so that I could do the sweat test instead that night, but I suspect I've probably dropped just a little. But not too much. So when I get out onto the road, and off the trainer, my power inevitably DROPS. My average power today was below 100 watts. I guess there's something to be said for stop-lights and so forth, but I'd really like to get my ability to hold a given power number down better. Nutrition plan was for 1.5 x 24 oz of endurance per hour. I hit that pretty good. I was also supposed to eat 2 gels per hour. I actually only ate 1 gel per hour. I didn't feel any worse though.
The run was good. Of course I was well rested from my underperforming bike. I started in zone 1 and held that for the first 3 miles, and then dropped it to zone 2 for the last 3. Nutrition worked out great. No GI issues at all.
What I learned:
1. Plan Plan Plan. Look ahead and Plan. I didn't realize I had this "Big Day" till last Monday. I had the in-laws in town, and my son's birthday party yesterday, and so I had to put it off till today (sunday). After Church, there wasn't enough time to get the full 4 hour bike ride in, with everything else, so the ride was shorter. The beginner plan that I'm on only had a 3 hour ride, but I really wanted to do the full 4. Had I been looking ahead, and knew about the weekend, I might could have planned the weekend better. Lesson learned.
2. Push the bike a bit harder (but just a bit). I need to be conservative on the bike, as do we all. But I'm really underperforming on there. Time to step it up on the longer rides.
3. Need to get a bit more calorie intake on the bike. By the EN spreadsheet, I should really get another gel in me each hour, or some other source of calories. Need to push it a bit to see where my limit is with eating, so that I can make sure to get good calories in my on race day, before the run.
4. My lower back was tight and sore coming off the bike. I need to make sure to work the core a bit more. I've got lower back issues and have been neglecting my core. NOT a good combo.
Great job Chris... you were successful with the most important part of the WO... Putting it all together so you can learn from the experience and make changes where they need to be. I think you're being way to hard on yourself about the bike. You just need to get a few long rides in and you'll see great improvement fast. Looks like you're focused on all the right bike stuff... Consistent effort... Good nutrition... And positional correctness (stay aero)... Rest up... You'll be getting another couple of cracks at it soon enough!
Thanks for the encouragement Ed. I will say I was pretty happy with the day overall. That probably didn't come through on the above. I think I try to be "critical" when I'm assessing things. Thus it comes across as a bit cold. I'm not really down on myself. Just looking at improving, and identifying the low hanging fruit.
Comments
Wow... get rid of all that bad mojo! You're going to have the greatest day of your life... fun in the sun ..with a whole bunch of cool people.... ending with a big..." Chris Davis from somewhere in Texas... you're an Ironman Chris!" get that other stuff out of your head!....lol
Well I am on outseason plan still. I turn to beginner IM plan on 2/23/2015.I'm feeling a little nervous about all this, but I trust the coaches
Let's connect on facebook too, yall!!!
I just spend some time reading through IM stuff on EN. I started to get nervous all over again!!!
I felt my form start to drop off around 2500 yesterday and decided to not keep reinforcing the bad technique. You might think about signing up for Strava... great way to see what a lot of the team is doing. Here is a link to my swim yesterday...
https://app.strava.com/activities/256880035
I wouldn't apply any importance to getting in the time listed. Some days you're going to want to do a little more... some days a little less. That may be even more important with the swim because it's so technique driven. Forcing yourself to push for the last interval... or to finish within that time can be counterproductive. Sometimes it might be better instead of doing 100's with crappy form to just do some slow drills...
*... just found it... http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Understanding+the+Workout+Time+in+Your+Plan
Chris..nutrition went well but glad I got back on working on it with a big work out like this. I did great with my nutrition in my Half Ironman in Oct. I really got it dialed in. I knew I had to take in at least 300-350 calories on the bike per hour. I use Carbo Pro in my water bottles. I eat a bonk bar. And I am thinking peanut butter and jelly sandwich for sure. Need some more ideas for the full Ironman. I have not taken Carbo Pro since the Half Iron...so it did bother my stomach a little yesterday. which made eating my sandwich TOUGH (tummy not super happy). So I really need to ease back into the carbo pro so it does not bother me again. I could only take in about 250 calories per hour on the bike yesterday...I had to force that sandwich down. I took a GU 10 min before my ride ended for the run.
What do you use for nutrition? Are there any good podcasts EN does on nutrition? Chris are you on Strava? Ed got me on and it's kind of fun
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Nutrition+Central
What's the advantage of Carb Pro over Gatorade Endurance? How do you plan to carry enough carbpro on raceday? Will you have to stop to mix it with on course water, or will you be carrying it all mixed right from the start?
I'm going to try to stick to on course nutrition as much as possible. This will be my first major tri where nutrition is an issue, so I figure I'll train my gut right from the beginning to minimize the need to carry extra weight. For drinking I'm using Gatorade Endurance, and for calories I'm currently using Honey Stinger Gels, but I plan to switch over to GU gels very soon, since they'll be available on course. I want to try to find a way to mix some sort of solid "bar" in as well, but I think I've seen that Coach P would rather have us "chew on glass" rather than eat a Bonk Breaker. So I'm still trying to figure that all out. This weekend (tomorrow when I do my BIG DAY) will be a great test for my nutrition plan.
As for Strava, I've got a "dummy" account that I haven't hooked up to Garmin or Training peaks yet, so it doesn't update. I've been told it's a bit like crack/cocaine for triathletes. So I've been trying to avoid it. I'm sure I'll succumb to peer pressure very soon though...
Lurking here and offering help to you guys along the way....... (IMTX vet)
Chris has it right - highly recommend you learn to drink what is available on the course come race day. Wiki has very good advice if you do the research.
Key is to practice, practice, practice nutrition during your long ride/brick and dial it in over several weeks. You have to train your gut to absorb while working. There is no one magic formula as we are all a little different with different tolerances - hence the need to practice and dial it in over several weeks of training.
I try to drink all of my calories on the bike with the exception of a half of a power bar each hour for the first 3 hours. For me personally, I know I need about 400 cal /hr in total on the bike for the first 3-4 hours then I taper that off. Because I sweat about 56 ounces / hour under those conditions, I know I need 1, 24 ounce bottle every half hour and, I know I need to pump about 1200-1500 mg sodium/hr on the bike given my sweat rate at 85 degrees and 75% humidity. These things can be tested performing a sweat test under like conditions.
I know if I get that right and follow my IF goals of .72-.74 I have set myself up well for the run leg.........deviate from that by not getting in enough fluid, sodium, calories on the bike or pushing a higher IF and I begin to roll the dice regarding my ability to run on the back half of that marathon.
The great thing is that you have weeks to figure this out and practice what works for you.......but you must focus on this and practice it, it will not magically take care of itself come race day......it has to be a habit/afterthought at that point whereby all you are doing is executing your plan.
SS
do a power test.. take the average watts for your 20 minute test and multiply by .95... that's your FTP.
For an optimal bike split (one which leaves enough in the tank to run effectively) in Ironman you must ride somewhere between at .68 -.72 of that number... unless you're a real beast.. then maybe just a tad higher.
Let me chime in a bit more here.
Ed is correct, need to set your baseline first by testing. Ed mentions the 20' test.
To perform this and get an accurate estimate of your baseline, we do the 5/20 test. Very important to do a thorough warm up then, when ready, do an "ALL OUT" 5 minute test first. If you skip the 5 minute test, you will overstate your 20' test, so do the 5 min test first, then lightly spin for 10 minutes, get off the bike, stretch, and start the 20' test.........hold the highest wattage output you can sustain for 20'.....
Per Ed below, 95% of the Normalized Power generated for the 20' test is your FTP. It is an estimate of what you could really hold for one hour under perfect conditions.
The normalized power for the 5' test is your V02 and, under perfect conditions, it is normally about 120% of the FTP number mentioned above.
Make sure you are somewhat rested coming into the test, i.e., no hard running or long bike rides the day before.
Testing and setting the baseline is very important. Once we have those numbers we can help you learn how to use that power meter to train for IMTX.
Go here to read up from the wiki: http://members.endurancenation.us/R...+Power+Kit
SS
OK, I went back and looked at your 4 hour ride and noted 127 avg power which prob translates into ~130 NP, so 130/180 = .7222 IF or Intensity Factor - that is right on the money for a long ride.
Well done!
If you become a Premium member of Strava and load your FTP results into your profile, Strava will calculate and display this information for you....
SS
Swim went well. Face in the water for an hour. Nothing too exciting except maybe the surprisingly high number of dust bunnies in the bottom of the local YMCA pool. Gross.
Bike. I'm frustrated with the bike. I traditionally enjoy the bike the best. I've done all the testing on the trainer and came up with an FTP of 199. I skipped this last test so that I could do the sweat test instead that night, but I suspect I've probably dropped just a little. But not too much. So when I get out onto the road, and off the trainer, my power inevitably DROPS. My average power today was below 100 watts. I guess there's something to be said for stop-lights and so forth, but I'd really like to get my ability to hold a given power number down better. Nutrition plan was for 1.5 x 24 oz of endurance per hour. I hit that pretty good. I was also supposed to eat 2 gels per hour. I actually only ate 1 gel per hour. I didn't feel any worse though.
The run was good. Of course I was well rested from my underperforming bike. I started in zone 1 and held that for the first 3 miles, and then dropped it to zone 2 for the last 3. Nutrition worked out great. No GI issues at all.
What I learned:
1. Plan Plan Plan. Look ahead and Plan. I didn't realize I had this "Big Day" till last Monday. I had the in-laws in town, and my son's birthday party yesterday, and so I had to put it off till today (sunday). After Church, there wasn't enough time to get the full 4 hour bike ride in, with everything else, so the ride was shorter. The beginner plan that I'm on only had a 3 hour ride, but I really wanted to do the full 4. Had I been looking ahead, and knew about the weekend, I might could have planned the weekend better. Lesson learned.
2. Push the bike a bit harder (but just a bit). I need to be conservative on the bike, as do we all. But I'm really underperforming on there. Time to step it up on the longer rides.
3. Need to get a bit more calorie intake on the bike. By the EN spreadsheet, I should really get another gel in me each hour, or some other source of calories. Need to push it a bit to see where my limit is with eating, so that I can make sure to get good calories in my on race day, before the run.
4. My lower back was tight and sore coming off the bike. I need to make sure to work the core a bit more. I've got lower back issues and have been neglecting my core. NOT a good combo.