Week 12 IMC
Thought I might start a thread each week now that we are in the final weeks leading up to IMC and our group has just been so quiet.
Week 12 whats in store? FTP Bike Test and Run Test and then long bikes Sat & Sun
Good luck with your testing, hope you all set some new high FTP and vDOT. Please chime in when your training and testing this week.
Week 12 whats in store? FTP Bike Test and Run Test and then long bikes Sat & Sun
Good luck with your testing, hope you all set some new high FTP and vDOT. Please chime in when your training and testing this week.
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Comments
Thanks for starting this Jason. I need it. I found it invaluable last year prepping for my first IM.
Not sure if I'm gonna test this week or not (probably not). I think I know my FTP hasn't moved up or down more than a couple of watts and I know my vDot has not improved (it usually drops a point or two about now due to the TX heat). My Z4 mile repeats have been hurting a little more than usual and Z2 is more of a push than it should be, so I'm just modifying my long run paces a bit and not beating myself up when I fall a little short.
I'm also a bit behind on "volume" on the bike due to travel last week, kids end-of-school stuff, bad couple of weeks at work, etc. So I'm hoping to do a little more bike volume than usual this week....if nothing else, my neck and nether-regions need it.
I hope some/all of us will post our workout issues/results here a few times a week (or even daily) to keep us all motivated and accountable. I know I need it some days for sure.
JL
I will be more specific. It is the balls of my feet and it is like the feeling when you jump off of something too high and land on your feet barefoot on cement. Like you have slapped your feet on cement. I have new gel inserts in - which helped a little, but I wonder if it is just accumulated where and tear on my feet?
@Lauren--I'm not the person to weigh in here with zero knowledge of foot injuries. All I can say is that 90% of the foot issues I have ever dealt with were atributable to my shoes. Most commonly my shoes had worn out. I have found value in a running shop with knowledgeable staff videotaping me run on a treadmill and identifying a certain shoe type for me. I usually bring in my current running shoe or two and that also gives them valuable knowledge. There are so many shoes now from one extreme to the other that I think if one is not careful could bring upon foot problems. I think someone even suggested Hokas which have lots of cushioning but many of the Hoka are little to no drop so if you aren't used to that it takes some time getting used to.
I too am torn about testing this week as my work schedule is going to make it tricky to get it done. I think I may have gained some Watts on the bike so will test but may have to push to a different day or even week. Pools closed here on memorial day and couldn't find anyone to go swim in the lake with me.
Was able to make up for some lost bike time the past few weeks with a 3hr ABP ride (in on and off rain, which I actually enjoy) ending up at 0.79IF. Feeling a little better about the bike now. After 4hours on the trainer saturday this was soooo much easier. It's also amazing how much better a longer ride goes when remembering to apply Chamois butter! I'll have to adjust my week a little, but I'm not planning to test anyway.
Nice 3600yd swim yesterday. 1hr on trainer tonight (2x15' Z4) with easy run afterwards with a friend.
I went ahead and did the 5K TT last night at local track. I've lost 1:17 since last test during OS. vDot went down two to 42 from 44. I'm not surprised though, or terribly disappointed. It seems that every year my vDot peaks in the winter/early spring and then by summer it drops 2 points. Most of this I think is due to the south Texas heat and humidity, but I'm sure the IM volume impacts as well. Plus, I had to do minimal running for about 2-3 wks towards the end of OS due to trochanteric bursitis. At least I seem to be past that. Hoping the rain will not impact the long rides this weekend.
I'm going to continue to post stuff/workouts here in hopes others will join in!
I can't always do the IM RR swims on Fridays due to being on call frequently, so I decided to bust one out today. I usually do these in a 25m pool, but had to use the 25yd pool today and decided to just do 4400 instead of the prescribed workout since I know I'll have to modify some of these Friday RR swims in the future.
Man that sucked. 88 back and forths nonstop indoors.....ugghhh. Bad idea.
Next time I will definitely make every attempt to get to the 25m pool. There IS a 50m pool not too far away, but the hours for lap swimming never seem to workout for me. I would love to get to use it someday. I was slower than usual, but for my first one and only swimming 2x/week so far, I'm not too surprised. I got in a funk during the second quarter, as I think I was "trying to hard" or my SPM was a little too high. Just kind of felt weak/nauseated for a bit. I slowed down the rate, glided a little bit and within 4-5 laps felt fine. It's amazing how much my pull just goes to mush gradually over time, yet it still feels just as hard. I feel like my form was fine the whole time, but SPL was gradually increasing indicating pull was getting weaker and weaker. I also had to focus on not kicking as much/hard as I do in the shorter sets....I think that led to some of my second quarter wierdness too.
If nothing else, I really wish I could swim faster so these RR swims wouldn't take me so dang long!
Decided to modify the friday strides run and Sat pre-ride run, as I need to get on the bike early tomorrow, so I did the strides and the 1mi TP mile tonight! That still counts right? The loss of 2 vDot yesterday let to some less painful paces today too!
@Jeff et al. I can identify with the work/on call business. No wko yesterday nor today after working all day yesterday and late getting home and then getting called in to work at 4AM and lucky enough to get home a 15:30 later in the day. Enough time to look at email and get grumpy with the family before taking a nap.
Did the run TT with no pain after working getting over an achilles problem and just got Coach P's, "Hell NO" don't do the test. Oops, too late. Planning on a modified 40' run before the bike ride tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a BBQ dinner with about 10 other IM'rs from Canada to Texas by the days end.
I have to start doing some OWS to work on all the good stuff that goes with that: form, sighting, drafting, and counting strokes. It's always a test for me in swimming due to occ. severe leg cramps which equaled a DNS in swim at IMC last year. After the cramps, I could feel my stroke going down hill (breaking form and weak stroke). I just pressed on as far as I could knowing in the back of my mind that I could/and did get that tap on the shoulder saying, "I'm sorry your done, time limit".
Keep up the good work all. 57 days and 8.5 hours from "now".
Did the 4.5hr ride today. First two hours targeting .80 IF, but ended up 0.76ish. This was one of the worst (painful, long, difficult, miserable) longish rides I can remember. Not sure what was the problem....not enough sleep this week, not enough hydration (it was hotter than I thought and very humid, as it just stopped raining when I started). Definitely had some "positional fatigue" issues, mainly with the neck. But also noticed that my elbow pads have gradually dropped over time so I straightened them back up tonight.
I even had trouble holding 0.7 IF the last hour or so, which is usually not a problem at all. Debating about taking tomorrow off completely vs. a shorter (2hr or so) ABP ride (likely more of a 0.7 IF ride in reality).
Anybody else find today's ride more difficult than anticipated?
Jeff and all:
I too had a intense work week, and will next week as well as a national (high school mountain bike) conference happens of which I am in charge.
I think I came into this ride with wrong expectations and a tired body.
My 4.5 ride was really hard. I confess to being encouraged to know someone else had a tough time and some of your descriptions matched mine. I had my first experience with mild heat stroke at 2 1/2 hours. I think I pushed way too hard not taking into account the heat. Nausea and horrid headache, not to mention positional issues (maybe neck and back pain due to dehydration and heat.) This was a wake up call for me. No cell coverage - almost used a call box to call my husband for help. So - I leaned into it, meditated on cool things, and brought my heart rate way down. Ate and drank even though I was not hungry - and just got through the next 30 minutes of climbing out of a hot valley. Then the ride turned cooler with long descents, I was able to recover and finish. 65 miles, 4500 feet, 90 plus degrees.
What humbled me, was when done, the nausea returned, and really, had this been the real deal, I would have had to pull out. I was toast. At the end of the day I was grateful to be reminded I did not have the right nutrition, speed or realistic goal for the day.
I lost 2.5 lbs during the ride, and today I am down 5 lbs. I would love to know what people are drinking and eating and how much.
Also noticed how fried my legs were and will definitely be getting the smaller cassette after the conference.
Thank you all for writing. Super helpful and encouraging. I have not had a long run so can't report on my foot pain.
Lauren D
Jeff:
This will be my 2nd. I did Coeur D'Alene last year. I ended up 16th out of abt 60 in my age group. (I am 52). I think that finish got me thinking I could do better this year especially because I lost it during the run. This is my first year with EN.
I am realizing though, just how much I don't know. The amount of information is overwhelming.
How about you?
Lauren D
The weekend bike volume is certainly picking up and it seems like you guys got out there and did it. Does give us change to practice/learn nutrition, pacing, riding steady, staying aero and building that mental toughness.
Trying not to feel too bad about missing things....just hoping I can resume tomorrow. We'll see how the pool & run go if I'm ready to drop back into my schedule.
@Lauren ....u need to do the sweat test....so u can keep an eye on your nutrition needs....I use perform/gatorade mix....run = 24 oz/hr....bike 36-48 oz/hr ...plus salt tabs on the hour
Lauren...my second as well. I did IMTX last year, but with EN. Since you're not a "rookie", I'll spare you some of the "advice" I have....you've done it once already.
Not knowing what plan you used for IMCdA, the EN plans have a heavy focus on the long weekend bikes. The big bike week/camp helps a ton too. I'm a little behind on bike volume at this point compared with last year and I think that affected me yesterday for sure. Being able to ride 6 +/- hrs comfortably without ruining your legs is the key to the run. I am not a strong runner, but I ran the entire marathon at TX, only walking aid stations....and a little faster than would have been predicted from my vDot and the temp/humidity factors.
So, trust the plans....they absolutely work. Agree with the recs for a sweat test, if you haven't already done one. Even better if you can do 2-3-4hour test outside...the one hour indoor test is good, but mainly recommended for simplicity. As long as you account for everything you drink and don't pee, you can modify an outdoor ride and figure it out, and it should be more accurate.
After my awful ride yesterday, I debated about whether to ride at all today or rest. Life answered the question for me, as I never had time anyway! My neck is pretty stiff, undercarriage a little miffed and legs were sore this morning. Feeling much better tonight. I also noticed last night/this AM that I got pretty sunburned yesterday. Also noticed that Garmin said the road temp was 99 when I finished yesterday. Climbed from 78 to 99 while I rode.....no wonder I semi-bonked and got fried. I've been doing this long enough to not make those mistakes. Lesson learned....hopefully.