I have paced several marathons and it is always interesting to hear all of the mile split "beeps" when we are not at the mile marker on the course followed by the "we're too fast" or "we're to slow" chatter in the group. The other alternative to a location based lap is to push the lap button every time you come around to the same place - distance won't be right but your splits will be. This is why I like to test in a real 5k if possible.
@Bill - I considered that but knowing me I'd forget to press the lap button around lap 9 or 10 when the effort is getting harder physically and mentally. The location based lap was my way of making it idiot proof. :-)
@ Derrek - I have a dedicated screen for track workouts and 5K tests. It is a single metric: Lap Time and hit the lap button on 800s to prevent premature auto-lap at 1600.
I find that I can remember 2 numbers and look at my screen on each lap. Using a spreadsheet I calculate 400 and 800 splits that will get me my goal time. For example last night for my failed attempt I was targeting 20:46 ( for a 2 sec PR). I stick that into the spreadsheet and find I need to hit 1:40 on the 400s and 3:20 at 800 when I hit the lap button. Lets me see accurately if I am over cooking the early laps or falling off in later laps.
It also works well for comparison to other track workout because all my intervals have timed splits at 800. Doesn't matter if I am doing Yasso 800's, 2x1 mile (1600) or any other distance longer than 800.
Run this morning followed by afternoon swim with a 3k main set. My longest ever non-stop swim was 1.9k (in my HIM). This was a confidence builder - it took me 1:15, but I feel like I could have gone the remaining 800m for the full IM distance. Checked my heart rate at the end and it was 100, which was surprisingly low - I thought it would be higher. This gives me a 1:36 predicted finish time - I can live with that, although I will still strive to improve. I can remember (not long ago) thinking will I ever be able to swim that far?
I can remember (not long ago) thinking will I ever be able to swim that far?
I think that every time I look at the buoys set up the day before an IM swim ... then I remind myself I've done it before. This should be a big dose of confidence you can keep in your hip pocket for upcoming swim sessions, which will get longer. By race day, you'll have enough of those confidence boosters you won;t succumb to the willies when you see the endless buoys out on the lake.
@Don, Throw away the predicted time. Mirror lake is the best place to swim. In the worse weather you shouldn't encounter a wave bigger than 6 inches. The Safe Swim format is awesome. You will not be entering the water with more than 8 or 10 other athletes. If you seed yourself as suggested by EN, you will be swimming faster than you ever have. There really is a rope under water to follow. So, you hardly have to sight.
4k total swim last night. Hard intervals 40 minute run this morning and then biked the Syracuse 70.3 course for my 4 hour bike. There are some mean climbs on that course. 2700 ft of climbing all in the first hilly half of the course. I'm feeling shelled compared to how I felt doing the big day 3.5 hr ride last weekend which I did on a flat course. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!
I am a bit off the reservation for my workouts this week. I have been focusing on race pace for everything and controlling my VI on the bike. This week I have ridden 206 miles and run 27 miles. I have completed 171 miles of biking in the last 3 days. All of the rides were inside my goal watts for the race. Yesterday and today I did the same workout. A 40 mile ride followed by a 10K brick. The total workout time for each day was 2:57:55 & 2:58:12. My VI was right where I want it to be. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get more run miles in. However, I just ran out of time.
Like several others today was a "let's really stress the legs on the bike" day: 4:07 on the Skyline drive with 4898ft of hard climbing. IF of 0.972 and TSS of 388.1. I'll feel this one tomorrow!
@SS Keep leading us through those Texas Monsoon's !
@ Stuart 4+ hrs on the Skyline is legit... Never cycled the Skyline or Blueridge Parkway but I've ridden it via Motorcycle twice... beautiful country... Something is a little off with your IF and TSS metrics..... IF .97 for 4 hrs is probably impossible considering the best IF you can do for 1hr is 1.0... So that throws your TSS out of whack.... So either your FTP is way off , or the FTP got reset to a default setting or something , but I would check all your settings!
@Ed You are putting together some awesome training... Looks like its gonna show on race day.... You better be bringing me some competition :-)
@ Charles and Don ... add me to your list of peeps that was a bit overwhelmed late in my longride going WTF?
@Derek and Steve.... well now I know more about the track.... will keep my training paces etc set via what I get from my garmin.... but from now on I will test via the 5k measurement on a track so I really know where I am at!
My Weekend is Done.... Friday swim only was the first OWS with 1.2 miles and yes its still cold.... Saturday bike 4:55, 88 miles, 6700' elevation , total IF was .75 but I accumulated 127min at IF .83 and 100min at IF .73.... was good mix of climbing/descending aero/hoods... Cant wait to finally get on the IMLP bike course to check out the descent.... Sunday woke up to pouring rain and hit the TM for 2.5hrs and 18.4 miles.... Lunch and Couch are calling !
This team is really coming together across all fronts! Week 12 was an incredibly strong week from what I can see for all of the EN IMLP team! Several leading and just GETTING IT DONE!!
Swam long on Friday (4,500M), Biked 2.5 hours on trainer Saturday, ran 3.6 miles then Biked 2.5 hours outside after the lightning and rain passed over DFW. Outside ride was all over the place due to wet roads, muddy roads, roads with rivers going across them, etc.....just got the saddle time in and did the best I could with that.....should have brought my goggles with me!
I for one am certainly glad I don't need to keep up with this crowd! I'd be trashed by now if I did. Lots of great work and efforts all around by all.
Week recap: Overall went well even though I had our annual company meeting and field tour this week. Good results from a marginal FTP test and reasonable results from a fatigued vDOT test.
Mon - pool closed so spent the day doing yard/house work. Washed and put up all the screens. Prepped and deployed whiskey barrel planters and mowed the lawn for the first time too. Otherwise it was a lazy day.
Tues - Drove 2 hrs to the resort were the company meeting was to be several hours early and went out for my FTP test. I should have done a better job reviewing my test site instead of relying on memory from several years ago..... It was supposed to be a long gradual climb but I ran out of hill and spun out on the back side at the 11 minute mark so had to turn around to continue.... only to find myself spinning out again at 16' requiring another u-turn! Even with the 2 u-turns I still managed an AP of 223 for a FTP of 210 (95%). The VO2 portion was 267 which seems reasonable (223 * 1.2). Total ride was 32 miles, 1,500' elev, 1:50.
Wed - was an all day thing including several hours of field tour at one of the University of Maine's research forests, lead by several of the lead researchers. The afternoon was all business meetings and my presentation on culverts and stream crossings. T-storms in the evening prevented an evening run.
Thurs - Tried to get my vDOT test done but 2.5 days of overeating at the meeting and general fatigue just was too much. Legs felt thick and heavy from the start. Pulled the plug at 1200 meters and called it a day. I didn't want to do any more damage and also wanted to try again on Friday.
Fri - Mid morning swim was different than scheduled, in part to gage my swim fitness for Quassy. I did the 2200 first then 1800 right after. All pull and stayed on pace for both sets. THe only thing missing for Quassy is OWS which I may try to get this coming week.
Fri - Evening went back to the track to finish the 5K test. I targeted a PR pace but had to back off after the first 800. Came in 20:33 which is 2 sec slower than my NOS startup test. Had I been more rested I believe I could have done similar to my Feb test and will leave may paces there for now. I expect to retest prior to IMLP to reset my paces for that.
Sat - Big hard bike, new FTP (+ 8 watts, ~ 4%) with full party dress! 60mm front, disc rear, latex and race tires. Also testing a new "franken-cassette". THe cassette is based on an Ultegra 12-23 but I swapped the 3 cog spider with on from an Ultegra 11-28. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! No cadence jumps until I get to the 3 climbing cogs. Very smooth. The ride went well trying to hold 170w (IF .80) of my new FTP and did well until 3:30 in. THe last hour was closer to 0.76. With the areo setup I had one of the fastest rides ever and really enjoyed the day. Ended the ride at IF 0.782, VI 1.02. Followed with a 40' run at EP mostly as a durability brick.
@Tim - good observation on the IF score. I'll check into that since I'm going to be going up to LP while the camp is going on to ride / run and I want good metrics! Speaking of that - anyone have thoughts on BestBikeSplit.com? Thinking about plugging my IMLP test rides in and seeing the "optimum" computed layout of the course based on a desired TSS to allow for legs that can run.... an interesting use of predictive analytics
Today was a good 2 hr session on the trainer: 30mins with Coach Troy focusing on hard spinning, one leg sessions, and drills - - followed by 1:30 at Z2/Z3 in aero working on good pedal stroke. Was a little sore for yesterday but spun it out in the first 20mins or so - happy!
@Steve- Great Job managing your week.... I'm gonna ease up just a bit mon-weds then taper thurs-fri for the Quassy OLY/HIM....
@Stuart- I have plugged in the data from all my IM's to BBS and its nailed a couple but most are plus or minus 10 minutes which is a pretty big window.... I'm fine tuning some of that since I have a much better idea of my Cda (from aerocamp).... I havent played around with the targeted TSS at all..... I am paying a bit more attention to the recommended race intervals , this appears pretty pretty complicated , specially if the course has lots of changing pitches , it also depends on which way the wind is blowing... A course like IMAZ would be much easier to follow the recommended race intervals but even that course depends on which way the wind is blowing on how they recommend riding the course... But they do have a cheat sheet that you can print out and put on your bike frame for quick reference... Lastly , my concern with following these recommendedd race intervals may lead to the "best bike split" but not the "best run split"
I had a great training weekend and looking forward to recovery Monday. Here's a quick recap:
Friday: I ran in the morning but ended up skipping the swim as a result of poor planning and not doing it in the morning plus I think I was still fatigued from the run/bike tests, which helped justify skipping the swim.
Saturday, had a good 50 min run and knocked out a solid 97 mile ride/5:45 in the heat.
Sunday, OWS in the morning 51 mins/~2400 meters and a 2:30 ABP ride in the afternoon, then a easy 3 mile run.
The heat and humidity whipped me this weekend. I need to increase my fluids on the bike and start carrying fluids again on the run. Summer has arrived. I hope every had a good weekend.
I just completed what's probably my biggest month of training ever - which, since I go back to 1999 with an average of 2 IMs a year, is saying a lot. I view the training process as a series of cycles, each of which prepares me for the next cycle ("training to be able to train"), culminating with weeks 8 >> 3 before an IM, when the "real" training happens for the race - training which revolves around the distance and effort levels in the race itself. The cycle we are about to enter.
To get ready for these critical 4-5 weeks, I have emphasized cycling to a greater extent than the past 5 years or so. I used to naturally get more cycling in, via commuting to work, and mountain biking for "fun". Both of those dropped out of my life starting the end of 2010. I could at least bring back the commuting by biking to the pool and the track, which I've been doing since early April. Also, I got a volume pop from the Tour of California. And I've brought my swimming up by adding in the "optional" work since coming back from ToC.
My Performance Management Chart numbers reflect this increased level of work: 4500 TSS the month of May, with the last six weeks going: 747, 888, 859, 1157 (ToC), 893, 1171. That means this past week, my TSS/day was higher than during ToC! I am so looking forward to Tuesday, which will be a travel day when I can finally get a rest.
I'll be in Colorado the month of June. In the past, when I've gone there, I have usually added a little extra credit biking. But this year, I intend to emphasize quality in each and every workout, following the EN IM plan pretty much to the letter. I suspect that will be hard enough, with the back-to-back long bikes being done at elevations 7000'-10,000', and the FTP days being done up hills in my neighborhood @ 8000-9000'.
My biggest problem has been trying to maintain my weight. I have the opposite problem of most people - it is almost impossible for me to keep my weight up at the 147# I;d like to see during training when I'm working at the level of 150 TSS/day. Then, in CO, it is normal to lose 2-3# (which represents some loss of body water). So paying attention to calories before and after workouts, and hydration during them, will be Job Two, right after hitting all the workout targets for volume and intensity.
Another thing I'm going to do differently is NOT adjust my FTP for the altitude. I already have it set at 212, instead of the 216-18 which my numbers indicate it should be. So I hope that, plus the 5% range in all workouts will be enough to get the proper training effect (meaning an IF of 0.95 for FTP workouts will be acceptable; 0.75 for race pace "plus", etc.). Same with VDOT. I have been training at intensity levels about 1-2 VDOT points higher than I tested at; at altitude, simply hitting my paces for my VDOT of 45.8 should be doable (EG, miles @ 7:24 instead of the 7:08 I've been doing them at.)
I'll revisit these goals over the next four weeks as I report on my progress. And, OK, NOW it is 8 weeks to go before the race!
Comments
I have paced several marathons and it is always interesting to hear all of the mile split "beeps" when we are not at the mile marker on the course followed by the "we're too fast" or "we're to slow" chatter in the group. The other alternative to a location based lap is to push the lap button every time you come around to the same place - distance won't be right but your splits will be. This is why I like to test in a real 5k if possible.
I find that I can remember 2 numbers and look at my screen on each lap. Using a spreadsheet I calculate 400 and 800 splits that will get me my goal time. For example last night for my failed attempt I was targeting 20:46 ( for a 2 sec PR). I stick that into the spreadsheet and find I need to hit 1:40 on the 400s and 3:20 at 800 when I hit the lap button. Lets me see accurately if I am over cooking the early laps or falling off in later laps.
It also works well for comparison to other track workout because all my intervals have timed splits at 800. Doesn't matter if I am doing Yasso 800's, 2x1 mile (1600) or any other distance longer than 800.
My longest ever non-stop swim was 1.9k (in my HIM).
This was a confidence builder - it took me 1:15, but I feel like I could have gone the remaining 800m for the full IM distance.
Checked my heart rate at the end and it was 100, which was surprisingly low - I thought it would be higher.
This gives me a 1:36 predicted finish time - I can live with that, although I will still strive to improve.
I can remember (not long ago) thinking will I ever be able to swim that far?
I think that every time I look at the buoys set up the day before an IM swim ... then I remind myself I've done it before. This should be a big dose of confidence you can keep in your hip pocket for upcoming swim sessions, which will get longer. By race day, you'll have enough of those confidence boosters you won;t succumb to the willies when you see the endless buoys out on the lake.
@Don, Throw away the predicted time. Mirror lake is the best place to swim. In the worse weather you shouldn't encounter a wave bigger than 6 inches. The Safe Swim format is awesome. You will not be entering the water with more than 8 or 10 other athletes. If you seed yourself as suggested by EN, you will be swimming faster than you ever have. There really is a rope under water to follow. So, you hardly have to sight.
Congrats on the swim!
@Don oh thank goodness I'm not the only one!
4k total swim last night. Hard intervals 40 minute run this morning and then biked the Syracuse 70.3 course for my 4 hour bike. There are some mean climbs on that course. 2700 ft of climbing all in the first hilly half of the course. I'm feeling shelled compared to how I felt doing the big day 3.5 hr ride last weekend which I did on a flat course. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!
I am a bit off the reservation for my workouts this week. I have been focusing on race pace for everything and controlling my VI on the bike. This week I have ridden 206 miles and run 27 miles. I have completed 171 miles of biking in the last 3 days. All of the rides were inside my goal watts for the race. Yesterday and today I did the same workout. A 40 mile ride followed by a 10K brick. The total workout time for each day was 2:57:55 & 2:58:12. My VI was right where I want it to be. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get more run miles in. However, I just ran out of time.
@ Stuart 4+ hrs on the Skyline is legit... Never cycled the Skyline or Blueridge Parkway but I've ridden it via Motorcycle twice... beautiful country... Something is a little off with your IF and TSS metrics..... IF .97 for 4 hrs is probably impossible considering the best IF you can do for 1hr is 1.0... So that throws your TSS out of whack.... So either your FTP is way off , or the FTP got reset to a default setting or something , but I would check all your settings!
@Ed You are putting together some awesome training... Looks like its gonna show on race day.... You better be bringing me some competition :-)
@ Charles and Don ... add me to your list of peeps that was a bit overwhelmed late in my longride going WTF?
@Derek and Steve.... well now I know more about the track.... will keep my training paces etc set via what I get from my garmin.... but from now on I will test via the 5k measurement on a track so I really know where I am at!
My Weekend is Done.... Friday swim only was the first OWS with 1.2 miles and yes its still cold.... Saturday bike 4:55, 88 miles, 6700' elevation , total IF was .75 but I accumulated 127min at IF .83 and 100min at IF .73.... was good mix of climbing/descending aero/hoods... Cant wait to finally get on the IMLP bike course to check out the descent.... Sunday woke up to pouring rain and hit the TM for 2.5hrs and 18.4 miles.... Lunch and Couch are calling !
This team is really coming together across all fronts! Week 12 was an incredibly strong week from what I can see for all of the EN IMLP team! Several leading and just GETTING IT DONE!!
Swam long on Friday (4,500M), Biked 2.5 hours on trainer Saturday, ran 3.6 miles then Biked 2.5 hours outside after the lightning and rain passed over DFW. Outside ride was all over the place due to wet roads, muddy roads, roads with rivers going across them, etc.....just got the saddle time in and did the best I could with that.....should have brought my goggles with me!
Long run complete this morning 15 miles, albeit slow by most standards but done! https://www.strava.com/activities/315734495
Can't wait to meet a lot of you at camp in two weeks!!!
Keep Moving Forward, leading all!!
Week recap: Overall went well even though I had our annual company meeting and field tour this week. Good results from a marginal FTP test and reasonable results from a fatigued vDOT test.
Mon - pool closed so spent the day doing yard/house work. Washed and put up all the screens. Prepped and deployed whiskey barrel planters and mowed the lawn for the first time too. Otherwise it was a lazy day.
Tues - Drove 2 hrs to the resort were the company meeting was to be several hours early and went out for my FTP test. I should have done a better job reviewing my test site instead of relying on memory from several years ago..... It was supposed to be a long gradual climb but I ran out of hill and spun out on the back side at the 11 minute mark so had to turn around to continue.... only to find myself spinning out again at 16' requiring another u-turn! Even with the 2 u-turns I still managed an AP of 223 for a FTP of 210 (95%). The VO2 portion was 267 which seems reasonable (223 * 1.2). Total ride was 32 miles, 1,500' elev, 1:50.
Wed - was an all day thing including several hours of field tour at one of the University of Maine's research forests, lead by several of the lead researchers. The afternoon was all business meetings and my presentation on culverts and stream crossings. T-storms in the evening prevented an evening run.
Thurs - Tried to get my vDOT test done but 2.5 days of overeating at the meeting and general fatigue just was too much. Legs felt thick and heavy from the start. Pulled the plug at 1200 meters and called it a day. I didn't want to do any more damage and also wanted to try again on Friday.
Fri - Mid morning swim was different than scheduled, in part to gage my swim fitness for Quassy. I did the 2200 first then 1800 right after. All pull and stayed on pace for both sets. THe only thing missing for Quassy is OWS which I may try to get this coming week.
Fri - Evening went back to the track to finish the 5K test. I targeted a PR pace but had to back off after the first 800. Came in 20:33 which is 2 sec slower than my NOS startup test. Had I been more rested I believe I could have done similar to my Feb test and will leave may paces there for now. I expect to retest prior to IMLP to reset my paces for that.
Sat - Big hard bike, new FTP (+ 8 watts, ~ 4%) with full party dress! 60mm front, disc rear, latex and race tires. Also testing a new "franken-cassette". THe cassette is based on an Ultegra 12-23 but I swapped the 3 cog spider with on from an Ultegra 11-28. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! No cadence jumps until I get to the 3 climbing cogs. Very smooth. The ride went well trying to hold 170w (IF .80) of my new FTP and did well until 3:30 in. THe last hour was closer to 0.76. With the areo setup I had one of the fastest rides ever and really enjoyed the day. Ended the ride at IF 0.782, VI 1.02. Followed with a 40' run at EP mostly as a durability brick.
Sun - rest and recovery
@Tim - good observation on the IF score. I'll check into that since I'm going to be going up to LP while the camp is going on to ride / run and I want good metrics! Speaking of that - anyone have thoughts on BestBikeSplit.com? Thinking about plugging my IMLP test rides in and seeing the "optimum" computed layout of the course based on a desired TSS to allow for legs that can run.... an interesting use of predictive analytics
Today was a good 2 hr session on the trainer: 30mins with Coach Troy focusing on hard spinning, one leg sessions, and drills - - followed by 1:30 at Z2/Z3 in aero working on good pedal stroke. Was a little sore for yesterday but spun it out in the first 20mins or so - happy!
@Stuart- I have plugged in the data from all my IM's to BBS and its nailed a couple but most are plus or minus 10 minutes which is a pretty big window.... I'm fine tuning some of that since I have a much better idea of my Cda (from aerocamp).... I havent played around with the targeted TSS at all..... I am paying a bit more attention to the recommended race intervals , this appears pretty pretty complicated , specially if the course has lots of changing pitches , it also depends on which way the wind is blowing... A course like IMAZ would be much easier to follow the recommended race intervals but even that course depends on which way the wind is blowing on how they recommend riding the course... But they do have a cheat sheet that you can print out and put on your bike frame for quick reference... Lastly , my concern with following these recommendedd race intervals may lead to the "best bike split" but not the "best run split"
I had a great training weekend and looking forward to recovery Monday. Here's a quick recap:
Friday: I ran in the morning but ended up skipping the swim as a result of poor planning and not doing it in the morning plus I think I was still fatigued from the run/bike tests, which helped justify skipping the swim.
Saturday, had a good 50 min run and knocked out a solid 97 mile ride/5:45 in the heat.
Sunday, OWS in the morning 51 mins/~2400 meters and a 2:30 ABP ride in the afternoon, then a easy 3 mile run.
The heat and humidity whipped me this weekend. I need to increase my fluids on the bike and start carrying fluids again on the run. Summer has arrived. I hope every had a good weekend.
I just completed what's probably my biggest month of training ever - which, since I go back to 1999 with an average of 2 IMs a year, is saying a lot. I view the training process as a series of cycles, each of which prepares me for the next cycle ("training to be able to train"), culminating with weeks 8 >> 3 before an IM, when the "real" training happens for the race - training which revolves around the distance and effort levels in the race itself. The cycle we are about to enter.
To get ready for these critical 4-5 weeks, I have emphasized cycling to a greater extent than the past 5 years or so. I used to naturally get more cycling in, via commuting to work, and mountain biking for "fun". Both of those dropped out of my life starting the end of 2010. I could at least bring back the commuting by biking to the pool and the track, which I've been doing since early April. Also, I got a volume pop from the Tour of California. And I've brought my swimming up by adding in the "optional" work since coming back from ToC.
My Performance Management Chart numbers reflect this increased level of work: 4500 TSS the month of May, with the last six weeks going: 747, 888, 859, 1157 (ToC), 893, 1171. That means this past week, my TSS/day was higher than during ToC! I am so looking forward to Tuesday, which will be a travel day when I can finally get a rest.
I'll be in Colorado the month of June. In the past, when I've gone there, I have usually added a little extra credit biking. But this year, I intend to emphasize quality in each and every workout, following the EN IM plan pretty much to the letter. I suspect that will be hard enough, with the back-to-back long bikes being done at elevations 7000'-10,000', and the FTP days being done up hills in my neighborhood @ 8000-9000'.
My biggest problem has been trying to maintain my weight. I have the opposite problem of most people - it is almost impossible for me to keep my weight up at the 147# I;d like to see during training when I'm working at the level of 150 TSS/day. Then, in CO, it is normal to lose 2-3# (which represents some loss of body water). So paying attention to calories before and after workouts, and hydration during them, will be Job Two, right after hitting all the workout targets for volume and intensity.
Another thing I'm going to do differently is NOT adjust my FTP for the altitude. I already have it set at 212, instead of the 216-18 which my numbers indicate it should be. So I hope that, plus the 5% range in all workouts will be enough to get the proper training effect (meaning an IF of 0.95 for FTP workouts will be acceptable; 0.75 for race pace "plus", etc.). Same with VDOT. I have been training at intensity levels about 1-2 VDOT points higher than I tested at; at altitude, simply hitting my paces for my VDOT of 45.8 should be doable (EG, miles @ 7:24 instead of the 7:08 I've been doing them at.)
I'll revisit these goals over the next four weeks as I report on my progress. And, OK, NOW it is 8 weeks to go before the race!