Mike and I got 7o miles in today on the bike. It. Was. Hot. I kept having flashbacks to all of the CDA race reports. We could feel the heat radiating off of the pavement as we were defending hills. .Our Gatorade was like hot orange soup in minutes. We finally stopped at a gas station and mike got a slushy, saying it was the best thing ever. Tough mental day, but we both felt strong in those last 15 miles which means we rode smart I guess. Not the fastest for whatever reason, but good saddle time and decent elevation.
I did a 2.5 mile run on a track today to test my twig (ok, so it's more like a tree trunk than twig). No pain and everything felt GREAT! My pace was faster than I typically run (as in 1@Z5 and 1@Z4), and I didn't feel like I was really pushing. Maybe it's because I'm pretty rested right now. As I was running and looking at the pace on the first couple of laps I thought to myself, "self, if running on a track is faster and feels this good, why don't you do it more often?" After the first mile and a half, I answered my own question -- BORING!
Emily- MMMmmm, hot orange soup! Doug- Glad your twig was feeling good! I like track WKOs but only for 1/4mi repeats and stuff like that, not just running.
Got in my first official swim of IMChoo training today. 200-300-400-500-400 at t-pace then 4 x 50 (25 spring, 25 EZ). I only did 4 50's vs the 8 as my swimming has been minimal lately and I want to take it on my shoulder since recovering from a mystery issue. Felt OK but a little sore now.
Good evening all - Sorry to say, I will not be able to go to Camp. As a college administrator, getting 3-4 days off in August is virtually impossible. Right now, focusing on Lake Placid in a couple of weeks - then a bit of recovery, followed by a BOOM! Loading up for CHOO. Have to sign up for dinner, 4 Keys, etc... If this is your first IM - relax and focus on the training right now... If you are a veteran - you know the drill :-) This weekend, as you are training and/or racing - TRAIN HARD - but TRAIN SMART! And most importantly - Let's be careful out there! Hope everyone is doing well
Great ride EB! Glad to hear that run went well John! The track can get boring but it's great for speed work and a nice plush surface. Strong swim Kim! Way to be smart with the shoulder, we have a long ways to go. Thanks for the words of wisdom Woody! Welcome back to the USA Pat!
Started ABP at 6:30 this am. Wow, what a difference from the day before. I rode a bit harder and still my HR only avg 116. I think I might test this Tuesday since I missed it last go around due to an event that week.
Thanks to all for posting their workouts. It's definitely motivating hearing about all the work getting done. After getting slowed down for 2 - 3 weeks from giving blood then another 7-10 days with a stomach bug I finally had a decent bike ride this morning. Self doubt was starting to creep in after I was getting crushed regularly for quite a while.
EB - great ride. That heart rate for that ride? Wow. Are you sure the HR monitor was right? That's awesome!
Kane - great job getting back on the horse. It only takes one day at a time! Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes the windshield, but the work adds up and pays off in the end (even the bad days count). Keep at it.
Finished my second ever 100 mile ride today! (Previous one was part of a little race in FL in 2012). I am resisting the urge to do Ironmath. IMChoo is still 11 weeks away but it was kinda slow.... Trying to be proud I got it done! Overall .71IF. First have was a little harder than I had planned as I was trying to find some wheels to grab thinking it would be better in the long run but burned too many matches. Obviously that won't be an issue on race day!
EB, my HR gets to 116 as soon as my leg swings over the top tube and before I'm clipped in! Great ride! Kane, way to keep at it and get that ride in. I'm sure that will be a big confidence booster heading forward. Keep that momentum rolling. Kim, congratulations on the century! Be proud, it's a big accomplishment. Plenty of time before CHOO. No need to be doing any math until race day.
Run and bike done today. The run went well. The 1st two hours of the bike went well and then I bonked! I think it's because I didn't eat enough between the end of my long run on Thursday and the beginning of the day today. Lesson learned. I'll make the appropriate adjustment for next week. Keep up the great work everyone!
5mi Z1 run this morning with the wife. (Well, kinda. We ran on the same trail at the same time, she just happened to be way ahead of me. LOL) Just picked up some Hoka Bondis Fri so tried them out. So far, I really like them. Not sure my body can really love anything today after the 100 mi ride yesterday but they still felt pretty good!
Finished my second ever 100 mile ride today! (Previous one was part of a little race in FL in 2012). I am resisting the urge to do Ironmath. IMChoo is still 11 weeks away but it was kinda slow.... Trying to be proud I got it done! Overall .71IF. First have was a little harder than I had planned as I was trying to find some wheels to grab thinking it would be better in the long run but burned too many matches. Obviously that won't be an issue on race day!
Kim - I saw this post and the dashboard post re your ride. The bottom line is that you did a century at .70+. Regardless of the time, you hit almost IM mileage at about the right effort, and we are still more than 2.5 months out. The work between now and race day will make you that much stronger (i.e., the same effort will result in a faster ride). Believe me, I understand the self doubt, but we have a lot of hay to put in the barn between now and late Sept. Based on the WKOs I see you are posting, you will be there ready to roll! Keep at it.
Kim - You're going to gain so much endurance from that ride. Don't be surprised if your legs are a bit tired this week, feeling slow to recover. Have faith because in 2 weeks, I'm betting you see a jump in your FTP. : ) congrats sista. Although I see how you train via strava so you might recover just fine and kill it this week.
I'm walking back from the pool now, hoping these tiny rain drops I'm feeling won't turn into downpour.
I focused on arm cadence (stroke per min,) hand placement, and kicking. I wore the finis strapless agility paddles and a pair of zoomers to help. The paddles fall off if I'm not catching the water properly and I can feel when I'm not having a fluid kick with the zoomers on. The good news is they make me look fast. The bad news is I'm really not ... hee hee. They both make me work hard, and I'm hoping my brain with take note of the proper technique with all this practice. Always so much to think about when swimming...
Emily- do u have a target strokes per minute? I haven't used any "pool toys" in a long time and I'm especially apprehensive with some random shoulder issues that seem fine now but.... My strategy has pretty much swim as little as possible without losing speed. Lol Although I may need to step it up a bit....
Kim, I thought of you all day yesterday on my "bike ride". I was literally laughing out loud after the first hour and my VI was .42! Yes, you read that right. We went along for John Bayone's last long ride before his IMLP in 2 weeks. We swam for 1.3 miles first, then went out on the bikes (5 of us). Well, Turby, John, and Kenney did nothing but talk. Pam and I were behind them, drafting, and mostly coasting! It was GREAT! They did pick it up after a bit. We did 2 1/2 loops, so each loop got a little faster but my overall VI for the ride was .57! Seriously, it was the most fun bike ride I've ever been on! Somehow we managed 17.3 mph, which I thought was pretty good for such a low NP, IF, and heart rate! I felt so good that I ran 4 miles after in Zone 4! LOL Anyway, my main point here is that it was not my Race Rehearsal so I'm not at all concerned. We will have our own RRs for IMChoo soon enough and I'll worry more about the IF at that time. For now, it's just time in the saddle! The fact that you rode 100 miles at the Ironman IF is pretty amazing! Actually, I think my IM IFs were more like .68 - .69! Basically, you are just adding another RR early in the training:-) I have to say, I'm damn impressed!!
Thanks Carol! Don't you just love drafting?? (When appropriate of course) I actually need to review what my target IF is for an IM. I think it might be .68, but I may have targeted even lower for IMFL. My running is off the charts crappy so I need to save as much as I can for the run!
@Kim I've been studying the swim smooth website to figure out a good starting point with my stroke rate, and work at that instead of interval timing. I notice when my stroke rate is higher, it helps me negative split my sets. Probably not the most efficient way of training. I'm still trying to figure out the wetrinome settings.
Here is a test you can do to determine your ideal stroke rate. I did my own version of it and found mid sixties works for me right now. http://www.swimsmooth.com/strokerate.html
Sorry to hear about your shoulder. Is it from using paddles in the past? Do they fit your hand or were they too big?
I had an overuse injury from swimming one season, and I realized it was how I was pulling through. (dropping my shoulder and straightening my arm leaving "dead spot" in my stroke.) Shortly after, I read Swim Speed Secrets for Swimmers and Triathletes and it helped give me a better idea of what I should focus on i.e. high elbows don't do jack unless you're properly catching and climbing the wall on the bottom of the pool. http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Speed-Secrets-Swimmers-Triathletes/dp/1934030880
Comments
Mike and I got 7o miles in today on the bike. It. Was. Hot. I kept having flashbacks to all of the CDA race reports. We could feel the heat radiating off of the pavement as we were defending hills. .Our Gatorade was like hot orange soup in minutes. We finally stopped at a gas station and mike got a slushy, saying it was the best thing ever. Tough mental day, but we both felt strong in those last 15 miles which means we rode smart I guess. Not the fastest for whatever reason, but good saddle time and decent elevation.
Yall be safe out there!
EB
Doug- Glad your twig was feeling good! I like track WKOs but only for 1/4mi repeats and stuff like that, not just running.
Got in my first official swim of IMChoo training today. 200-300-400-500-400 at t-pace then 4 x 50 (25 spring, 25 EZ). I only did 4 50's vs the 8 as my swimming has been minimal lately and I want to take it on my shoulder since recovering from a mystery issue. Felt OK but a little sore now.
Sorry to say, I will not be able to go to Camp. As a college administrator, getting 3-4 days off in August is virtually impossible. Right now, focusing on Lake Placid in a couple of weeks - then a bit of recovery, followed by a BOOM! Loading up for CHOO.
Have to sign up for dinner, 4 Keys, etc...
If this is your first IM - relax and focus on the training right now...
If you are a veteran - you know the drill :-)
This weekend, as you are training and/or racing - TRAIN HARD - but TRAIN SMART!
And most importantly - Let's be careful out there!
Hope everyone is doing well
Back in the USA, clean air and cool breezes.
pushed the run to an hour today, felt great. Swim went as planned then tossed in a 10 mile bike tonight to go see my Grandson.
Going to ride 100 with a buddy tomorrow morning, then head down to the D and do my run with my son.
Train hard this weekend everyone!
Glad to hear that run went well John! The track can get boring but it's great for speed work and a nice plush surface.
Strong swim Kim! Way to be smart with the shoulder, we have a long ways to go.
Thanks for the words of wisdom Woody!
Welcome back to the USA Pat!
Ride data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/829864289
Being done for the day by 10:00am makes waking up at 5 so worth it.
Have a great long ride today, folks! Ride smart!
Thanks again, the power of this team compels me.
Kane - great job getting back on the horse. It only takes one day at a time! Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes the windshield, but the work adds up and pays off in the end (even the bad days count). Keep at it.
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/830299103
Kane, way to keep at it and get that ride in. I'm sure that will be a big confidence booster heading forward. Keep that momentum rolling.
Kim, congratulations on the century! Be proud, it's a big accomplishment. Plenty of time before CHOO. No need to be doing any math until race day.
Run and bike done today. The run went well. The 1st two hours of the bike went well and then I bonked! I think it's because I didn't eat enough between the end of my long run on Thursday and the beginning of the day today. Lesson learned. I'll make the appropriate adjustment for next week. Keep up the great work everyone!
Kim - I saw this post and the dashboard post re your ride. The bottom line is that you did a century at .70+. Regardless of the time, you hit almost IM mileage at about the right effort, and we are still more than 2.5 months out. The work between now and race day will make you that much stronger (i.e., the same effort will result in a faster ride). Believe me, I understand the self doubt, but we have a lot of hay to put in the barn between now and late Sept. Based on the WKOs I see you are posting, you will be there ready to roll! Keep at it.
I'm walking back from the pool now, hoping these tiny rain drops I'm feeling won't turn into downpour.
I focused on arm cadence (stroke per min,) hand placement, and kicking. I wore the finis strapless agility paddles and a pair of zoomers to help. The paddles fall off if I'm not catching the water properly and I can feel when I'm not having a fluid kick with the zoomers on. The good news is they make me look fast. The bad news is I'm really not ... hee hee. They both make me work hard, and I'm hoping my brain with take note of the proper technique with all this practice. Always so much to think about when swimming...
Anyhow, I got 3400m in, 400 of which got lost in 920 land. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/831546204
Happy Sunday Yall. Week one is in the books.
I actually need to review what my target IF is for an IM. I think it might be .68, but I may have targeted even lower for IMFL. My running is off the charts crappy so I need to save as much as I can for the run!
Here is a test you can do to determine your ideal stroke rate. I did my own version of it and found mid sixties works for me right now. http://www.swimsmooth.com/strokerate.html
Sorry to hear about your shoulder. Is it from using paddles in the past? Do they fit your hand or were they too big?
I had an overuse injury from swimming one season, and I realized it was how I was pulling through. (dropping my shoulder and straightening my arm leaving "dead spot" in my stroke.) Shortly after, I read Swim Speed Secrets for Swimmers and Triathletes and it helped give me a better idea of what I should focus on i.e. high elbows don't do jack unless you're properly catching and climbing the wall on the bottom of the pool. http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Speed-Secrets-Swimmers-Triathletes/dp/1934030880