Week 18 Training Thread
It goes without saying, the biggest event on the schedule is your second RR on Saturday. Not only is it your last workout before beginning taper, it is arguably the most important workout in your 8-12 weeks of ironman training. Your final RR is where you want to take and apply all your learnings so you have a real good idea of how you plan to execute on race day and how your body and your equipment will function. For me personally, I will be doing my swim on Friday because of both the logistics and the fact that I have pretty much burned up my bank account of SAUs and working in the swim on Saturday would mean lengthening my training time by about 2 hours – and that isn’t going to fly! For me I’m going to swim on Friday and call it close enough! So…..All that being said, keep working hard this week and be thinking and planning for your RR. Remember, after you get off the bike, the run is not about seeing how fast you can run those 6 miles, but rather about getting your body used to the speed it needs to run in order to be able to sustain (or hopefully build) your pace over 26.2 miles.
When you’re finished, take a few minutes to write down what worked and what you might still need to tweak come race day and be sure to incorporate into your race plan. I know for me, unless I make the effort to actually write down my observations, WKO’s all start to blend together after a couple days. And finally, take time for a little celebration come Saturday night. For me, I have a Dales Pale Ale with my name on it that I plan to enjoy with my feet up on the couch come Saturday night! That’s it for now! Keep working hard and know that the end is in sight!
Comments
A couple things I thought i would post this morning. On a personal note, this week's training has been really tough. Cumulative fatigue has set in and Sunday can't get here soon enough. Today's long run was HARD! I have swim later today, and then a swim tomorrow followed by an easy run. Then it will be Saturday's race rehearsal. I think i will head to Boulder one last time and do my RR on the course.
Just received a heads up this morning that the water temp in Boulder in currently 77 degrees. Keep in mind, this is very typical, but 99 out of 100 times they find a place to take the temp where it ends up being wetsuit legal. Also, a couple cooler days will drop the temp a fair amount. Nothing to panic about, just some info. That being said, if you have a swimskin, plan on bringing it just in case that one out of 100 ends up happening
Finally, i hope you were able to attend Rich's pre race webinar and i hope you found the info useful. One thing i didn't mention was about where to position your family. For me i am not planning on seeing my family until i start the run. The run takes you on the Boulder Creek Bike Path heading east. The entire stretch from Broadway to 36 is all shaded and there are a number of parks along the way. My family found one last year and that's where they camped. That way i was able to see them 4 times and after the last time, they made their way to the finish line and i saw them as i came down the chute. This year we are staying at the Millennium and it backs right up to the run course. Last year the hotel had a large screen TV in their backyard, music playing, food on the grill. It was essentially a big party and actually lots of fun to run by because of the energy. The point being, you don't need to be staying at the hotel to take advantage of the facilities. They have several pools for the kids and it's just a great spot for your family to hang at while you are on the run. They will have easy access to bathrooms, shade, etc. I just need to confirm the hotel is hosting the same type of event they did last year. Once i get confirmation i will advise, but for sure something to consider.
Thanks for everything Mark. I like the suggestion above! Good to put a voice to your name last night.
This week has been tough for me too. I ended up not being able to get much of the Tuesday swim done, felt like I was swimming in concrete!
Mark sorry to hear about your run today, I agree the race can't come soon enough for me.
Today's run and swim went well. I'm trying to keep my mind ready for the Sat RR! Honestly, i'm looking forward to Sunday and no WO's and relaxing with the family!
Have a great one everybody and I'll see ya in less than 3 weeks!
ok, folks RR done! Wow was that a long day!
-I started with my swim in the neighborhood pool about 7AMish... Swim was uneventful, watched many neighbors hop in the pool swim for a bit and then leave. Meanwhile I swam on and did the 2.4 miles.
-Walked home to switch to the bike. Had my wife help slather me up with sunscreen! At boulder I need to have some sunscreen at special needs to re-apply. I keep getting a sunburn when I wear the tri-top. My plan was to have 2 bottles of GEF an hour and have about half to three quarters of a Power bar per hour. As well as a salt pill for each bottle of GEF. Nutrition seemed to go well. Glad I have that figured out!
I started riding with power as planned. However, it would turn out to be a HR day. My PM all but died about 5 miles in. I think there is something loose and when I hit a bump it shakes loose. After that point it gives a VERY low power reading. I decided to do the rest of the ride based on HR. I used what I had been noticing was my HR when my power was working and then upped it after the first 1.5 hrs. This seemed to work out ok. I'm thinking this is what I may do in Boulder as I'm not sure how my body will react to the altitude anyway. I'm going to look at my PM today but I'm not sure i'm going to be able to get it fixed.
The ride went well overall. The only other issue I had was a shifting problem. I could not shift to the big ring up front. I ended up stopping and moving it by hand a few times. Taking the bike for a tuneup today. We'll see.
Finished 90miles in just over 6.5 hrs.
-Transition to run. Grabbed my H2O belt and a bag of ice! I did the run by HR trying to keep my HR under what I noticed was my average HR over the last hour or so of the bike. Last RR I did it purely on pace and by the time I was done with the hour I would have had a hard time imaging running the rest of the marathon. My pace was slower for sure but I felt like I could have kept going at least.I ended up walking several times to get my HR down. I think this will be my plan in Boulder.
Overall the day went fairly well other that the things I could not control, bike mechanical issues. I think i'm ready for the heat as much as I can be. Our temp hit 98deg yesterday. Perhaps it won't be quite as hot in boulder. I felt like I was cooking on the bike.
I'm feeling ok, but I'm a little concerned about making the bike cutoff based on my times this weekend and last. I feel like I'm in a different league than most of you! I plan to make the best of this and do my best and then some. Thanks for all the support folks! See ya in Boulder!
Hope your RR days went well!
Thanks!
Erik
Nice job Erik...Way to deal with problems as they came up and keep moving forward.
Keep in mind you that you did yesterday on a ton of built up fatigue... that's all going to be gone on race day... After a full taper you're going to be more focused on slowing down and leveling the hills than anything else. Race day is going to be you're easiest ride all year.
See you in too weeks... rest up!
Woke at 2 after 6 hours of sleep... was on the bike after 50 minutes of prep. Noticed pretty quick that my legs didn't feel too good... struggled the first hour to hit my wattage. After the first hour I felt a little better but was still at the lower end... rode until dark and only got in 103... was only able to hit 68% for the ride. For comparison... All my big rides before IMTX this spring were at least 71%. It's not really a big deal to me as I didn't really plan to race at my peak anyway. I just wanted to finish this race and watch my wife complete her first... That being said... I'll be downgrading my paces for the race after this!
Run was uneventful... easy 6... through in some quick 25 step walking breaks to keep the HR below 140 for the first 3... then I let it rise a little...Finished at 10PM and had to be at work at 11... Love that midnight shift (note full degree of sarcasm here ...lol})
Now to get my swim right... My pools been closed for maintenance and I've had to use the outdoor pool which has a strong current from the water slide. It also has a host of other little distractions... in the middle of a 500 I turned to kick off the wall and saw some legs. I stopped and held the wall to look and a little girl asks "How deep is this" with a big goofy smile... funny... but man... constantly dodging the kids isn't easy!
Pool opens today... hopefully I can pull that part together in the next two weeks!
@Erik - I would for sure use these next 2 weeks to get my bike working as best as possible. A tune-up should fix your shifting issue. What kind of power meter are you running. I would try to find a bike shop that can work on it, or even call the manufacturer. Oftentimes, the manufacturer will be very accommodating when you have an upcoming race. I think HR is an important tool for race day, but rounding out HR with power is a huge advantage, so any strings you can pull to get it fixed, will only help you come race day.
I agree with Ed, Don't sweat the bike cutoff. I think you will be ok and once you are tapered and rested you should be in good shape. Trust me, the course is fast and the 4 climbs are all in the range of 8-15 minutes. The rest of the course is just rolling terrain. As for your run, i feel the same way after every race rehearsal. I can't imagine having to run another 20 miles. But on race day, for whatever reason, it just feels doable - probably because we don't have a choice
Congrats on getting it done. Rest up and see you in Boulder!
@Ed - Man, finishing at 10PM is hard core! Way to get'er done! Everything is for sure harder when starting later in the day. Finishing at.68 is good, especially considering you felt "off" from the start. Sometime you have to work your way into feeling good, but those are the workouts you will remember come race day. It's funny, i swim at our neighborhood pool and i'm constantly dodging kids cutting my lane, or noodles in my lane, or you name it! I try to use as practice for keeping focused no matter what happens, and at the end of the day it's better than getting kicked in the chest t the start of a race!
As for my race rehearsal, things went very well. I did my bike RR on the course and was able to ride at the exact same watts i rode last week, but was about 6 minutes faster over the same distance. Not sure if the wind was more advantageous or i'm getting more efficient at navigating the course - probably a bit of both. Nutrition and hydration went well and i think i have my bike and bike fit, dialed in for the race.
The run felt OK after the first 15 minutes or so when my legs were still feeling it from the bike. Once i got my run legs i felt really good. I have been practicing on my last several runs using the BASE salt dispenser while running. I previously ran with a hydration belt loaded with concentrated gatorlytes and i would squirt a bit into the gatorade i would pick up at each of the aid stations. For this race i'm going to go away from the hydration belt approach and take a lick or 2 of BASE salt as i near the aid stations. I have been practicing this approach and i think it will work well.
@Ed - I say you can just cover that last 30 miles on the mini-loop in your car. Going up and down mineral and lookout, yes, they are 2 of the biggest hills on the ride, but that being said, they are just hills in the 4-6% grade range - probably similar to hills you have climbed many times in training. I think you will get more benefit riding the rollers on the main loop you will cover twice on race day. Certainly if you're nervous about the climb or want to climb those hills to establish your climbing power numbers on that section, i think that makes sense. One suggestion - Google Tom Watson Park - It's a small park on 63rd. You'll pass it twice on race day. This is where i park for all my rides and then head down 63rd to diagonal and start riding from there. If you have someone there to drive you, then you have more options of where you can get dropped off. There are large shoulders on 36 next to niwot road and also 36th and st. vrain - those are good place to get dropped off. Hope that helps!