10 Weeks To Go (Training Thread)
For some reason this race always makes me nervous 
Add to it the turn around from Lake Placid, and I need to be careful last week and this I don't get too aggressive, but don't lose too much fitness. Tough cliffs to navigate between
First week: Nothing except visit NYC until Saturday, when I swam 3 K, ran 5 miles, including 1 mi @ TP on the track. Sunday, I took my new road bike up 5200' in 20 miles, from sea level to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics. Road was closed to cars, with 100s of cyclists and a fun descent. I took a progressive approach, IM+ pace the first hour up, sub HIM pace the second hour, then HIM to HIM + the last 45 minutes. I have no power meter yet on the new bike, so this was by HR.
Second (this) week: I got a little too excited I think. On Monday, I couldn't successfully finish the swim workout @ a descent pace, so I pulled the plug after 50 minutes. I ran 5.2 miles @ my LRP. Tuesday, I ran another 5.6 miles with 2 x 1 mi @ TP on the track. This may have been a mistake. That evening, we had our weekly social ride of 1-1.25 hours, which I usually hammer. This time, I worked fairly hard for 45 minutes, then rode easy another 30 with Cheryl. Wednesday was 1 hr 22 min on the TT bike, including 15 minutes @ 0.9, another 20 @ 0.8. I tried to follow that with a 40 minute brick, but could not run without pain in my right glue. 5 minutes did not work it out, so I limped back, and decided to shut down running fro 48 hrs to see what happened. Then, a subset of the Tues evening social riders went out to Mt St Helens for a 72 mile ride gaining maybe 6500' overall. An absolutely stunning day rising through the forest into the blast zone, clear cloudless skies @ 65-75F. Probably the equivalent of a good 5 hour weekend ride (took 5:12, of which an hour so so was pure downhill coasting/soft pedaling) Then today, back in the pool for 3K, 1-2 sec/100 slower than I was doing two weeks before IMLP, followed by a test run on the track, 5k @ LRP with much less pain.
I see next week as getting myself into proper "training shape" so I can take advantage of the following 18 days in Colorado, where I will work at long climbs, long steady rides on the valley rail trail/roads, running frequency, and steady swimming with short intervals once a week. I'll b e using the training plan as a guide, trying to hit all the workouts in some form or other. But the plan only has 3 bikes a week, and I will try and get 4 in, usually adding a second 3 hour "Sunday style" ride. I'm gonna split my long runs while I'm there, and work on increased run volume and frequency compared to what I did leading up to LP.
Comments
Looking forward my biggest issue is heat training given we are in cold season down here (can not call it winter but it still far from Hawaii temperatures).
Planning a heat camp in MACEIO north of Brazil (KONA like winds and temperatures) on week 16 when I will execute RR1 (one week later than normal but appropriate given the weather conditions).
In order to make the best of that heat/volume camp, Sauna sessions will begin in a couple weeks and will continue after for maintenance.
Good training to all .... STAY HEALTHY!!
I have not yet successfully learned how to manage my preparation for the heat in Hawaii. And I'm talking maybe twelve years racing there including Xterra. So my advice is purely theoretical, which is: the science says that heat acclimation reaches its max after three weeks, nothing more is gained by doing it longer. What I'm going to try this year, in addition to running in any hot weather i can find (doubtful) is do some indoor run sessions on a treadmill with no fan.
You might consider PMing Dave Tallo, who has done sauna work each of the past few years for Hawaii, with what I would regard as some success.