IMWI RR#2 (or more, I've lost count) Plan
Yo,
Quick driveby, as I need to get out the door to SBUX to work before a 4k swim and 7mi run in the heat.
Weekend plan is to do a formal RR tomorrow morning, as 112mi bike and 6mi run, then additional 112s on Saturday and Sunday as Sat = repeat of Fri course and Sun = ride down the coast to Solana Beach (Pizza Port = pizza and BEER!) and take the train back.
This summer I've done several local RR-type rides (dialing in watts, HR, staying aero, proofing nutrition plan, etc) as well as 2x very high quality RR's on the IMWI course. Around ^these^ I've also done several hammer-centuries, just slaying myself to ride 4:18-25, >230w Pnorm, stuff like that. From this I've settled on the following numbers:
Bike:
- JRA watts: 200-210w, at <130bpm</li>
- IM Target Watts: 222-225w Pnorm, @ 135-138 bpm, yielding about 221-224w Pnorm for the ride.
- Bike average HR of about 135bpm
- 142-145bpm = begin to start switching to HR as primary and realllly watch hydration.
- >147-150bpm = HR is primary. Forget the wattage goals, hydrate and get HR down.
Run:
- JRA HR: 130-135bpm, matches nicely with bike AHR above. Pace about 8:30-40
- Average long run HR of about 140-144bpm, pace of about 8:15-20. However, on race day I may decide to stay at the 135-137bpm and wait for HR to rise naturally vs shifting into a different gear after mile 6.
- A last 4-5mi, push-the-effort HR of above 150.
- The net application of the above usually yields about 8:20-30 pace at AHR of ~137-138bpm.
Fri RR Course and Logistics:
- San Gabriel River Trail to Seal Beach, south along the coast to inland on the Santa Anna Trail, flip at 56 and ride back.
- Gas station opportunities at about mile 37, 70, with a water fountain also near the 56 flip. Park with fountain about 23-24 miles from the end of the ride.
- Temps: will be 70f when I start, all the way down to the beach and along the bike, but I expect the temps to go from ~78 to close to 100f in the last 37mi. This will suck and kinda has an impact on my RR numbers, as I discuss below. Will be a good discipline check though (ie, toss the wattage goals and shift to HR)
- Nutrition: starting with 4 bottles on the bike, as 3x GE, 1x water. Power to remix another 3x GE. 5 x Margarita Clif Blocks (3x normal sodium) and 8-10x Roctane Gels, the ones with sodium and caffeine. Nutrition plan based on my observations that (1) 400cal/hr works for me, (2) hydration is everything, and (3) I reallllly don't like GE the last 2hrs of the bike, right when it starts to suck, gets crazy hot, etc.
- Garmin: set to autolap every 3mi, with main screen displaying 3sec average power, lap Pnorm, HR, speed, lap distance. Beeps at the end of the interval as reminder to drink and fuel. Summary screen with all of the usual metrics, most notably Pnorm, IF, AHR, avg speed for the ride.
Bike Execution:
- 30' @ 125bpm, with caps of 130bpm and 210w Pnorm. Then shift to...
- Target of ~225w Pnorm on each interval, expecting to HRs of 134-137bpm.
- Low VI Ninja Hat on, watch Pnorm for the ride rise into the high 21x's. When it gets north 220w I'm beginning to approach "good enough" territory. >223w Pnorm is definitely "good enough" territory and I need to start thinking about the run, taking opportunities to get HR down and hydrate, etc.
- The Heat: as I said, it's gonna get wicked hot the last 37mi. I fully expect my Pnorm for the ride to take a hit as I shift from watts to hr as my primary. The Good: will be a good discipline, adjust the plan exercise. The Bad: very sure I'll finish the ride with Pnorm lower than what I'll ride on race day...but I'm very confident in my numbers, regardless of a 3-4w difference on the RR vs race day plan.
- Bike Nutrition, within ^this.^ For race day I'm really thinking in terms of aid stations vs miles/time on the bike. I can kinda do the same on this RR but may be a little different due to locations of water stops...but anyway:
- Miles 0-37 on this RR (about 1:30 ride time, this is a fast section): 2x GE, 2x gel, 1x Shot block, drinking water with the calorie dense stuff. Maybe get into the 3rd GE bottle depending on how I feel.
- Across the next whatever miles that bring me back to the bottom of the path: additional 3x GE (that's 3 total bottles, not 3/hr
) + 1x gel, 1 x shot block per hour. Drink at least a full bottle of water at the water stops before I turn inland on the path. Goal therefore is 5-6x bottles of GE before I drop back onto the path with 37mi to go to the end. - From there I switch to water only + gels + Shot blocks + salt tabs to pick up the sodium I'm losing from stopping the GE.
- Don't Be Dumb, and STOP at Mile 21 Park (25mi from finish) to top off on water bottles.
Goals: 218-224w Pnorm, as a function of the heat damage control I've had to manage in the last 2hrs. AHR of 134-138bpm.
Run:
Again, I know what HR and pace works for me. But with the heat I know I'll be about 30-45' per mile slower in order to stay in the range I want. Pop a gel and slam a bottle of water before I step off, carrying a bottle 3mi out and back, with a fountain I can hit coming and going at mile 2'ish. Hydration and staying in HR range (cap of 140bpm) are key, forget pace. I reserve the right to pull the plug at the mile 2.x water fountain if it's just stoopid hot.
Comments
Obviously you know and mention it but if it's really going to get that warm, hydration can't be emphasized enough. Have fun out there!
Thanks. Gonna be hot all weekend. I've booked a train ticket for Sunday, with train leaving the station at 12:35pm. With a 6a clip-in, that gives me 6:35 clock time to ride 112mi, with admin stops, have a beer(s) at Pizza Port and get a pizza to take on the train with me
Looks great Coach!
The heat and fatigue can make us do "stoopid" things on the back half......like getting lazy and not taking those salt pills
with the water we are ingesting. Good luck with that HUGE weekend. Send out some updates for us to track and drive mojo along the way as able.
KMF!
SS
I guess that doesn't translate to train ticket with pizza following a RR.
I just feel bad for the person sitting next to or even slightly near you on the train...
Will be riding with one of those cheap IM backpacks they hand out at halfs, with running shirt, shorts, and sandals. And easy for me to get pretty clean in the bathroom, no hair and all
Well...that sucked
I had never done the applesauce breakfast thing so I tried it yesterday and it worked fine...given that I didn't exercise in the morning
. So I did it today but boogered the timing. I was shoveling the sauce at ~5:20 for a 6a clip in. Then I had about 3/4 bottle of GE and shotgunned a can of Beet Performer. Due to some friction...and the feeling in my gut...I delayed my start until about 6:15. Within 2-3 miles I could tell that my HR was very elevated. Normally my HR is rather slow to rise, creeping up into the low to mid 120's. Then when I start to actually "ride" the bike, it is very steady and sticky in the low to mid 135's. When my HR goes up due to short climb or whatever, it comes back down very quickly.
Not today.
I actually stood down for 5-8' at ~mile 18, hoping things would reset. Nope. The rest of the day was HR triage due to a full gut = HR elevated = slow to absorb fluid and nutrition + humid at the coast + temps going from ~80f at the coast to 97f when I got off the bike. I bailed in the run so I can regroup and do it again tomorrow. 104.5f right now, hoping to at least the punch the clock in my feet at about 6p.
Anyway, power was a joke at 202w Pnorm, 195w Pavg, .68-9 IF, 235 TSS, with AHR of 144bpm. My lowest watt ride, by far, all summer. But...5:01 for 112 at 195w Pavg. I'll take those numbers All. Day. Within 20' of getting off the bike I didn't even feel like I had ridden.
Interesting to compare these two rides:
Winds make a difference on this course, but today was relatively slow, frankly, with regards to winds. I did wear a new LG P-09 helmet. PT was losing calibration, but it was reading high vs low. I was able to recalibrate on the fly. Out the door now to WB to have them troubleshoot. However, I did make some slight changes to my aerobar, computer, and bottle mount, allowing me to stack my hands neatly in front of the computer and still be able to see it. This + the helmet + turtling my head felt VERY fast today...on shitty watts. And I have additional gains coming in the form of race tires and latex, front and rear, wheelcover, LG one piece tri suit (arrived today, very sharp!) and a closed course.
Anyway, OTD to WB to have the check the PT
Fookin' applesauce...
^ ^ ^
Position often trumps power. Never forget that.
Yeah, as shitty as today was, it was a good reminder that when things are going sideways, you need to toss the wattage goals, focus on HR and play defense. I just had a hard time reconciling how low my watts were, how high and all over the place my HR was, with how fast I was still going.
An update on how the rest of the weekend went:
Final RR #2, the Rematch!
On TrainingPeaks here
Changes I made before RR#2:
The net was a much better day than Day 1
Day 1
Day 2 -- note the D2 vs D1 difference in Pnorm, Pavg, and AHR. My HR was MUCH more sticky on this ride, never peeking above 150bpm even when it got very hot in the last 90'
Of course, this being the 2nd RR in 2 days, in the heat, with buggered nutrition and a jacked HR on day 1, it sure felt like more than 255 TSS and .717 IF
. But I'm happy with how I was smart with my HR in the last hot 90', capping it at 147bpm and taking about a 3-4w hit to my overall Pnorm, watching it decline as I dialed down my effort to keep my HR in check, continued to hydrate, etc.
However, when I got off the bike I was a little light headed and I noticed that my wedding ring was a little tight as I was riding = hands swelling. I changed for a run, trying out the zip lock baggie of ice under the hat trick, in 98f temps. Pace, legs, HR felt great and the ice was MONEY! But I was light headed. I flipped it to make it a 3mi brick, as I had learned what I wanted to learn.
Nutrition Assessment: