IMFL Wk 17 of 20 - Execution
HUGE week last week with everyone digging in and just getting volumes of work done on the heels of CAMP week - extremely impressive.
Weeks 17 and 18 are the ones that forge your Ironman fitness. It is in these weeks that you will be brought to your wits end and pushed so very close to that line between too much and not enough. Be safe out there, listen to your body and balance it carefully while telling yourself it is not yet time of take the pedal off the gas - 14 days for the home stretch - day by day, workout by workout, hour by hour, interval by interval, executing and building on the fitness that has been gained to this point.
While you go through this week, start thinking about how you will execute that fitness on race day.
Mike Roberts is one of the smartest Ironman athletes I know out there and shows that on race day by leveraging what he has to the fullest extent when it comes to execution. Keep these EN thoughts in mind:
Execution, not Fitness
Summary: All you've done for 9 months is build a vehicle. Ironman and Half Ironman racing is about how you DRIVE that vehicle, it is NOT about the vehicle itself. The majority of athletes on race day are fitness-focused (look at my T-shirt, look at my abs/veins/etc, look at how fast I can go in the first hour of the bike, etc.) As coaches we can make you stronger, but we can't fix stoopid if you decide to race your own way.
Advice: The best way to handle this is lock in on the Four Keys and focus on what really matters - being ready to and then actually implementing your race.
- Pre-Race / Taper: The closer you get to your race, the more you'll be hit with the magnitude of the event that's coming. The best way to get ready to handle that (self-imposed) pressure is to do all your training to the best of your ability. Dealing with anxiety in the final lead up to your race is a great deal easier if you have done the best you can given your life, time-commitment, and abilities.
- Race Week: The theme here is doing what you need to do, then getting out of Dodge. The more time you spend around folks who are freaking out, the more likely you are to freak out -- it's that simple! Know what you need to do and get it done; connect with a few key people and then return to a quiet place where you can focus.
- Race Day: There will be countless times during your day when other athletes will attempt to convince you that Fitness is more important than strategy. They will race you to the top of a hill in the middle of no-where, they will cut you off in the swim, they will regale you with stories of epic training on the run. Each of these instances is an opportunity for you to put the Four Keys system to work!
Comments
Thanks, SS. This great team is keeping me motivated to push through these last few weeks of hard work. Although, for the record, most of the "smart" you hear from me is just stuff I've learned from RnP, the WSMs and many others like you and then simply regurgitated it. To me, IM racing isn't necessarily about being smart or tactical; instead, it's simply about not making mistakes, not slowing down and never stopping. If you make a decent-sized mistake, IM will take it, compound it by 10, and ruin your day. I still read lots of race plans and race reports that reveal huge, preventable mistakes. On race day, I simply cannot - and will not - screw up my bike pacing. If my FTP and rehearsals say "ride at 190np," but on race day 190 feels like an FTP test and shoots my HR up to 150, do I stick with 190 no matter what? Hell no. I drop down to 180 or 170 until my RPE and HR look/feel like a 70% effort. Same for nutrition: I'm not going to overhaul my nutrition/hydration plan on the fly just because it's 65 degrees and I don't seem to be sweating. And it's not just AGers who make mistakes. Daniella Ryf won a world championship two days ago, but she rode her 12k superbike for 112 miles with her run-only race bib flapping in the wind behind her like a watt-killing sail, then was seen pounding a solid PowerBar at Mile 90. The former was a very stupid mistake that cost her time; the second one could have really hurt her run (it doesn't appear to have, as she won quite easily). But had she joined EN and posted her RP before Kona, the team would have advised her to eliminate those two mistakes.
Me . . . I'm tired. A few minutes short of 16hrs last week, I woke up to a -44 TSB this morning. Last two miles of my run yesterday were no bueno at all. Goals for the week, in order of importance: (1) no injuries, (2) get in quality, last long run of 18-20, (3) 5hr ride on the trainer or 100mi outside, (4) 40 miles of steady running, (5) 15k in the pool, (6) 17~ hours for the week. That light I see ahead is indeed the end of the tunnel.
Swam well today. Will run easy with the door tonight. Another big week on tap. Let's go!
Re Daniella Ryf's number flapping - she is used to racing in Europe where it is a requirement to wear on the back during the bike. You think they would standardize these sort of rules, but no way. My favorite contradiction is the one that bans full bike covers since they present a "hazard" to other athletes. Go ahead, check out that rule in your athlete guide. Then go to race an IM in Europe and find out that that not only are they allowed, they are required and issued to everyone so that transition the night before an IM is a sea of bikes in full plastic covers.
@Paul - now I know why you are so successful - always placing those SAUs as priority!
Feeling sleep this afternoon given my Z4 breakfast intervals early this morning...........
Hang on all!
Bike VO2 session, a durability run and some core strength work got done today. Ready for more running and swimming tomorrow. And hopefully another cat nap.
Great job today. I saw some strong VO2 workouts posted. I got my Bike & run done late. Sleep will be tough tonight.
Rolled out of bed feeling not so good but ended up with a really pleasant run session. Off to the pool next. Swim is the area where my patience is wearing a bit thin. I am enjoying running more as the weather cools and the bike sessions are fun also. But the black line is not so bueno. I might need to tally up the swims left and start crossing them off.
BIB# 1130 This thing is looming large now!
Mon. swim had pretty good intervals. Tues. am Zn4 run was a tick slow-but no IT band issues. pm swim, just got it done.
Wed. Zn 4 bike .95 and .94. Is it me or is Zn 4 really hard now. HR high/power low.
Looking forward to knocking out this RR run tomorrow.
Happy Birthday Mike! Bib number 1118 unlike 1128 seems to get faster and better looking with age
....I'm still working on that one!
I looked up several bib numbers and I found the following numbers under the Category "True Grit": 1117, 1118, 1130, & 585......
There was another category labeled "Comical Relief" where I found bib 1128.........
Happy Wednesday all you amazing people! Keep moving forward!
SS
Hello,
My training has been going well. I had to switch things up this week due to life, so I ran 19 miles yesterday followed by an hour and a half in the pool. Today was a 5 hour ride on tired legs
. I wanted to stop at 3 hours, but I picked up my second wind, convinced myself I could do it and finished strong. Tomorrow will be the 3.5 hour ride. I like to do the day 2 ride on my trainer. Yes, I used the word "like".
Sincerely,
Bib # 1121
Swam at lunch and seem to have had some sort of reaction to the chemicals. Face is burning and nose is running like mad. I've had pool nose before and this is something on a whole other level. Luckily it didn't really kick up till about 20min after i was done.
Tomorrow is bike in the morning, core at lunch and a track session in the evening while CC has soccer. I am running long this saturday and going to try and push some pace as well. Nervous about it already.
Some great training has been going on. I am impressed with the volume that some are able to achieve mid week. This should be a very big weekend for most everyone. Ride and run safe. Stay injury free. SS, thanks for the humor in the posts. I do know who the real gorilla is. Mike, Happy birthday and I am happy you are still an age group younger than me. Today was a swim only day for me. Too much happening at work & home for me to get in more. Tomorrow should be a big day.
Another trainer session this morning. This part of the training reminds me of miles 18 to 23. Tired. A lot of training done but a long way from the finish. The fight for me is to stay engaged and keep the effort up. Not just mark time till the session is over.
Kettle bells today for lunch. Then my "track session" tonight while cc has soccer. Off I want to be strong for 18 to 23 then I need to be strong now.
@Jimmy, I'm right there with you. I haven't been this tired since training for IM #1 eleven years ago. The 5:30am alarm was not well received this morning, so I decided to sleep a few more minutes. Turned out to be 150 more minutes. Got up at 8am, got in 2x12' at very low Z4 on the trainer, then a 3-mile brick run. The first mile of the run was awful - feet, ankles and knees hurt and had no interest in running. But I loosened up and actually ran Miles 2 and 3 at GRP. Despite the 10 hours of sleep, I'm currently at work, head-bobbing while typing this. Really looking forward to the last mile of my last long run this Saturday (local century ride on Sunday with full SAG and stops).
@Christina, it's probably of no use now, but the worst part of my first 3-4 IMs was saddle pain. Sure, Chamois Butt'r and TriSlide help, but it wasn't until I went with an Adamo saddle (Cobb is a very similar design) and a good set of bibs did all taintal-area pain disappear forever.
I did my long run today. That is going to make tomorrow's ride interesting. The run was completed as a point to point course. I had to drop my truck off to have the new snow plow installed. Yes, we get a lot of snow so I need the plow. Also, that snow is coming soon. So, I dropped of the truck and headed back home. My fueling was carried on my fuel belt and consisted of 4 bottles(28 oz) of Infinit. I also carried 2 gel flasks with Infinit Napalm. I shorted myself a little on this run, but I did not want to carry more weight. The run started a little cool. It was 43 degrees. I intentionally over dressed a little. I wanted to try and push my heat index up. I don't think that happened. At the conclusion of the run, I stepped on the scales. I dropped 5.2 pounds. Since this was a training run, I pushed my pace faster than I will be able to run at IMFL. However, the intensity was sustainable and brought my PLE pretty close to race pace. I am hopeful that at mile 18, I can bring my pace up to the speed I was at for the entire run today. In my 3 previous races, I have ended up drinking what was provided on the course. In my first race before EN, I started with a fuel belt carrying 40 oz of Infinit. This was way too heavy and I dropped it before mile 4. I had not executed the bike for that race anywhere near the EN method and was suffering right from the start. Race 2, I rode a much better bike, with a 5 minute difference. I was setup to use Infinit Jet Fuel. That did not work. I tried to drink during the first two miles and every time I did, my stomach cramped badly. I ran that marathon pretty much dry. This year, I did not execute the ride well. I over rode the first lap and gave away a ton of speed through the second lap. However, on the run, I could drink. I started with 2 bottles (14oz) of Infinit on my fuel belt. I also carried a flask of Napalm. I had no problem drinking either of these. My only issue was the weight of the fuelbelt. I had 2 more bottles waiting at the RSN, but I did not pick them up. I dropped my fuelbelt there and kept going. I survived the rest of the day with GE, Ice & Coke. For this race, I intend to carry gel flasks of Napalm. I will drink from the course.
@Ed - absolutely HUGE run at ~19 miles!
Great feedback for us sharing nutrition and past race learnings! You're making very hard for anyone to slack around here bro!
Way to knock it out of the park!
SS
Many of you have noted/commented on the difficulty of hitting Z4 lately. Well, don't be mislead into thinking you are losing fitness. It is the contrary........As you put in those long bike rides, build your 5 hour power base and approximate race date, you are trading fast twitch muscle fiber for slow twitch, fat burning, efficient muscle fibers.........all this means is you are doing it right and probably on track.
As many have noted, your most important focus at this point in week 17 is knowing your 5 hour power and corresponding HR.......FTP becomes somewhat irrelevant.
Fatigued this morning trying to get the feet to the floor from the bed at 4:45 and so, slogged through a 1 X 3,800M swim.....
Have a quality, safe and hard working weekend all!
SS
Missed all kinds of pace targets for yesterday's run session. but got the time in. count it.
Hit a different pool thismorning. The one I had the reaction to on wednesday is misteriously closed...
Speaking of swimming - done swimming for the week! nice.
Longrun tomorrow. game time. first 10mi under 140bpm. next 6 mi @ 145 bpm last 2 at 150. At least that is the plan going in...
In other news, I am officially 5 for 5 this week for mid afternoon work naps. #sleepworks
Got 10 hrs of sleep last night, woke up feeling pretty decent. Checked TP, and it confirmed that my fatigue had mellowed to "only" -36. Went for an easy 4-mile run, will try to swim this afternoon. The century ride I was going to attend on Sunday appears to be cancelled, which means I'll likely end up back on the trainer tomorrow. Without any bike lanes or shoulders in this state, there's just nowhere safe to ride long and solo. All the other IM athletes in Charlotte do Choo or Ville. There is another century planned for next weekend, so I may indeed get outside before PCB. Bif run on Sunday. Just started my RP - always a fun process.
Stay safe and healthy.
I got a 4 hour ride in today. That was really tough. I am definitely carrying a bunch of fatigue around. Going to try and get to the pool for a swim this evening.
@ Mike, I feel your frustration with not being able to ride outside. I have the roads for the long rides, but it is cold. Very hard to get a quality ride in when you can't warm up your muscles. There is snow in the forecast for Sunday. I locked my bike on the trainer 3 weeks ago and I don't see a chance to ride outside before the race.
As far as losing Z4 power/fitness, SS is dead on.If you don't have a long riding & training history, it isn't a bad idea for the FTP test to confirm your race power numbers. There are a bunch of WSM's who don't do FTP tests in the final stages of a training cycle. The 5 hour power number is the real measuring stick. Still remember, that you have to run after the bike. So, where you may be able to push your 5 hour power higher, what will that cost you on the run? Just something to think about.
Really psyched about this one. I was actually tempted to finish the 26.2 just so that I could write down a new pr. I was a bout 9 sec per mile ahead of my best pace with another 20bpm of headroom.
If I am within 1min/mi of that pace on race day it will be a good day.
on the plus side I have had my biggest running vol week by decent amount this week. guess i just hit the wall. time to rest a bit.
The end of this week is here. This was my biggest total training for this build and the biggest total for both running and swimming. I have been very fortunate and remain injury free. I stepped a little outside the box today. I got dropped off at my pool. I swam 3,000 yard and then I ran home. It is not Florida like here. The average temperature for the run was 37 degrees. I intentionally overdressed for the run. I wore tights & sweat pants, under armor cold gear turtle neck, an under armor vest and a running jacket. I was warm on the run. My back pack weighed 8 pounds. I'm pretty sure I had 10 pounds that I won't have during the race. I ran well keeping my heart rate down and my pace was a little quicker than race pace. When I arrived home, my wife had not done her walk. So, I stripped off my wet stuff, put on some dry and warm clothes and out we went. Finished today with a walk just under 6 miles. Big runs from the team to follow up big rides. JA had an outstanding 19 mile run earlier. I saw that SS & MR had huge runs today to finish off this big week. One more solid week of training ahead with a big ride at the end. This is where the finish line is made. Work hard.