2016 IM CDA- WELCOME!!
Hello AMAZING IM CDA Racers!!!
WELL here we are! 13 weeks from the race! And I am PUMPED to join you on this journey as your Race Captain! Each Sunday- I will be starting a thread in the IM CDA forum as a place for your to post your workout reports, questions, comments, mojo anything you got! Please know I am HERE FOR YOU. So if you have questions, comments, concerns, need some venting time- whatever! SEND IT MY WAY! Next week we will start weekly training threads but before we do that, I want to get some of the administrative homework out of the way.
On Social Media? Follow, Share, Spread the word about training with EN using #EN4Keys and tagging us on all platforms:
Twitter - @teamen ---- Instagram - @teamendurancenation ------ Facebook - www.facebook.com/endurancenation
Use email friend@endurancenation.us to get a friend to train with you and EN (they get 30 days FREE and you can earn referral bonuses)
Nudge all current EN members that you know are racing IM CDA to chime in on the weekly forums
Check the box to follow the entire IM CDA forum so you don't miss a single announcement
Friend Mariah on Facebook so that she can tag you in pictures and race recaps the week after your race on the EN page
Your training hashtag is #EN4Keys and of course tag us if you wish, let’s tell the world!
Charge all your swim, bike and run electronics, tune up that bike, stretch out those legs and prepare that mental game and order the nutrition you need because we are about to dive head first into EN training.
Starting next Sunday night I will post the weekly forum with the training dates, some mojo, advice, admin notices and general EN awesomeness. Whether you're a veteran EN member or newbie, this is the magic of training with the team. We will keep each other motivated, have a place to talk about our daily training ups and downs, get questions answered, answer fellow teammates questions and make some friends along the way. The more everyone participates the more everyone will crush this race the Endurance Nation way!
If you have any questions about race weekend, Endurance Nation, whatever it is------I your trusty Race Captain extraordinaire will be here to answer any and all you can throw at me- just send me a message or post it here!!
I'm sure I have left some things out but no need to worry, we have plenty of time to IRON (see what I did there) all that out before race week.
On your mark.... get set.... GO!
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Comments
Like Marc, this will be my first full IM. Looking forward to it!
About me, so everyone knows where I am and to start some dialogue with our group:
6'3 & 240 lbs ... I'm a little chubby but a big portion of my weight is heart.
Chemical Engineer so data and analysis is my comfort zone.
I've been working on swim/bike/run seriously since February as I hit a plateau in my weight loss and needed more fun in training.
Joined EN for more "compass heading" in my training.
Volunteer this year at IMLP to learn through observation.
A little self concious and shy so "going for this one" is really putting myself out there.
Ranking my comfort level for IMCDA in this order SWIM > BIKE >>RUN
I am learning so much about my body this year, I'm calling 2016 "my journey".
I meditate and do Pilates.
I just bought a DVD of the bike course and have had success in a couple of short triathlons I have done this winter and spring to make sure I enjoy tri-ing! Do well in swim and bike (not a pro) but running is most challenging. AG participant 47YO ... Have lost quite a bit of weight the last 2 years and this is my journey to discover more about myself. Own a business so have quite a bit of freedom ... Here are my fears:
Race day and adrenaline, staying calm until I hit my groove.
Crashing on the bike, don't want to ride too conservative ... But still be respectable.
Marathon ... I just want to finish! Walking does not embarrass me and I don't want it to embarrass my teammates.
Analysis paralysis ... Nutrition, training, this zone, that zone, I just want to finish.
Hills on bike course, I live in Kansas -flat, windy, hot, and humid is where I live.
More to follow as they come up ...
Sorry to be long winded ... Encouragement goes a long way for this country boy from Oklahoma!
At this junction, 12 weeks out MOL, what are the three to five things on which I should focus?
Thanks for your ear, I look forward to hearing from you and the rest of the team as we get closer to the race day.
Marc
@Marc...I will be doing IMLP following CdA and I might call on you for some of YOUR pearls of observational wisdom to help me out. I too am 6'3" and a little south of 220#. Size does matter.
Marc
Hey Marc, I'm also an analytical guy (Aeronautical engineering) and found this site to be helpful concerning temperatures.
https://weatherspark.com/averages/29943/Coeur-d-Alene-Idaho-United-States
The second chart from the top shows not only average highs and lows, but the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles. The bottom line - there is an 80% chance the high temperature will be between 66 and 87 deg F and the low temperature will be between 45 and 58 deg F.
I don't have any data to back it up, but I'm told the water temperature is typically in the low to mid 70's in late August.
At the moment it shows the lake temp at 57°.
Marc, Thanks for starting this off.
This will be my 7th ironman and the second time I've done CDA, though the last time was on the old bike course that went through Hayden. My wife and I are both doing the IM and CDA 70.3 in 4 weeks! I'm looking at the 70.3 as a supported training day/race rehearsal and course recon.
I'm 59 but aging up this year to the 60-64 AG so last fall when I was talking to Coach P he convinced me that I had a shot at qualifying for Kona this year, so that was the goal I set. However, as John Lennon wrote, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Shortly after NOS started I had some hamstring issues in my right leg so I started working through that during with PT and an alternative running plan. Then half way though the NOS we found out that my mother's slow growing breast cancer had metastasized and we had to put her into hospice. She passed away in mid-February so the NOS didn't go all that well, especially compared to other years. We also had a 3 week trip to New Zealand in April. We hiked and walked many miles each day but I didn't do any true "training" for 3 weeks although I did run a half marathon while we were there.To top it all off, my left hamstring tightened up on a run and so I was in run jail for about 2 weeks and my longest run lately is about 4 miles. So now 12 weeks out from CDA I'm at my lowest chronic training load (CTL) score, as tallied by Training Peaks, that I've ever been this close to a race.
So I really don't know what this does with my goal. I'm loading up the Advance IM plan today and I'm committed to racing. My fitness is going to be what it will be on race day and I'll rely on execution to see me through. In 2010 when I did CDA I executed horribly and blew my legs on the bike which resulted in a 5 hour marathon. Since then I've done 4 IM's and this will be my 3rd since joining EN. I've learned that planning and execution based on my fitness is the best I can do. If I do that good things can happen.
Like I said before, I'M IN!!! I've built a huge base over 15 years of training and racing and now I need to resharpen the blade. I'm glad the group is coming together and I look forward to sharing the journey and mojo with you.
For you IM newbies out there please ask questions and if you haven't yet go read the race execution wiki and start visualizing the race every time you train. When the intervals get hard, and they will, just think about how it will feel at mile 18 of the run and work through it. The mental six pack is just as important, no more important, than the physical muscles. That said, don't forget to rest and take a day off if your body needs it. As self coached athletes it's important to gauge your body every workout and not follow the plan into a wall. You could also start reading race reports and race plans in the forums, http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aff/463/Default.aspx
I haven't chimed in here yet, but I will be racing CdA with this awesome group! This will be my 7th full IM (1 x IMLoo, 1 x IMWisco, 2 x IMLP, 1 x IMMT, and 1 x IMChoo). Not sure what my overall expectations are, as I'm coming back from ACL surgery late last year after a car vs bike accident that I was clearly not the winner of!
I'm nervous that I won't remember how to play this triathlon game, but I'm also excited to be able to take a crack at this again!
Side note - I'm bringing Mariah with me, so y'all are in luck that we'll have hands-down the best EN cheerleader ever in our corner!
Marc