I did ~17.5 mph over terrain that should be pretty similar to IMLP. There were a number of things that went well: - Fast pace relative to rides year to date - I am getting comfortable staying in the aero-position for longer periods - My bike handling is improving - I feel like I am being disciplined about keeping my wattage consistent across a range of hilly terrain
A few things to note: - My HR data is a bit distorted. My friend punctured at ~mile 20. He has deep dish wheels, so we were standing around for almost 20 minutes trying to swap out the tube. - My average cadence was low. I stayed in the big ring too long on hills. My mechanic replaced the whole drive train a few weeks ago (front rings, chain and cassette). Since the, I have been throwing the chain or not fully able to go from my my big ring to my small ring. So, while I work through this, I have been hesitant to go to my small front ring on less steep hills. To avoid spiking my watts, I am just slowing my cadence. Hopefully, I will figure out what gears allow me to shift smoothly, and shift in advance accordingly.
A few few other things: - I am back to full-on running. No knee pain at all. No recurrence of plantar fasciitis symptoms. I will do my best to slowly ramp up my running volume again. - My swim is still a problem. I have been working with a coach throughout the winter. She has been tinkering with different aspects of my stroke - cadence, hand entry, head position, etc. As a result my Garmin SWOLF score has dropped to 44 from 48. However, my 1k TT pace has dropped to 2:04 from 1:57. It has been frustrating but I feel more comfortable on longer intervals, like yesterday's 2K test (@2:06)
@Patrick Marsh - That's a great ride!!! I have a few thoughts for you.
1. That course is HARDER than Placid. Placid is like 5.5k of gain...you are well north of that.
2. That gearing will KILL your marathon. Sound like a simple fix on the FD, but you could also have a chain catcher installed. This page has info and a video, catcher is at the end. A nice failsafe to have.
3. Great news on the run. Try to add like 20' per week to the run total. Your "run" time in the Strava Log looks pretty good to me...don't chase a long run target, just add more time running each week.
4. The swim is hard. Slowing down is tough but pool times have ZERO bearing on race day (wetsuit, drafting, etc). And we want you to be relaxed. I'll take a 10' slower swim if your HR was lower, setting up your bike and run!
I ordered the chain catcher and will install before next week's ride. Last week, with the lower cadence/medium power up the hills, I was still able to get 1.05 VI.
I have a few questions: - Given how hilly it is where I ride, should I be trying to do the intervals as prescribed? Or should I just treat the many hills as random intervals and try to ride as quickly and smoothly as possible within the Zones prescribed? - In two weeks, I am riding Battenkill - 75 mile ride with lots of steep climbs. That weekend is also a race rehearsal/heavy volume weekend on my training calendar. Should I just do my swim and bike rehearsal on Sunday morning?
1. Sweet on the chain catcher. Huge piece of mind.
2. Don't try to do the intervals as written. Instead, do the MATH on them and then get THAT done. For example, you have 3 x 12' on tap..that is 36' in Zone 4...so get 36' in as you can (ideally uphill). Then the rest of the time after the main set you can work on smoothing it out, etc.
3. Dude...Battenkill is the real deal. The only way I'd make you ride your RR on Sunday is if you get dropped in the first mile OR do a "typical triathlete" move and pull for 10 miles in the middle while everyone else sits in. I would swim Friday for your RR....then do the bike...and run on sunday for like 45'. Can't wait to hear the stories!!!
The chain catcher is on the way. I will let you know after I install it.
Thanks for the advice on the number of minutes within the power zones. I will work that into my rides.
As for Battenkill, it looks like they added a new large and steep hill towards the end. I did the ride last year. There were +15% inclines on dirt roads that required quite a bit of concentration. If you pushed on the pedals too hard, then your wheels would spin in the dirt. I did not want to slow down too much on hills that steep because I was afraid I would come to a dead halt. My road bike has a 53/39 up front, and the biggest ring on my cassette is only 28. So, I will have to work pretty hard. (I have the same configuration on my tai-bike, so this will be a good test for IMLP.)
I will get my swim done on Friday and then run on Sunday. Also, I think that this will be something of a social ride for me. I am going up with five friends, so we will be doing our best to support each other to get through. I would like to break 17 mph this year, but that will depend on the condition of the dirt roads and what kind of pace lines we can set up.
Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to riding it again. It is a complete suffer-fest, but there are lots of great riders and challenging terrain.
I did Battenkill yesterday. In the gran fondo heat, I finished 17th out of 87 in my age group, and 50th out of 287. I realize now that those who finished ahead of me just grabbed bottles from their bikes from volunteers. I stopped at both to fill my bottles. Next time I do it, I will carry my calories and grab water from volunteers. Rode at 16.7 mph with stops, or 17.1 mph according to my Garmin with auto-pause.
Did my swim today - 2300 yard set at about 2:07/100 yards. I can swim 100-yard sets at 1:45, but once I start going long, I have to breath to one-side and I slow down my turnover. Thus, I end up being stuck in the 2:05 area. My coach says that I am crossing over and have a weak kick. Thus, I am not going straight and my feet drag. I am finding it very hard to fix my form and swim higher volumes. On my longer sets, i get fatigued and fall back into bad form. I should be fine for IMLP, but it won't be pretty.
I got my running mileage up to 28 miles this week. Noticed a little bit of heel pain yesterday, so I had better get back into the routine of stretching my calves.
My only item requiring feedback this week is how to modify my schedule at the end of June (6/26-7/1) when I have to head out for a five-day trip to Asia for work. I should be able to swim twice and get an 8-mile run in while I am in Tokyo. However, I will be in-trasit for much of those five day. Therefore, I think I am going to just try to catch up on sleep on the plane as much as possible.
@Patrick Marsh - I hope you're pumped for those results, sounds like the other folks just had a little more race savvy. Next time!!!!
Dealing with the swim breakdown is tough... More often than not, the experience you're having is related to your core strength. Your legs are crossing because your hips are wiggling and not stable. Shorter some sets in distances give you time to rest such that the core does not breakdown.
A great way to work on this is to alternate 100s or 200s of swimming with the buoy between your legs and rubber band around your ankles. Without the band is easy, just trying keep your feet together and it was pointed. With the band is tough as the legs will drag a little bit forcing your arms to work more. All the while you doing this, you're trying to keep your core type by engaging your glutes -- the example @Mike Roberts gives is of trying to hold a quarter in the crack of your ass. Let's start with those sets first and see how you do, get back to me after two weeks.
For your overall training, it looks like you will be in Week 17. The key training session in week 17 is your long run. So I deal you get this done before you go. Everything else after that it's gravy and recovery.
When you return, in week 18 we have a bit of a bike push including your final race reversal. It will be nice to come off of a little bit arrest and lighter training during your trip, and this will give you a chance to get your groove back before you truly taper. Once we get closer we can talk more about specifics...let me know!
Thanks Coach P. I will try to incorporate those sets into my swims. Also, I will focus on getting in my long run finished before my trip to Asia.
By by the way, I took an FTP test today, per the schedule for this week. 238. I think I may be the first EN athelete whose FTP dropped with every single test. SMH.
Despite my incredible shrinking FTP, I feel like I am faster on my tri bike this year.
Don't let the numbers get you down! I've been curious to see what the heart rate numbers look like for that same interval if you compare them. I wonder if you're just working hard enough and somethings not happening with the power, or if all systems are down. That will be interesting to know.
And as you correctly noted, all I care about is faster on the tribe bike. If the tire watts or lower watts I don't really care, I just want faster. :-)
Good luck getting that long run in, keep me posted!
Surprisingly, I am not overly concerned about the FTP because my bike times have been improving. Also, I am running and swimming more than I ever have. Last year, I went all out on my road bike to get my FTP up. Then in August, I decided to sign up for an IM.
My training is much different this year. In 2016, I was riding six days a week, doing frequent long rides, getting in a lot of elevation and chasing fast roadies who actually try to drop the slower people in the group. Now, I am trying to keep my wattage volatility down and extending how long I can stay down on the aero-bars.
When my legs feel fresh, I can get my HR up to 170 bpm on an FTP test. Yesterday, I could only get up to 163 bpm. I interpret that to mean that my tired legs were the limiter, and not my overall cardiovascular capacity.
In any event, I feel very good. My legs are tired when I climb stairs but I rarely have a lot of lactic acid built up. Most importantly, I have been injury free since I started triathlon training nine months ago.
If I had unlimited cash and the opportunity to start this from scratch, I would have replaced my crankset and front rings so that I could install power on my tri-bike's pedals or crankset. That way, I would accurately be able to track my indoor power (Kickr) and outdoor power. In addition, I would only use that tri-bike for my indoor rides and outdoor rides. Right now, I am using three different bikes and two very different power meters, so my progress is difficult to track.
@Patrick Marsh - I agree that you were the best place possible considering the circumstances. The fact that you've been so consistent and healthy is an excellent sign that this is going to be a good year.
And nothing against those roadies – it's good to have some variety in your training in at some point in time it might be good to go back to those types of rides.
I do have to laugh when you tell me what life would be like with unlimited cash, but then mention how many bikes and powermeters you have!
Thanks, one quick question - how should I modify my plan given that I am doing Quassy in about 10 days? I am planning to ride six hours with @Scott Dinhofer this weekend.
Also, as I re-read my post, I agree that three bikes and two power meters sounds extravagant. However, it sounds better than the reality. My indoor bike is a 2005 aluminium Alliez that I get re-fitted every few years and I leave it permanently on the trainer. My road bike is a 2011 Giant Defy that I bought used from the owner of my local bike shop in 2012. The tri-bike is a 2013 S-Works that I bought used from a friend last year. The power-tap wheels were bought at an equipment swap in 2011.
Thus, I have a mishmash of equipment that I have been compiling over the past several years.
I try to stick to an annual budget for cycling/triathlon. My bike mechanic said that I would have to completely replace my drive-train to accommodate a crankset power meter on my tri-bike (or replace my crank arms to accommodate Garmin pedals). I think that is the only way I can measure my indoor and outdoor power consistently and also calculate my CTL with any accuracy. Unfortunately, that would be an absolute budget-buster; therefore, I will have to revisit that project in 2018. Until then, I am stuck with a lot of inconsistent power data.
@Patrick Marsh - don't take anything personally, I was just teasing you. I totally know what you mean. I'm surprised of the PowerTap wheels that even though you're riding on the wahoo kicker, you can simply compare the power that you're getting from the wheel both indoors and out. That's what I do, although I don't have the wahoo kicker. That could be the piece that's breaking the system. The alternative is you could sell your PowerTap wheel and pick up some P1 pedals, for example and use those both indoors and out as a means of comparing, even though you are riding the wahoo you'd still get power off those pedals. Just a thought.
We don't want to miss out on the trails for riding on this weekend, but we have to keep the fact that Quassy is looming in our minds. I recommend you ride it out with him, but no brick runs or extra workouts. Just ride this weekend. Then plan on Monday being off to recover… So you have more than 24 hours between the Sunday session and a Tuesday session, and then we can get in to taper week.
Scott led us on a huge ride this weekend. 110 miles, and ~6k feet of climbing, all at 18.1 mph.
During the first half of the ride, I struggled in part due to a loose bottle between my aerobars. My torpedo cracked, so I jammed a water bottle into the torpedo bracket not realizing that it would not stay in there. The bottle jumped out every time I hit a bump. Ultimately, I stuck it in my back pocket. From that point, I was able to stay with Scott on the descents and wasn't chasing him back up the hills.
A few questions: - I plan to swim, do shorter runs and the midweek brick. However, I will skip the long run and long Saturday ride. Does this sound like an appropriate plan for the week in front of the Quassy HIM? - Do you have a suggestion for hydration on my aerobars - new replacement X-Lab torpedo or a Gorilla water cage for a water bottle? I am leaning towards adding a water bottle because the torpedo splashed too much. - Is there a protocol for posting race plans? I just wrote one for Quassy so that I could get all my packing done early on Saturday. (I won't have time to do much preparation during the week due to parenting and work.) - My Powertap measured my average wattage at 221 on this ride. However, I burned a lot of matches during the first half of the ride because of the water bottle issue. I could have ridden the ride faster, but at our pace, I had lactic acid in my legs, so I think a marathon would have been pretty unpleasant. My guess is that an average of 205 watts would work for my current fitness level and for the way my Powertap is measuring wattage. (That is what I used as a target for Toughman last year when my cycling was strong but my running was pretty weak.)
@Patrick Marsh that is a great ride, and a good confidence booster for your fitness! I like how you adapted to fix the bottle situation so you could keep racing. That is also a good skill to practice for race day.
For this week, I agree on the short work. There is good guidance in the wiki under the self coaching section about inserting a race into your IM plan, that might help you figure out a new Thursday and Saturday. Let me know if you can't find it.
I suggest you go with an A2 Speedfil - it has a hardcover top so no splashing, and the straw is great.
You can post the race PLAN to the Racing forum, just not the race reports one. Or you can just post to the general discussion, your call.
Given how hard you had to ride, we won't be able to tell what the appropriate Watts are because the variability was so high. I suggest you plan on testing 205 in your own personal racer ehearsal for the best accuracy. That sounds pretty darn close though!
Besides, this is meant to be a good workout and it sounds like you got it.
1) How do I modify my schedule to accommodate IMLP Camp? I'm in CA for work and am planning to run 13 miles by Tuesday. Six done already today and seven tomorrow with intervals. I'm back Wednesday, so I am hoping to get in a short swim and a brick with VO2 on the bike. (That will be a challenge with work but that's the goal.) Thursday, I am planning on a swim and then should I do the long run before heading to LP? 2) I'm going to tack on the Hartford Marathon at the end of this season. My girlfriend is making this her first marathon so I will join her. How do I update my season plan?
Actually, i just found the answer to my long run question for Thursday on my week 15 training plan. Apologies for not checking that first. My question then is should I prioritize a swim over a brick-run on Wednesday since I will not have access to a pool on Monday/Tuesday?
@Patrick Marsh - glad you found the answer for this week, with regards to the long run. Plenty of good work to do and Lake Placid!
Yes I would prioritize the swim as we have plenty of good work to do on the bike and run in Lake Placid. Success over those last three days of the week are critical. I would be OK with you even not doing the VO2 work if that set you up a little bit better.
weather will be a bit wonky, so bring all your gear. And yes, even the wetsuit as we will likely hit the Lake!
o Leave work at 11:30 am and arrive at EN Dinner by 6 pm
o Check into hotel. Charge Garmins
Friday, July 21st
o 8:00 am – OWS
o 10:00 am – EN Four Keys Talk
o Noon – Last test of my bike (Keene descent)
o 2 pm – Register/Check-in at Conference Center ABC / Athlete briefing
o 7:00 pm – Dinner and then bed
Saturday, July 22nd
o 10:00 am – Rack bike at T1 and drop off gear bags. Recognize that this will be the most crowded time, but I would prefer to do this early and free up my afternoon
o Rest of day: Enjoy Lake Placid and spend evening with my feet up. Hydrate
o 9:00 pm: Lights out. (Try to) sleep
Race Day!
o Pre-race:
§ Wake up: 3:30 am.
§ Eat: 3:45 am Nutrition shake, cliff bar peanut butter/honey on coarse nut/raisin bread (which I eat before all of my rides…) This will turn out to be about 800-1000 calories.
§ Depart hotel by 4:00 am and drive to Lake Placid
§ Arrive at transition area by 4:30 am
§ Final preparations and body marking. Continue to hydrate. Visit port-o-potty
§ 6:00 am – Warm up
o Race:
§ Swim:
· Nutrition: Eat PowerBar at 6:30 am
· Line up with group 1:15-1:20 pace group, which represents a 1:50/100yd pace. This is aspirational relative to my pool times. However, I am basing this decision on my Quassy OWS pace of 1:45/100yd and my OWS in Mirror Lake. However, my full distance OWS in LI Sound, which is choppy and hard to site, were swam in the 1:57-2:07 area.
· The key for me on this race will be to get comfortable pace early on and then get a steady rhythm after the first turn. My best OWS are those for which I was able to keep my head down and move forward steadily. I plan to drive a harder pace for the final 1000 yards. My weakest event is swimming, so I am focused on a steady pace rather than any time goals
§ T1
· Exit water. Unzip suit. Connect with volunteer. Leave goggles/cap on until my suit is off
· Jog to T1.
· Put on helmet and bike shoes (no socks) quickly. Ask volunteer to apply sun screen. Run bike to T1 exit. Carefully start ride, recognizing that it will be crowded with inattentive athletes
§ Ride:
· Target wattage of 195 watts per my PowerTap, which is the equivalent of about 170 watts on my Kickr. This target is based on my 6-hour power profile plus 5 watts.
· Out of T1, I will be careful until I am safely out of town, and be disciplined with my wattage up until the Keene descent. My goal is to soft-pedal all ascents, use the small ring as often as possible after Jay, find speed on all down-hills, and stay in the aero position as much as possible. I left ENLP camp with a healthy respect for the Jay-Wilmington-Lake Placid section of the bike course and will try to ride this softly on my first loop. I plan to ride the Keene descent as quickly as I can, but will sit up and let the wind slow me down if I feel my front wheel wobble.
· I will drink 1.25 bottles of Gatorade every hour, eat a gel every 45 minutes after the first hour and take two Endurolytes every hour. This is the routine I have practiced all spring/summer. This regimen represents ~330 calories, 80g of carbohydrates, 856 mg of sodium/chloride (together), 365 mg of Potassium and 500 mcg of Magnesium. If my stomach growls, I will eat something solid like a PowerBar or Cliff bar instead of a gel. Will try to pee on bike at least twice. Per @Scott Dinhoffer ‘s suggestion, I will re-set my Garmin 820 to a 15-minute lap alert to help me stay on track with the nutrition plan. Thanks @Robert Sabo. I went back and recalculated my nutrition plan and realized I had an error in my Gatorade serving size. (I guess I haven't had a problem with the calories being low, because actually I was taking in quite a few more calories. Maybe that's why I didn't lose those last few pounds to hit my race weight.)
· My predicted time is ~6:40, or ~16.75 mph. However, I will only use one active Garmin screen: Lap Power, 3s Power, HR and Cadence. Thus, I will not track speed. My predicted time is based on having ridden 17.1 mph on Day-1 at ENLP camp, and then at 16 mph trying to go easy on my second camp day of 112 miles.
§ T2:
· I will slowly ride into T2. Find a volunteer to help me rack my bike. Put on hat/sunglasses. Take off bike shoes. Rinse feet with water and dry with towel. Apply sunscreen and extra chamois cream. Put on running socks – carefully so that there are no blister-causing wrinkles. Slip on shoes. Put EN ice bag on my wrist. Eat something solid and drink Gatorade.
§ Run:
· I plan to run at TRP (9:20-9:30-ish) and walk 30 steps to eat/drink at the aid stations. I will drink Gatorade at every station and eat a gel every four miles. Also, at my first stop, I will put ice in my EN bag, put it under my hat and keep it filled throughout the run. My goal is to run the last eight miles to the best of my ability. I will maintain a cadence of 90 steps/min up the hill into town by taking very small steps.
· My expected pace is 10:00 per mile, which would be a ~4:20-4:25 marathon. That is closer to Z1 than to TRP, but I want to account for the walking I will do to get nutrition at aid stations. My ability to run at this pace will be driven by how softly I cycle the hills and how well I stick to my cycling nutrition plan.
o Overall time:
§ Given that this is my first IM, I don’t have any time goal. My data and limited experience on the course suggest that if I stick to my nutrition plan, and nothing unexpected happens, that I would finish in the 12:30 area. Given my lack of IM experience, I just want to stay inside my box and execute on my race plan. The finish time will be an output of my race execution and fitness, and I can only control for execution on the course. Thus good execution will mean success to me, regardless of whether I finish in 12:30 or 14:00
§ The two goals I set at the beginning of this process 12 months ago are still what I am working towards: i) exiting the water being excited to get on the bike and ii) running the last eight miles of the run. If I had to add a third goal at this point, it would be to get off the bike well-fed and well-hydrated. How well I achieve these goals will dictate how fast I finish.
@Patrick Marsh - we can talk respect Civic Center get on the phone, but in terms of the just ticks I suggest you do the following:
*swim at 7 AM, grab a cuppa coffee/breakfast sandwich
*get in line registration early and check in at nine.
* four keys talk at 10
* ride descent (rolling at 12 means you are there at 1:15 to meet someone to eat). This is first meal or carbo load.
* no brief, go home put feet up and do your bags, call.
Sat
* sleep in * big carbo breakfaat * bike drop is by last name usually so M will LIKELY be 12-3 vs 10-1...I could be wrong * eat a good lunch * go home and chill. Do not enjoy #imlp this day (your family can) *plan early dinner
Coach P - Thanks again for the help preparing me for IMLP. I was satisfied with my bike (16.8 mph) and run (10:06), especially in light of the death of my PowerTap at mile 30. My swim was slow, but consistent with my training times at an hour 26 minutes. I never got that much touted speed increase by tracking against the cable. Back where I was, it was like a rugby scrum for at least 75% of the distance. There were several periods where I was in contact with people on all four sides for several minutes at a time. I think this will be the area for my easiest gains on time. Also, I want to focus on running this year and have signed up for the Hartford marathon. How do I change/update my season plan?
@Coach Patrick - I just loaded my season for 2018. Can you take a look and let me know what you think. After a lot of consideration, I will wait until 2019 to pursue my 2nd IM. It is tough to juggle parenting and work responsibilities. Next year, I am going to focus on running and swimming. I am going to set a very ambitious goal for 2018 - qualifying for the Boston Marathon. This has been a life-long goal of mine. We can discuss when we have our post-race/2018 season planning call on August 15th. My questions will revolver around how to build run durability, get faster and incorporate swimming/biking
@Patrick Marsh -- Son, I just did your season plan last night. I think maybe there is another coach therad with your name on it… So you might want to search this for him for that other post with your name. I outlined everything you should be doing and hearing you talk about Boston puts into perspective your selection of Races.
I have outlined a basic season plan, and my early guidance for this fall and the OutSeason won't really change. But we will need to discuss what happens early next year! Let me know if you can't find it.
I suggest you also poke round the forums and under resources/wiki/run for our specific run guidance on Marathon excellence and even Boston.
Comments
That's great work with the run...smooth surfaces, smart pacing, etc and you should be all set!!!
~ Coach P
When you get a moment, could you look at yesterday's ride on strava and opine on what wattage I should be targeting.
<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/962965380/embed/88ce25efe0a706d37571d263824018c8c84c83d3'></iframe>
https://www.strava.com/activities/962965380/overview
I did ~17.5 mph over terrain that should be pretty similar to IMLP. There were a number of things that went well:
- Fast pace relative to rides year to date
- I am getting comfortable staying in the aero-position for longer periods
- My bike handling is improving
- I feel like I am being disciplined about keeping my wattage consistent across a range of hilly terrain
A few things to note:
- My HR data is a bit distorted. My friend punctured at ~mile 20. He has deep dish wheels, so we were standing around for almost 20 minutes trying to swap out the tube.
- My average cadence was low. I stayed in the big ring too long on hills. My mechanic replaced the whole drive train a few weeks ago (front rings, chain and cassette). Since the, I have been throwing the chain or not fully able to go from my my big ring to my small ring. So, while I work through this, I have been hesitant to go to my small front ring on less steep hills. To avoid spiking my watts, I am just slowing my cadence. Hopefully, I will figure out what gears allow me to shift smoothly, and shift in advance accordingly.
A few few other things:
- I am back to full-on running. No knee pain at all. No recurrence of plantar fasciitis symptoms. I will do my best to slowly ramp up my running volume again.
- My swim is still a problem. I have been working with a coach throughout the winter. She has been tinkering with different aspects of my stroke - cadence, hand entry, head position, etc. As a result my Garmin SWOLF score has dropped to 44 from 48. However, my 1k TT pace has dropped to 2:04 from 1:57. It has been frustrating but I feel more comfortable on longer intervals, like yesterday's 2K test (@2:06)
1. That course is HARDER than Placid. Placid is like 5.5k of gain...you are well north of that.
2. That gearing will KILL your marathon. Sound like a simple fix on the FD, but you could also have a chain catcher installed. This page has info and a video, catcher is at the end. A nice failsafe to have.
3. Great news on the run. Try to add like 20' per week to the run total. Your "run" time in the Strava Log looks pretty good to me...don't chase a long run target, just add more time running each week.
4. The swim is hard. Slowing down is tough but pool times have ZERO bearing on race day (wetsuit, drafting, etc). And we want you to be relaxed. I'll take a 10' slower swim if your HR was lower, setting up your bike and run!
Remember, BIG PICTURE!!!
~ Coach P
I ordered the chain catcher and will install before next week's ride. Last week, with the lower cadence/medium power up the hills, I was still able to get 1.05 VI.
I have a few questions:
- Given how hilly it is where I ride, should I be trying to do the intervals as prescribed? Or should I just treat the many hills as random intervals and try to ride as quickly and smoothly as possible within the Zones prescribed?
- In two weeks, I am riding Battenkill - 75 mile ride with lots of steep climbs. That weekend is also a race rehearsal/heavy volume weekend on my training calendar. Should I just do my swim and bike rehearsal on Sunday morning?
1. Sweet on the chain catcher. Huge piece of mind.
2. Don't try to do the intervals as written. Instead, do the MATH on them and then get THAT done. For example, you have 3 x 12' on tap..that is 36' in Zone 4...so get 36' in as you can (ideally uphill). Then the rest of the time after the main set you can work on smoothing it out, etc.
3. Dude...Battenkill is the real deal. The only way I'd make you ride your RR on Sunday is if you get dropped in the first mile OR do a "typical triathlete" move and pull for 10 miles in the middle while everyone else sits in. I would swim Friday for your RR....then do the bike...and run on sunday for like 45'. Can't wait to hear the stories!!!
The chain catcher is on the way. I will let you know after I install it.
Thanks for the advice on the number of minutes within the power zones. I will work that into my rides.
As for Battenkill, it looks like they added a new large and steep hill towards the end. I did the ride last year. There were +15% inclines on dirt roads that required quite a bit of concentration. If you pushed on the pedals too hard, then your wheels would spin in the dirt. I did not want to slow down too much on hills that steep because I was afraid I would come to a dead halt. My road bike has a 53/39 up front, and the biggest ring on my cassette is only 28. So, I will have to work pretty hard. (I have the same configuration on my tai-bike, so this will be a good test for IMLP.)
I will get my swim done on Friday and then run on Sunday. Also, I think that this will be something of a social ride for me. I am going up with five friends, so we will be doing our best to support each other to get through. I would like to break 17 mph this year, but that will depend on the condition of the dirt roads and what kind of pace lines we can set up.
Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to riding it again. It is a complete suffer-fest, but there are lots of great riders and challenging terrain.
I did Battenkill yesterday. In the gran fondo heat, I finished 17th out of 87 in my age group, and 50th out of 287. I realize now that those who finished ahead of me just grabbed bottles from their bikes from volunteers. I stopped at both to fill my bottles. Next time I do it, I will carry my calories and grab water from volunteers. Rode at 16.7 mph with stops, or 17.1 mph according to my Garmin with auto-pause.
Did my swim today - 2300 yard set at about 2:07/100 yards. I can swim 100-yard sets at 1:45, but once I start going long, I have to breath to one-side and I slow down my turnover. Thus, I end up being stuck in the 2:05 area. My coach says that I am crossing over and have a weak kick. Thus, I am not going straight and my feet drag. I am finding it very hard to fix my form and swim higher volumes. On my longer sets, i get fatigued and fall back into bad form. I should be fine for IMLP, but it won't be pretty.
I got my running mileage up to 28 miles this week. Noticed a little bit of heel pain yesterday, so I had better get back into the routine of stretching my calves.
My only item requiring feedback this week is how to modify my schedule at the end of June (6/26-7/1) when I have to head out for a five-day trip to Asia for work. I should be able to swim twice and get an 8-mile run in while I am in Tokyo. However, I will be in-trasit for much of those five day. Therefore, I think I am going to just try to catch up on sleep on the plane as much as possible.
Hope you had a good weekend.
Dealing with the swim breakdown is tough... More often than not, the experience you're having is related to your core strength. Your legs are crossing because your hips are wiggling and not stable. Shorter some sets in distances give you time to rest such that the core does not breakdown.
A great way to work on this is to alternate 100s or 200s of swimming with the buoy between your legs and rubber band around your ankles. Without the band is easy, just trying keep your feet together and it was pointed. With the band is tough as the legs will drag a little bit forcing your arms to work more. All the while you doing this, you're trying to keep your core type by engaging your glutes -- the example @Mike Roberts gives is of trying to hold a quarter in the crack of your ass. Let's start with those sets first and see how you do, get back to me after two weeks.
For your overall training, it looks like you will be in Week 17. The key training session in week 17 is your long run. So I deal you get this done before you go. Everything else after that it's gravy and recovery.
When you return, in week 18 we have a bit of a bike push including your final race reversal. It will be nice to come off of a little bit arrest and lighter training during your trip, and this will give you a chance to get your groove back before you truly taper. Once we get closer we can talk more about specifics...let me know!
~ Coach P
By by the way, I took an FTP test today, per the schedule for this week. 238. I think I may be the first EN athelete whose FTP dropped with every single test. SMH.
Despite my incredible shrinking FTP, I feel like I am faster on my tri bike this year.
Surprisingly, I am not overly concerned about the FTP because my bike times have been improving. Also, I am running and swimming more than I ever have. Last year, I went all out on my road bike to get my FTP up. Then in August, I decided to sign up for an IM.
My training is much different this year. In 2016, I was riding six days a week, doing frequent long rides, getting in a lot of elevation and chasing fast roadies who actually try to drop the slower people in the group. Now, I am trying to keep my wattage volatility down and extending how long I can stay down on the aero-bars.
When my legs feel fresh, I can get my HR up to 170 bpm on an FTP test. Yesterday, I could only get up to 163 bpm. I interpret that to mean that my tired legs were the limiter, and not my overall cardiovascular capacity.
In any event, I feel very good. My legs are tired when I climb stairs but I rarely have a lot of lactic acid built up. Most importantly, I have been injury free since I started triathlon training nine months ago.
If I had unlimited cash and the opportunity to start this from scratch, I would have replaced my crankset and front rings so that I could install power on my tri-bike's pedals or crankset. That way, I would accurately be able to track my indoor power (Kickr) and outdoor power. In addition, I would only use that tri-bike for my indoor rides and outdoor rides. Right now, I am using three different bikes and two very different power meters, so my progress is difficult to track.
Also, as I re-read my post, I agree that three bikes and two power meters sounds extravagant. However, it sounds better than the reality. My indoor bike is a 2005 aluminium Alliez that I get re-fitted every few years and I leave it permanently on the trainer. My road bike is a 2011 Giant Defy that I bought used from the owner of my local bike shop in 2012. The tri-bike is a 2013 S-Works that I bought used from a friend last year. The power-tap wheels were bought at an equipment swap in 2011.
Thus, I have a mishmash of equipment that I have been compiling over the past several years.
I try to stick to an annual budget for cycling/triathlon. My bike mechanic said that I would have to completely replace my drive-train to accommodate a crankset power meter on my tri-bike (or replace my crank arms to accommodate Garmin pedals). I think that is the only way I can measure my indoor and outdoor power consistently and also calculate my CTL with any accuracy. Unfortunately, that would be an absolute budget-buster; therefore, I will have to revisit that project in 2018. Until then, I am stuck with a lot of inconsistent power data.
We don't want to miss out on the trails for riding on this weekend, but we have to keep the fact that Quassy is looming in our minds. I recommend you ride it out with him, but no brick runs or extra workouts. Just ride this weekend. Then plan on Monday being off to recover… So you have more than 24 hours between the Sunday session and a Tuesday session, and then we can get in to taper week.
oh, and a picture for the dashboard please!
Scott led us on a huge ride this weekend. 110 miles, and ~6k feet of climbing, all at 18.1 mph.
During the first half of the ride, I struggled in part due to a loose bottle between my aerobars. My torpedo cracked, so I jammed a water bottle into the torpedo bracket not realizing that it would not stay in there. The bottle jumped out every time I hit a bump. Ultimately, I stuck it in my back pocket. From that point, I was able to stay with Scott on the descents and wasn't chasing him back up the hills.
A few questions:
- I plan to swim, do shorter runs and the midweek brick. However, I will skip the long run and long Saturday ride. Does this sound like an appropriate plan for the week in front of the Quassy HIM?
- Do you have a suggestion for hydration on my aerobars - new replacement X-Lab torpedo or a Gorilla water cage for a water bottle? I am leaning towards adding a water bottle because the torpedo splashed too much.
- Is there a protocol for posting race plans? I just wrote one for Quassy so that I could get all my packing done early on Saturday. (I won't have time to do much preparation during the week due to parenting and work.)
- My Powertap measured my average wattage at 221 on this ride. However, I burned a lot of matches during the first half of the ride because of the water bottle issue. I could have ridden the ride faster, but at our pace, I had lactic acid in my legs, so I think a marathon would have been pretty unpleasant. My guess is that an average of 205 watts would work for my current fitness level and for the way my Powertap is measuring wattage. (That is what I used as a target for Toughman last year when my cycling was strong but my running was pretty weak.)
I suggest you go with an A2 Speedfil - it has a hardcover top so no splashing, and the straw is great.
You can post the race PLAN to the Racing forum, just not the race reports one. Or you can just post to the general discussion, your call.
1) How do I modify my schedule to accommodate IMLP Camp? I'm in CA for work and am planning to run 13 miles by Tuesday. Six done already today and seven tomorrow with intervals. I'm back Wednesday, so I am hoping to get in a short swim and a brick with VO2 on the bike. (That will be a challenge with work but that's the goal.) Thursday, I am planning on a swim and then should I do the long run before heading to LP?
2) I'm going to tack on the Hartford Marathon at the end of this season. My girlfriend is making this her first marathon so I will join her. How do I update my season plan?
weather will be a bit wonky, so bring all your gear. And yes, even the wetsuit as we will likely hit the Lake!
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23464/patrick-marsh-imlp-race-plan#latest
Thursday, July 20th
o Leave work at 11:30 am and arrive at EN Dinner by 6 pm
o Check into hotel. Charge Garmins
Friday, July 21st
o 8:00 am – OWS
o 10:00 am – EN Four Keys Talk
o Noon – Last test of my bike (Keene descent)
o 2 pm – Register/Check-in at Conference Center ABC / Athlete briefing
o 7:00 pm – Dinner and then bed
Saturday, July 22nd
o 10:00 am – Rack bike at T1 and drop off gear bags. Recognize that this will be the most crowded time, but I would prefer to do this early and free up my afternoon
o Rest of day: Enjoy Lake Placid and spend evening with my feet up. Hydrate
o 9:00 pm: Lights out. (Try to) sleep
Race Day!
o Pre-race:
§ Wake up: 3:30 am.
§ Eat: 3:45 am Nutrition shake, cliff bar peanut butter/honey on coarse nut/raisin bread (which I eat before all of my rides…) This will turn out to be about 800-1000 calories.
§ Depart hotel by 4:00 am and drive to Lake Placid
§ Arrive at transition area by 4:30 am
§ Final preparations and body marking. Continue to hydrate. Visit port-o-potty
§ 6:00 am – Warm up
o Race:
§ Swim:
· Nutrition: Eat PowerBar at 6:30 am
· Line up with group 1:15-1:20 pace group, which represents a 1:50/100yd pace. This is aspirational relative to my pool times. However, I am basing this decision on my Quassy OWS pace of 1:45/100yd and my OWS in Mirror Lake. However, my full distance OWS in LI Sound, which is choppy and hard to site, were swam in the 1:57-2:07 area.
· The key for me on this race will be to get comfortable pace early on and then get a steady rhythm after the first turn. My best OWS are those for which I was able to keep my head down and move forward steadily. I plan to drive a harder pace for the final 1000 yards. My weakest event is swimming, so I am focused on a steady pace rather than any time goals
§ T1
· Exit water. Unzip suit. Connect with volunteer. Leave goggles/cap on until my suit is off
· Jog to T1.
· Put on helmet and bike shoes (no socks) quickly. Ask volunteer to apply sun screen. Run bike to T1 exit. Carefully start ride, recognizing that it will be crowded with inattentive athletes
§ Ride:
· Target wattage of 195 watts per my PowerTap, which is the equivalent of about 170 watts on my Kickr. This target is based on my 6-hour power profile plus 5 watts.
· Out of T1, I will be careful until I am safely out of town, and be disciplined with my wattage up until the Keene descent. My goal is to soft-pedal all ascents, use the small ring as often as possible after Jay, find speed on all down-hills, and stay in the aero position as much as possible. I left ENLP camp with a healthy respect for the Jay-Wilmington-Lake Placid section of the bike course and will try to ride this softly on my first loop. I plan to ride the Keene descent as quickly as I can, but will sit up and let the wind slow me down if I feel my front wheel wobble.
· I will drink 1.25 bottles of Gatorade every hour, eat a gel every 45 minutes after the first hour and take two Endurolytes every hour. This is the routine I have practiced all spring/summer. This regimen represents ~330 calories, 80g of carbohydrates, 856 mg of sodium/chloride (together), 365 mg of Potassium and 500 mcg of Magnesium. If my stomach growls, I will eat something solid like a PowerBar or Cliff bar instead of a gel. Will try to pee on bike at least twice. Per @Scott Dinhoffer ‘s suggestion, I will re-set my Garmin 820 to a 15-minute lap alert to help me stay on track with the nutrition plan. Thanks @Robert Sabo. I went back and recalculated my nutrition plan and realized I had an error in my Gatorade serving size. (I guess I haven't had a problem with the calories being low, because actually I was taking in quite a few more calories. Maybe that's why I didn't lose those last few pounds to hit my race weight.)
· My predicted time is ~6:40, or ~16.75 mph. However, I will only use one active Garmin screen: Lap Power, 3s Power, HR and Cadence. Thus, I will not track speed. My predicted time is based on having ridden 17.1 mph on Day-1 at ENLP camp, and then at 16 mph trying to go easy on my second camp day of 112 miles.
§ T2:
· I will slowly ride into T2. Find a volunteer to help me rack my bike. Put on hat/sunglasses. Take off bike shoes. Rinse feet with water and dry with towel. Apply sunscreen and extra chamois cream. Put on running socks – carefully so that there are no blister-causing wrinkles. Slip on shoes. Put EN ice bag on my wrist. Eat something solid and drink Gatorade.
§ Run:
· I plan to run at TRP (9:20-9:30-ish) and walk 30 steps to eat/drink at the aid stations. I will drink Gatorade at every station and eat a gel every four miles. Also, at my first stop, I will put ice in my EN bag, put it under my hat and keep it filled throughout the run. My goal is to run the last eight miles to the best of my ability. I will maintain a cadence of 90 steps/min up the hill into town by taking very small steps.
· My expected pace is 10:00 per mile, which would be a ~4:20-4:25 marathon. That is closer to Z1 than to TRP, but I want to account for the walking I will do to get nutrition at aid stations. My ability to run at this pace will be driven by how softly I cycle the hills and how well I stick to my cycling nutrition plan.
o Overall time:
§ Given that this is my first IM, I don’t have any time goal. My data and limited experience on the course suggest that if I stick to my nutrition plan, and nothing unexpected happens, that I would finish in the 12:30 area. Given my lack of IM experience, I just want to stay inside my box and execute on my race plan. The finish time will be an output of my race execution and fitness, and I can only control for execution on the course. Thus good execution will mean success to me, regardless of whether I finish in 12:30 or 14:00
§ The two goals I set at the beginning of this process 12 months ago are still what I am working towards: i) exiting the water being excited to get on the bike and ii) running the last eight miles of the run. If I had to add a third goal at this point, it would be to get off the bike well-fed and well-hydrated. How well I achieve these goals will dictate how fast I finish.
* four keys talk at 10
* ride descent (rolling at 12 means you are there at 1:15 to meet someone to eat). This is first meal or carbo load.
* no brief, go home put feet up and do your bags, call.
Sat
* sleep in
* big carbo breakfaat
* bike drop is by last name usually so M will LIKELY be 12-3 vs 10-1...I could be wrong
* eat a good lunch
* go home and chill. Do not enjoy #imlp this day (your family can)
*plan early dinner
more on the call!
I hope the recovery is going well!
I have outlined a basic season plan, and my early guidance for this fall and the OutSeason won't really change. But we will need to discuss what happens early next year! Let me know if you can't find it.