IMCHOO Training Wk 9/5 - 9/11
/ THE LINE WEEK 18
Prepare your mental game. In so doing, remember there will be cumulative fatigue building throughout race day. So important to follow your plan, race your race and prepare for THE LINE.
EVERYTHING before The Line is simply about creating conditions for success for when the Line comes to you.
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A successful race = a good run. There is no such thing as a good bike followed by bad run, period. In our world, if you showed up with solid run fitness, had a "good" bike and a poor run, we will ALWAYS assume you messed up your bike pacing unless you are missing a limb or are in the ICU with an intestinal parasite.
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If you think you can ride faster than we're telling you, prove it by running well off the bike first (preferably not attempted for the first time on race day!).
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Ride your "should" bike split vs your "could" bike split. YourCould split is what you tell Timmy you could ride on a good day, when you're out together for your Saturday ride. If you say you "could ride a 5:50," your Should split is likely 6:00 and defined as the bike split that yields a good run (see #1 above).
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Don't be a Caboose, be an Engine! Ironman in general, but especially the bike leg, is an exercise in consistency. You don't need straight-A's to win your day, you only have to show up with your C game to be at the head of the class. If you find yourself doing the opposite of everyone else, you're doing the right thing. Lots of people passing you in the first 40 miles of the bike? Everyone else sprinting out of T2? These folks are making your race day easier by showing you what not to do; it's up to you to resist the urge to join in!
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Think you made the mistake of riding too easy? You now have 26 miles to fix that mistake. Make the mistake of riding too hard? That mistake now has 26 miles to express itself, to the tune of X miles at 17-18' walking pace vs X miles at 8-10' running pace. Do the math. How is that nice bike split going to look as you are walking/shuffling the last 10 miles of the run adding another hour and forty minutes to your overall finish time?
Comments
One more VERY BIG Weekend of training everyone...Let's get it done and then get our taper on. I'm planning to take off from work Friday in order to start at 5:30 with the swim.
Got the run done today - mostly in the rain - it was actually pretty fun. Started struggling about mile 8 and realized I hadn't eaten anything for about 5 hours - jeez - had a gel and all was well. I should know better - this isn't my first rodeo. So, going to put together my race plan and try to diligently use it on Friday and Saturday.
I realized today how different our training perspective is for our crazy sport. Someone at work asked how many miles I ran and not even thinking about it said "13." They were stunned as in OMG, you just ran a 1/2 marathon! I thought, well, I guess I did ... But it didn't seem strange (not sure what that says about me)!
@ Josh...I think the race execution forum is the place to post your race plan. More people will see it there. Sooner is better = more people to provide comments, advice.
Hi! Does anyone know if there is an EN 4 Keys talk at IMChoo?
Short note. In the category of I can't believe this is going down to the wire.
As a pulmonary follow up to the lung bleed I had in June at a 70.3 we did a bronchoscopy this week (down through the nose into the lungs with a scope while I'm knocked out). Long story short the Dr called at 4:30 today and said she has indications of Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage (DAH). These are a result of her performing a lavage and causing a successively worsening bleed in the very top of my lungs. The funning thing I told her is that I have been pounding my workouts since then with zero issues. So we're going to try to do more tests next week. Of course the Dr was compelled to warn me of her concern about IM Chatt (and I told her that was fair). But she had no explanation (and neither do I) of the reasons why I could do interval work at 90% of my max HR and have no issues, why I could do a 3 hour 17 mile run with no issues, why I could do a 6 hour 108 mile ride last Saturday with no issues.
My marathon partner is a surgeon and she has a theory that with aging (I'm now 61) the blood vessels will deteriorate and perhaps I made one angry enough to bleed in June (look up Swim Induced Pulmonary Edema or SIPE). In her personal experience the scope suction can be a cause of bleeding (she's done it in surgery), and maybe we made that same area of aveolar (lungs) angry again with the successive saline rinse and suction (with 4x the bleeding went from nothing in the first vial to successively worse).
So the mind games still are playing. I did the RR 2 swim today, and as with every workout since June I had no issues (I now know the symptoms). Tomorrow I'm doing the 6 hour RR bike then run, if the predicted storms cooperate.
Thanks Pat!
Wow! Stay positive and have a good RR tomorrow! The storms are here as well, so I'm running tomorrow and riding Sunday.
Pat - hoping all goes well. You are strong and you have proven that yourself time and time again. Even if this race doesn't work out, there is always another event.
@ Pat...Attitude is everything. You got it.
I've had three good days. Thurs - 15 mile run @ 8:22 avg pace in 88F temp with 8 x 1/2 mile hill repeats @ 7:50 pace uphill. Friday - 4000 meter non-stop swim @ 1:56/100 meter pace. Sat - 3.5 hour ride with last 70 minutes at 230 Avg watts, then 5 mile run @ 8:45 avg pace, and EZ 1000 meter swim. Rest day tomorrow as I go to Madison to cheer on Team EN tackling IMWI.
Thanks to all. Lots of head games Friday and Saturday early (up at 3:20, thinking about...). But that all went away once I got on the bike.
Good bike. 105 miles on half of the same course we rode last Saturday, but this time as an out-and-back. A little less ascent but 0.5MPH faster. Plus my power meter worked this week! right on the targets early, then got sloppier but could bring it back. Lots of wind in the 2nd half as a cold front pushed through. RR2 Bike (also on Strava)
Same with the run. Kept the HR in check for the first 2.5 (had to pee then...and thats a good thing...so a short stop). Threw in a hill on a foot bridge over the Arkansas River (the Big Dam Bridge). Then I ratcheted the pace on the last 1.5 miles back from the bridge to the car. That felt good. RR2 Run (also on Strava)
And I never coughed blood (I'll bet not many of you cough into your hand to inspect while training...). Yes (by the grace of God) it was a very good day.
Thanks for the encouragement! (Now to get moving for that last 4 hours of Z1 volume)
Great news Pat! I can't imagine dealing with what you have on your plate. I am just trying to get my stomach to behave! time to taper soon!
@ Pat...that's excellent news.
RR done! 112 bike and 1 hour run on Friday - really worked to keep in the "should" watts which is really slow (i've lost my bike legs this year and just haven't gotten the power back). But has a solid run so that was a plus. 2 mile swim on Saturday morning and it was raining when we got out so we opted to go to the farmers market instead of getting right on the bike (and I was ok with that). Our penance was then riding half of the 56 miles straight into 15-20 mph headwinds. But is sure was fun to come screaming back (think 14 mph out and 37 mph back)! Relaxing now and heading out to cheer on our IMWI crew soon.
So this week I thought I was getting strep throat on Wednesday. Couldn't get in to doctor until the next day so I skipped my workout and went home and took some meds and slept--felt about 50% better the next day and cancelled my dr appt. Skipped my Thursday run and rested and was feeling about 85% by Friday so decided to go ahead with RR #2. Friday night I swam 4200 yards and did a RR dinner at a local pizza place :-). Went home and reviewed my race plan and prepared nutrition, etc. Saturday I completed 112.3 miles (wanted 116, but my course ended up not being as long as I thought). The last 56 miles were in temps between 88-92, not a cloud in the sky (arm coolers worked well). I only stopped 3 times--once to restock nutrition and the other 2 to grab water real quick to poor all over myself (my neck was killing me by mile 100). I then completed 6 miles on the most boring run course ever. It was also 92 degrees and not a shade tree in sight. My pace for the first 6 miles is 9:37 and I struggled to stay above 9:30...I ended up averaging 9:16--need to slow down! Today, I planned on going out and doing another 80 miles but I knew last night my body wouldn't be able to handle it--I felt so sore and tired. The heat from the day took more out of me than I thought. I slept in and now I feel much better. Going to go for a short swim and a 30 mile bike with a 3 mile brick instead. Now I need to finish writing my complete race plan and post in the execution forum.