IMAZ Training Wk 9/19 - 9-25
Be a Scientist
Hey AZ Friends! Hope everyone had a great BIG DAY!! Let’s hear about it!!
This week is a test week. The coaches want us to focus on the following:
- Measure
- Gather Data
- Don’t forget to Sweat Test
When you head to an Ironman event, you will see lots of athletes suffer because they did not know something as simple as having a nutrition plan. However- in the “haus”, EN’rs know how important EXECUTION is because we practiced and show up prepared. Lots of little things can take a toll on you over 140.6 miles. Having muscles be so tight on the run from poor form on the bike. Not knowing sodium totals to account for the change in temperature on the course. Not knowing their power meter numbers, not knowing thier heart rate numbers in case power meter fails, etc. Coach Patrick has said how important it is to have multiple "A games" because so many things can change within a race. This is what we talk about when we say "stay inside your box" You can adapt and change to the things outside of your control on the course but that comes from testing, gathering data about your body, how it reacts to nutrition, heat, cold, rain etc. And those results are gathered now. Be a scientist, a student of your body as an athlete in this sport. This is another reason why posting in the forum and weekly training recaps is critical!!!
Here are the sweat test rules in case you forgot or haven't done one in awhile
1) Weigh yourself nude right before a run.
2) Run at race pace for one hour, keeping track of how much you drink (in ounces) during the run.
3) After the run, strip down, towel off any sweat, and weigh yourself nude again.
4) Subtract your weight from your prerun weight and convert to ounces. Then add to that number however many ounces of liquid you consumed on your run. (For example, if you lost a pound and drank 16 ounces of fluid, your total fluid loss is 32 ounces.)
5) To determine how much you should be drinking about every 15 minutes, divide your hourly fluid loss by 4 (in the above example it would be 8 ounces).
6) Because the test only determines your sweat losses for the environmental conditions you run in that day, you should retest on another day when conditions are different to see how your sweat rate is affected. You should also redo the test during different seasons, in different environments (such as higher or lower altitudes), and as you become faster, since pace also affects your sweat rate.
P.S. Ya'll Rock - Now go out there and crush it!
Comments
Need to take a look at my accomodation, dont like the idea of not having a kitchen to cook my own food during race week (but im well located). Also need to book plane tickets.. brr.
Anyhow, this week is test week but will not be a test week for me, its going to be week 3 of hard bike focus.
Today : 2800m swim
Tomorrow : 60' vo2+ brick
Wednesday : off, I am stock in a training all day and need to travel
Thursday: LSR
Friday : 3hrs ABP ride + 60' run
Sat: 60' FTP + 15' brick
Sun : 2h30 ABP Ride + 60' run.
Should be a low volume for me on the run this week, but will try to get around 40M as Wednesday is supposed to be a 8M intervals that will be missed.
I posted all about my big day in last weeks thread-go there for details.
I didn't get to yesterday's swim. I seem to be on the 2 swim/ week schedule as of now. Need to work on upping that game.
I chose not to bike test today. I know that I need to easily be exceeding my FTP BY 4-5 W to see that 2% bump. And not there-riding +/- 1 W. And at my weight, that ends up being about 2-3 W. At .7IF that amounts to maybe a 1W difference. I am more focused on nailing a consistent .7-.73 at my current FTP which is my highest ever (3.24W/kg)
Having said that, I did 45' of week 10 ride-1x10', 1x12' @ 1.0(+3W each!) then 20' BRIC at LSP. On call today so probably an hour is all I will get in.
As for sweat test-my bike test last year in ideal conditions (trainer, cooling fan) revealed no weight change consuming 20oz water bottle. Pretty confident how to gauge that in bike. I've never done a run test-but if I do, it will be an evening run. Let you know!
Have a great week all!
8 weeks to go, keep up the good work team
@BK, great execution on your SBR last week. Hopefully you'll start getting 3x swim soon. Only 24 (ish) more swims left!
@DR, true that.
I'm still having bike problems, so today I did my long run (split) giving me the opportunity to push the bike out until Thursday. I really need to test on my tri bike as my last test was with the trainer wattage and those numbers are not matching up to the numbers from the new (to me) Stages PM on my tri bike. It seems like the Stages is about 10% under the wattage I see from the trainer and from my road bike. I don't care about the "lost watts" but I do need to figure out my "Stages FTP" since that's what I'll be racing against. Hopefully a new battery will fix my bike issues and I'll be all set for Thursday. If not, I guess I just do a road ride and try to test sometime next week.
@CM-I like your plan. Definitely test when you get the stages up and running. I changed to quark about this time last year and it's about 8 W higher than my power tap. You just definitely want to know the relative watts-doesn't mean you've lost anything
In other news, I upgraded my trainer (which I bought used 5 yrs ago) to the fancy pants wahoo kickr. Going to be a badass winter in the cave.
Recovered nicely from the weekend SLR. Weight training/core yesterday x 1 hour. Did a 2x20' z4 on the trainer this am and a 40' run with 350ft of gain. Doing better with the diet, my weight has been stagnant for 3 weeks, I am about 6lbs above my prior weights, but 15lbs more than I had planned for AZ (damn cheeseburgers). Still waiting for a pool to magically open in my basement...
@Doug what kind of bike do you currently have?
You guys can definitely ride the new bike in AZ. I will likely be in a 54 or 56. The LBS I will be changing to is a cervelo dealer, word on the street is the P6 will hit the stores Kona week, but the Ventum deal is very good, hard to pass up (if one is in the market for an overpriced bike to begin with
The Ventum would be a little large for my vertically challenged body.
My split run yesterday went very well - 9.4 miles in the AM and 6.8 in the PM for 16.2 total in ~2:16. The weather has cooled off and I'm back to running 8 minute miles at mid zone 2 HR. I was a little sore this morning but nothing even worth noting. I'll swim tonight and then bike test tomorrow AM on the new power meter. I finally found time to look at my L/R balance from last season and I'm pretty consistent at 46/54. That validates the lower numbers I'm seeing from the left-only Stages PM. When I test tomorrow I'll record the trainer on my 520 and the Stages on my 910 so I can compare the results. Then I'll base the rest of my tri-bike workouts and my race plan on the Stages specific number. I'm not sure if I'll lower my FTP in Strava or not. It's kind of a pain since my road bike PM is much more inline with the trainer and my old power2max unit.
@DS, if you figure out the magic pool in the basement thing, please let me know.
Tomorrow will be SLR with a swim in between, Saturday the usual interval work.
Leafs started to fall here.. gotta be more careful on the bike!!
Do we know how many EN members racing IMAZ ?
I picked up a new Di2 battery from my LBS yesterday. Plugged it in and bam! I'm shifting again. Plugged in the charger and let it charge for a couple of hours last night until I got a full green light on the junction box. I'm super happy that it seems to have been an easy fix. Now I just need to get the dead battery replaced via warranty.
I ran this morning and I'll bike test tonight.
I've got a big ride planned for this weekend, if I don't chicken out. It's a route I rode last year in October and that ride ended up at a 334 TSS. This year should be better since my FTP is higher but it's still going to be epic if I go.
Im on track this week, so far so good. Last week of my self imposed bike focus, and the legs are improved. I can tell I got back some of my strength, the HR is dropping for similar W. I should be good on the weekend, may even get a swim in. I am preparing for the very early swims during the week. I really am beginning to like the long run on Sundays, kinda refreshing to run without having to be somewhere...
Nice work all. Thanks for the inspiration.
@DW Sounds like things are coming back around for you. I did see the manual on adjusting the brakes on your bike. Somewhat tricky but doable with minimal tools.
I moved my schedule forward one day so I could go to a wine festival with the wife (SAU). I did my long swim this morning and taking off from work tomorrow to get the long ride in.
I just compared my CTL week 12 IMMT and week 12 IMAZ and I am 2 points below IMMT build up. The good news ? In my IMMT build I went 10 days on vacations in Oregon without biking and swimming during 10 days, only 6 runs.
Gary: always a good reason to move stuff to go to a wine festival (I would have done the same!!)
nice work all!! soon week 13
In my mixed up week I ran hill repeats yesterday morning and then tested on the bike last night. My test results were the same as a couple of weeks ago, I mostly tested to get a baseline on my new Stages PM. Since June I've been riding on the trainer with no PM on the bike. I picked up the stages a couple of weeks ago and it was immediately clear that it reports fewer watts than the trainer and the Quarq on my road bike. I expected this to be the case since I'm ~46/54 left right balance rider. Now that I have a baseline number for the Stages I can work out my new zones and I'll be ready for my long IF based rides.
I ran again this morning and I'll get the swim in tonight. If I get my pre bike run in tomorrow I should be at about 31 miles for the week and hopefully after the weekend I'll be at around 125-140 bike miles for the week.
Good luck this weekend and stay safe out there.
Happy to report I'm back in the normal swing of things and put up a pretty solid week thus far. 2 8 mi. runs, 2 interval session on trainer and a good 3500m swim this morning. looking for 2 good bike sessions this weekend.
Annnnnnnnd i spoiled myself by picking up a new Trek Speed Concept 7.5! Should have it here and all set up by next wednesday... whoop whoop!
I did 112 miles on the bike today, and ran another 3 as a brick. I'm done for tomorrow. We'll see what Sunday holds.
@GL - Nice ride! It takes lots of practice to smooth out your power output. Keep putting in the time and it will come.
My morning run is done so I'm just under 32 for the week. Now I'm off to ride.
Son woke me up yaking with a stomach bug, so I need to keep him home/entertained instead of his play date, and my wife now has to go into work, thus concluding my hopes of a long ride today per the IM plan. I will settle for a shorter trainer ride if I can steal the time, but may have to drop altogether.
@Doug I'm like a kid waiting for x-mas morning right now...bike will be here Tuesday as it's enroute from a shop in Santa Monica. I did a little investigating with the Ventum but the SC is just my best option from a stack and reach standpoint...plus I got a sweet deal on a 16 model! Hope your son starts feeling better...no fun being sick on the weekend!
I did my long ride on the trainer today and watched College game day and then the Georgia/Ole Miss game...the trainer was punishing with no coasting for over 4 hours! Glad that's out of the way! Have a great weekend everybody!!
It was restaurant week in Phoenix and for somebody who hardly ever eats out, I had 3 great meals. The Thursday night meal was with out of town friends and coupled with getting stuck at work late, caused me to miss part 2 of SLR. determined not to let that happen again!
I got two long swims in, wed/Friday; good part of my running (except Thursday)
Yesterday was 4 hours/73 Mi on beeline. I was going to make it a solid 80 but got my 2nd flat and had no more tubes with long enough stem(trip to tribe and bought 4-($12 each!) felt solid-.7-.75IF. Perfect temps, hydration/nutrition good.
Today was 165min on trainer. Rather than football, I had to get smart about vit B12, D, zinc/copper.
@Gary and Michael-yesterday was part1 of 2 supported rides on beeline, spearheaded by Tim. Bolen, local coach-Excel and Beyond. The next one is oct 29 which is our week 17. Lots of people out and they have two food/water stations, support on the road. I honestly forgot about it this year. Lots of peeps out there. Go to excelandbeyond.com to sign up-$25
Also, we are supposed to be bike focused in upcoming week. Either of you doing the lake pleasant 3000 swim? So many I know are, but I won't get a 5hour bike in if I do. And, I don't feel the need to swim too many times in lake open water
And last, you know there is a 4000 splash and dash- nov 13, Saturday of week 19 at TTL? I do that every year, followed by a beeline loop. Then full taper
The worst part about the long rides are that my neck muscles aren't used to supporting my head in aero for that long. Hoping they get stronger.
@Besty I did see the supported ride, but did my Saturday ride on Friday (skipped work) so we could go to the Sedona Wine Festival. I was thinking about doing the OWS next week as Pleasant is somewhat close and a chance to swim a long distance in my wetsuit. Next week is big bike week ~ and I thought I got a good share in this week ;-( We could ride the Sun Valley Parkway after, its only 20 minutes drive from LP, and less flats. I would like to ride the Beeline as I have never ridden out there.
@Doug what is the TSS of cutting down a tree?
Great to hear everyone is working hard. It is keeping me motivated/accountable. Thanks. Tomorrow it starts all over again.
Seems like you guys get alot of curbed ball from life !! Knocking wood on that here.
Today my I voluntered with my kids at the Montreal Marathon, was fun to see the other side of an event
Its getting cold here ! leafs are really slippery and dangerous