2016 IM Louisville- Week 19- Almost there
THE BOX WEEK 19
This group has got it GOIN ON!!! Posts last week were great- the good the bad the ugly and all above. Sending GOOD mojo to all as we enter into this home stretch. First things first- we have a TON of interest in a team dinner so I would like to begin organizing that. Apparently there are several restaruants on 4th street...Including Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Fridays and The Old Spaghetti Factory.....do any of those sound good to you?? I will be sharing a spreadsheet for you to sign up this week. Ok now the good stuff.....
I know we are busy but the time is ALMOST here!! Give us a quick shout out to know you are with us and getting ready!!!
The biggest thing to remember is that you are TRAINED and ready to EXECUTE this race. Your MIND and ATTITUDE play a huge part in this….SO lets keep our AWESOMENESS GOING!!!!
This week think about YOUR box, what you learned in RR1 and RR2 and how you can keep the box as large. Remember you are not out there trying to make anything happen on race day. You are keeping that box as large as you can for as long as you can, you're focused, calm, collected and executing ninjas.
All day long you are going to race inside a box defined by what you can control. Ask yourself "What do I need to do right NOW to create the conditions for success at The Line? Is what I'm doing right now counter to this goal?
Advice: On the swim, the Box is the space your body occupies in the water: focus on your form and the rest will come. On the bike, the box is probably about one aid station long. On the run, the box begins as 2-3 aid stations long but often diminishes to "from here to the next lampost/manhole cover/mail box." Regardless:
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Keep The Box as big as you can for as long as you can.
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Keep in The Box only the things you can control. Let go of the rest.
- Exercise this decision-making process inside your Box: Observe the situation, Orient yourself to a possible course of action, Decide on a course of action, Act (OODA Loop).
And now I hand it off to the team....we have some experts here...what do you say??? 
Comments
Here is the link to a sign up sheet for a team dinner on THURSDAY, October 6.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12xP3ry9Y1vSSdqTntBbQfDttOOb5CR4Yr0ocFLuKtrw/edit?usp=sharing
-- Heart rate trumps power as a target metric. On Friday's ride I focused more on power than HR, trying to keep my 5-mile lap power in a targeted range. On Saturday I did the opposite, keeping HR in a tight range and didn't react to power. Saturday's approach seems to be much better.
-- That first mile on the run is going to be hard. It just takes a while before my body adapts to running.
-- Cooler weather affects thirst and hunger. Sunday's ride was much cooler and I had to remind myself to drink and eat.
-- I don't like riding cold. Depending on race-day temperature, I'll consider arm warmers, leg warmers, and possibly even a dry outfit to ride in.
Is this exclusive to EN members and families? I was just wondering if I can bring a friend who I am carpooling with and who is doing the race.
1. What time is dinner on Thursday? I will be driving in from DC and hope to make it to L'ville by 5:30ish. (Rich, given this is not a team-paid-for dinner, you will be good bringing a friend, I think.)
2. My RR on Saturday was a sh!$show. Twelve miles into the ride, I had two flat tires and my rim tape shifted, meaning that I was just going to keep ruining tubes. I threw in the flag and had my wife come pick me up. I put on new rim tape, latex tubes and tires Saturday evening, so I was ready to ride Sunday. I ran 5 miles Saturday with my 8 yr. old riding next to me instead, which was good family time.
3. My 100 mile ride Sunday was good. I rode one of the multi-use trails in the area. Notwithstanding the street crossings and crowds, I was able to get a fairly decent ride. My nutrition was spot on. I had 2 bottles of orange Gatorade Endurance and one GU gel per hour (boy do I love the taste of both!)
4. Notwithstanding the halfway decent ride Sunday, I simply have not put in the training to make this a decent race. It is going to hurt, a lot! That said, I am looking forward to it (sort of!).
See you all in a couple of weeks.
@Paul- way to put in some volume this weekend! I saw you were at the top of the leader board on strava!
I'll be driving from Atlanta late thursday evening/night so I can't make the dinner. I would still like to catchup with everyone while there Friday to Monday morning! I'll be in an EN LG kit for the race so I'll be easy to pick out.
Team- we could do a Friday night dinner instead if that works better for everyone! Just let me know
Thursday works best for me.
I had been planning on arriving Friday but I have some flexibility as I am driving.
What is the advice on Thursday/Friday arrival? I have not yet seen the course so I want to either drive it or easy bike a part of the loop.
Advice on when to arrive and why. Most of my training friends are coming Friday. My family would be too.
Thanks
Julie
What time is the dinner on Thursday? I am unlikely to arrive before 7pm, so dinner is likely a no-go for me. Like Steve, I would still like to meet up with the team at some point! Perhaps after the Sat practice swim which ends at 10am!
I'm driving with my son into Louisville on Wednesday (7 hours)... recover from drive. Early Thursday PP... 90' bike/swim...team dinner. Friday... Course recon...small run. Sat... bike/bag drop.... lay around all day. I don't want to be on my feet past Bike drop/lunch (for Wisconsin this meant 7:10 minutes of laying down watching Netflix. I'm going to try to break my record.
In for dinner Thursday, and open to any other meet ups. Is there a text group?
@Kyle: Laura will set up a GroupMe text group sometime next week. We used it at Muncie - it's a great way for everyone to stay in touch.
my plan too for Saturday...
Thursday for Friday works for me for dinner andor lunch. I am getting in Tuesday and will be taking it real easy with the taper plan. Probably get a bike recon in if anyone wants to join for an easy 30-40.
I'm also interested in swimming @ the Y.
I would love to recon the bike on Thursday - Maybe able to join for lunch on Friday. My daughters want to run the 5K Thursday night.
How about the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner Thursday? It's right at the finish line.
-- I can't be cold starting the swim or I don't seem to get warm; I'm bringing a hat and old running shoes for the swim line
-- The EN skin suit isn't warm enough. It was cold riding today and that took my focus away from metrics and nutrition
-- Did not eat and drink enough in the first 1.5 hours; need to really get that right on race day
-- It's nice running in cooler weather!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0AVHfI0DVubX01SSElWa28wcG8/view?usp=sharing
And this one's near the swim turn-around:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0AVHfI0DVubMDl3bHZQcFplUEU/view?usp=sharing
Have no preference about where to eat Thursday or Friday. Thursday I'm (+1) 100% in, Friday 90%.
Really looking forward to this week and weekend. Got the bike all checked-out and tuned up yesterday!
I do not get in until Thursday afternoon, so my plan is to ride the course loop Friday morning (wheels down at 7:30/7:45 or so). This should leave plenty of time to make the 11:00 briefing. Let me know if anyone is interested in joining.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12xP3ry9Y1vSSdqTntBbQfDttOOb5CR4Yr0ocFLuKtrw/edit#gid=0
My take away question - it was 57-ish when I started the bike. I planned on wearing a tri kit, but am worried about being cold until the top dries out. Wicked smart member thoughts? Wear swim suit, then change into bike shorts and tri top, wear sport bra, tri shorts then change into bike shorts and tri top, figure out arm warmers, or just suck it up buttercup?