My nutrition on the bike was what it always is. Nothing new or different. I think some days are just bad days and it happened to be one. I felt great in the swim. I felt awesome on the bike. Comfortable, relaxed, no issues holding power and could have pushed harder and held but knew better than to do so. In fact I continually had to make sure I was keeping the power down when I wasn't climbing. Came off the bike feeling great. Breezed through T2 and started running without even a hint that things were about to fall apart. It literally just happened in an instant. Went from smooth running, feeling good, and looking forward to throwing the hammer down after 3 miles to instantly knowing my day for racing was done.
If I had to take guesses as to what happened, I really can't come up with anything concrete. Maybe, if I had to try to think of something, my lack of outdoor riding left me somewhat unprepared for the demands that the heat and sun put on my body and they finally accumulated to the point of failure early in the run. That's my best guess. So I'll just have to put my new fears of the open road aside and get in some outdoor rides. I put in thousands of miles on the road last year and was never afraid. Hopefully I can get back to that.
On body comp, I just need to tighten up the diet and not eat like an idiot as I have been. The early season injuries putting a big dent in my training left me mentally less than engaged and greatly reduced my level of caring about what went into my mouth. I've had my fun, eaten a bunch of junk, and let myself go a little too much. I set out my season plan with White Lake 70.3 always being the 1 race this year I wanted to absolutely destroy. I've got 3 months to get as race ready as I can. Barring a serious injury, I will enter the water on Sept 8th ready to crush all others.
Alright, the race is in the past and its time to focus on Sept 8th half iron. Over the next few weeks and maybe up to the sprint on July 14th, want to look at how I do things and maybe totally revamp my methods and style. Then carry it through to race day if its working.
1) On the swim. No real changes. I'm happy with my ability and taking it a bit relaxed so I come out of the water without having imparted any stress on my body. My friend Molly was the first amateur female finisher yesterday at Raleigh with a 4:44. 2nd place had a 5:01. How often is there such a gap amongst the 1st and 2nd amateur at an IM branded race? I suspect very rarely. Molly had at 35+ minute swim. Put her 9th in her AG and 53rd female. A fast swim isn't needed to crush your competition.
2) The bike. Things I know. I need to just buckle down and hammer the training sessions to build power and endurance. And get out on the road to acclimate my body better to doing the work out in the sun. However, couple items I've thought about. ERG mode. Is it maybe allowing me to turn my brain off and "coast" at the proscribed watts by 1) just letting me cruise along and not think and also not go over, and 2, reducing my mental engagement with the physical activity? Might I be better served in a good number of the sessions to turn off ERG, making the Snap a dumb trainer and forcing me to hold at or above the watts on my own? And 2) Cadence on the bike. I've always shot for 90. It seems to be my comfort zone for lack of a better term. My legs like 90 and they default to 90. I notice a lot of faster and more powerful riders (which is why they are faster!) are often averaging far lower RPM than I do. Should I work on pushing a bigger gear at a lower RPM at the same watts? I've noticed in the past, that lower cadence riding really taxes me and I become fatigued far quicker. Obviously a shortcoming I have. Right?
Riding the trainer option. Would it be wise to put the trainer on the back deck and ride it in the blazing sun with some fans on me and the occasional water dump? Or might that be asking for trouble? The blazing sun and heat is what I have to race in living down here.
3) The run. No secret or magic here. Put in the work, get acclimated to the heat, and run the best paces possible given the heat and humidity of the swampy south. HR will unfortunately dictate a lot of the paces I can run. It will not be unusual to have an upper Z4 or Z5 HR even when running TRP. Can compensating terrain be found? Meaning run really hilly routes to increase the effort at the reduced paces? And at the end of the day, it all comes down to the run.
The more I have time to dwell on yesterday the more upset and disappointed I get with myself. The White Lake Half has gone from a race to celebrate the year and go out having fun while racing as best I can to a unquestionable revenge race.
Big Bike Week is upon us. Real life has decided to throw scheduling conflicts into the mix and make me do things other than ride my bike this week. But knocked out an 11 mile ride before work, will ride again tonight, and will do as many doubles as I can to get in as many miles as I can.
Please do all the bike riding you can this week. It’s one week so you don’t need to swim at all. I almost recommend you play “ Zwift Roulette“ and just do whatever right is next as a challenge. :-)
I have not sold on the fact that you need to burn everything down and rebuild it. The first race of the year is always tough. Just take a look at the race reports around you. Lots of mistakes and lessons learned. My guess is that you didn’t simply “spontaneously combust“ but that there were issues mounting and you were not aware of it.
That is as much an attention thing as it is a fitness thing. At least that’s my experience tells me. We cannot rule either one completely out. I do like you getting outside for two sessions, even if it’s early in the morning before the traffic builds.
I agree with taking it off through mode, and also suggest you try racing a few times. I think you would enjoy the challenge have a good WBR race versus just intervals.
Yes for the run, it is all about frequency. Even with the limiting heart rate, you can still get stronger and fitter by using different terrain as you mentioned. Remember, frequent training in the heat will help you adapt and make that heat less costly therefore allowing you to become faster. Make sense?
At 100 miles so far this week for Big Bike Week. Was going to abbreviate it as BBW on Strava, but just couldn't do it. LOL. Gonna knock out at least 30 tonight I hope, then at it again tomorrow morning and evening and Friday morning. Have a 1 mile race Friday night and with the time I will be getting home (starts at 7:30) will probably not ride.
You know I like oddball races. Friday is the Raleigh Run Down. An all down hill 1 mile race. Some serious ass runners come in for this and will put up stupid times. In August we have another high profile race, the Sir Walter Miler. Olympians and those heading to the Olympic Trials come and race this thing for some reason. And then local joe six pack runners get to participate as well, and relays and stupid stuff like the Denim Mile where you run in jeans. I never get to go to this as we are always on vacation.
Pending weather, I plan on riding till my legs fall off on Saturday morning out on the street and get in as much as I can before I have to stop to attend to real life. Take Sunday off most likely (or a super easy, low Z1 spin to tack on a few more miles) and Monday jump into full on training again with the short course plan to up intensity but not slam back into higher volume right out the gate.
I'm not so much looking to burn it down and start over, but do wonder if certain things I do should be done in a different manner. I have done some lower cadence riding for longer stretches this week and I can say I do not like it. Heart rate gets jacked, legs quickly fatigue. I'm sure there is a place for such riding in training. But I can say I am pretty sure that such riding will never be an appropriate style for me. Where some of my friends continually ride in the low 70s and would probably have serious trouble trying to hold 90 for any period of time. My legs just seem to default to 90 stay right there.
I'll most certainly be jumping in to some Zwift races. Maybe not every week but hopefully at least every other week. The trouble is finding one of an appropriate length at an appropriate time.
Knocked out 33 last night and 20 this morning. Puts me at 153 miles so far this week. Get in a good session tonight and another tomorrow morning and hopefully I won't have a crazy long ride on Saturday morning to hit 250.
Great work! It’s not easy making that we cabin around life and on a regular working schedule. Kudos to you. If you could hit 250 for the week that would be Golden but don’t overreach. I agree, Sunday should be a rest day. It will be good to kick off the recovery process a bit before getting back to regular training.
Laura cadence is something that evolves over time, it’s not something that people just do as a main set and then achieve it. The stronger you get and the lighter you are the easier it is to do. Don’t get me wrong there are really some stubborn oversized people who love lower cadence but that’s not necessarily fast.
I personally prefer to work on leg strength by doing standing intervals. So in a three hour ride, after my warm-up, I may do five minutes standing at 60 RPMs and then five minutes sitting/arrow and regular cadence. I repeat that six times for an hour and then get on with my regular work out. That gives me 30 minutes of strong work and definitely makes the remainder of my ride at zone three pretty hard.
Raleigh Run Down, 5:28. New mile PR. So what if there was 90 feet of elevation loss. I'm counting it. Could have ran harder. But being a distance guy, I was shocked by how quick it was over and was continually telling myself to slow down. Can't wait to try for sub 5 next year.
Big Bike Week. Got in 64.4 miles this morning. 1,700 feet of gain so nothing crazy. Smooth and easy 185 watts (Z1). Never broke a sweat. Was like riding on air. If I didn't have crap to do today, I'd of done another loop and hit 100. Can't stay in aero for more than a couple minutes on the trainer, never came out of aero on the road. Total BBW mileage, 265. Might tack on a few more miles tomorrow on the trainer for the hell of it. Maybe not.
Going forward, the way the training plans mesh up with my schedule (short course starts tomorrow, 2017 advanced half starts July 16th, ending Sept 8th), there is no FTP test on the schedule in either plan as I am jumping into them at odd times (and as mentioned, I won't be doing any 5K tests in 100 degrees). When should the first one be done? I'm thinking not this coming Tues (19th), but the following Tues, 26th (would be week 18 on the short course plan). But that makes me miss out on a hardcore 90 minute session. Or would it be better to just knock it out this coming Tuesday (19th)? And the sprint is an 18 mile bike thats pretty much as hard as I mentally can push and hopefully run after. And its a surprisingly difficult course for its length with some stiff climbs. I haven't taken an FTP test since early in the Out Season. Or would I be better off waiting until the start of the Advanced Half plan? And then maybe another closer race day to reset em and get my target watts for race day dialed in?
Sent Mariah an email last week but haven't heard back from her.
Whats the difference between the "black" and "red" EN Stores? Particularly the 'speed suit' top or whatever its called.
They are both listed as the T1:Stealth Top 2 but the red store version is $60 more than the black store version and for the life of me I can't find how they are different in any way.
Also, are the stores opening on July 4th for orders and how long to get delivery?
Honestly, I can’t answer your questions. I literally have zero inside to the store. If I had my Way, you would all be racing in paper bags. I have asked her to follow up with you and I will pose this question again in the admin section of the forms to so she can answer there.
Hoping yesterday wasn't a fluke. 4 x 12' Z4 intervals on the bike. Crushed em and had gas in the tank at the end, which hasn't happened in a while. Usually dying and just trying to hold on by the last few minutes of the final interval. Then crushed 4 miles off the bike, starting at 7:28 for first mile, and dropping every mile with the last one at 6:40. I know my running has been seriously under trained and most runs will have to be based of limiting my HR and not by pace as it continues to be blistering hot for 95% of them. So I'm just going to run as much as possible and knock out 3 and 4 mile runs in Z1 or maybe even slower sometimes on the days where there is no run listed on plan. (2017 short course advanced currently, then going into the 2017 EN Half Minimalist advanced). Maybe these injuries are finally healed and allowing me to start to get stronger and faster and get my endurance back.
And I would gladly race in a paper bag. Why not? Most races have stupid rules on what you have to wear at a minimum. My sprint in a couple weeks does not. I may do it in a bright red speedo. Its only 18 miles on the bike. I think my butt can take it. Will do a test zwift before hand.
Speaking of Zwift, I will likely regret this. At 6:05 PM tomorrow there is a scheduled race up ADZ. Workout on plan is 4 x 10' Z4 and a long chunk Z3 for 90 minutes total. So why not just turn it into a warm up and 1 hour hammerfest up the climb.
And is there really a material difference between the 2017 EN Half Advanced and the 2017 Minimalist Advanced? I don't really see one other than Thursday and Sunday being swapped. Or am I missing something? Because for being labeled minimalist, it doesn't really seems to be less than the normal Half plan. I just like how it meshes up with my current real life schedule better than the regular Half plan.
On Edit: Tonights run: 10' WU, 5 x 3' (2') Z5, Steady to 48 minutes. No way to run Z5 when its 90 degrees and heart attack inducing humidity. But blasted them slightly faster than Z3 and well into Z5 HR. Actually felt good. Held great pace and didn't die. Hoping I've turned a corner. Starting to get excited about the Sprint on the 14th and hopeful to very optimistic about the Half Iron on Sept 8th. Hopefully I can keep injury at bay and keep improving. Finally starting to be excited about and look forward to each days training session where I had been dreading them and just slogging through.
Week 18 EN Short Course 'race rehearsal' day. Did the swim yesterday. Today did 32 on the bike and a 5K off. Set new record for 20 minute power on the open road, 245 at some point in the 90 minutes. It was hot as hell and a million percent humidity. I was dripping sweat within 2 miles. Super easy spin for 20 minutes, then put the power down.
Lap set to 5 miles, avg power, 168 (warm up), 236, 242, 238, 222, 234, 223. Avg speed was 20.9, which is good considering I had on aluminum training wheels with gators on em. Slooooow wheels and tires. And avg 17.9 for the first 5 miles. The bike cleaned up and properly lubed with race wheels on it and it should be a rocket.
Really had a lot more gas in the tank but kept pulling myself back. Still had to run and there is no point in having a slow, bad form run. There is no such thing as a good bike followed by a bad run. It was a good run, very happy. I think the GPS data is a bit wonky as a lot of the run was under heavy tree cover and pace was reading much slower than I felt I was running. I have a pretty good sense of what my pace is without the watch telling me. If it had been a time trial bike, I'd have happily tried to hold well over 250. I wish they had some time trial races around here.
I really think my injuries have hopefully been healed up and my body has recovered from the poor winter training it endured. Can't wait to destroy the sprint in two weeks. Hope to make EN proud.
I agree, your persistence seems to have paid off. While Training and Racing that he is beyond uncomfortable, once you adapt to the load your speed will come back even if just a little bit.
A slightly less consoling factor is that training in that humidity is actually helping you lay the groundwork for really solid fitness gains. I need to go find a sauna to training, you live in one. 😂
Thats one thing that stays in the front of my mind while running in this stupid heat and humidity. Once Tri season ends in early Sept and I step into marathon training for my marathon on Dec 8th, I will have laid a really great foundation and the gains will become noticeable in pace and endurance when the temps drop.
The White Lake Half Iron on Sept 8th will likely be a battle of who doesn't slow down on the run as we can expect temps in the 90s and humidity out the wazoo. The bike, a nearly flat with some long false flats will likely lead a lot of the really fast people to cook themselves shooting for a great bike split. I'm just gonna smooth it at target watts, hold steady, and fuel for the run and chase their tired legs down.
It could also be a good chance for you to practice really nailing your bike hydration. I have enjoyed using the hyper hydrate mix from scratch the day before my races and long workouts. That might help set you up for success as well in addition to your actual hydration plan.
My pre-race hydration plan remains as always. #TeamVodka
Probably going to ride the bike course for the sprint next weekend for tomorrows 60 minute bike workout. Its a new course from previous years. And at 18 miles, I'll just tack some onto the end to get to 60 minutes. Will build a plan of attack from the recon. There are some lightning fast sections, some stiff climbs, and a couple lengthy false flats. Its a real mix. And there will be lots of fast runners. Will have to build a lead in the water and on the bike to hold em off as I run a 23ish minute 5K while they are blasting 20 and sub 20 combined with their sub 1 minute transition times.
On the bright side, the entire podium last year in my new age group this year was 49, so they are gone to the 50-54 group.
Quick update. Didn't ride course. Monsoon rains all weekend. Rode Zwift. Killed it. Great workouts continue to be the norm. On week 20 of the short course advanced plan. Awesome bike/run brick yesterday. Off the bike did a hard 5K instead of 30 minutes. 7:03/7:03/6:46. If I can pull that off Saturday I should be golden. Though the run is 75% on a trail. So will be a tad slower I suspect.
Barring a mechanical on the bike or some super freak coming in from out of town I'm not aware of, if I don't win on Saturday I will be very disappointed.
Quick overview of my race plan. 750 meter lake swim. Just smooth it. Water will be mid to upper 80s. No need to jack the HR or get overheated right out of the gates. T1 is about a 150 yard run. So T1 time will be a bit long. But planning on just throwing on helmet, glasses, shoes and go. I don't flying mount. I'm not that good.
Bike, as described is 18 miles of a true mix of everything. I estimate my FTP today to be somewhere around 280. Haven't tested in months and months (more on that in a minute). So, pending HR and heat, gunning for around 250 watts. Will be happy if its over 240. Can't totally blast it. Got a trail run to do! Plan on taking in 1 bottle of Infinit Speed with Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy mixed in. Basically a caffeine additive.
T2: Leave shoes on! Dismount, run to rack, helmet off, shoes off, socks on, sneakers on, grab go bag and go.
Run, 3.1 miles with @75-80% (maybe more) on a trail. Highly uneven terrain on parts, lots of hills. Plan to come out of T2 @7 min/mi pace and see how the HR, legs, and breathing is. Once my legs settle in, usually a half mile and I know what direction things are going to go, I will adjust accordingly and give it my all that I have to give that day.
Post Finish: All you can eat pizza.
I'll post an update come Saturday some time. Maybe Sunday.
Going forward. Monday I will jump into the 2017 EN Half Minimalist 12 Weeks Advanced Plan to end on Sept 9th. Race is Saturday Sept 8th. This puts me in Week 5 of 12 on Monday. Thus this is week 4 this week if I were on that plan today. Week 4 has an FTP test on Tuesday. I plan on doing one next Tuesday in place of the Z5 intervals on plan. However. There is NOT another test week the rest of the plan.
When should I do another test? I was thinking week 10. But if you look at Week 9, while it doesn't say Test and has a regular workout, the "coach notes" on Tuesday's bike are the FTP test coach notes. So week 9? Its probably a toss up either way. Week 9 is a little close to the test next week but more time to adapt to new zones prior to race and week 10 may be a bit close to race day. Thoughts?
We could probably use the race as test data if you do it properly. So let’s stay TBD on that. As for the race plan I like it. Remember bottle of race fluids (or GE) day before and race AM with breakfast so you are prehydrated.
Triangle Triathlon Sprint. Shortish race recap as all my data is screwed up. Hit wrong buttons, forgot to hit buttons. Hit buttons at wrong times. Forgot to hit stop multiple times. But, the one real metric I cared about I paid close attention to. Bike power. Computer said 252 avg watts when I hit the dismount line and I was really holding my self back. The legs wanted to go. 259 watts was the max 20 min avg. 23.2 MPH for the 18 miles (well, 17.8). 9th fastest bike over all. Fastest bike was 2:55 faster and was done by the guy who owns InsideOut Sports, the local Tri store. 2nd fastest bike in AG. 1st beat me by 4 seconds.
Trail run 5K came in at 22:55, though I think it was long. Could feel a calf cramp twinge coming on a tiny bit at the start, took some Base Salt and fixed it right away, or it just worked out after legs got used to running. Felt great the whole run. Legs turned with ease. 2nd fastest AG run, 1st was 2 seconds faster. My run last year was 23:18 after a super easy paced bike cause I only had one gear on the bike thanks to a broken shifter cable immediately out of T1. So was stuck in my easy starting gear the entire time thus had fresh legs. So to run faster after a strong bike effort is real nice.
And the swim in 86 degree water I took super easy. 750 meters. 12 minutes and change, 1:23 pace. Fastest AG swim by 1:53. Friends spectating said a lot of the people were coming out looking like death and breathing real heavy. Obviously cooked themselves in the warm water. I came out feeling great and my HR was under 110 when I exited transition and was able to hammer down right away and not wait for HR to come down. But the first mile to get from transition to the open road is through the parks entrance and there is a slew of speed bumps so you have to go fairly easy the first mile so you don't eat it on one of the bumps.
Pretty fast transitions for me, T1 was 1:50 and has a good 150 yard or more run from water to transition and had some helmet visor/shield issues. T2 was 1:05 with the run exit being on the opposite side of transition from my bike.
Over all I destroyed it and am beyond happy. Team Vodka takes another 1st in AG. 2nd place was 1:49 back. Now to get my fitness to a level where I can hold near that on the bike for 56 miles and then be able to run a half marathon. We got 8 weeks. Lets get to work.
Gotta shuffle schedule a little this week. So if I do an FTP test this week, it will be Wednesday. Going to do Tuesday's bike tomorrow and a short run on Tuesday. Or I may just bump it up in Zwift from the current 280 to 290 and see how the workouts go. Back off if I need to, or hammer on if I'm capable and look at retesting in week 9 or 10 of plan to set targets for race day power. Thoughts?
Initial White Lake Half Iron race plan/targets.
Swim: 30-33 minutes. Ya, a little slow. The lake will likely be close to 90 degrees. Gonna have to really take it easy. It was 88 when I raced it two years ago.
Bike: ????, but Sub 2:30 is goal. The wild card factor will be the wind. Course is known for often having a strong headwind a bulk of the ride.
Run: Goal is sub 1:45. Will be tough as expected temps in the 90s and oppressive humidity. But I know its possible if training continues to progress as it has been and the calf stays healthy. Unfortunately I will have to carry the bulk of my hydration as the on course stuff is off brand garbage that I won't get to train with.
Went 5:03:59 when I raced it in 2016 and won the 40-44 AG. Times were Swim 33:50, Bike 2:39:14, Run 1:45:14. And nearly 6 minutes between T1 and T2.
4:49 and 4:48 has won the 45-49 AG the past two years.
Never know who is going to show up and race. While winning AG is the goal, getting under 5 will make my day. And this race has a habit of attracting really fast people. A 41 year old guy came in and ripped off a 4:04 last year for the overall win. Freak did a 2:08 bike.
On Edit from last night: Due to family schedule, did tonight's 6 x 2' (2') Z5 VO2 bike intervals last night. FTP set at 290. It was everything I had to get through them, but I did. If there had been a 7th interval, that may have been the breaking point. However, the 20 something minute steady ride at the top of Z2 following those felt pretty easy and the 30 minute run off the bike was strong. I think 290 is a great number to keep FTP at for now, so won't be retesting. I think it is more important for me to get in the long bike on Thursday than a 20 minute sufferfest. Then if in a couple weeks I want to try and up the effort, will bump it to 300 and either survive or bring it back down then decide as week 9 approaches if a test is warranted or just continue on.
@Brian Terwilliger - laughing about your buttons. Makes me think that you were just going too fast to deal with buttons.
"Buttons? We don't need no stinking buttons!!!"
Very pleased with your performance; super smart start set you up for the rest of the day. Definitely a confidence builder and something to work with. Transitioning that expertise to a HALF is no easy task, but at least you are starting from the right place!!
Before you beat me to the punch, I was going to say "290 is fine" let's roll with that for now. The runs need to get longer, but not hard and long. We need to protect your calf as best we can. Please keep up that self care / light stretching stuff as best you can. Only a few more weeks before you earn some Tri Rest and then build to your Marathon.
Overall your speed is there; so nice and steady and keep up the fueling practice. The hotter White Lake is, the more important your nutrition execution will be. Get used to carrying those fluids with you. Maybe concentrated GE that you squirt into a cup of water to consume? Could alleviate the need for refilling bottles for the 1:45 run.
From Monday July 30th through Sunday Aug 5th I am on vacation. There will be no swimming that week. That also kinda messes with the race rehearsal that is on plan that Saturday the 4th. Though, there is another race rehearsal in week 10. So good there. I am using the 2017 EN Half Advanced Minimalist to end on Sept 9th for reference. But will probably knock out a 50-60 bike on Zwift and then run 6 that Saturday if I can get away with it.
Advice on altering training that week if needed? I suspect I can do it as written for the most part minus the swims. I think I'll just add as much running as I can on top of whats on plan, even if its lazy Z1 running just to log miles.
Looking forward, looks like most if not all of the Thursday ABP rides are 90 minutes. Sounds like a perfect day to repeatedly climb ADZ via Fire & Ice each week. I think it took me just over 90 minutes last time. Can just keep shooting for breaking 60 on the ADZ segment. Last time I went for it came in at like 60:12 and avg 250 watts. Thats overshooting the scheduled watts for the ride. But hey, why not. And if I'm cooked, just back off. Doesn't seem to be any appropriate Zwift Races that line of up with the time I can ride on Thursdays. Did the 2 hour Thursday ride yesterday. 30' Z1, Z3 rest of the time. Kinda cooked myself with Leith and Box Hill attacks getting big PRs for the segments. Focusing on holding watts on Zwift for 90 minutes was tough. And I didn't want to build a workout and only hold X and nothing more or less in ERG for that long. That would be too mind numbing even for me. Thats why I was hoping for a good race in my training time window. But I think ADZ will be a good substitute and allow me to focus a bit more. Easy spin to the start and then game on.
Feeling strong and feeling good. Hopefully this condition holds.
Saturday long bike going forward. All Tues/Thurs bike will be on Zwift. And some of the Saturday long bikes will be on Zwift. But I really need to put some time in on the road and out in the sun, heat, and humidity. I have a great 32 mile loop that I feel fairly safe on. Some areas have a bit of traffic, but a lot of it has light traffic. And some awesome Strava segments. Between hills (up and down), intersections, hitting red lights and other facts of the open road, there is just no way to do workouts as written for the Saturday ride. Looking at doing @25' warm up then hammer down back to the car, chase a couple segments that I really want the crown on, and refill bottles back at the car, then repeat for 2nd loop. Basically do two 1 hour time trials with a little warm up. Won't get at lot of sustained time in Z4 as the workouts call for, but will likely rack up a lot of time in upper Z3 and the gap between Z3/4.
Any alterations or little things you'd suggest doing different or trying to fit in to the workouts?
If I wanted to be a jerk and knock out a 100 miler (or maybe 2) if schedule allows, would that be a detriment to training as I am doing a half? Or would that lead to better performance on race day? Especially with doing a run off the bike I can see it going either way. Thoughts?
Surprisingly awesome 10 mile run this morning in huge humidity after partying till all hours of the night last night. While pace came in just under TRP, HR was steady in mid Z4 to upper Z4 with a couple blips into Z5 on hills, and mile 10 was the fastest, just a few seconds slower than Z2. Humidity was high, and fatigue was high from partying, but was able to really just motor along without really thinking about it or having to force it. And after 75 minutes of Z4 HR, didn't feel like death and actually felt great. Hopefully I can knock out the 2nd run of the split run tonight but family life may prevent it. Hopefully not.
Once again, I like all of your modifications. I agree with what you’re doing on Thursdays, and I think your Saturday plan is also a good one. Ruthless, but effective!
For your vacation week, frequency is what matters. Lots of short runs can really help build that durability so don’t be upset if that’s all that happens as is fine.
Totally OK with the century, I think they are great long-term investments. My only caveat is that the other weekend day has to be off. We need you to be able to absorb that work on top of that challenging week the preceded it, so you can still be solid the following week. I know taking a day off is not your idea of fun but you could go rent a chainsaw and go do some damage or something. 😂
OH The Humidity! Seriously. 100% humidity on tonights run. Dew point 75. Also known as "Skip or dramatically alter goal" according to the Running Times dew point chart.
But soldier on I did. A month ago this run would have been an absolute death march and I've of probably cut it in half and still had a pace at least 1 minute a mile slower. But I destroyed it. Acclimation continues and seems to be working great.
8 miles in 60 minutes. 7:32 avg pace. Last mile under 7. Work F'n Works!
I really hope the recent success isn't a fluke. Though I suspect beach running next week will be a bit slower. It always is. Laying in the sun all day drinking isn't the best strategy, but hey, Team Vodka knows no bounds.
Was hoping to ride on the road for Saturdays 3.5 hour ride, but looking like rain. Luckily I love Zwift. Will probably just smooth the 2 hour run on Sunday morning and shoot for a steady but non punishing pace. I haven't ran that long since IM Choo. Well, other than IM Raleigh's waddle.
Alright, its time to start looking into the future and setting things up. Feel free to sit on this for a bit and get back to me on an action plan for post half iron.
White Lake Half Iron on 09/08. Sprint on 09/09. This is followed by the Kiawah Island Marathon on 12/08. I need a plan for transitioning into marathon training following the Half/Sprint races, and a marathon plan. I've looked over a bunch of the marathon plans, but honestly, they all run together and get my eyes glazing over after a few minutes. But I do like the concept of the balanced plans so I get to keep biking somewhat.
Quick marathon history. First marathon was 02/14/2015. Ran 3:15:16. 41 years old, first ever running race, started running 18 months prior. I followed this up with another on 04/11/15 and went 3:24 on an exceptionally hilly course with my longest run between these marathons being 7 miles. And was shockingly the 44th overall finisher out of nearly 1,000. Then did my 3rd marathon the 2nd weekend in March 2016 (this was preceded by IMMD in Mid Oct 2015, the storm delayed race). Was on a 3:08 pace through 22 miles. Then the arthritis in my foot said nope, you're done. And had to walk/slow jog it in to a 3:3X. The arthritis in my foot is sporadic in its severity. I can go months and months and months of hardcore, super high mileage running and it will not rear its head in any way. Its as if it doesn't exist. Then out of nowhere in a middle of a run it will show up and near immediately the run is done. And it may not show up again for months, or it can be an every damn day thing for weeks. I have been lucky the past couple years as it really hasn't been showing up.
And looking forward into the first part of 2019. With a Dec 8th marathon, I figure the rest of the month is a recovery/transition month. I'm really trying to talk myself out of doing the Full Booty iron distance tri on 05/12/2019 in Beaufort NC, and I suspect I will be successful in being smart and only doing the Half Booty on the same date. And here is a little wrinkle, I have a half marathon that was to be the end of the out-season test race the preceding weekend. I will still be racing this half marathon on May 5, 2019. Not the wisest decision leading into a Half Iron, but the Half Booty is not my A race, nor did it even exist when I registered for the half marathon. And my wife is running a 5K that runs concurrent with the half. And if my ass is getting dragged out of town for a weekend for her to run a 5K, I'm running as well. And if I run, I run serious. I don't lollygag and slack stuff if I laid out money.
So to recap, in short order, what I really need at this time (in the near future) is what my post Half Iron transition into marathon training should be and what marathon plan I should utilize for optimum performance on Dec 8th.
The marathon is on a flat course. Likely cool to cold temps. Possibility of high winds.
My Z2 pace is 7:09. So I don't see why I can't try to crack 3:05 for the race. Too aggressive? Not aggressive enough? Or just right?
We can worry about transitioning from marathon to a post marathon recovery plan, then out-season plan tailored to a half iron finishing race well down the road.
As half iron race day approaches in a few weeks, I'm sure I'll be on here to pick your brain a bit more.
OMG, the heat and humidity. 99 degrees when I got off the bike. Ugh. I think I was wetter when I finished the bike than after I jumped in the lake to cool off after my run off the bike.
But, pretty good bike. Not the brutality thats on plan, need the trainer for that. But need time in the sun and on the road and wanted to work on riding steady. 65 miles, 1,800 feet of gain. 32.5 mile loop twice. 10 miles easy warm up. NP in the upper 230's for the 22 miles back to the car. Refilled bottles, went out to repeat. 10 miles easy, NP in the upper 220's for the last 22. Avg. 19.8 MPH. Not bad for not being race set up and going easy for 20+ miles of the ride.
Plan for next Saturday is similar but different. A couple friends who are much slower want to ride with me. They plan on doing 1 loop. So my plan is to do the first 10 super easy, warm up, let them hang on my wheel. Then the fun begins. Plan to hammer and segment chase and then wait for them at every turn. Recovery time, they don't get lost, and I rest up to hammer the next segment. Then refill bottles at car, smooth 10, and steady Z2 last 22 back to the car.
Comments
If I had to take guesses as to what happened, I really can't come up with anything concrete. Maybe, if I had to try to think of something, my lack of outdoor riding left me somewhat unprepared for the demands that the heat and sun put on my body and they finally accumulated to the point of failure early in the run. That's my best guess. So I'll just have to put my new fears of the open road aside and get in some outdoor rides. I put in thousands of miles on the road last year and was never afraid. Hopefully I can get back to that.
On body comp, I just need to tighten up the diet and not eat like an idiot as I have been. The early season injuries putting a big dent in my training left me mentally less than engaged and greatly reduced my level of caring about what went into my mouth. I've had my fun, eaten a bunch of junk, and let myself go a little too much. I set out my season plan with White Lake 70.3 always being the 1 race this year I wanted to absolutely destroy. I've got 3 months to get as race ready as I can. Barring a serious injury, I will enter the water on Sept 8th ready to crush all others.
That is as much an attention thing as it is a fitness thing. At least that’s my experience tells me. We cannot rule either one completely out. I do like you getting outside for two sessions, even if it’s early in the morning before the traffic builds.
Yes for the run, it is all about frequency. Even with the limiting heart rate, you can still get stronger and fitter by using different terrain as you mentioned. Remember, frequent training in the heat will help you adapt and make that heat less costly therefore allowing you to become faster. Make sense?
I will go back to stalking you on Strava
At 100 miles so far this week for Big Bike Week. Was going to abbreviate it as BBW on Strava, but just couldn't do it. LOL. Gonna knock out at least 30 tonight I hope, then at it again tomorrow morning and evening and Friday morning. Have a 1 mile race Friday night and with the time I will be getting home (starts at 7:30) will probably not ride.
You know I like oddball races. Friday is the Raleigh Run Down. An all down hill 1 mile race. Some serious ass runners come in for this and will put up stupid times. In August we have another high profile race, the Sir Walter Miler. Olympians and those heading to the Olympic Trials come and race this thing for some reason. And then local joe six pack runners get to participate as well, and relays and stupid stuff like the Denim Mile where you run in jeans. I never get to go to this as we are always on vacation.
Pending weather, I plan on riding till my legs fall off on Saturday morning out on the street and get in as much as I can before I have to stop to attend to real life. Take Sunday off most likely (or a super easy, low Z1 spin to tack on a few more miles) and Monday jump into full on training again with the short course plan to up intensity but not slam back into higher volume right out the gate.
I'm not so much looking to burn it down and start over, but do wonder if certain things I do should be done in a different manner. I have done some lower cadence riding for longer stretches this week and I can say I do not like it. Heart rate gets jacked, legs quickly fatigue. I'm sure there is a place for such riding in training. But I can say I am pretty sure that such riding will never be an appropriate style for me. Where some of my friends continually ride in the low 70s and would probably have serious trouble trying to hold 90 for any period of time. My legs just seem to default to 90 stay right there.
I'll most certainly be jumping in to some Zwift races. Maybe not every week but hopefully at least every other week. The trouble is finding one of an appropriate length at an appropriate time.
I personally prefer to work on leg strength by doing standing intervals. So in a three hour ride, after my warm-up, I may do five minutes standing at 60 RPMs and then five minutes sitting/arrow and regular cadence. I repeat that six times for an hour and then get on with my regular work out. That gives me 30 minutes of strong work and definitely makes the remainder of my ride at zone three pretty hard.
I think I'll be hitting the treadmill or just limping along as best I can for the proscribed time.
Whats the difference between the "black" and "red" EN Stores? Particularly the 'speed suit' top or whatever its called.
They are both listed as the T1:Stealth Top 2 but the red store version is $60 more than the black store version and for the life of me I can't find how they are different in any way.
Also, are the stores opening on July 4th for orders and how long to get delivery?
And I would gladly race in a paper bag. Why not? Most races have stupid rules on what you have to wear at a minimum. My sprint in a couple weeks does not. I may do it in a bright red speedo. Its only 18 miles on the bike. I think my butt can take it. Will do a test zwift before hand.
Speaking of Zwift, I will likely regret this. At 6:05 PM tomorrow there is a scheduled race up ADZ. Workout on plan is 4 x 10' Z4 and a long chunk Z3 for 90 minutes total. So why not just turn it into a warm up and 1 hour hammerfest up the climb.
And is there really a material difference between the 2017 EN Half Advanced and the 2017 Minimalist Advanced? I don't really see one other than Thursday and Sunday being swapped. Or am I missing something? Because for being labeled minimalist, it doesn't really seems to be less than the normal Half plan. I just like how it meshes up with my current real life schedule better than the regular Half plan.
On Edit: Tonights run: 10' WU, 5 x 3' (2') Z5, Steady to 48 minutes. No way to run Z5 when its 90 degrees and heart attack inducing humidity. But blasted them slightly faster than Z3 and well into Z5 HR. Actually felt good. Held great pace and didn't die. Hoping I've turned a corner. Starting to get excited about the Sprint on the 14th and hopeful to very optimistic about the Half Iron on Sept 8th. Hopefully I can keep injury at bay and keep improving. Finally starting to be excited about and look forward to each days training session where I had been dreading them and just slogging through.
It could also be a good chance for you to practice really nailing your bike hydration. I have enjoyed using the hyper hydrate mix from scratch the day before my races and long workouts. That might help set you up for success as well in addition to your actual hydration plan.
My pre-race hydration plan remains as always. #TeamVodka
Probably going to ride the bike course for the sprint next weekend for tomorrows 60 minute bike workout. Its a new course from previous years. And at 18 miles, I'll just tack some onto the end to get to 60 minutes. Will build a plan of attack from the recon. There are some lightning fast sections, some stiff climbs, and a couple lengthy false flats. Its a real mix. And there will be lots of fast runners. Will have to build a lead in the water and on the bike to hold em off as I run a 23ish minute 5K while they are blasting 20 and sub 20 combined with their sub 1 minute transition times.
On the bright side, the entire podium last year in my new age group this year was 49, so they are gone to the 50-54 group.
Quick update. Didn't ride course. Monsoon rains all weekend. Rode Zwift. Killed it. Great workouts continue to be the norm. On week 20 of the short course advanced plan. Awesome bike/run brick yesterday. Off the bike did a hard 5K instead of 30 minutes. 7:03/7:03/6:46. If I can pull that off Saturday I should be golden. Though the run is 75% on a trail. So will be a tad slower I suspect.
Barring a mechanical on the bike or some super freak coming in from out of town I'm not aware of, if I don't win on Saturday I will be very disappointed.
Quick overview of my race plan. 750 meter lake swim. Just smooth it. Water will be mid to upper 80s. No need to jack the HR or get overheated right out of the gates. T1 is about a 150 yard run. So T1 time will be a bit long. But planning on just throwing on helmet, glasses, shoes and go. I don't flying mount. I'm not that good.
Bike, as described is 18 miles of a true mix of everything. I estimate my FTP today to be somewhere around 280. Haven't tested in months and months (more on that in a minute). So, pending HR and heat, gunning for around 250 watts. Will be happy if its over 240. Can't totally blast it. Got a trail run to do! Plan on taking in 1 bottle of Infinit Speed with Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy mixed in. Basically a caffeine additive.
T2: Leave shoes on! Dismount, run to rack, helmet off, shoes off, socks on, sneakers on, grab go bag and go.
Run, 3.1 miles with @75-80% (maybe more) on a trail. Highly uneven terrain on parts, lots of hills. Plan to come out of T2 @7 min/mi pace and see how the HR, legs, and breathing is. Once my legs settle in, usually a half mile and I know what direction things are going to go, I will adjust accordingly and give it my all that I have to give that day.
Post Finish: All you can eat pizza.
I'll post an update come Saturday some time. Maybe Sunday.
Going forward. Monday I will jump into the 2017 EN Half Minimalist 12 Weeks Advanced Plan to end on Sept 9th. Race is Saturday Sept 8th. This puts me in Week 5 of 12 on Monday. Thus this is week 4 this week if I were on that plan today. Week 4 has an FTP test on Tuesday. I plan on doing one next Tuesday in place of the Z5 intervals on plan. However. There is NOT another test week the rest of the plan.
When should I do another test? I was thinking week 10. But if you look at Week 9, while it doesn't say Test and has a regular workout, the "coach notes" on Tuesday's bike are the FTP test coach notes. So week 9? Its probably a toss up either way. Week 9 is a little close to the test next week but more time to adapt to new zones prior to race and week 10 may be a bit close to race day. Thoughts?
Good skill!!!
And the swim in 86 degree water I took super easy. 750 meters. 12 minutes and change, 1:23 pace. Fastest AG swim by 1:53. Friends spectating said a lot of the people were coming out looking like death and breathing real heavy. Obviously cooked themselves in the warm water. I came out feeling great and my HR was under 110 when I exited transition and was able to hammer down right away and not wait for HR to come down. But the first mile to get from transition to the open road is through the parks entrance and there is a slew of speed bumps so you have to go fairly easy the first mile so you don't eat it on one of the bumps.
On Edit from last night: Due to family schedule, did tonight's 6 x 2' (2') Z5 VO2 bike intervals last night. FTP set at 290. It was everything I had to get through them, but I did. If there had been a 7th interval, that may have been the breaking point. However, the 20 something minute steady ride at the top of Z2 following those felt pretty easy and the 30 minute run off the bike was strong. I think 290 is a great number to keep FTP at for now, so won't be retesting. I think it is more important for me to get in the long bike on Thursday than a 20 minute sufferfest. Then if in a couple weeks I want to try and up the effort, will bump it to 300 and either survive or bring it back down then decide as week 9 approaches if a test is warranted or just continue on.
"Buttons? We don't need no stinking buttons!!!"
Very pleased with your performance; super smart start set you up for the rest of the day. Definitely a confidence builder and something to work with. Transitioning that expertise to a HALF is no easy task, but at least you are starting from the right place!!
Before you beat me to the punch, I was going to say "290 is fine" let's roll with that for now. The runs need to get longer, but not hard and long. We need to protect your calf as best we can. Please keep up that self care / light stretching stuff as best you can. Only a few more weeks before you earn some Tri Rest and then build to your Marathon.
Overall your speed is there; so nice and steady and keep up the fueling practice. The hotter White Lake is, the more important your nutrition execution will be. Get used to carrying those fluids with you. Maybe concentrated GE that you squirt into a cup of water to consume? Could alleviate the need for refilling bottles for the 1:45 run.
White Lake Half Iron on 09/08. Sprint on 09/09. This is followed by the Kiawah Island Marathon on 12/08. I need a plan for transitioning into marathon training following the Half/Sprint races, and a marathon plan. I've looked over a bunch of the marathon plans, but honestly, they all run together and get my eyes glazing over after a few minutes. But I do like the concept of the balanced plans so I get to keep biking somewhat.
Quick marathon history. First marathon was 02/14/2015. Ran 3:15:16. 41 years old, first ever running race, started running 18 months prior. I followed this up with another on 04/11/15 and went 3:24 on an exceptionally hilly course with my longest run between these marathons being 7 miles. And was shockingly the 44th overall finisher out of nearly 1,000. Then did my 3rd marathon the 2nd weekend in March 2016 (this was preceded by IMMD in Mid Oct 2015, the storm delayed race). Was on a 3:08 pace through 22 miles. Then the arthritis in my foot said nope, you're done. And had to walk/slow jog it in to a 3:3X. The arthritis in my foot is sporadic in its severity. I can go months and months and months of hardcore, super high mileage running and it will not rear its head in any way. Its as if it doesn't exist. Then out of nowhere in a middle of a run it will show up and near immediately the run is done. And it may not show up again for months, or it can be an every damn day thing for weeks. I have been lucky the past couple years as it really hasn't been showing up.
And looking forward into the first part of 2019. With a Dec 8th marathon, I figure the rest of the month is a recovery/transition month. I'm really trying to talk myself out of doing the Full Booty iron distance tri on 05/12/2019 in Beaufort NC, and I suspect I will be successful in being smart and only doing the Half Booty on the same date. And here is a little wrinkle, I have a half marathon that was to be the end of the out-season test race the preceding weekend. I will still be racing this half marathon on May 5, 2019. Not the wisest decision leading into a Half Iron, but the Half Booty is not my A race, nor did it even exist when I registered for the half marathon. And my wife is running a 5K that runs concurrent with the half. And if my ass is getting dragged out of town for a weekend for her to run a 5K, I'm running as well. And if I run, I run serious. I don't lollygag and slack stuff if I laid out money.
So to recap, in short order, what I really need at this time (in the near future) is what my post Half Iron transition into marathon training should be and what marathon plan I should utilize for optimum performance on Dec 8th.
The marathon is on a flat course. Likely cool to cold temps. Possibility of high winds.
My Z2 pace is 7:09. So I don't see why I can't try to crack 3:05 for the race. Too aggressive? Not aggressive enough? Or just right?
We can worry about transitioning from marathon to a post marathon recovery plan, then out-season plan tailored to a half iron finishing race well down the road.
As half iron race day approaches in a few weeks, I'm sure I'll be on here to pick your brain a bit more.
that loop oops Execution is my favorite, and well done on your part. Be nice to your friends this weekend!!