2017 IMTX - Week 9- Let's Get It Started in Here!!

Laura Becker

HOWDY AMAZING IM TEXAS RACERS!!

Can you believe it?? HERE WE ARE! 12 weeks from the race! I am PUMPED to join you on this journey as your Race Captain! Please know I am HERE FOR YOU. This will be my second year as Race Captain and I am excited to revamp and make these weekly posts even more valuable to you.  If you have questions, comments, concerns, need some venting time- whatever! SEND IT MY WAY! This week let’s get some of the administrative homework out of the way.

• View, Share, Read etc our IM Texas Racing Page: HERE

• On Social Media? Follow, Share, Spread the word about training with EN using #EN4Keys and tagging us on all platforms:

• Twitter - @teamen ---- Instagram - @teamendurancenation ------ Facebook - www.facebook.com/endurancenation

• Use email friend@endurancenation.us to get a friend to train with you and EN (they get 30 days FREE and you can earn referral bonuses)

• Nudge all current EN members that you know are racing IM Texas to chime in on the weekly forums

• Our new and improved Forums are amazing so make sure you bookmark the threads to check in weekly!!  Check the box to follow the entire IM Texas forum so you don't miss a single announcement

• Friend Mariah Bridges and me on Facebook so that we can tag you in pictures and race recaps the week after your race on the EN page

• Your training hashtag is #EN4Keys and of course tag us if you wish, let’s tell the world!

Charge all your swim, bike and run electronics, tune up that bike, stretch out those legs and prepare that mental game and order the nutrition you need because we are about to dive head first into EN training.

Every Sunday night I will post the weekly forum with the training dates, some mojo, advice, admin notices and general EN awesomeness. Whether you're a veteran EN member or newbie, this is the magic of training with the team. We will keep each other motivated, have a place to talk about your daily training ups and downs, get questions answered, answer fellow teammates questions and make some friends along the way. The more everyone participates the more everyone will crush this race the Endurance Nation way!

Make sure to watch the videos, podcasts and blogs that are attached to each week of training on the website. They are located on the right side of the your training page.  CHECK THEM OUT! Maybe listen to them as you stretch, roll or recover or as you fuel up for a workout.  

I will post highlights weekly. This week we Coach Rich talks about the importance of the long ride and data tracking. Get to know yourself and what your needs are during these long rides. Track EVERYTHING!! The difference between a successful execution and an unsuccessful one is knowing what you need to execute.

So ROLL CALL! Who’s doing IM Texas?? Introduce yourself- let us know where you are from? Is this your first IM? Anything you wanna share about yourself. Because  WE ARE A TEAM and we want to support each other the best we can. So now let’s hear it, make some noise.... Any questions for the team?

On your mark.... get set.... GO!

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Tim Sullivan

Hi everyone! I will be doing IM Texas this year and am new to EN (a couple months).  It will be my first full IM.  I did the 70.3 CDA last summer.  I live in Austin now but grew up in Houston.  I'm glad they moved the race to April instead of May as it is usually cooler (but more windy --- could be VERY windy).  Looking forward to meeting everyone and providing support and getting support!

Sam Lawrence

Hello Captain Laura and fellow IMTX racers. I am a new EN member signing up in late December. I had just finished IMCOZ late Nov, let go of my expensive one on one coach, and was at an in between phase not knowing what to do next. I had seen Coach Patrick doing one of the prerace seminars on you tube taking about IMLP. I was very impressed with all the detail and strategy for a successful race.  So here I am, and very glad to be here. Loving the program. I am a physical therapist by day, and spend the rest of time training in Pensacola, Fl. I started back up doing races in 2011 after a long lay off. Started with the local sprints, building up to 70.3's, and then graduating to the full distance in 2014. IMTX will be number 7, but my first for this race. Even though it fairly close to Pensacola, I have avoided this race due to reports of extreme heat, but when it moved a month earlier, it sounded a lot cooler. We will see. So far I have done IMFL twice, IMCHOO, IMLP, IMLOU, and most recently, IMCOZ. This year, after IMTX, I am doing IMCDA, and then back to IMFL to finish off the year. I am kind of a middle of the pack racer, but really enjoy the challenge of the long stuff. I am really looking forward to getting to know and support my new team mates. Let's do this thing.

Thanks Captain Laura for stepping up to steer this ship. I am all aboard!!

Darrell Strube (OLD)

Hello all.  New to EN. I am doing IMTX this year and this will be my first full IM.  I have raced several HIMs and PRd Galveston last April.  I sorta meandered the rest of 2016 with a few sprints.  I am fully focused with my sight set on April 22nd.  I am finishing up DOS week 8 and will start Week 9 of IM plan next week.  I live in Houston so if you have any local questions let me know.  I looked over the training schedule and it looks tough with few rest days.  I know we will fit and ready!

Laura Becker

WOOHOO!!! Welcome aboard Darrell, Sam and Tim!! This week is the START!! You are in week 9 and ready to GO! Take a look at the videos coach put together- especially the split long run. We will talk more about that next week! Let's see who is else is racing....where all the texas peeps??

Tom Glynn

I'm in for Texas again.  I've done them all so this will be my 7th Texas race. I think this is IM 17, but I have to double check! It's a fun course. Earlier this year and new bike course.  Hopefully wetsuit legal!  Bike course on the freeway should be flat, straight and fast. Practice sitting in aero bars for a very long time!

Tim Sullivan

That's awesome Tom!  Wow, 17 IM's.  I SURE hope its wetsuit legal in April. I'm MUCH slower without the wetsuit as I dont float.

Tom Glynn

@Tim Sullivan I don't think I'll ever master the swim!  I usually get out of the water., look at my watch and realize I'm way behind schedule!  I've mastered "being in the box" from so many crappy swims

ironmarianne

This will be my 2nd time at IM TX.  I was very active in EN from 2007-2010, came back in 2014, and then returned this year to help them celebrate a decade of EN. 

Jeff Braaten

Hey guys, I am back at it also and will be IM Tx number 3 for me. Looking forward to the new course and aging up to 60 this year so will see how it goes. Did IM Arizona this past November and have been trying to get my mojo back to get up for this race. 

Gordon Polozola

Laura and Team, I was looking forward to the 2017 IMTX Forum!  Glad to be with you and thanks for being Team Captain, Laura.  I'm 46 and live in Louisiana. I have been with EN going on three years - still learning to swim and bike.  But, I did my first IMNO 70.3 and first IMFL in 2015 with EN, and got better each time. I then concentrated on sprints and a HIM in Nov. 2016. So, its time to try another IM in 2017.  The first IM was magic.  So, I'm hoping to have another good experience and, of course, improve in long distance execution at IMTX.

Eric Hudson

Hello Team, This is my first time with EN (joined in Dec) and I look forward to our collective journey.  This will be my 2nd Ironman and I completed Ironman Chattanooga full and half last year. This is my third year doing triathlons and still working on the swim. Currently, I am 53 years old, live in Atlanta (Roswell, GA) and I am originally from Arlington, Texas. My goals are to finish strong, be a positive influence on the course and have fun!
 

Darrell Strube (OLD)

Good morning everyone.  I hope you have had a solid week of training.  I am on the fence on this optional ride today.  I am pretty fatigued and wondering if a day off would do me better than then 2 hours ABP ride.  But every time I see the word optional I don't really feel like it is optional...lol.  How is everybody feeling today?

Gordon Polozola

Darrell, it's early in the training and recovery is just as a critical part as the training itself.  At 46, I often get injured transitioning from one training plan to another when the volume increases. So, I am going to err on the side of recovery when I feel this way.  Another good thing is to use heart rate variability to determine whether your body is ready or needs additional recovery.  Do some foam rolling, light stretching or your other favorite recovery exercise today. You'll be fine. 

Darrell Strube (OLD)

Thanks for feedback Gordon.  I am pretty close to your age, 48, and I definitely need more recovery then I used to.  Great point about transitioning to the new plan and higher volume.  I am tracking my heart rate variability so I will keep a close eye on that...

Gordon Polozola

Anyone else's shoulders fatigued in the swim this morning?  I think I was pulling bricks. That long bike ride took its toll on my neck and shoulders. But, like Coach R says, "Keep showing up!" So I got it done. 

Gordon Polozola

 Hey EN team Texas, (maybe I am the only one but) I did not know this when I was training for IMFL: our team captain starts a new trading thread every week. So if you have not looked it up and found Laura's thread for the week, head over to the new forums. 

Eric Hudson

Doing my 2nd race sim this Saturday and I'm looking forward to the training and results. 

Eric Hudson

Greetings! Unfortunately, I have some bad news and I was injured bad running. I stepped in a pot hole and tore up my ankle and calf. I will be down a couple of months I'm and going to ask them to move me to Ironman Chattanooga and Louisville. Good luck and I plan on being there as a Sherpa.

Tim Sullivan

That's too bad. I hope you recover fully from the injury! Are you totally out of commission for a while?

Gordon Polozola

Eric, sorry to hear that!  I had an accident before IMChoo 70.3 and was very disappointed. But I got good and well and came back stronger. Good luck in the recovery. 

Gordon Polozola

How's the Team Mojo after that Big Training Day?  Anyone question "what the hell they were thinking" signing up for another IM?  But, of course, we kept going, right?  Personally, I couldn't wait to get off the bike and onto the run because my power numbers were not there, my knees hurt, and I swear I was riding into a head or cross-wind for 80% of the ride.  As it turns out, I rode 1.5 miles longer than the last 4 hour ride.  So, it couldn't have been all bad. Go figure.

Tim Sullivan

I was happy with the Big Training Day as it went very smoothly.  I weighed myself before the start and after the finish, and weighed exactly the same! I did notice that I got a little hungry during the bike so I might add a little (very little probably) solid food while I ride.  My power was good on the bike, but always somewhat hard here in Austin due to the occasional stop at lights.  My legs were tired during the first mile of the run, but then loosened up and all was good.  The swim was good as I kept my form, and times were decent.  I still do, however, take a little bit longer on the rest periods between the intervals during the swim. During the last several weeks, I have noticed I feel much better during the swim.  I am also seeing improvement in my low heart rate running pace (as well as high heart rate running pace) but not much (if any improvement) in FTP.  We will see today if I can increase my FTP.  I am happy with where my FTP is now, so if that doesn't improve much, all is still good. It seems that my swim and run will continue to improve quite a bit over the next coming months, and my improvement on the bike will be the ability to stay "aero" (which was easier this ride for me).  This structured training is new to me, so we will see where it ends up! It seems to be working very well for me so far.

Darrell Strube (OLD)

Glad to hear the Big Training Day went well for most of the team.  Mine was uneventful, still working on dialing in nutrition and pre race meal. Swim and bike were solid, run was tough and I was unable to neg split but did maintain my initial pace.  It was 82 degrees and full sun, a little humid.  Sounds like IMTX weather to me!  I really had heavy fatigue post workout for the rest of the day. Doing the whole IM distance seems like such a huge challenge considering that was just a small piece of the run.

For those who are not testing in Week12  are you going to do speedwork?  Coach told me to sub 2 x15 Z4 on bike in place of the bike test.  Not sure about run.  I was thinking of run speedwork on Wed night and using last week's workout?  Or maybe that is too much with Thursday split run?

On a different note, I thought we were going to have a different thread every week.  I am constantly confused on where to post???  Maybe Laura can give us some direction on posting.

Have a great week

Laura Becker

Hey all!! Sooo every week there has been a new thread but some comments are being posted here. We have a week 10 and week 11 thread. They are all posted under the Ironman Texas heading.  I will post a link here each time so that everyone makes sure to find it.

BUT on a more exciting note- AWESOME work on getting your big days done!!! :-)

Tim Sullivan

I do a Zwift race every week for my speed work and also for my FTP test.  For FTP test I just go as hard as I can the first 20 minutes as I can and then rest a little before pushing again.  I find that the races push me much more than me just trying to do the work on my own.  Much more motivation trying to keep up with the lead pack for as long as I can. My bike power has increased alot using these races. 

I am going to do a run test as I think my numbers have improved significantly.  I hope that is the case anyway.

Laura Becker

Hey all!! here is this weeks thread!
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/22772/2017-imtx-week-12-test-and-manage-the-run/p1?new=1

Gordon Polozola

My bad on the post. I had posted in the Big Day forum but then somehow ended up in this one for the follow up post. Must have still been wiped out. 

Thanks for the workout substitution info. I just did testing and will use that interval bike workout instead.