2017 IMTX Week 10- Running Durability

Laura Becker

Greeting EN IM TEXAS athletes! THANK YOU for chiming in last week and sharing who is out there!! We are starting to get a group going :-) Who else is in?? I LOVED seeing your posts last week…….you all are RAMPING UP!!! Remember the importance of posting here in the forums...the forums are what make this team unique! TONS of knowledge right at your fingertips. Let’s keep it up!

Coaches just released new plans and there is a TON of great content in the coach videos and podcasts.  This week Coach P. talks about run durability….its SO important so please watch!

Quick recap…..Coaches have made big changes to the OutSeason training plans, adding a significant "run durability" component by adding running frequency. So now as you head into the IM Full plan you will notice the following…….

• Split Long Run: in weeks 9 through 12, the long run is split into two Thursday sessions. The coaches experimented with this in 2015 and found they were able to run both runs a faster average pace and put up higher single day mileage, with less recovery cost vs a traditional one-session long run. Then then enables...

• Additional Friday Run: the ability to put in a run the day after the long run allows us to significantly boost the run volume, and therefore the run durability component, of the long course training plans.

• Saturday Pre-Ride Brick Run: this run, added to the plans years ago, remains a running staple.

• Sunday Post-Ride Brick Run: an extremely valuable session for helping our athletes dial in the critical first 4-6 miles of their running race execution strategy

So this week- let’s focus on that split long run and report back on how we do!  Check out the wiki page for more info! http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Understanding+the+Endurance+Nation+Split+Long+Run

Remember…..your race day run should be:

• Consistent

• Smart

• Effective

• Sustained Pace

PACING:

No one run will make or break your race but how you look at pacing will.  

Focus on sustainable pace.

RECOVERY:

Set yourself up like a rock star---

• Eat and Hydrate during your workout

• Recovery Shake immediately after

• Compression socks or resting in the first half hour window after.  Aim for at least one minute elevated resting legs per mile. i.e. 10 mile run, 10 minutes legs elevated, compression socks and resting.

****** Remember we are all one big endurance racing family! If you need ANYTHING from your trusty Race Captain…...I'm here! ******

Gordon Polozola

How we doing IMTX team?  I had a good swim and run today, but better mental training.  This was my first swim above 3000 yards in a while - and then to follow it up with mile repeats?!  My mind was trying to limit me.  Ex. - before the second 200 yard sprint, my mind started thinking about how on earth I was going to finish the third 200 yard sprint.  HOLD IT.  I had to shake myself back to the present and just do the task at hand.  And I did fine in the third 200 yard sprint (yeah it hurt), and I hit my numbers on the mile repeats too (despite my crazy thoughts). 

Tim Sullivan

Your day sounded like mine.  I think that was the first swim for me this year near 100 sTSS. I seem to always question how I can finish the entire training set.  On swims I seem to always want to cut it short. I just keep breaking it down to whatever I can handle at the moment. During 100 swims I'm thinking only 50 or 25 more to go. On 300s I usually break it at 150s mentally.  On the bike I'm just trying to maintain for small chunks of time when I'm near or above FTP. Runs at fast paces are the same for me.  The good thing is that you can always do more and your body is just trying to get away with as little work as possible.  For FTP work I have found Zwift races to be great at keeping me motivated. 

On a totally different note, I just got a Cobb 55 saddle that I like. Much more comfortable.

Gordon Polozola

Tim, breaking it down is the only way to push as hard as we push, for as long as we push, right?!  I have a Cobb Randee (54) that certainly helped with chaffing.

And, whew, just finished what seemed like a Sprint Race that was on the calendar today.  Gotta keep the hard-earned VO2 gains from the OS.  Sure is fun riding fast.   

Tim Sullivan

So the longer bike rides not a problem but staying on aero bars is no easy task.  Need to get used to being down for extended periods.

 I also did 2 sweat tests on 3 hour 75 mile ride.  Weight exactly the same after 1.5 hours but I weighed 2 lbs heavier at end of 3.  I was thirsty but I guess I didn't need the extra bottle near the end.  Question - is it ok to drink extra? And if so, how much?

Have fun training!

Gordon Polozola

Tim, what are you drinking - water or sports drink? How many bottles per hour? Sometimes water retention is due to a salt balance issue. Do you take salt during your ride? 

Tim Sullivan

I was drinking gatorade.  I think I just drank more than I needed.  It wasn't hot.  I should have only drank 4 bottles for the 3 hours.  I drank 2 the first 1,5 hours and weight was dead on.  I drank 4 the next  1.5 to see what would happen.  Now I know that I don't need that much. I'll keep the salt balance in mind for future rides.  I felt good the entire time.  Just wondering if it's beneficial or detrimental to drink a little extra. Thanks

Gordon Polozola

4 bottles in 1.5 hours when not hot is a lot for sure. If you are peeing, and not swelling up, you probably won't have any issues drinking a little extra - like 2 bottles an hour. I'm a little surprised you didn't have to pee out two extra pounds of fluid.  But you may not have had time to process all that fluid. EN protocol is to pee once for HIM bike and twice for IM bike. They want you to be fully hydrated and fueled when you get off the bike so you are ready for the marathon, where it's harder to fuel. But, for me, salt is very important to ensure my body can use the fluid I'm drinking. EN recommends 1000 mg of sodium across all sources. 

I drink 1.5 bottle of Gatorade Endurance per hour (900 mg sodium) and use Base salt (2 licks every 15 minutes).  With a gel every hour, that's a little more than 1000  mg.  I drank 2 bottles of GE at IMFL and had to pee every hour (way too much - but I have issues w cramping so I was being cautious).  In rides where it's cold, I've gone to just over a bottle an hour. But then I have to ensure I get my calories from gels every 45 minutes washed down with a bit of water.  

Keep experimenting to see see what works! 

The link below is a good fueling webinar info: http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Race+Fueling+Webinar+(Jesse+Kropelnicki)

Gordon Polozola

Looks like the link didn't fully hyper-link. But this is under the Nutrition section in the Wiki