@Edwin Croucher - Honestly, I would be more worried about the temperature that I would be the rain. It’s gonna be cold up there, so please bundle up.
Remember, you are welcome to do this week on your road bike is well. I don’t care what you ride, just as long as your legs go around and round and it takes a long time!
Weatherwise it looks like Wednesday might be the most challenging with a delayed start. You might want to run early while it warms up/dries up.
If you are successful at getting all three disciplines in for Tuesday Wednesday Thursday then by Friday you’ll likely be a little tired. In the event that Tuesday and Wednesday go as planned, you might want to modify Thursday such that you are ready for that bigger bike session on Friday.
For example, you could do an easy two lap lake run and then get on your bike and ride down the descent. Climb up the return trip into town twice and call it a day. That should be close to 40 miles but only half of it is work. Finish things off with a nice long afternoon swim that could double as your long swim before the race rehearsal on Friday morning. Does that make make sense?
Well, I finished a big training week on Saturday. Originally, I had planned for a big bike week beginning on June 4. Due to my family member's medical issue, I didn't get to start until Tuesday. I arrived in Lake Placid in the afternoon and the temperature was 50 degrees. That was the high. I started a ride at 2:30 pm and focused on my goal watts and riding smooth. Overall, the ride went well. I added the Au Sable out & back for a few extra miles. By the time I was on the Hazelton Road section the temperature had dropped to low 40 degrees. I was riding in a steady rain and of course there was a health wind blowing down Route 86. I finished the ride and was too cold(shivering like crazy) to run. Wednesday the temperature wasn't much better than Tuesday. I rode a single loop and did a brick. I took a couple hours off and then I rode the Lake Placid Time Trial. That was fun and went better than I thought. I adjusted my plan for the remainder of the week and planned a Race Rehearsal for Thursday. Well, I got in the water and did one full loop. The water was cold, like 60 degrees. I had a tough time warming up so my ride didn't start immediately after. When I did get on the bike I rode well. I focused on ride goal watts with a low VI. That was working. However, when I got to Route 86, I was riding into a 14 mph wind with gusts over 20. The ride up to Placid was not fast. My watts up the last 5 to 8 miles were a little too high. Overall, my watts were good, 174NP with a VI of 1.07. However, I had a very difficult time maintaining focus. I nearly rode off the roadway 3 times in the last 12 miles. I did not feel I would ride well for another 55 miles. Instead, I got off the bike and ran a 4 mile brick. The run was good. Elaine and my daughter arrived later that evening. I did not ride again. I did swim twice more. Each swim was faster with better cadence than the previous swim. On Saturday I did my long run. I decided to wait until the time I am likely to be running during the race. I focused on keeping my HR down. My goal was to keep it under 140 bpm. I ran from the village down to River Road. After I completed a full out & back on River Road, I turned around and ran another 2 mile out & back (4 miles total) then I ran back up tot he village. I ran both hills and felt I did so effectively. My HR never blew up and those were the only two miles where my pace was above 8:38/mile. I finished the week with a swim Sunday before I drove home. No run Sunday and nothing at all Monday. Yesterday I rode my bike to work (12.5 each way) at ABP watts. I got off the bike in the afternoon and ran a 10K brick.
That is a recap of my week. It totaled 191 miles on the bike 34 miles of running (a hole lot of walking with the girls), 6500 yards of swim for 18+ hours of Training.
@Edwin Croucher - obviously one of the challenges training in the mountains is the weather. I feel like he did a very good job balancing your training with the real world conditions. I can’t see anywhere in that mix where pushing yourself would’ve been a good idea. Especially given how skinny you are, it’s very easy to get sick!
While you didn’t get a ton of training in, your course specificity was very high. And you are mentally “anchored“ to a very difficult experience there which should hopefully make Race Day Seem a lot easier.
In the future, I would advise you to head further south if possible for better conditions. Time to get back to work!
@Patrick McCrann Your coaching is very important to me. I know several things. I am an age group athlete with a much bigger life outside of this great sport. I can get a great deal of training in in the time I have available. With solid focus, effort and coaching, I can achieve. Thanks and I am on it. I have the bike loaded with fuel & heading out now!
@PatrickMcCrann I raced this weekend. I did the Tupper Lake Tinman (a 70.3 distance) on Saturday. My original plan for this week was a normal IM Training week with normal IM training through Wed. Thursday is a short run of 45' with 3 x 1 mile @ Z3/HMP. Friday is swim only. Saturday is easy 2 hour spin. Sunday race (run = long run of the week). I did a shortened ride on Monday with a swim. Tuesday I did a 10K run and experienced some muscle pain in my quads. I have not had that kind of run before. I decided to back off Wednesday and did a swim only. I traveled to Lake Placid Thursday. Friday I did an OWS in Mirror lake to stay loose and a short Ride at low effort. By the way, I knew you had the Camp going this weekend and it was great to see you riding even if it was only a minute. I felt good leading into the race Saturday morning. I had a goal for the race and hope if fit in well as a training day for IMLP. My first goal was to swim well. I swam 37:10 which was not my PR, but it was a good swim. My garmin shows I swam an extra 100 yards. I knew I had got a little off course and that is not a bad amount. Overall, I was pretty straight. Considering how few times I have actually found the pool this year I feel like this was a good swim. I got out of the water and had an OK T-1. I was 1:57. When I got on the bike and started moving it was cold. The air temp was only 50 and it didn't ever get much above that. My quads were cold, tight and they hurt. As I rode, I hoped that would go away. When I set my race plan, I planned to ride at 200W. When I checked my HR, I was flirting with 150 bpm. So, I adjusted the watts down, I wanted to run well. I rode what I had planned to be my Ironman watts. Those watts were very fast on this course. Even though it was cold and I didn't feel like drinking I tried to stick to my hydration plan. By the end of the bike I had almost made it through 4 bottles so 1.5 bottles per hour. There was a logical result to that volume and I had to go. I had some trouble starting but finally around mile 45 I got it done. Thankful for a long hill. However, 1:54 of zero watts did mess with my VI for that section. After mile 35, we were riding into a pretty strong headwind. My watts jumped up from low 170's to the 180's. I didn't think that was too high but I can't afford that at Placid. By the time I got to T-2 I had to go again. That accounts for my 3:31 T-2. I got on the run and everything felt good. I tried not to over work the first mile. My HR was a little higher than I thought it should be but I felt food. I ran pretty strong through mile 8. That is where the need to go again was becoming strong. I had to stop during mile 10 and go, but I was able to get back on it and get my pace back to 8:04. Mile 12 was awful. I was pushing hard but there was a strong headwind. My pace for that mile dropped to but my HR climbed to 150 bpm. The final mile went well. I pushed through the finish. So, for a training day I was right at 360 Tss. My bike had an IF of .71 and my run was at .8 IF. I took today, Sunday off. For IMLP, since your rode the course this weekend, could you give me your thoughts on the bike course. It seemed much slower to me with more work. There are areas on the course where rider focus is paramount.(White Face O & I feel I will need to lower my watt goal especially for the first loop.
I am super pleased to hear how mindful you were in your race in relation to your body and heart rate data. You get a super big gold star for staying on top of Nutrition even though you didn’t want to. And a half Iron Man that can be uncomfortable, but in an Iron Man with the weather changes in hours is 6, 7, 8 and nine, getting that nutrition in can make the difference between a good and a very bad day.
As you know, the new course is actually the old old course. I found it to be about five minutes slower for time but I think it is mentally much easier. The layout of the terrain is different but all of the fast sections are still fast.
I personally was writing it on my road bike so I don’t have a good deal of comparative data. That said my ride times were only a few minutes slower than expected. It might be worthwhile for you to connect with Jeremy to see what his data said even though he was a first timer on the course. I think spending time in the out and back to get better at managing the hills and anticipating the smaller rollers makes all the difference.
For me Lake Placid is all about the rollers. There are hills that you can power over, and there are hills that have a false flat or end up being Too steep. You have to know what’s coming around the next bend so you can adjust your effort accordingly.
Idon’t mind you riding 10 Watts higher for 20 seconds if it’s going to push you over a little hill and keep your speed up over 22 miles an hour. But we can’t afford to do that into a hill like the one where you playing out of white face and move right into more climbing. I hope that makes sense.
@PatrickMcCrann Thank you for all of your help leading to Lake Placid. I had some areas fall short of my goals and interruptions in training were keys. First, my swim was my best in an Ironman race @ 1:12:33. I took the college student study method for the swim and crammed 19,000 yards of OWS the last two weeks. Not the best way to achieve my goal. There are lots of reasons I didn't get a good base of swim training in but I know what to do here. I think my bike training was light and I did not have the power I wanted. I think I need to build strength here but, I know I need to keep the run durability. I am in a very good mental state post race. I am looking for a few races to finish the summer. Very seriously looking at IMMD. I may come back to Lake Placid September 9th and do the 70.3. When you have a chance, please review my race and give me your analysis.
I can give you a brief review of the day, however it’s important to note that if the training lead up was less than ideal we should expect the race to be somewhat similar. That said, very pleased with your pre race mental state. That was a huge step forward for you athletically and definitely bodes well for the future!
Thank you again for sharing your house and the lake with our girls. They had a blast!
Overall a good race, just need to figure out what the "decline" was on the bike and the run. Was it fitness or nutrition? I think you paced better than before, and did a great job maximizing what you had to make the race.
Let me know what you think!
~ Patrick
Ps I think we might need to come up with a super short "build to race" plan for you so you can avoid all the usual interruptions that get in your way. And you could keep your confidence up too!!!
@Coach Patrick Thank you. I feel like I raced well and especially well based on my training. Since January, my average training week was 10.25 hours. That includes the big week in Spain and my own 18 hour week. I think missing the critical multiple 100 mile rides did play an impact on the bike. When I had a window to get those rides in, the weather turned cold and rainy. I got some excellent course previews but I missed the big miles. My post racing blues have not dominated my view of the race. This was my second best race at this venue. I have done a bunch of analyzing. I was afraid of the bike course. In the past, I have hurt my run by pushing too hard on the first loop. You have detailed this to me in your previous analysis. This year, I don't think I had the strength leading into the race that would have allowed me to push any harder and run. I think another part of the wattage decline on the bike was due to trying to get rid of(pee) the much higher amount of fuel I drank. I went through all of my Infinit which should have totaled 7 bottles. I drank 2 to 3 more bottles of GA. It may have been 4. I went a bunch on the bike but I am still not very good at getting that done. I needed to coast. When look deep into my power file, I can find a lot of Zero watts segments where I was coasting to pee. Those all lasted 30 seconds to a minute. I know I went four times on the second half. Even when I remove the segments descending to Keene, that still leaves seven minutes of zero watts. Those were moving but not fast. As far as nutrition, I knew I was going to drink more so I didn't think I needed full strength bottles of infinit. I was planning on 300 calories per hour. I used one scoop of infinit per 21 ounces. I will be increasing that concentration but I will still be planning to drink 8 - 10 bottles of fluid. During the run, I followed your instructions and drank Gatorade at every aid station. I was still drinking as I ran out on the second lap. I took one caffeine gel when I got on the flat passed Lisa G's. I think I am going to have to get more gels into me before mile 13. I felt the decline on the run hit me hard at mile 16. The blister on my right foot hurt and I lost focus. Moving forward, I have signed up for IMMD. I did this because I really want to race again. I know my fitness level is very high and I can get race ready in time. The IMMD course is flat so I really have to get my bike ready. I can accomplish much of that on the trainer. BIKE - My plan for the bike is two power sessions(VO2 & FTP) during the week and longer rides on my weekends. I already know that I will have some schedule limitations so my thought is to ride above race watts on all my long rides. I have a window scheduled in for a block of riding September 6 - 9. On a classic EN plan, that would be the end of week 17. Run - I started running again this week. I will be at 15 - 18 miles for the week. All of it is Z1 or slower. I plan to run frequently, 6 - 7 times a week. Most of my running will be easy and I am not afraid of doing a bunch on the treadmill for efficiency of time. On my longer runs, I am going to push some intervals during the run into the half Mary pace. I was thinking 1/2 mile segments at that pace. Swim - Swimming strength is important. I will get this done.
I agree 100%, while you may not of had your top level fitness for this race, you absolutely executed well with what you had. And that’s a huge step forward for you.
With the advent of Zwift and indoor training, there’s no excuses on those long rides. If you tell the team you’re going to be there we will rally. I have done multiple four and five hour rides there with plenty of company. It’s not a direct substitute but it’s pretty darn close.End it is the best absolutely would carryover to Maryland.
Here are my thoughts for you:
The bike. To quality sessions during the week each with a short break run would be great. But we can rides could be longer and easy or shorter and tempo. But short I mean three hours done mostly at ABP. If you’re going to go longer than three hours you should be locked in the aero bars are going pretty easy, something like .7 down to .66 end it is the worst absolutely would carryover to Maryland.
The Run: The frequency really matters. I’m not too worried about your ability to do more work at this time of year. Moving to half marathon pace for specific intervals works, but so too does running hills. I would almost rather you do your long run at TRP on rolling terrain, and we use that Wednesday one to have some intervals in it. Something like 4 x 3’ @5k Pace.
The Swim: I think your push at the end really did you do well and Placid, and I expect the same from Maryland. I would say just establish a swim baseline that fits your schedule so you can consistently get into swims regardless of the distance a week. That way you are prepared to ramp it up when the opportunity presents itself.
@Coach Patrick , I have been on a very steady training diet. Although, during the last two weeks I worked every day, I maintained strong run training. Training for this race began on 08/06/18. Over those weeks I have mainly focused on the run. My heart rate after IMLP was pretty high and showed itself on the run. I wanted to build more run strength and get my heart rate back down to racing levels. Over the past four weeks I have recorded 36 miles, 40 miles, 53 miles, 40 miles and this week will be over 30. I rode three 4 hour bike rides this wee, two were back to back. Yesterday, I ran my 18 miler. I followed the EN Pacing model for the long run 30%, 50%, 20%. My heart rate has settled back to race levels. The first 30% were under 130 bpm and I had to intentionally slow down to keep my pace near 8:45. The next 50% I moved the pace up to 8:25 and the HR was 134 bpm. I finished the final 4.2 miles with an 8:12 pace and a HR of 139 bpm. Even with the big run yesterday, I am ready to run today. The pools have opened and I will be getting quality swim sessions. I believe I will be arriving for the race in top fitness and super mental fitness.
I have a question for you about racing this course. I know that IMMD bike and run courses are flat, Florida flat. I listened to you and read in the forums about riding a flat course. I intend to stand to stretch multiple times throughout the bike to make sure I keep my back and hips flexible for the run. The run is where I really have a question. Is there something you suggestion for the run to keep everything loose for as long as possible.
Sounds like you’ve been able to manage the transition fairly well and that your body has come around.
two things to think about. First, race day pretty girl said in earlier than you would like so we have to be mentally prepared. You will also likely need a few more calories than normal because of lower glycogen stores, so have extra calories and caffeine calories available in case.
my courses are tricky and that you need to stay aero but still keep the pressure on the petals. Standing and moving around every 30 minutes certainly helps. The run is a different beast. It’s not that you get tight, but rather your body starts to hurt from the same foreman position all the time. You may want to follow the same guidance is the bike and make sure you stop every 30 mins for a quick stretch, maybe touch your toes and try and crack your back? Something just to break the monotony. Sometimes aid stations could do that but if not you can do it.
Comments
Remember, you are welcome to do this week on your road bike is well. I don’t care what you ride, just as long as your legs go around and round and it takes a long time!
Weatherwise it looks like Wednesday might be the most challenging with a delayed start. You might want to run early while it warms up/dries up.
If you are successful at getting all three disciplines in for Tuesday Wednesday Thursday then by Friday you’ll likely be a little tired. In the event that Tuesday and Wednesday go as planned, you might want to modify Thursday such that you are ready for that bigger bike session on Friday.
For example, you could do an easy two lap lake run and then get on your bike and ride down the descent. Climb up the return trip into town twice and call it a day. That should be close to 40 miles but only half of it is work. Finish things off with a nice long afternoon swim that could double as your long swim before the race rehearsal on Friday morning. Does that make make sense?
I felt good leading into the race Saturday morning. I had a goal for the race and hope if fit in well as a training day for IMLP. My first goal was to swim well. I swam 37:10 which was not my PR, but it was a good swim. My garmin shows I swam an extra 100 yards. I knew I had got a little off course and that is not a bad amount. Overall, I was pretty straight. Considering how few times I have actually found the pool this year I feel like this was a good swim. I got out of the water and had an OK T-1. I was 1:57. When I got on the bike and started moving it was cold. The air temp was only 50 and it didn't ever get much above that. My quads were cold, tight and they hurt. As I rode, I hoped that would go away. When I set my race plan, I planned to ride at 200W. When I checked my HR, I was flirting with 150 bpm. So, I adjusted the watts down, I wanted to run well. I rode what I had planned to be my Ironman watts. Those watts were very fast on this course. Even though it was cold and I didn't feel like drinking I tried to stick to my hydration plan. By the end of the bike I had almost made it through 4 bottles so 1.5 bottles per hour. There was a logical result to that volume and I had to go. I had some trouble starting but finally around mile 45 I got it done. Thankful for a long hill. However, 1:54 of zero watts did mess with my VI for that section. After mile 35, we were riding into a pretty strong headwind. My watts jumped up from low 170's to the 180's. I didn't think that was too high but I can't afford that at Placid. By the time I got to T-2 I had to go again. That accounts for my 3:31 T-2. I got on the run and everything felt good. I tried not to over work the first mile. My HR was a little higher than I thought it should be but I felt food. I ran pretty strong through mile 8. That is where the need to go again was becoming strong. I had to stop during mile 10 and go, but I was able to get back on it and get my pace back to 8:04. Mile 12 was awful. I was pushing hard but there was a strong headwind. My pace for that mile dropped to but my HR climbed to 150 bpm. The final mile went well. I pushed through the finish. So, for a training day I was right at 360 Tss. My bike had an IF of .71 and my run was at .8 IF. I took today, Sunday off.
For IMLP, since your rode the course this weekend, could you give me your thoughts on the bike course. It seemed much slower to me with more work. There are areas on the course where rider focus is paramount.(White Face O &
As you know, the new course is actually the old old course. I found it to be about five minutes slower for time but I think it is mentally much easier. The layout of the terrain is different but all of the fast sections are still fast.
I personally was writing it on my road bike so I don’t have a good deal of comparative data. That said my ride times were only a few minutes slower than expected. It might be worthwhile for you to connect with Jeremy to see what his data said even though he was a first timer on the course. I think spending time in the out and back to get better at managing the hills and anticipating the smaller rollers makes all the difference.
Idon’t mind you riding 10 Watts higher for 20 seconds if it’s going to push you over a little hill and keep your speed up over 22 miles an hour. But we can’t afford to do that into a hill like the one where you playing out of white face and move right into more climbing. I hope that makes sense.
I am in a very good mental state post race. I am looking for a few races to finish the summer. Very seriously looking at IMMD. I may come back to Lake Placid September 9th and do the 70.3.
When you have a chance, please review my race and give me your analysis.
Swim - https://www.strava.com/activities/1721390462
Bike - https://www.strava.com/activities/1721462545
Run - https://www.strava.com/activities/1721392141
Thank you again for sharing your house and the lake with our girls. They had a blast!
Overall a good race, just need to figure out what the "decline" was on the bike and the run. Was it fitness or nutrition? I think you paced better than before, and did a great job maximizing what you had to make the race.
Let me know what you think!
~ Patrick
Ps I think we might need to come up with a super short "build to race" plan for you so you can avoid all the usual interruptions that get in your way. And you could keep your confidence up too!!!
Thank you. I feel like I raced well and especially well based on my training. Since January, my average training week was 10.25 hours. That includes the big week in Spain and my own 18 hour week. I think missing the critical multiple 100 mile rides did play an impact on the bike. When I had a window to get those rides in, the weather turned cold and rainy. I got some excellent course previews but I missed the big miles. My post racing blues have not dominated my view of the race. This was my second best race at this venue. I have done a bunch of analyzing. I was afraid of the bike course. In the past, I have hurt my run by pushing too hard on the first loop. You have detailed this to me in your previous analysis. This year, I don't think I had the strength leading into the race that would have allowed me to push any harder and run. I think another part of the wattage decline on the bike was due to trying to get rid of(pee) the much higher amount of fuel I drank. I went through all of my Infinit which should have totaled 7 bottles. I drank 2 to 3 more bottles of GA. It may have been 4. I went a bunch on the bike but I am still not very good at getting that done. I needed to coast. When look deep into my power file, I can find a lot of Zero watts segments where I was coasting to pee. Those all lasted 30 seconds to a minute. I know I went four times on the second half. Even when I remove the segments descending to Keene, that still leaves seven minutes of zero watts. Those were moving but not fast. As far as nutrition, I knew I was going to drink more so I didn't think I needed full strength bottles of infinit. I was planning on 300 calories per hour. I used one scoop of infinit per 21 ounces. I will be increasing that concentration but I will still be planning to drink 8 - 10 bottles of fluid. During the run, I followed your instructions and drank Gatorade at every aid station. I was still drinking as I ran out on the second lap. I took one caffeine gel when I got on the flat passed Lisa G's. I think I am going to have to get more gels into me before mile 13. I felt the decline on the run hit me hard at mile 16. The blister on my right foot hurt and I lost focus.
Moving forward, I have signed up for IMMD. I did this because I really want to race again. I know my fitness level is very high and I can get race ready in time. The IMMD course is flat so I really have to get my bike ready. I can accomplish much of that on the trainer.
BIKE - My plan for the bike is two power sessions(VO2 & FTP) during the week and longer rides on my weekends. I already know that I will have some schedule limitations so my thought is to ride above race watts on all my long rides. I have a window scheduled in for a block of riding September 6 - 9. On a classic EN plan, that would be the end of week 17.
Run - I started running again this week. I will be at 15 - 18 miles for the week. All of it is Z1 or slower. I plan to run frequently, 6 - 7 times a week. Most of my running will be easy and I am not afraid of doing a bunch on the treadmill for efficiency of time. On my longer runs, I am going to push some intervals during the run into the half Mary pace. I was thinking 1/2 mile segments at that pace.
Swim - Swimming strength is important. I will get this done.
Let me Know.
Ed
The frequency really matters. I’m not too worried about your ability to do more work at this time of year. Moving to half marathon pace for specific intervals works, but so too does running hills. I would almost rather you do your long run at TRP on rolling terrain, and we use that Wednesday one to have some intervals in it. Something like 4 x 3’ @5k Pace.
The Swim: I think your push at the end really did you do well and Placid, and I expect the same from Maryland. I would say just establish a swim baseline that fits your schedule so you can consistently get into swims regardless of the distance a week. That way you are prepared to ramp it up when the opportunity presents itself.
@Coach Patrick , I have been on a very steady training diet. Although, during the last two weeks I worked every day, I maintained strong run training. Training for this race began on 08/06/18. Over those weeks I have mainly focused on the run. My heart rate after IMLP was pretty high and showed itself on the run. I wanted to build more run strength and get my heart rate back down to racing levels. Over the past four weeks I have recorded 36 miles, 40 miles, 53 miles, 40 miles and this week will be over 30. I rode three 4 hour bike rides this wee, two were back to back. Yesterday, I ran my 18 miler. I followed the EN Pacing model for the long run 30%, 50%, 20%. My heart rate has settled back to race levels. The first 30% were under 130 bpm and I had to intentionally slow down to keep my pace near 8:45. The next 50% I moved the pace up to 8:25 and the HR was 134 bpm. I finished the final 4.2 miles with an 8:12 pace and a HR of 139 bpm. Even with the big run yesterday, I am ready to run today. The pools have opened and I will be getting quality swim sessions. I believe I will be arriving for the race in top fitness and super mental fitness.
I have a question for you about racing this course. I know that IMMD bike and run courses are flat, Florida flat. I listened to you and read in the forums about riding a flat course. I intend to stand to stretch multiple times throughout the bike to make sure I keep my back and hips flexible for the run. The run is where I really have a question. Is there something you suggestion for the run to keep everything loose for as long as possible.
Sounds like you’ve been able to manage the transition fairly well and that your body has come around.
two things to think about. First, race day pretty girl said in earlier than you would like so we have to be mentally prepared. You will also likely need a few more calories than normal because of lower glycogen stores, so have extra calories and caffeine calories available in case.
my courses are tricky and that you need to stay aero but still keep the pressure on the petals. Standing and moving around every 30 minutes certainly helps. The run is a different beast. It’s not that you get tight, but rather your body starts to hurt from the same foreman position all the time. You may want to follow the same guidance is the bike and make sure you stop every 30 mins for a quick stretch, maybe touch your toes and try and crack your back? Something just to break the monotony. Sometimes aid stations could do that but if not you can do it.