Coach Patricks October Update / Cabo Race Thoughts...
Time for another training update!!!!
October saw me taper and then race the World Championships in Hawaii. You can read the full race report over here.
Because I didn't really do much running on the day, I had very little residual fatigue. After all, a 2.4-mile swim plus a 112-mile bike plus a 10-mile run just sounds like a big race rehearsal, right? 
With that in mind sat down to think about what my future was going to hold for next season. I had promised my family that I would not be doing in Ironman next year due to multiple training camps and other commitments. I had several friends who are going to be racing Ironman Los Cabos in Mexico on November 12, and they were very insistent that I join them.
After doing doing some research on what it means to complete multiple Ironman events in a season, and the optimal window for maintaining fitness between IMs (about 4 weeks seems the "easiest" to balance) I decided to go for it.
As a result, the last few weeks have been sort of strange. Here is how I have handled maintaining my fitness into my third and final Ironman of the year… All within three months!!!! 
Note: You can see all my training on Strava here.
The Swim: I have continued to swim at a very regular rate. I'm still putting up volume very similar to my peak weeks this year using my Vasa Ergometer. Since there is no "cost" for my legs with this type of work, I have relied on the swim to keep my metabolic rate high and body composition in good order.
Looking at some of my key benchmark workouts, I'm only 30 to 40 seconds behind what I did leading into my race for Hawaii where I had a fantastic swim so I am excited.
The race in Cabo is an open water ocean swim, single loop. It remains to be seen whether or not it is skin suit or wetsuit legal.
The Bike: I took one week off right away and spent most of the time managing my body composition because I knew I couldn't really train. At the end of that week I snuck in a few rides on Zwift just to get the legs moving. My first order of business on the bike was to put in a few decent workouts so that I could get the blood plasma volume back up again (per this article from @Rich Stanbaugh -- thanks!) . This consisted of a steady ride a four hours, followed a day later by an ABP/Tempo ride of 2 1/2 hours.
Once again, all of the numbers look good and while I was initially fatigued thing started to come around.
I followed up those longer workouts with a few Zwift races for some high-end fitness. I was able to put up some strong showings given the intersection of my body composition, my FTP, and my post race rest.
That quickly had to dwindle as I needed a two more decent rides before the race. That type of training culminated with a long ride just about 13 days out from the race. Now everything is maintenance mode and race specific with nutrition.
The Run: This is been the X factor, as my body feels the run more than anything else. Since Hawaii has been so cold here I've only run outside a few times my paces seemed pretty normal. I have done the remainder of my runs indoors on a treadmill with the space heater turned on. My longest run was an hour and a half at high temperature and felt pretty good.
Given my experience in Hawaii on the run, I'm very wary of running with intensity during the race because Cabo is hot. So I'm not looking for fireworks there, only consistency. If anything, this is the biggest gray area of my training where I will need to rely a great deal on experience and mental strength.
Cabo Race Plan
Since I'm already doing this, I figured why not sneak this in right here!!!!
Rhe reason why I'm going to Cabo is that there are four slots available, but there are only 70 people registered in my age group. Given that my age group typically has 350 to 400 people in it, the odds are stacked in my favor, but I still have to race! Given my relative strength and my late-season fatigue my plan is as follows.
Actually Race the Swim!!! @Dave Tallo has promised to get a massive tattoo should I actually race the swim and get a good draft. I can't think of a greater incentive! I have been doing some higher tempo work on the Vasa to be ready for an aggressive start and hope to make a decent group that I can draft off of for the bulk of the swim. Given that Cabos is an ocean swim and likely not wetsuit legal, I would be happy with anywhere between a 1:05 and 1:10 which seems pretty consistent with other times there.
The Bike – Keep the Pressure on All Day
True to form, I'm going to do my best to lay out the most consistent race I can. The X factor will be the heat increasing 10 to 15° degrees while we are out there on the open road. In general the winds are not too strong down there...and if the course remains the same...and my fitness is truly where it is....and....and...and...
I should be able to put up a very strong top five bike split. My goal here is to start smart and have a strong first lap when the heat is lower. As the pressure builds all day I plan on conserving a bit on the steeper hills to avoid having a breakdown at the end of the bike or at the start of the run.
The hardest part about the race will be managing the nutrition where the aid stations are not super well-organized and often run out of Gatorade. I have a backup plan, but it could still be a challenge.
The Run – Engaged and Steady!
My biggest lesson learned from racing in Kona is that just running by how I feel isn't good enough. I need to be using my watch and the constraints of time to keep myself on schedule and make intermediary goals that keep me on pace for my target.
I have set these up for myself with my training and I look forward to following them on race day. In addition I will try to use the four lap course to my mental advantage.
- First lap will be about conserving heartbeats and easing into the run.
- Laps two and three will about staying steady.
- The fourth in final lab is just getting it done. I don't know what "suck it up Buttercup" is in Spanish, but I expect to hear it a lot on that final loop.
Of course, lots of extra nutrition on hand just in case I need something to balance out the aid stations but my understanding is the run aid stations are pretty good. The X factor here is that they use regular Gatorade which could prove to be a challenge.
OK...off to pack and prepare for the trip, see you guys on the other side!!!
~ Coach P
Comments
Good skill and no poopies to you Patrick! I will be following you and Rich (and the rest of EN'rs) in sunny Cali. Not racing the Vegas marathon equals extra time with family and a Rams game! Go Rams! Go EN!
Have a great race. I'll be following as usual.
BIKE
If you didnt see my comments on another race plan for IMLC remember the bike is only 107 miles so hit that climb to the airport on the 2nd lap hard if you can because you can recover going back into town and to transition.
RUN
Did they change the course again? Last year it was 3 laps. The 70.3 people did a modified 2 laps.
How many qualifying slots are there for the Ironman World Championship and how are they distributed?There are 40 slots for the Ironman World Championship that will be distributed to age groups according to the formula set down by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
New run course and finish. Construction down town, finish is near the Hyatt. 4 loops now.
Not sure - but last time I scraped the registrants, here is is what the roll down would look like. It will change (of course).