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IM70.3 Florida - And Then There Were THREE (Weeks that is)!

Easy recovery day after yesterday's race.  Slept in for sure.  Swam 3100 yards in the evening but no speed.  Also did 60 min recovery ride on the trainer.  Black Death, my 2012 BMC TM01 is back home with a complete upgrade including new cockpit, complete SRAM Red Groupo including crank, deraillers, cassette, chain, 4 blips, etc.  Brand new rear brake.  I'll be racing her at Florida.

BTW, if you guys are texting each other with these deets on Group Me, let me know how to join.
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  • :)  Legs are really heavy today.  Last week was over 1000 TSS.  Even though Fla is not an A race I don't want to be flat(or get a flat).  I don't want to do a full taper but I need a plan.  I may front load the week with bike/run and swim Thursday Friday.  I will consult a coach and get my moneys worth. :)
  • @Robert Sabo - I'm going to 'pump up the volume' this week and next to start transitioning to IM training.  Sunday April 1 will NOT be a rest day.  I'll taper in starting Monday April 2.  I want a solid performance but don't need to have my 'A' game for this race.  
     
  • @Paul Hough great result on your race; sounds like your primed for some racing:o)

    @Robert Sabo I did about 1000 TSS last week as well, took Monday off, and still a bit shaky today.

    Pool is closed this week, so all bike and run for me.  Rode 1:15 this morning with 60' around race pace.  Easy 4.5 mile run this evening.  Hoping my bike shop's Wed night ride starts back up tomorrow ~ gonna try and go with the A group, which will def be my FTP work for the week.  May get another easy run in the morning.  Times a ticking by now!
  • After race rehearsal Sunday I took Monday as rest.  I swam today after work, did about 3000 mostly technique and then paddles for strength.  I did FTP test tonight and had 5pt bump.  Didn't dread the test as much as last time.  Last time I over did it out the gates, and blew up at 14 min.  This time I saved some meat for the last five minutes and nailed it.  Feeling pretty good.  Run test for me Thursday.  I will bump volume up this weekend and next week through that following Monday of race week and then slide on into Haines rested.
    @Robert Sabo I am technically on weak 12 of 20 for Chatt70.3.  Race week of Haines I will "fast forward" the plan to week 20 for the formal taper, then switch back to week 15 after the race. I think I am like you all...not my A race but I want to do better than last year.    
  • This is not going to be my A race either. I haven't raced this early in the season before so it will be a good indicator of where I am.  Racing Chatt 70.3 in May.  I still haven't made it outside yet! Enjoying Zwift, though, and it's convenience.  I'm getting over a cold/cough/allergies and hoping to kick this soon.  Skipped my swim on Monday for some additional rest/recovery from this crud. Tried to run yesterday morning and that just brought on more hacking and my HR was higher than usual so I shut it down early. I had a decent ride this morning on Zwift and will do my run this afternoon.  
  • So @Sabra Gonzalez @Jeff Horn @Robert Sabo - we all have a built-in excuse; not our A race. :)  Still, I've scoped out the competition and would like to make the top 5 in my AG.  The top 2 look unbeatable and there are a number of podium contenders so it will take a great day to get in there.  

    Tue AM - ran 6 instead of a scheduled 7.5.  It was 72 degrees at 0 dark 30, and very humid.  I made it to within 15 seconds of my third 3-minute Z5 run when my left groin cramped again (happened a few wks ago) and I had to walk.  I was able to restart but then I felt the heat and could only jog it in.  I lost 6 lbs on this run.
    Tue PM - 2000 SCY in the pool with 8 x 100 and 12 x 50 speed.  Felt good.  Then to the gym for 45 mins weights.
    Wed AM - 4 mile run starting easy and getting faster each mile.  
    Wed PM - 20 min race warm-up then 11.77 mile climb in the French Pyrenees up Tourmalet out of Luz-Saint Savuor.  It took me 1hr 45 mins to trudge up the mountain, but gained 4600 ft elevation in that short route.  There were some sections that kept me well over FTP.  Completing this means I've graduated from Rouvy "Elite" to "Regional Class".  Now I have a whole new set of tasks to get to "Professional".

    New plans for this Saturday.  I'm joining a couple of guys to ride the Fl 70.3 route and I'll do one loop of the run after that.  
  • @Paul Hough be sure to let us know how the course looks!  

    No excuses for me; this is an A race ~ though come to think of it, I don't think I've ever raced any other way ~ reckon classification has more to do with prep than how you go after it on that day.  I have lots of sprints coming up, including the Saturday after Florida, and those are definitely each A races for me too:o)  Only difference in training I think will be breaking up some of the longer work into shorter sessions.  Probably won't do any bikes over 2 hours or runs over 1.  Anyway, keeping the CTL up, looking forward to getting a few swims in next week after the pool opens back up, and maintaining fitness throughout.  Would be nice to drop back to about 185lbs as well...been swinging up for some reason; could be the chinese food:o)
  • @Paul Hough I have been on a podium once in my tri career -- last year at a local sprint race.  I think it was because there were only 2 people in our age group LOL.  I have a bad track record of losing all mental fortitude in 70.3/IM runs.  While I don't have any aspirations of podium or top 5 in this race, I think that a big win for me will be to conquer the run and beat my time from last year--where I did a lot of walking.  I added this race late as a way to meet some EN peeps and get my family to the fun zone in Orlando.   I certainly have much better hurt locker tolerance and fitness this year after being on the right plan.
       
    I'm curious as a racer, what your strategy is for run pacing through each loop of the run.  I've read the wiki on 1/2 run pacing and like the strategy about miles 1-3 easier, 4-10 steady and final push 11-13, but I wonder how that changes with this particular loop with the hills.  Thanks.  
  • @Jeff Horn - this will be my 5th Florida 70.3, but only 2nd at the Haines City venue.  Last time I had a 20 minute mechanical on the bike and suffered badly on the run.  The EN run prescription for a HIM is as you describe, but for me it will depend on the weather of the day.  There is a long hill early on this course, so you need to really go slow on the first loop up, continue at the easy pace, then try to work the long glide downhill until you get to the flat.  You are going to hit that hill 3 times and you need to approach like the bike ... constant watts, not constant speed.  I've never made a podium in 12 IMs, but I've been on it about a half-dozen times for 70.3.  It's just a better distance for me, although IM is special.

    Thu AM - great weather, cool and dry resulted in an exceptional 15 mile run for the old man.  100 days until Ironman Haugesund!!

    Thu PM - 45 mins at Anytime Fitness
  • @Jeff Horn I didn't do so hot on this run course last year either, though it was my fastest IM 1/2 marathon at just under 2 hours.  Saying that, I really think I should/could be 10 minutes faster than that.  For me, two hills stick out in my memory; the first is a really short one right as you make a right turn at .5 miles onto Wood Ave, but I think if you over gas this one, you are setting yourself up for a mucher harder than necessary effort on the long one.  I'm pretty sure I ended up walking a good portion of the long one on each loop.  Looking at my Strava data from last year, looks like the "climbing" part is about 1.2 miles long from .5-1.7, which gives you another 3.2 per lap to get into a groove and run steady.

    I've really been working on a short step faster but comfortable cadence when climbing this year...taking shorter steps seems to slow me down to where a I think I should be and doesn't crush my legs...I just start stretching out the quick strides as I crest the hill.  This year's plan is to be conservative on the first lap until I hit the top of the longer hill, then get into a comfortable pace...if I'm too hot coming out of the gate, I'm really going to gear down and regroup before hitting the hills.  Come 2d and 3d laps, I'll have a much better idea of how I'm feeling and will gauge my efforts accordingly.  Nevertheless, I need to convince myself that keeping the effort controlled through this section is going to pay dividends on the rest of the loop.  We shall see...

    I've been banging around some bike pacing thoughts as well to set myself up for miles 25-45 or so (the hilly part).  I'm really curious to see what the wind situation is this year...I think I took it too easy while riding with the wind last year, but still struggled coming back.  I'm in a much better place bike-wise this year so we'll see...I've even thrown around the idea of starting farther back in swim to get more slip streaming, but don't think a rolling start is going to spread things out like wave starts, so probably not much to gain there.  Currently plan to start at back of 30-35 group and try to find a good set of feet to sit on through the entire swim.  

    Thoughts?

    Mark
  • Thanks for the pacing plans guys.  Last year I had a real good bike split, but you know what CoachP says about a good bike split when you walk the run LOL.  Looks like I overcooked the front half a little compared to the second as far as watts etc. go.  This may have been my downfall.  Will try to even it out a little this year.  

    Did my Stryd critical power run test last night.  Its funny how little top end speed I have.  So now I have Stryd zone on lock down.  May try to run hills on my next 3-4 runs and see how holding power goes as opposed to pace / HR.
    Working tomorrow so trying for long bike ride tonight and Sunday.   
  • Fri AM - 5 mile run
    Fri PM - 3400 SCY - longest swim this year.

    @Jeff Horn - You don't need top-end speed in long course.  Just running is often sufficient.
    @Mark Hickman - As long as it's not miserably humid, I'm going to hammer that bike to just a shade to the soft side of my 'could' split.  :)
  • Saturday Race Rehearsal on the course - full bike + 1 loop of the run.   Swam 2500 yards later in the day (11,000 total this week).   100 mile Gran Fondo on tap for tomorrow!   Course preview below:

    Distance - I had it at 57 miles.  Between Strava, Rouvy, and MapMyRide, I see it posted anywhere between 56-57 miles.  I wasn't the only one who has it long.  But one loop of the run course was only 4.31 miles on my Garmin 920 so will be just under 13 miles if that holds.

    Elevation - who the freak knows.  People have posted a range from 514 ft to 1453 ft net gain.  How the heck can these Garmins come in with such a tremendous range by a factor of three!  My Garmin 800 said it was 1373...that seemed about right.   Regardless, it's not a tough course, but the first big climb down on the bottom of the course will get your attention.

    Road conditions - overall pretty good, and one of the crap roads from two years ago was repaved (East Hinson Ave early on).   The worst road is Lake Marion.  It's fine as you travel north on it, but shortly after it makes a hard left and is pretty much going due west, it turns into a very rough chip seal...maybe three miles of this crap.  Overall, I would give the FL 70.3 road course a B+.

    How to ride it.  I would suggest an admin to moderate pace going out of town, get a drink, get settled in, watch for the idiots, etc.  When you come by the H.S. and take a left onto 30th street, then it is time to get into the aerobars.  You'll have a slight downhill grade to East Hinson.  From there it's almost perfectly flat with just a few short hills up until 25 miles.  You want to go strong, while keeping in mind that the hills are in the 2nd half. When you are about 23/24 miles in, you'll see an aqua blue quarry lake to your right and Bok Tower past that high up on a hill.  As you pass the quarry, the road swings to the right and you will see the biggest climb staring at you.  When you pass that, you'll shoot downhill and take a right onto Scenic 17 north.  For the next 10 miles you'll be doing rollers.  You can do these seated but standing on a few of them will stretch the legs out.  Just before 40 you'll turn onto Kokomo Rd and you'll have a few more rollers ahead of you.  When you turn off Kokomo Rd onto Tyner - that is pretty much the end of the hills and you are back on the flat ... although the last part of Lake Marion is going to suck do the crap road.   From Tyner on it's time to work the flat, STAY in aero and ride your SHOULD pace up until you come by the High School again and take a left turn to go back into town.  Now you're almost there and the bike race is done...ease up, spin the legs a bit, and start thinking about T2.  Watch for the people flying the last 2 miles as if the race ends at T2.

    Run route -  you'll start on the flat path by the lake and do a little admin loop with one really steep block going up Wood Ave.  When you get to 10th you'll be going downhill and see a really big one coming at you.  What you need to know is that after you crest that big hill, you'll go back down and have another really big one to climb before you turn off 10th street.  Alta Vista is fairly flat, but you are still climbing after you turn left on 5th St.  The peak elevation of the course is reached when you reach Orange Ct.  Now it's flat, then you'll start a long downhill on Peninsular Drive until it flattens out.  Bottomline - you are climbing for a little over 2 miles on the first part of each loop.  Do NOT push this portion on your first lap.  EN guidance is to take it easy for the first 3 miles on a HIM.  I would adjust that and suggest that your run race starts when you make the turn onto Peninsular.  Likewise, if you have anything left on the last loop, the time to start it is again when you hit Peninsular and start going downhill.  

    Hope this helps and you guys had a great RR!
  • 25 ok or do I need to switch to my cassette with a 28? I have a compact crank.

    Sent from my iPhone
  • 25 w a compact crank will climb any hill on this course.  The biggest one is only a medium pitch.  There is nothing super steep.
  • Thanks @Paul Hough


    Sent from my iPhone
  • Rode on Zwiift 3hours at over HIM pace and then 10k run Brick.
    Checking my bike and equipment for the upcoming race.
  • Florida Gran Fondo today ... 95.8 miles with 2760 ft. gain. All out effort on 4 timed sections of 3, 5, 3 and 5 miles.  Brutal.  First ride on rebuilt 2012 BMC TM01.  New cockpit, crank, and Sram etap 11 speed group set. Will race this bike at Fl 70 3.  Might run a few miles tonight ... TBD.
  • Paul, thanks for the detailed course review; seems pretty in line with what I remember.  My garmin had me at about 1400ft elevation gain for the bike and just shy of 600ft for the run.  Run distance was 12.9, so that lines up right with your 4.3 mile loop.  

    Rolling the Fondo definitely must've made for a long and eventful weekend.

    Rode 3 hours on Zwift today, with 2:40 locked in at 205w, which is right about where I plan to shoot for FL.  Ran 7.25 in an hour after, with 500ft gain, so feeling pretty good about that too.  My neighborhood is laid out with hills that should be preparing me well for this course...think the hill going out of the neighborhood hits about 13% at one point, and have a few others that are in the 7-10% range.  Felt really good afterwards.  Haven't swam in a week due to pool closure, so I'll be there bright and early.  Friend in town tomorrow night through Friday, so will have to get it in where I can and not get gain 5lbs.  Regardless, I very happy with how the OS and training have gone, and I feel ready to get after it....Now I just need race day to be a nice cloudy 60 degrees:o)

    Looking forward to meeting you all soon.

    Mark
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