TTT Pacing
I've done a HIM and Oly distance before, and between this and the race execution discussions I'm pretty confident in the execution strategy.
That said, I'm doing TTT Ohio in a couple months and not sure what to do there. Friday evening is a super sprint...250M swim, 5 mile bike, 1 mile run. Saturday has 2 Olys. First at 7AM and the other at 3PM. Sunday is a HIM.
Anyone that's done a TTT before care to share their thoughts/experience on pacing/execution?
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The contrast between Saturday morning's energy level and Sunday morning's energy level is marked. And not in a good way. People who treat the two Olys on Saturday like Olympic distance races and knackered by the time Sunday rolls around. You can make big gains (and I mean BIG) if you think about TTT as all about getting to that 13.1 mile run on Sunday in shape that you can actually run it (not fast, just run the whole thing).
The course is TOUGH. The bike course is different for each race, but equally challenging. Tons of hills and lots of turns. The run course is the same each time - out and back for each of the Olympic distance races and out and back twice for Sunday. I did the race in 2008 and in 2010. Both years parts of that run course are like running in a dry creek bed. Seriously tough. Hilly as heck too.
Pace yourself. Eat well between races. Lie down between races. And above all else, pace yourself. :-)
---Ann.
Hi Jeremy.
First off, you're going to have a great time. The HFP folks put on a great race.
Have done TTT 2x, once as a team and once solo. Team was a lot of fun, solo was very tough mentally.
As others have posted, you will be well and truly shagged by Sunday, so expect that to be the case. Also, FWIW, recommend you take Friday easy and ignore the desire to hammer and see what you can do. It will come back to haunt you on the run on Sat afternoon and again on Sunday.
The prior post about treating this like an IM overall is very good advice. If you're looking to do well overall, it will be critical that you can run as much of Sunday's run as possible. Be aware that there is a stand-alone HIM (Little Smokies) going on at the same time, so you'll want to keep an eye on the TTT folks within the field and focus on them as opposed to the fresher folks from the other race.
In terms of race/equipment/food execution, consider setting up all your race nutrition needs in advance for the whole weekend so you don't have to mess around with it during the events - esp. between races on Saturday. You'll want to get off and stay off your feet as much as possible.
Same deal with race kit. Nothing worse than pulling on a likely wet (or if not, then crusted) and very rank set of kit for Sunday when you know you're going to be out there all day.
As others noted, the bike courses are very tough w/ many short, steep rollers as well as at least one longer climb. Bring your climbing legs and gears -- compact 34x25 at least - 26 or 27 would be better, esp on Sunday. Your legs will be thrashed and it will help. Consider doing a lot of trail running; the Lampblack course is very rough terrain -- think running on Int/Adv single-track MTB course with lots of loose gravel/rocks. If it rains, it will become mud. (and if rain is forecast, bring extra shoes for the later races/days).
Last, in terms of training, consider going out and doing a moderate/moderate hard ride or brick in the morning, taking 2-3 hours off, and then repeating it later in the same day. This closely mimics what you are likely to feel like on Saturday and proved valuable, mentally, to our team the year we did that. In fact, we went to an OLY race on a Sat AM, went and biked ~40 later that afternoon and did a long swim/ride on the following Sunday AM in final prep. It burned a whole weekend, but it helped -- so if you can squeeze that in to the rest of your life it's worthwhile.
One other thing I'll add, which surprised me, but which may or may not happen to you or others: It was VERY hard to sleep, esp on Sat night. The level of exertion is quite high and you may find yourself overheated or sweating and with a high HR as your body tries to recover overnight on an accelerated basis. That and the fact that your head knows you have a HIM to do on Sunday can combine to make Saturday a very restless evening. YMMV, but happened to me and my teammates when we were solos and a team - and it degraded us all by Sunday. Not sure if there is much you can do to prepare for that other than being in very good shape and rested, but just good for your head to know in advance that it may happen to you (and if it does, its not some deadly illness)
Overall, if you are using TTT to prep for an IM, it is great training, esp for IMLP in terms of where it is placed in the calendar at 8 wks out. Bear in mind that you will be fried after and it may take you over a week to get back to your normal training loads.
Good luck and have fun!
Tim
please post a race report once completed...
Let me echo Tim's excellent points about food and kit. You will be wearing the same singlet for all 4 races. But bring a fresh pair of shorts for each. As soon as you are done, head in and rinse out the singlet. It will be muddy (even if the weather is nice, the water we swim in is not!). Worse comes to worse, dry it out with the hair dryer in your room before heading out again. Also, bring your food with you. The race site is not near any town. Bring a cooler of food into your room and fuel up.
Also, really good point about the gearing. I have a 28 in back. Even if you don't use it, it is nice to have the insurance. There is a hill on Sunday (the gorilla? Godzilla? help me out here folks) that is a heck of a hill. I am happy to have the 28.
Finally, yes, come to the race well rested. I don't sleep well on the Saturday night either. And you need all the help you can get on Sunday.
I am signed up to do it again this year. It is a great time! A great sense of community as we all suffer out there together. You will have a ball!
---Ann.
One thought on preparation. I'll be entering the HIM training plan soon, but since you all say I should execute per an IM, should I also train per one? Or at least double up a couple workouts as suggested to project the Saturday races?
Great Q, Jeremy, though I suspect it may be best directed to RnP in the macro thread or to Ann, who is doing this again this year.
All I can add from my experience, is follows:
* When I've done TTT in the past, it was en route to an IM, and not an end in and of itself. As such, I went in knowing that my biggest block of IM training was to follow it and used the event to jumpstart that effort and log what amounted to a very big weekend of catered brutality.
* That said, I have each time in the lead-up to TTT done at least 1 or 2 long rides and runs (100 mi ride, 2.5 hr run) PRIOR to the race as well as the stacked weekends mentioned in the earlier post. IMO, the latter is more valuable than purely IM training for the TTT as an event. In EN-speak, if you can fit in Big Day or Big Weekend events to get more successive volme days that may be a good approach?
I would certainly do several 2 hour runs (3 maybe?) but have never done anything longer than that for TTT. If you can, I would also do a couple of longer rides - if you do 3 hour rides as your long ride for a half, I would do 1 or 2 four hour rides for TTT if you can. I am not that strong a rider and was on the bike closer to 4 hours than to 3 hours for the half both times I was there. I think Tim's idea of a Big Day or Big Weekend is a good one.
See what else the coaches might say. I'll be curious too!
---Ann.
As a TTT newbie racing it for the first time, this is all excellent stuff! Side question: In the second Oly on Saturday, do people wear wetsuits? It seems like the speed advantage would be wiped out by the time it takes to get one on and off; unless the water's really cold, and you need it for warmth ...
Hi Graham.
In my prior experience most everyone wears a wetsuit. The water in OH in May is cold.
Also, the afternoon OLY on Day 2 is bike first (TT for solos TTT for teams - cool format, BTW), followed by swim, then run. Putting a wetsuit on over sweating legs with your HR sky-high isnt easy, BTW. Lots of tricks for that ... TTT has its own whole universe of race execution stuff, a lot depending on whether you're solo or not, whether you're doing it to finish or to perform well overall, which race in the group, and the weather -- but that's a whole separate thread.
In any case, not having a wetsuit to swim in over overcooked legs would likely lead to some serious cramping issues; there were many with calf cramps from the cold water and the swimming position combined with worked legs off the bike (and off the prior 2 races).
Just to give you an idea of how ugly it seems sometimes, when they called the TTT people to the start for Sunday's HIM during the 2004 event, people actually were so slow to get in the water that the race was delayed ... when's the last time you saw a tri where the athletes didnt want to start??
This race is a ton of fun, but the prior characterization of catered brutality is not far off.
I have also witnessed the reluctance to start on Sunday morning. Folks just dragging out to the water and really not wanting to get in. So, remember, it is all about PACING!
---Ann.
Great stuff. I just have a note to add about accomodation: I've booked a room at the conference center in the park, which sounds like a regular business hotel (two double beds), so the options may be somewhat broader now. I also know an athlete who raced last year who stayed in a Motel 6 or somesuch in the nearest town.
Graham
Now, how many of us are going to be there? :-)
---Ann.
Tim..your dissertation was amazing...thanks for taking the time to share!
I added a Triple T Ohio Group, so we can get an idea for who's in and discuss race execution, etc further.
Thanks for setting up the group. No T-T-T for me this year, but perhaps we can have an EN team or two there in 2012.
Thanks Graham for posting to the wiki and I agree with you on lodging options; I had forgotten that, but I think those rooms fill fast? Ann, you're right about the cool temps. I had forgotten, since by Saturday and Sunday the shade was a welcome respite from heat and humidity.