Better Late Than Never? IM Texas
First let me say that I have been very impressed with Endurance Nation. This trial membership is an outgrowth of listinging to many of the podcasts, buying the 'Four Keys' DVD and participating in the IM Texas rally last weekend in The Woodlands. Coaches Rich and Pat make a lot of sense.
I'm coming a little late to the party for the spring race season. I've been following the Don Fink IM "to finish" training plan to prepare for the Galveston 70.3 on Sunday and IM Texas in 6 weeks. My goal for Ironman is just that -- to finish.
I fully recognize that it's too late to radicially change my training for IM, but after listening to the "Four Keys" I recognize that I can still dial in my last couple weeks of long workouts, nail the taper and make my race day better through smart execution.
My question is: Assuming that I'm already familiar with the "Four Keys" and participated in the IMTX rally, what are the best additional resources within Endurance Nation to maximize my ability to finish my build weeks, taper and execute on race day?
Thanks for the advice. At this point my goal is to finish the big races executing as well as possible given current fitness, and then after I recover start fresh with EN training plans for the fall '11 / spring '12 race seasons.
Thanks -Nate
Comments
One other quick note -- to demonstrate my sincerity. After listening to the "ironman gearing come to jesus" podcast (and my first ride on the IMTX course) I changed my rear sprocket to a 27/12. It was the best money I have ever spent on my bike. What a difference in terms of being able to stay seated and aero!
Hi Nate,
Welcome to your trial membership!
The last x weeks of our IM training plan (not sure how far out you are from IMTX) are very well dialed in and we have a LOT of very good race execution resources wiki. Be sure to check them out.
If you have a power meter for your bike, spring for the Power Webinar and invest 4 hours and ?$60 in learning how to race with power.
In the wiki, this page and this one (which includes a link to the Power Webinar) have links to all the key race execution info which puts some meat on the bones of the 4 Keys talks.
Your best money spent was going to the Rally. It was the best $25 I've spent in a long time! Learned a ton and feel much more comfortable with the course.
With so little time left, you're not going to radically alter your plans or fitness level. Race rehearsal, race execution are really important. Look through the wiki for free speed stuff; bike fit ideas (nothing radical at this time!), aero tips including helmets, bike setup for race day, transition execution, nutrition ideas (less it better!), set up checklists for race rehearsals and race day. Read through the race report forums for ideas.
Practice staying in the aero bars all the time. After riding the course last weekend, I can tell you there will be a ton of people sitting up into the wind on the last 20 miles into town. It's just giving away free speed.
Have fun!
I wanted to thank the team for your input. You gave me some great places to start reading and digging. There are some amazing resources here. Now just trying to figure out how to convince my rockhead training buddy to following this type of approach.
Best way to get a buddy to follow is to get better