was cold and drizzly = stay indoors as per native Californian standards.
Weather looking better now, so will head out and do some version of big day.
Allen: it is likey IT band. Look into stretches for that tendon. For bike, might need to increase hip angle (not be so aero) or add wedges to shoe or lower seat. For running, don't rock hips and sometimes helps to bend knees more.
Art: this is exactly what big days are for= getting fueling across disciplines in line and preparing psychologically. Good job, you are right on track.
@ Art - I think you are on the right track about needing to hydrate more. 20oz/hour seems low to me. I think your weight loss indicates this. I think the EN recommendation is 36-48 oz/hour. Yesterday I took in 12 oz of concentrated Infinit and 24 oz of water per hour (total 36 oz/hour) and the temp was in the 55-65 range. I had to pee 3 times on the bike ride (I stopped too) and once on the run. I know that if the temp gets above 72 I need to increase it to 48 oz per hour from past marathon running experience, but I'm a heavy sweater (maybe you're not). Anyway, I would much rather have to pee an extra time or two on the bike than bonk on the run from lack of hydration (I've been there and it isn't pretty). Hope this helps.
Hey Team - Great to hear so many of you had great Big Days. Confident this group will represent EN well in CDA !!
On my end, swam 3000m on Friday, then biked 54 yesterday in the pouring rain with lots of hills at about 50 degrees. Didn't see another bike all day. Wasn't an ideal day to ride, but just couldn't do that long on the trainer and with limited time to CDA, could pass... and always good to have one of these rides under your belt if we get a bad weather day.
Today, sun came out this morning and did 44 on the Tri bike with intervals, even if I was supposed to take it easy. Then did a 4 mile brick and a couple things became apparent - didn't hydrate enough on the bike and I need to do more bricks as the legs just felt dead....but no significant injury issues, so feel that it's starting to come back....
I did my big day on Friday. Horrible winds, had a hard time staying motivated to complete the bike and then still had a run to do! But, I got her done and was so glad at the end.
Took Saturday off and sat outside all day at the kids' baseball and LAX games. Was going to swim today, but spent Easter with the family instead. Ate wayyyyy to many Easter goodies....time to get back on the nutrition wagon tomorrow.
Looking forward to testing outside tomorrow. I still don't have an outside FTP....
I figured I would take a few minutes to write up my Big Day training. What better way to learn than to write about your experience. I pushed the day to Sunday in hopes that the weather would clear up. Boy, was that ever a good choice. Sunday turned out to be sunny, mid-70's and just beautiful.
I spent Saturday resting, getting any gear ready and just spending some time with the family. This obviously allowed my to go into the day a little bit more rested. I had planned out a 50-ish mile course that started and ended at a park.
The morning started off with a light breakfast of oatmeal and V8. It turns out that it might have been to light for what I had ahead of me. Hit the pool at 8am. Was a little bit taken back by the number of people in the pool at 8am on Easter morning. So simply jumped into a lane and started swimming.
I want to thank Al for is suggestion of the DeSoto SpeedTube. I picked up last years model for $100, and it helped tremendously. I honestly have to say, for once, that I enjoyed the hour in the pool. Now I didn't swim as far or as hard as I wanted to, but I same for one hour and felt like, just maybe, things would be okay. I ended up with 2000m. A few too many breaks, but a good start to the day.
The park was a bout 10 minutes away, so after grabbing the bike/run gear I headed out. In all I probably spent 30 minutes in T1.
I had hoped to cover the 50-mile bike loop in just under 3 hours. Turns out that it took almost 3:30 hours. There was a little bit more climbing (3100ft) than I expected. I tried to stay focused on riding even, staying aero and keeping upp with the nutirition. All of which I failed miserabling on.
Ended up with a VI of 1.12. I assume that is due to the many hills and numerous stop lights. As for aero, towards the end my neck was really sore, as well as the center of my back. This was the longest ride, but probably the 4th-5th ride, so I as a bit surprised that it hurt so much.
Finally, I totally screwed up the nutrion/hydration. I installed a new Speedfil on Saturday. I filled this with ~1000 calories of Infinit. The plan was to consume the whole thing in the 4 hours. I ended up consuming only about 3/4 of it. Close. The issue was that I cut the straw a little bit to short, which made it difficult to use.
The real problem became the hyrdation. Not having amy place to store another bottle, I decided I would try to use the jersey pocket. I would have numerous spots to stop and refill so started out with just one bottle. It turns out that in the 3:30 hour ride I consumed one 24 oz bottle. I knew all along that I was not drinking enough, but just didn't do anything about it. STOOPID!!
I need to figure out a better way to carry and access water. Using the jersey pocket just didn't work. It was to difficult putting it back. I tried laying it on the aerobars, but it kept bouncing around. I am using the Profile Design Ozero bars and they are very short. The bottle pretty much takes up the whole length. I though about zip-tieing a cage, but thought it would be in the way. Turns out that it really isn't that bad. So might try to rig something up. Maybe just a piece of velcro.
After looking at the ride at the end of the day, I also rode to hard. I ended up with an IF of .88 for the day. That and the poor hydration did not bode well for the run. However, I tried to grunt it out the best that I could. I used the mile loop at the park so that I could access water and car if needed.
For the first 3 miles the legs were hurting. I worked on shaking out the bugs and held the pace at LRP + 20-30. At this point my back started to hurt as well. I tried to pick up the pace for the next few miles, but it just wasn't happening. So my goal became complete the hour and walk as little as possible. I ended up walking 10 secs for every mile for the next 2 miles. I was then done. I walked one additional mile just to cool down and stretch out the back.
Overall, I think the day was a success. I survived 6 solid hours of training. I can't say that I got a warm and fuzzy feeling that I can ready for CdA. I definitely have some work still to do. The main thing is that I learned the importance of hyrdation. I will hopefully not make that mistake again.
Hi all, didn't get a chance to login this weekend but it was a rough one. Was at my family beach house for the weekend. Had planned on going out around 6 to get my ride and run in. Swim was done on Friday morning. Crazy winds and rain along with temps in the 40s had me wondering where my head was while packing?!? Why did I not pack a trainer. I called a few places and no one had a Kurt Kinetic so I then took a trek to Dicks Sporting Goods as they sell them on their website. No luck. By the time I got home weather got a little better so I decided to brave the elements. First 90 minutes were great then my right IT band started to really hurt. Probably has something to do with my new saddle and me doing my own fitting. Bad idea on that end. Tried adjusting on the road but couldn't get the seat post any lower so limped it on home into a nice brisk wind. Adjusted the seat a little and went out again on Sunday but didn't have time to get in my extra 2hr ride and 1 hr run. Decided to up the intensity to get some work done. Some good hard intervals at and above FTP were just what the doctor ordered. Followed that with a 30 min run with 15' @ MP and 15' @ HMP. Lesson learned. Don't play amateur fitter.
Comments
was cold and drizzly = stay indoors as per native Californian standards.
Weather looking better now, so will head out and do some version of big day.
Allen: it is likey IT band. Look into stretches for that tendon. For bike, might need to increase hip angle (not be so aero) or add wedges to shoe or lower seat. For running, don't rock hips and sometimes helps to bend knees more.
Art: this is exactly what big days are for= getting fueling across disciplines in line and preparing psychologically. Good job, you are right on track.
Have a great day off or of training!
Gh
@ Art - I think you are on the right track about needing to hydrate more. 20oz/hour seems low to me. I think your weight loss indicates this. I think the EN recommendation is 36-48 oz/hour. Yesterday I took in 12 oz of concentrated Infinit and 24 oz of water per hour (total 36 oz/hour) and the temp was in the 55-65 range. I had to pee 3 times on the bike ride (I stopped too) and once on the run. I know that if the temp gets above 72 I need to increase it to 48 oz per hour from past marathon running experience, but I'm a heavy sweater (maybe you're not). Anyway, I would much rather have to pee an extra time or two on the bike than bonk on the run from lack of hydration (I've been there and it isn't pretty). Hope this helps.
On my end, swam 3000m on Friday, then biked 54 yesterday in the pouring rain with lots of hills at about 50 degrees. Didn't see another bike all day. Wasn't an ideal day to ride, but just couldn't do that long on the trainer and with limited time to CDA, could pass... and always good to have one of these rides under your belt if we get a bad weather day.
Today, sun came out this morning and did 44 on the Tri bike with intervals, even if I was supposed to take it easy. Then did a 4 mile brick and a couple things became apparent - didn't hydrate enough on the bike and I need to do more bricks as the legs just felt dead....but no significant injury issues, so feel that it's starting to come back....
Keep up the great work folks...!!
I did my big day on Friday. Horrible winds, had a hard time staying motivated to complete the bike and then still had a run to do! But, I got her done and was so glad at the end.
Took Saturday off and sat outside all day at the kids' baseball and LAX games. Was going to swim today, but spent Easter with the family instead. Ate wayyyyy to many Easter goodies....time to get back on the nutrition wagon tomorrow.
Looking forward to testing outside tomorrow. I still don't have an outside FTP....
Big Day #2 Execution Report
I figured I would take a few minutes to write up my Big Day training. What better way to learn than to write about your experience. I pushed the day to Sunday in hopes that the weather would clear up. Boy, was that ever a good choice. Sunday turned out to be sunny, mid-70's and just beautiful.
I spent Saturday resting, getting any gear ready and just spending some time with the family. This obviously allowed my to go into the day a little bit more rested. I had planned out a 50-ish mile course that started and ended at a park.
The morning started off with a light breakfast of oatmeal and V8. It turns out that it might have been to light for what I had ahead of me. Hit the pool at 8am. Was a little bit taken back by the number of people in the pool at 8am on Easter morning. So simply jumped into a lane and started swimming.
I want to thank Al for is suggestion of the DeSoto SpeedTube. I picked up last years model for $100, and it helped tremendously. I honestly have to say, for once, that I enjoyed the hour in the pool. Now I didn't swim as far or as hard as I wanted to, but I same for one hour and felt like, just maybe, things would be okay. I ended up with 2000m. A few too many breaks, but a good start to the day.
The park was a bout 10 minutes away, so after grabbing the bike/run gear I headed out. In all I probably spent 30 minutes in T1.
I had hoped to cover the 50-mile bike loop in just under 3 hours. Turns out that it took almost 3:30 hours. There was a little bit more climbing (3100ft) than I expected. I tried to stay focused on riding even, staying aero and keeping upp with the nutirition. All of which I failed miserabling on.
Ended up with a VI of 1.12. I assume that is due to the many hills and numerous stop lights. As for aero, towards the end my neck was really sore, as well as the center of my back. This was the longest ride, but probably the 4th-5th ride, so I as a bit surprised that it hurt so much.
Finally, I totally screwed up the nutrion/hydration. I installed a new Speedfil on Saturday. I filled this with ~1000 calories of Infinit. The plan was to consume the whole thing in the 4 hours. I ended up consuming only about 3/4 of it. Close. The issue was that I cut the straw a little bit to short, which made it difficult to use.
The real problem became the hyrdation. Not having amy place to store another bottle, I decided I would try to use the jersey pocket. I would have numerous spots to stop and refill so started out with just one bottle. It turns out that in the 3:30 hour ride I consumed one 24 oz bottle.
I knew all along that I was not drinking enough, but just didn't do anything about it. STOOPID!!
I need to figure out a better way to carry and access water. Using the jersey pocket just didn't work. It was to difficult putting it back. I tried laying it on the aerobars, but it kept bouncing around. I am using the Profile Design Ozero bars and they are very short. The bottle pretty much takes up the whole length. I though about zip-tieing a cage, but thought it would be in the way. Turns out that it really isn't that bad. So might try to rig something up. Maybe just a piece of velcro.
After looking at the ride at the end of the day, I also rode to hard. I ended up with an IF of .88 for the day. That and the poor hydration did not bode well for the run. However, I tried to grunt it out the best that I could. I used the mile loop at the park so that I could access water and car if needed.
For the first 3 miles the legs were hurting. I worked on shaking out the bugs and held the pace at LRP + 20-30. At this point my back started to hurt as well. I tried to pick up the pace for the next few miles, but it just wasn't happening. So my goal became complete the hour and walk as little as possible. I ended up walking 10 secs for every mile for the next 2 miles. I was then done. I walked one additional mile just to cool down and stretch out the back.
Overall, I think the day was a success. I survived 6 solid hours of training. I can't say that I got a warm and fuzzy feeling that I can ready for CdA. I definitely have some work still to do. The main thing is that I learned the importance of hyrdation. I will hopefully not make that mistake again.
Pete
@ Bruce: wow, i have been really light fuild intake wise for awhile. Really looking forward to the next ride and getting this right...
I called a few places and no one had a Kurt Kinetic so I then took a trek to Dicks Sporting Goods as they sell them on their website. No luck. By the time I got home weather got a little better so I decided to brave the elements. First 90 minutes were great then my right IT band started to really hurt. Probably has something to do with my new saddle and me doing my own fitting. Bad idea on that end. Tried adjusting on the road but couldn't get the seat post any lower so limped it on home into a nice brisk wind.
Adjusted the seat a little and went out again on Sunday but didn't have time to get in my extra 2hr ride and 1 hr run. Decided to up the intensity to get some work done. Some good hard intervals at and above FTP were just what the doctor ordered. Followed that with a 30 min run with 15' @ MP and 15' @ HMP.
Lesson learned. Don't play amateur fitter.