I did my RR on the actual course with GH and the others that will no doubt give their responses soon. First here are my numbers.
Time: 6:29:22
Avg Spd- 17.3
Elevation Gain- 4590 (only 2 or 3 really decent hills, but a butt load of tough rollers- 23 miles of them each loop)
N.P.- 201
IF- .77
Avg Cadence 93
Aside from the ridiculous amount of mechanical problems we had on the first loop (mostly due to the roads not being swept) it was exacly what I was expecting. The first 21 miles are pretty fast, only the hill out on CDA Lake Rd will slow you down. Once you get out of town and hit the 21 mile point you start to climb and for the next 23 miles you are either going up or down. You HAVE to watch you power output on these rollers, I was constantly looking down at my Garmin and seeing numbers 30-40 watts higher than I should be. So I would have to scale it down a notch, this is especially important for the first loop. There are a couple hills that you can't help but go overboard on the output. This makes it doubly important to conserve on the hills that you can conserve on. The wind was 20-25 mph out of the east all day, several times I would have to lean into it to keep from getting blown over the center line, and I had 30mm wheels on. The out and back at OHIO MARCH RD is a great place to size up those that you are trying to catch or those that are beind you. Once you hit 44 miles it's all down hill back to town. Unfortunately it's down hill heading south with a tough side wind out of the east. The section of out and back at the end of the loop is surprisingly fast, it seems to slightly up hill but I was averaging 23 mph on that stretch. After two loops of that we donned out running gear and headed out for 60 minutes of run. The first two miles were tough I felt like I was going nowhere but my pace was right where I wanted it to be (9:10/mile), I caught up to michael and scott out on CDA Lake Rdand we ran back together following the course. The nice thing about the course back into town is it is shaded the last 2 miles, the bad part is you are constantly turning corners. I was able to get my groove back about the 3.5-4 mile mark and felt fine after that. Would have had a stronger run except that I was dehydrated and didn't bring any water with me on the run. I have some things to work on for RR 2 in a few weeks, need to steady out my power peaks and watch my normalized power. Also I will have my new Infinit by then and can train with that for my nutrition- used Perpeteum this time but don't like the flavor for 6+ hours.
It was great meeting several of you in CDA this weekend. Good job to everyone on the RR's.
My RR #1:
My RR was also done with the group on the CDA course. The first loop went really well. Unfortunately I ended up having back problems that started around mile 50. I really struggled mentally throughout the second loop due to the back pain and ended up cutting it short. I still ended up at just over 98 miles in 6:20 with a 66% IF. That was a little lower then my goal IF of 69%, but due to having to power up some of the short steep hills I didn't feel that I could have maintained that. I was probably the geekiest one of the group because of my camelback, but I definitely needed the extra water due to the hot weather.
Lessons Learned:
1. I need to work on my bike fit. Earlier this year I adjusted my fit to make it a little more aggressive, but my back obviously isn't ready for that yet.
2. It's time to start seeing a chiropractor again. I went to one several times a couple year ago and it always made a huge difference.
3. I need to get a 12-27 cassette before race day. I was pretty sure before doing the RR that I needed to make this purchase, and riding those hills made me 100% convinced that it's something I need. There were a few hills where I couldn't help but spike my watts to get up the hill which meant I needed time to recover afterwards. I think that played a big part in my lower IF for the ride.
Bike Course Recon:
The initial out-and-back along Coeur d'Alene Lake Dr you are very exposed both to the sun and wind. There was a strong wind coming from the east this weekend which meant a nasty head wind heading out and nice tail wind heading back. If it's windy on race day it will be VERY easy to go too hard the first 10ish miles, which is when we should be going easy per the EN guidance. Make sure to stick to your watts here and don't worry about your speed. If it's slow on the way out, you will fly back into town.
After that you have a gentle climb up Government Way, then it's pretty flat on Kathleen Ave and 4th St. Once you hit Honeysuckle Ave the rollers begin, and there are a lot of them. Most of hills aren't steep, just pick an easy gear and spin up. As previously mentioned, there are a couple of steep hills that will likely cause you to peak your watts regardless of gearing (so make sure to have some easy gears). For reference, I have a power to weight ratio of 3.2 watts/kg, and I feel pretty good about using a compact crank with a 12-27 on race day. Once you make it back to 4th St it's pretty much all flat and downhill from there, then on to loop 2.
Run Course Recon:
I ended up doing an entire loop of the run course with GH and his bro this morning. I think GH described the run perfectly. One thing I would like to point out is that the big climb on the course will occur at mile 18.4 on loop two. This makes it even more important to follow your pacing early on in the run, or you will be done by the time you make it up the hill. That hill is also decently steep (for my standards anyways) so make sure to shorten your stride and just let your pace be what it is.
I also joined the team in CDA this weekend and it was a great learning experience for me. My bike goal is to average 16mph and I averaged 15.4 mph over 6 hours and 92.5 miles, which is my first time ever riding more than 4.5 hours. I am happy with that average speed since we had to stop at a lot of stop lights and the winds were tough yesterday. With the high 70's heat, I definitely didn't bring enough water (only 3 bottles over 6 hours) and paid for it during the run. I made 2 miles and started getting light headed from dehydration so I stopped and walked back.
Lessons Learned:
- I learned that I can do the bike in about 7 hours as that is about what it would have been if I kept going the full 112 miles yesterday and if there weren't any stoplights to contend with. I'm also hoping the winds are a little lighter on race day.
- The run will be my biggest challenge and I will definitely need to take in 1 bottle per hour on the bike instead of 1 every 3 hours like yesterday. This will definitely be a lot easier with the aid stations.
- I was able to confirm that my Infinit nutrition was dialed in perfectly. I felt fine on the bike and run. I felt like I could have kept running physically but the dehydration was the issue on the run.
- Once again, I forgot to put sun tan lotion on my lower back so I have a pretty bad burn at the gap between the singlet and shorts from being in the aero position all day. You would think I would have learned my lesson from doing the same thing on the 4.5 hour bike a few weeks ago. I also have shoulder burns in the shape of the singlet even thought I put SPF 8 suntan lotion on. I think I'll have to find a higher SPF for race day.
- We have a great group of people on the EN team and it was nice to finally meet some of you in person.
- Finally, Crickets Bar & Grill has some serious beer glasses (something like 32 oz). See Greg's group picture on Beluga.
Overall, I'm glad I made the trip. It validated a few things, gave me some things to fine tune for race day, and gave me more confidence that I can get through the bike in tact. Since I have already completed the full swim in the pool, now I just need to get more confidence in the run.
@Scott - Have you ever tried an inversion table? My chiropractor has one and after laying on it a few times I decided to buy one. Since using it, I rarely have lower back issues anymore and only go to the chiropractor every few months for a tune-up. I've had lower back issues for the past 20 years and this is the first thing that has worked over a long period of time. They're only about $200 and well worth it in my opinion. My chiropractor said your spine compresses from gravity all day so laying on the inversion table (even just slightly inverted) at night will stretch your spine so you sleep on a healthier spine all night. Your an engineer so think of it like rebooting your computer each night ;-)
First of all it as AWESOME to meet Greg, Art, Steve, Gilberto, Carlos, Scott, and Allen. It made for a great RR and some good company for the beers that followed.
My plan was to take it easy the first lap and see what I could get out of the first lap. After my first flat less than a mile out of town, things went pretty well the first lap. As was noted above, the are some gradual inclines as you first go around the lake, but they are very manageable. And once you make the turn at Higgins point (this is where the special needs bags are on the second lap - approx. 65 miles into the course) its a pretty fast trip back into town and out towards Hayden. The trip out of town and then towards Hayden and back into town will be where I get my speed for the day, following the EN pacing guide of course (not much speed to be had for me b/w miles 25 and 40).
The hills didn't seem too bad on the first loop and I was very comfortable spinning up and not dilly-dallying around when I got to the top. First Loop went as planned. Second loop, not as well. Got another flat, probably hit every stop light coming back through town and the wind really started going. The second lap was much slower and my 12-25 wasn't quite giving me the easy spin I enjoyed in the first lap. I will be getting a 12-27 to go with my compact 50/34. Felt good about 6:11 for just under 112 miles.
Legs felt decent for the run with Scott and Steve. With the heat, I was afraid of cramping (as I have had in the past) but I did not get any on the run, which tells me my Infinit blend will do its job if its upper nearly 80's on race day. (STEPHEN- The temp can be anywhere from the 60's to the 80's it's a pretty mixed bag for this race. In 2009 it was 50's and 60's last year mid 80's).
If we're missing any course stuff you want to know, please let us know!
I will probably do my second RR on the race course again in early June.
It can also be VERY hot! In 2006 the temps were in the high 90's! During the run, I saw a thermometer at a Bank that said 105 degrees...the heat coming off the pavement felt every bit that hot!
It can also be VERY hot! In 2006 the temps were in the high 90's! During the run, I saw a thermometer at a Bank that said 105 degrees...the heat coming off the pavement felt every bit that hot!
Sounds like the 'racing' (meaning, letting the reigns go and getting in on race day!) starts post the big hill on the run! I am going to start picturing that...mile 20ish is where the real fun begins!
Don't have much to add to the excellent comments by fellow CDA course riders this weekend. Really fun meeting you guys and look forward to meeting the rest of you in a few short weeks. Below is a link to an excel doc that I posted on google that has a bit of analysis on my numbers:
- I re-confirmed that it makes no sense for me to take it out harder on the second loop. Thought "Hey I'm in better shape this year, maybe I can do it". Nope. Strike two. No need for a strike 3. Will ride steady throughout and resist the temptation to go harder because I feel good after 3 hours. I am seriosuly considering going with a .67 IF target.
- I have to hydrate better. I repeated my mistake from last year's IMCDA in this RR.
- Don't inflate tires to 120PSI (likely cause of two flats). Will roll with 100 in front and 110 in back.
- Infinit is money. However, will freeze second 3-hr bottle and order a no taste blend. That last 4 ounces towards the end of the ride were disgusting.
- I rode the course with compact cranks and 11-28. Despite that, given my size, I still had 14 spikes above 240 watts including 7 over 260 watts (220 is supposed to be my gear 4 NP target) even though I did go as slowly as I could up the hills. All the more reason to ride steady and the low end of my range on the non-hill sections (for me)
Guys - Thanks for the excellent RR reports - As Stephen noted - helps to get a better feel for the course and the facts - like 4590 ft of vertical - also bring into perspective the rides have been doing in NJ. Thanks again for all the info and starting to get excited about racing - now just have to get this body ready and injury free!!!
I have been reviewing my numbers and noticed that despite the fact that I was pausing my joule everytime we stopped, it still counted dead time towards my overall ride time. Ride time, not overall time. When I count only the ride time, my time goes from 6:34:34 to 6:16:38.
Did the same happen for you guys?
My numbers are then: 66% intensity factor; 284.4TSS; 6:16:38; which corresponds pretty well with the TSS table. Also, it says I went 114.43miles, but not sure what's going on there.
Art: You left out the best part from your RR report????? For about 30 minutes Art rode and chatted with Greg V. on the course. I'm sure it was a very nice conversation. The only problem was that in fact it was NOT Greg V. but a guy who kind of looked like Greg. Sorry, Art, too good of a story not to share
GH: My Garmin seemed to get it right with a combination of auto-pause and me hitting stop while I changed my flats. Your numbers, as far as ride time v. overall time look pretty on-point. Not sure how you went two more miles though.
@GH: just took a quick look. My Joule mostly stopepd the clock when I stopped. My understanding is that the Joule stops whenever it no longer sense speed. However, for some reason it still counted 3 of my stops. So new time is ~6:31 vs 6:36, but I'll look at it more closely later...
As a possible point of callibration, I went 3:14 on the second loop (I checked that loop and my Joule counted it all correctly) and think our times should be pretty close? We both stopped, but ended up comng in at the same time... think you started maybe a minute before me? Not sure about that though... and you may have stopped longer than I did...
I had 112.9 on the dial between the two loops... but I know I missed a turn or two...
@ Michael: I forgot about that! Hey - he had the same bike and his helmet was pulled way down low... the sun was in my eyes... I was distracted by bugs hitting me in the face... has to be a good excuse in there somewhere. I wonder if that guy said to himself at some point "why is this guy talking to me like he knows me?"
Some great reports from the course guys, I'm sure we all wish we were there with you, and not just over Beluga!
I did my RR on Friday. Plotted a 3 loop course where I could circle back home for fresh drinks and Infinit. Each loop was about 35 miles and about 1300-1400 ft of gain. So it was a fairly good approximation of the CDA even though I didn't do the full 112.
Haven't had time to download my data but I've become damn good at feeling what my numbers are. I figure I went at .68 IF. Finished in right about 6 hours. I made a small audible and decided to meet my daughter at her soccer practice and run around the field and watch. Well I must have screwed up the timing as I got to the field and my wife and kids weren't there. I have to say that 2 mile ride home just sucked. So mentally it was a challenge because I didn't want to be on that bike anymore. This was the longest I had ever been on the bike and solo to boot. Just painfully boring.
Well I got home, got some hugs from my girls and went out for my run. Run felt great. Had to slow myself down but hit my goal pace of 9:20-30 for the six miles.
My takeaways: I should have taken in some additional salt. Forgot to pick up some stuff prior to the ride and had to resort to a tablespoon of actual salt in a glass of gatorade right before my third loop. Not fun. I was able to control my power spikes. Have an 11-28 and guess that helped but I was very cognizant of my watts going uphill. Now Art says he spiked and he and I have pretty similar numbers so maybe I didn't hit quite the steepness that is on the course. 100+ is a looong way. Happy there will be other people to ride with/look at on raceday. I think every person in NJ employs a landscaping crew, or at least that is what it seemed like. I think my fit is ok. Still considering working with TT Bike Fit as there probably is some work to do. Plus I have moved my seat around and I know nothing. I was wiped out for a couple days by this ride. Though I think I had a stomach bug as well. I ran a relay half mary on Sunday and I couldn't manage lower than EP. Not eating beforehand didn't help either.
thanks, Art and Michael. on the second loop i stopped twice, once to make sure carlos was ok when he lost his contact lense, before Art's final flat, and then a longish starbucks stop to reload. After the Starbucks stop Art passed me and then we stayed within sight of each other until the end. so, makes sense.
i have been reviewing my numbers and i really spiked a lot, but i got to see how my numbers look when i am tired.
for the race i am going 69% IF and TSS of 284ish. that will be tough enough and then it's run time....
have a great next set of training weeks, everyone!!!!
Ha Ha! I had forgotten about the story of Art and the Greg look-a-like. That is by far my favorite story of the trip. I guess when I see Greg on race day I should double check to make sure it's him.
Come on now... 90 miles under the hood... same bike... same sized dude... what are the chances of that on a Saturday in the middle of nowhere Idaho? I did laugh out loud once i figured out it wasn't him... another funny thing was that i remember thinking to myself, "didn't I pass him awhile back? How did he get in front of me?" That was right in the middle of my dehydration zone... not only did I forget to drink, i couldn't even tell who was who...
Oh, I also forgot about the guy who asked Art to rate his position as they were riding. I think My "one thing" for race day is to finish in a condition that allows me to meet up with Art to hear about all the cool people he met during the race
Well sounds like most of us were dealing with the wind at least this weekend. I went to do my RR on Saturday and layered up to help with the cold (upper 40's lower 50's) and the little bit of spitting rain that was supposed to die down shortly. Two hours in I was drenched the wind was whipping harder (3 quick pit stops had already occured), hands and feet had gone numb and I turned into a strong headwind that just leached the heat out of the body. Ended up calling the DW to bring some warmer clothing, etc. (while talking to her started shaking and chattering) so turned to get to a meeting spot with some hot liquids. Proceeded to drink a cup of hot coco and try to warm up in a gas station, then piggy back to the next one where she was supposed to be coming to. As soon as I hit the bike again I began shivering uncontrollably, so once I got to the next gas station, decided to have more hot liquids and to call the ride short and to do a re-do in the next day or so. After being picked up I noticed that I had maybe drank 1/2 a bottle of water and one serving of my 5 servings of infinit in my speedfil.
Ended up going back out on Monday in the sun and upper fifties, with a bit of wind dialed it back in (did monday's run workout on Sunday). Ride was much less eventful, held the paces on the way out and went through a water bottle plus a bit on the way out (ate lunch too close to the ride so was feeling that most of the first 2.5 hours). Then the water and nutrion went down pretty easy the last half of the ride. I had to cut the time a bit short to make it back with daylight, but felt pretty good overall. Was happy to get off the bike and onto the run. I had to work to slow it down to the presribed pace, but managed to get close to it for the first 5 miles. Then decided to roll it back up to easy pace on the last mile to see how it felt.
Overall nutrion seemed good on the bike. I need to try out this new run blend I picked up a bit more on the run, not sure if it cause some stomach twinges or if that was general digestion. I think I will have to double check that.
Unfortunately I was having a number of drops on my power meter on the way back in so my last half numbers are pretty tough to use and read. Need to look at it to make sure its not a re-occuring issue.
Did have a few questions that I wanted to get some thoughts on:
For those of you with speedfils, are you just planning on using it for your nutritiion and just doing a single batch in it. Or are you planning on re-filling at special needs? Inversely are you planning on just using it for water and then doing 2 bottles of 3 hr nutrion on the handle bars?
On the run are you planning on just living off the course for liquids and calories? If so, what about salt, etc. are you doing the salt stick with the rest?
On the swim the day prior how hard did you guys push the swim. I finished the swim feeling like I could have done it again or at least a decent amount of it. How hard do you typically push it? To that point where you are just maintaing form, something near the T+3 pace or something else?
@Patrick: I roll with water in the speedfill and 3hr infinit on the aerobars. IMO it is hard to monitor with any precision how much you are drinking from the speedfill. Not a big deal with water as you can basically dump at least one bottle of water per hour into it and if you can't you know that you aren't drinking enough water and can adjust. With nutrition, especially concentrated nutrition, I thin it is more important ot have more precise idea how much and when you are taking it in. Using water in the speedfill also makes for easier cleaning and less mess should you fill it to the top and hit a big bump.
I plan on living off the course for the run. I will bring some endurolytes to supplement if hot, but that is about it.
I don't know about you, but the difference between my "all day" pace and my "pushing it" pace on 1X4224 ain't all that much speed-wise. It's not real precise, but I don't pay attention to T-pace +/- anything for the long swims. I swim at my "all day" pace, focusing on form as you mentioned. I take that as a RR swim and that is exactly how I will swim come race day... nice and easy the whole way.
I plan to live off the coruse on the run. Not sure if they had it last year, but they've had chicken broth in the past (they had it in 09). Do you know how much sodium is in chicken broth? A crap load! So I used that to get my salt.
Nice and easy for the swim -Slow is smooth and smooth is fast!!
i don't know much about the swim yet. trying to learn as much as i can.
i have speed fil and the way art describes the use is best. a second 3hr infinit bottle at special needs. the only annoying part for me is to not be able to see the water level easily in the speedfil. also, depending on the type of bottles they hand out, sometimes the splash guard on the speedfill provides just enough resistance to close the valve on the bottle you are inserting!!!! i will fill the speed fill with one bottles worth of water at the start and then take a water at each aid station. this way my bike is not loaded down with too much fluids over the hills.
run nutrition is very individual in terms of timing and sources.
however, doesn't need to be that complicated. basically, your body still needs glucose, electrolytes, and water, just like on the bike. however, now your body is under much more stress from running and your GI system more susceptible to problems.
use this weeks 2.5hr run to see what you can tolerate. do all the HMP stuff in the first part of the run after the warm up and once it's time to settle into the EZ pace, start with the non-water nutrition. paractice again at the weekend long rides during the steady brick run, after the HMP stuff.
GH's system:
I have one larger fuel belt bottle on me at the start and it has water. this water is used in between aid stations because i never want to feel like i 'need' water during the run. i have a couple of gus in my fuel belt pocket. i will bust out with one eventually in the first 6miles and take tiny bits a bit at a time until it is gone. i go by feel in terms of the rate that i go thru it. once the water bottle becomes empty, i open it as i approach the next aid station, take a water cup, stop and fill it. for this station, this counts as my 30steps. at special needs, i have a second fuel bottle with a gu and salt tab dissolved in water. this becomes now what i drink in between aid stations, sips at a time. by now, i will also start going by feel in terms of taking a bit of banana, a bit of orange, a bit of soup, a bit of cola, at the aid stations, etc. i don't take cookies or chips or pretzels, since i don't want to aspirate them and choke!
I have food allergies so I pan to take only water from the course. My setup is as follows:
Bike - Profile Design Aerodrink between the aerobars will be used for water and I plan to refill it at each aid station. This will encourage me to take in more water since it's easy to take a swig while riding in aero position and after the RR last weekend in CDA I learned my lesson about not taking in enough water. - Plan to carry two 3.5 hour bottles of Infinit behind the seat. I tested this in CDA last week and had my Garmin beep at me every 8 minutes so I could reach back and take a swig. This was about the right amount to spread the bottle out over a loop.
Run - I have a Camelbak belt that allows me to store one water bottle in the middle of my lower back. I plan to use one 3 hour bottle for each loop so I will swap Infinit bottles at the Run special needs
i added my pics from the re-con weekend into an album in our CdA group page. the pics are out of order, but i was happy enough to get the album created without doing something wrong! I think you can add to the album, for those of you who also took photos.
@ Allen, no I have never heard of an inversion table before. I made an appointment to see my chiropractor and will ask him about it. Thanks for the tip.
@ Patrick, on the run I mostly live off the course. I have been training with Perform on long runs and it has worked well for me, so I will alternate between water and Perform at every other aid station. In addition to that, I will carry s-caps on me for additional sodium. The frequency that I take them will depend on how hot it is on race day. Whatever you decide to do, definitely practice it as much as possible before race day.
Thanks for the tips. I was figuring the same thing on the speedfill. Just did not feel like I had a good idea on how much nutrition was going in and was worried I would drain it early in the RR. On the run I know I will need more sodium but but I would prefer to live off the course. I will just bring more salt tabs with me and maybe stash some more in special needs in case I need some/ it is hot. I will have to noodle on the fuel belt to see if I want to carry it or not.
Comments
IMCDA Race Rehearsal #1-
I did my RR on the actual course with GH and the others that will no doubt give their responses soon. First here are my numbers.
Time: 6:29:22
Avg Spd- 17.3
Elevation Gain- 4590 (only 2 or 3 really decent hills, but a butt load of tough rollers- 23 miles of them each loop)
N.P.- 201
IF- .77
Avg Cadence 93
Aside from the ridiculous amount of mechanical problems we had on the first loop (mostly due to the roads not being swept) it was exacly what I was expecting. The first 21 miles are pretty fast, only the hill out on CDA Lake Rd will slow you down. Once you get out of town and hit the 21 mile point you start to climb and for the next 23 miles you are either going up or down. You HAVE to watch you power output on these rollers, I was constantly looking down at my Garmin and seeing numbers 30-40 watts higher than I should be. So I would have to scale it down a notch, this is especially important for the first loop. There are a couple hills that you can't help but go overboard on the output. This makes it doubly important to conserve on the hills that you can conserve on. The wind was 20-25 mph out of the east all day, several times I would have to lean into it to keep from getting blown over the center line, and I had 30mm wheels on. The out and back at OHIO MARCH RD is a great place to size up those that you are trying to catch or those that are beind you. Once you hit 44 miles it's all down hill back to town. Unfortunately it's down hill heading south with a tough side wind out of the east. The section of out and back at the end of the loop is surprisingly fast, it seems to slightly up hill but I was averaging 23 mph on that stretch. After two loops of that we donned out running gear and headed out for 60 minutes of run. The first two miles were tough I felt like I was going nowhere but my pace was right where I wanted it to be (9:10/mile), I caught up to michael and scott out on CDA Lake Rdand we ran back together following the course. The nice thing about the course back into town is it is shaded the last 2 miles, the bad part is you are constantly turning corners. I was able to get my groove back about the 3.5-4 mile mark and felt fine after that. Would have had a stronger run except that I was dehydrated and didn't bring any water with me on the run. I have some things to work on for RR 2 in a few weeks, need to steady out my power peaks and watch my normalized power. Also I will have my new Infinit by then and can train with that for my nutrition- used Perpeteum this time but don't like the flavor for 6+ hours.
@ Gilberto and Steve
Thanks for the course description! It is nice to have a "visual" of it prior to the race!
My RR #1:
My RR was also done with the group on the CDA course. The first loop went really well. Unfortunately I ended up having back problems that started around mile 50. I really struggled mentally throughout the second loop due to the back pain and ended up cutting it short. I still ended up at just over 98 miles in 6:20 with a 66% IF. That was a little lower then my goal IF of 69%, but due to having to power up some of the short steep hills I didn't feel that I could have maintained that. I was probably the geekiest one of the group because of my camelback, but I definitely needed the extra water due to the hot weather.
Lessons Learned:
1. I need to work on my bike fit. Earlier this year I adjusted my fit to make it a little more aggressive, but my back obviously isn't ready for that yet.
2. It's time to start seeing a chiropractor again. I went to one several times a couple year ago and it always made a huge difference.
3. I need to get a 12-27 cassette before race day. I was pretty sure before doing the RR that I needed to make this purchase, and riding those hills made me 100% convinced that it's something I need. There were a few hills where I couldn't help but spike my watts to get up the hill which meant I needed time to recover afterwards. I think that played a big part in my lower IF for the ride.
Bike Course Recon:
The initial out-and-back along Coeur d'Alene Lake Dr you are very exposed both to the sun and wind. There was a strong wind coming from the east this weekend which meant a nasty head wind heading out and nice tail wind heading back. If it's windy on race day it will be VERY easy to go too hard the first 10ish miles, which is when we should be going easy per the EN guidance. Make sure to stick to your watts here and don't worry about your speed. If it's slow on the way out, you will fly back into town.
After that you have a gentle climb up Government Way, then it's pretty flat on Kathleen Ave and 4th St. Once you hit Honeysuckle Ave the rollers begin, and there are a lot of them. Most of hills aren't steep, just pick an easy gear and spin up. As previously mentioned, there are a couple of steep hills that will likely cause you to peak your watts regardless of gearing (so make sure to have some easy gears). For reference, I have a power to weight ratio of 3.2 watts/kg, and I feel pretty good about using a compact crank with a 12-27 on race day. Once you make it back to 4th St it's pretty much all flat and downhill from there, then on to loop 2.
Run Course Recon:
I ended up doing an entire loop of the run course with GH and his bro this morning. I think GH described the run perfectly. One thing I would like to point out is that the big climb on the course will occur at mile 18.4 on loop two. This makes it even more important to follow your pacing early on in the run, or you will be done by the time you make it up the hill. That hill is also decently steep (for my standards anyways) so make sure to shorten your stride and just let your pace be what it is.
My RR #1:
I also joined the team in CDA this weekend and it was a great learning experience for me. My bike goal is to average 16mph and I averaged 15.4 mph over 6 hours and 92.5 miles, which is my first time ever riding more than 4.5 hours. I am happy with that average speed since we had to stop at a lot of stop lights and the winds were tough yesterday. With the high 70's heat, I definitely didn't bring enough water (only 3 bottles over 6 hours) and paid for it during the run. I made 2 miles and started getting light headed from dehydration so I stopped and walked back.
Lessons Learned:
- I learned that I can do the bike in about 7 hours as that is about what it would have been if I kept going the full 112 miles yesterday and if there weren't any stoplights to contend with. I'm also hoping the winds are a little lighter on race day.
- The run will be my biggest challenge and I will definitely need to take in 1 bottle per hour on the bike instead of 1 every 3 hours like yesterday. This will definitely be a lot easier with the aid stations.
- I was able to confirm that my Infinit nutrition was dialed in perfectly. I felt fine on the bike and run. I felt like I could have kept running physically but the dehydration was the issue on the run.
- Once again, I forgot to put sun tan lotion on my lower back so I have a pretty bad burn at the gap between the singlet and shorts from being in the aero position all day. You would think I would have learned my lesson from doing the same thing on the 4.5 hour bike a few weeks ago. I also have shoulder burns in the shape of the singlet even thought I put SPF 8 suntan lotion on. I think I'll have to find a higher SPF for race day.
- We have a great group of people on the EN team and it was nice to finally meet some of you in person.
- Finally, Crickets Bar & Grill has some serious beer glasses (something like 32 oz). See Greg's group picture on Beluga.
Overall, I'm glad I made the trip. It validated a few things, gave me some things to fine tune for race day, and gave me more confidence that I can get through the bike in tact. Since I have already completed the full swim in the pool, now I just need to get more confidence in the run.
@Scott - Have you ever tried an inversion table? My chiropractor has one and after laying on it a few times I decided to buy one. Since using it, I rarely have lower back issues anymore and only go to the chiropractor every few months for a tune-up. I've had lower back issues for the past 20 years and this is the first thing that has worked over a long period of time. They're only about $200 and well worth it in my opinion. My chiropractor said your spine compresses from gravity all day so laying on the inversion table (even just slightly inverted) at night will stretch your spine so you sleep on a healthier spine all night. Your an engineer so think of it like rebooting your computer each night ;-)
First of all it as AWESOME to meet Greg, Art, Steve, Gilberto, Carlos, Scott, and Allen. It made for a great RR and some good company for the beers that followed.
My plan was to take it easy the first lap and see what I could get out of the first lap. After my first flat less than a mile out of town, things went pretty well the first lap. As was noted above, the are some gradual inclines as you first go around the lake, but they are very manageable. And once you make the turn at Higgins point (this is where the special needs bags are on the second lap - approx. 65 miles into the course) its a pretty fast trip back into town and out towards Hayden. The trip out of town and then towards Hayden and back into town will be where I get my speed for the day, following the EN pacing guide of course (not much speed to be had for me b/w miles 25 and 40).
The hills didn't seem too bad on the first loop and I was very comfortable spinning up and not dilly-dallying around when I got to the top. First Loop went as planned. Second loop, not as well. Got another flat, probably hit every stop light coming back through town and the wind really started going. The second lap was much slower and my 12-25 wasn't quite giving me the easy spin I enjoyed in the first lap. I will be getting a 12-27 to go with my compact 50/34. Felt good about 6:11 for just under 112 miles.
Legs felt decent for the run with Scott and Steve. With the heat, I was afraid of cramping (as I have had in the past) but I did not get any on the run, which tells me my Infinit blend will do its job if its upper nearly 80's on race day. (STEPHEN- The temp can be anywhere from the 60's to the 80's it's a pretty mixed bag for this race. In 2009 it was 50's and 60's last year mid 80's).
If we're missing any course stuff you want to know, please let us know!
I will probably do my second RR on the race course again in early June.
Oh, I saw one deer and one moose
It can also be VERY hot! In 2006 the temps were in the high 90's! During the run, I saw a thermometer at a Bank that said 105 degrees...the heat coming off the pavement felt every bit that hot!
Nice work all!
Don't have much to add to the excellent comments by fellow CDA course riders this weekend. Really fun meeting you guys and look forward to meeting the rest of you in a few short weeks. Below is a link to an excel doc that I posted on google that has a bit of analysis on my numbers:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aql6Slg9JR0vdFNqSjNUTGkzZnV3UFdPOWJOLVN5Znc&hl=en&authkey=CMHexfkP
Key take-aways:
- I re-confirmed that it makes no sense for me to take it out harder on the second loop. Thought "Hey I'm in better shape this year, maybe I can do it". Nope. Strike two. No need for a strike 3. Will ride steady throughout and resist the temptation to go harder because I feel good after 3 hours. I am seriosuly considering going with a .67 IF target.
- I have to hydrate better. I repeated my mistake from last year's IMCDA in this RR.
- Don't inflate tires to 120PSI (likely cause of two flats). Will roll with 100 in front and 110 in back.
- Infinit is money. However, will freeze second 3-hr bottle and order a no taste blend. That last 4 ounces towards the end of the ride were disgusting.
- I rode the course with compact cranks and 11-28. Despite that, given my size, I still had 14 spikes above 240 watts including 7 over 260 watts (220 is supposed to be my gear 4 NP target) even though I did go as slowly as I could up the hills. All the more reason to ride steady and the low end of my range on the non-hill sections (for me)
I have been reviewing my numbers and noticed that despite the fact that I was pausing my joule everytime we stopped, it still counted dead time towards my overall ride time. Ride time, not overall time. When I count only the ride time, my time goes from 6:34:34 to 6:16:38.
Did the same happen for you guys?
My numbers are then:
66% intensity factor; 284.4TSS; 6:16:38; which corresponds pretty well with the TSS table. Also, it says I went 114.43miles, but not sure what's going on there.
Gh
GH: My Garmin seemed to get it right with a combination of auto-pause and me hitting stop while I changed my flats. Your numbers, as far as ride time v. overall time look pretty on-point. Not sure how you went two more miles though.
As a possible point of callibration, I went 3:14 on the second loop (I checked that loop and my Joule counted it all correctly) and think our times should be pretty close? We both stopped, but ended up comng in at the same time... think you started maybe a minute before me? Not sure about that though... and you may have stopped longer than I did...
I had 112.9 on the dial between the two loops... but I know I missed a turn or two...
I did my RR on Friday. Plotted a 3 loop course where I could circle back home for fresh drinks and Infinit. Each loop was about 35 miles and about 1300-1400 ft of gain. So it was a fairly good approximation of the CDA even though I didn't do the full 112.
Haven't had time to download my data but I've become damn good at feeling what my numbers are. I figure I went at .68 IF. Finished in right about 6 hours. I made a small audible and decided to meet my daughter at her soccer practice and run around the field and watch. Well I must have screwed up the timing as I got to the field and my wife and kids weren't there. I have to say that 2 mile ride home just sucked. So mentally it was a challenge because I didn't want to be on that bike anymore. This was the longest I had ever been on the bike and solo to boot. Just painfully boring.
Well I got home, got some hugs from my girls and went out for my run. Run felt great. Had to slow myself down but hit my goal pace of 9:20-30 for the six miles.
My takeaways:
I should have taken in some additional salt. Forgot to pick up some stuff prior to the ride and had to resort to a tablespoon of actual salt in a glass of gatorade right before my third loop. Not fun.
I was able to control my power spikes. Have an 11-28 and guess that helped but I was very cognizant of my watts going uphill. Now Art says he spiked and he and I have pretty similar numbers so maybe I didn't hit quite the steepness that is on the course.
100+ is a looong way. Happy there will be other people to ride with/look at on raceday.
I think every person in NJ employs a landscaping crew, or at least that is what it seemed like.
I think my fit is ok. Still considering working with TT Bike Fit as there probably is some work to do. Plus I have moved my seat around and I know nothing.
I was wiped out for a couple days by this ride. Though I think I had a stomach bug as well. I ran a relay half mary on Sunday and I couldn't manage lower than EP. Not eating beforehand didn't help either.
thanks, Art and Michael. on the second loop i stopped twice, once to make sure carlos was ok when he lost his contact lense, before Art's final flat, and then a longish starbucks stop to reload. After the Starbucks stop Art passed me and then we stayed within sight of each other until the end. so, makes sense.
i have been reviewing my numbers and i really spiked a lot, but i got to see how my numbers look when i am tired.
for the race i am going 69% IF and TSS of 284ish. that will be tough enough and then it's run time...
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have a great next set of training weeks, everyone!!!!
GH
Gh
Ended up going back out on Monday in the sun and upper fifties, with a bit of wind dialed it back in (did monday's run workout on Sunday). Ride was much less eventful, held the paces on the way out and went through a water bottle plus a bit on the way out (ate lunch too close to the ride so was feeling that most of the first 2.5 hours). Then the water and nutrion went down pretty easy the last half of the ride. I had to cut the time a bit short to make it back with daylight, but felt pretty good overall. Was happy to get off the bike and onto the run. I had to work to slow it down to the presribed pace, but managed to get close to it for the first 5 miles. Then decided to roll it back up to easy pace on the last mile to see how it felt.
Overall nutrion seemed good on the bike. I need to try out this new run blend I picked up a bit more on the run, not sure if it cause some stomach twinges or if that was general digestion. I think I will have to double check that.
Unfortunately I was having a number of drops on my power meter on the way back in so my last half numbers are pretty tough to use and read. Need to look at it to make sure its not a re-occuring issue.
Did have a few questions that I wanted to get some thoughts on:
For those of you with speedfils, are you just planning on using it for your nutritiion and just doing a single batch in it. Or are you planning on re-filling at special needs? Inversely are you planning on just using it for water and then doing 2 bottles of 3 hr nutrion on the handle bars?
On the run are you planning on just living off the course for liquids and calories? If so, what about salt, etc. are you doing the salt stick with the rest?
On the swim the day prior how hard did you guys push the swim. I finished the swim feeling like I could have done it again or at least a decent amount of it. How hard do you typically push it? To that point where you are just maintaing form, something near the T+3 pace or something else?
I plan on living off the course for the run. I will bring some endurolytes to supplement if hot, but that is about it.
I don't know about you, but the difference between my "all day" pace and my "pushing it" pace on 1X4224 ain't all that much speed-wise. It's not real precise, but I don't pay attention to T-pace +/- anything for the long swims. I swim at my "all day" pace, focusing on form as you mentioned. I take that as a RR swim and that is exactly how I will swim come race day... nice and easy the whole way.
Nice and easy for the swim -Slow is smooth and smooth is fast!!
patrick:
i don't know much about the swim yet. trying to learn as much as i can.
i have speed fil and the way art describes the use is best. a second 3hr infinit bottle at special needs. the only annoying part for me is to not be able to see the water level easily in the speedfil. also, depending on the type of bottles they hand out, sometimes the splash guard on the speedfill provides just enough resistance to close the valve on the bottle you are inserting!!!! i will fill the speed fill with one bottles worth of water at the start and then take a water at each aid station. this way my bike is not loaded down with too much fluids over the hills.
run nutrition is very individual in terms of timing and sources.
however, doesn't need to be that complicated. basically, your body still needs glucose, electrolytes, and water, just like on the bike. however, now your body is under much more stress from running and your GI system more susceptible to problems.
use this weeks 2.5hr run to see what you can tolerate. do all the HMP stuff in the first part of the run after the warm up and once it's time to settle into the EZ pace, start with the non-water nutrition. paractice again at the weekend long rides during the steady brick run, after the HMP stuff.
GH's system:
I have one larger fuel belt bottle on me at the start and it has water. this water is used in between aid stations because i never want to feel like i 'need' water during the run. i have a couple of gus in my fuel belt pocket. i will bust out with one eventually in the first 6miles and take tiny bits a bit at a time until it is gone. i go by feel in terms of the rate that i go thru it. once the water bottle becomes empty, i open it as i approach the next aid station, take a water cup, stop and fill it. for this station, this counts as my 30steps. at special needs, i have a second fuel bottle with a gu and salt tab dissolved in water. this becomes now what i drink in between aid stations, sips at a time. by now, i will also start going by feel in terms of taking a bit of banana, a bit of orange, a bit of soup, a bit of cola, at the aid stations, etc. i don't take cookies or chips or pretzels, since i don't want to aspirate them and choke!
that's about it!
GH
Bike
- Profile Design Aerodrink between the aerobars will be used for water and I plan to refill it at each aid station. This will encourage me to take in more water since it's easy to take a swig while riding in aero position and after the RR last weekend in CDA I learned my lesson about not taking in enough water.
- Plan to carry two 3.5 hour bottles of Infinit behind the seat. I tested this in CDA last week and had my Garmin beep at me every 8 minutes so I could reach back and take a swig. This was about the right amount to spread the bottle out over a loop.
Run
- I have a Camelbak belt that allows me to store one water bottle in the middle of my lower back. I plan to use one 3 hour bottle for each loop so I will swap Infinit bottles at the Run special needs
Dear Team:
i added my pics from the re-con weekend into an album in our CdA group page. the pics are out of order, but i was happy enough to get the album created without doing something wrong!
I think you can add to the album, for those of you who also took photos.
GH
@ Patrick, on the run I mostly live off the course. I have been training with Perform on long runs and it has worked well for me, so I will alternate between water and Perform at every other aid station. In addition to that, I will carry s-caps on me for additional sodium. The frequency that I take them will depend on how hot it is on race day. Whatever you decide to do, definitely practice it as much as possible before race day.
http://www.amazon.com/Ironman-Gravity-4000-Inversion-Table/dp/B000VSKAI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305705713&sr=8-1