Race Rehearsal #2 Reports
Finished my RR #2 today... so the proverbial hay is in the barn! Got up early and got started at 5:55am since it was supposed to be warm today. ALthough it was cold (46) when I started. Love those arm warmers. I set up my route for a 2 loop course of 56 miles. That way I could treat my truck as a special needs stop. I found out that I need about 600 calories in my special needs bag. Started to bonk at mile 85. Luckily there was a convienience store right there. 12 Donettes and a coke later I was ready to go! First loop was 3:07 and the second loop was 3:16 with a total time of 6:23:22. Which is 6 minutes faster than RR #1 on a very similar course. This route had less rollers but close to the same elevation change. It had 4 monster hills instead of 50 small rollers. Numbers looked like this:
Time: 6:23:22
Dist: 111.65
TSS- 275
IF- .66
NP- 189
VI- 1.09
Avg Cad- 98
Rock solid TSS and IF. The VI is a little high mainly due to traffic and intersections. The final 12 miles were on a bike trail that was hosting an ultra marathon today, with lots of participants. The run went great. Best run off the bike I have had. Felt good from the start. Averaged 8:45/mile and was able to practice my 30 walking steps every mile. I was concerned how I would feel after walking and then having to get started running again, but it was really recuperating to get that few seconds in every mile. It also seemed to improve the time that I WAS running.
I am confident that I will do well in CDA with the past few weeks of training. Now I just have to let the taper do it's job.
Comments
solid indeed, Steve. enjoy the taper! by the way, impressive cadence! i wish i could do that.
my RR2 was very imformative. the route was completely flat and had a solid headwind and tailwind today. i basically, ignored it and it all worked out in that department. however, not all went as planned...
my goal was to ride the first 21miles @ 66%, which should have been easy. instead i had to focus to get 58%.
next 35 miles goal at 70%...could only muster 66%
...and it felt like work.
next 21 miles goal of 70%...could only muster 60%
...realizing that the prior interval was the limit, so started to tone it down.
next 35 miles goal of 70%...could only muster 57%
...no longer proactively toning it down, now just holding whatever felt natural. tired at this point.
realized i blew it, so stopped at 83.38miles with avg speed of 19.13mph. otherwise nutrition was good, position was good, etc.
not enough time in aero, but luckily my position and fitness are good, so i still go at a good speed despite the low watts. there is one little short, steep hill at the very end and i had no problem going up to 190watts steady for that, but that's because i was sitting up. basically, too much riding the road bike and climbing long at low 70% vs. riding tri bike at 80%.
anyway, glad i figured it out now vs. on race day. tomorrow i'll sneak in one last ride on the tri bike at 80% and then a solid run...then taper.
hope the RR2 went/goes well for the rest of you!
GH
@GH- Looks like you got some good feedback. Remember you're just wasting time on the bike until the run, right?
Just rolled back home after a whirlwind trip to CDA for the RR. Got into CDA last night at 11:30pm Hit the course at 8:30 am today and back in the car at 6pm for the trip home. BUT, I'm glad I did it!!!! If we get condition like me, and the hundreds of others on the course had today, none of us will be able to blame the weather. Picture perfect!!! Probably just under 50 deg at the start and I went with the singlet no arm warmers as the sun was out, and I knew it would warm up quick. Was properly attired for the weather. At the end of the bike it was about 75 deg and still very sunny. The wind was much more predictable on the course with no gale force winds, but some steady breezes.
Took the first 30 miles pretty controlled, and the rollers were manageable and I LOVE the 12/27 in the back to help me relax and spin. My plan was to take the slow parts slow and the fast parts fast to see how close I could get my goal pace of 20 mph. Worked out well. First lap (with less cars and less wind) I avg. 19.8 and felt good. Second lap was slowed by cars, lights, and not quite as fast on the fast parts. Ended up with 111 miles (it was 112, but I forgot to start my Garmin at the beginning of the first lap) and got it done in 5:42 (which is about 20 minutes faster than my bike split from 09). I felt WAY better off the bike than after the last RR. Got my bike put away and went out for a run and went 6 miles in about 56 minutes, which is where I want to be on race day.
A couple of course notes: The bugs are still there. Be prepared to be assaulted. You've been warned! The road condition at the end of Lancaster as you move back towards town in VERY messed up (I think worse than what we saw the last time). If they don't fix it, I can see it bouncing some people around and perhaps creating a bottleneck (or worse). Its a small section, but be ready for some folks to be caught off guard. Also, if the wind cooperates, be prepared for a some help from mother nature coming back into town. I had a nice tailwind on both laps.
That's it, time to Taper!!!!!
@GH - Better to work out the kinks before race day
@Michael - Congrats on your improvement over 09
For me, the RR2 results are: Swim: success, Bike: success, Run: disaster
Swim:
Completed the swim yesterday in 1:33. My goal is 1:30 so now it's just a matter of seeing how the wetsuit and swimming in a crowd change things.
Bike:
We had CDA-like weather today (sunny and windy at times). Today I setup a 3 loop route using my truck as an aid station to replace water and Infinit bottles. That worked well and I was hydrated and had good energy throughout. The route gave me 5835 feet of elevation gain so I think that's a little more than the 2 loops in CDA. I felt great on the bike and the new Cobb seat was much better (Thanks Michael and Greg for the recommendation). No numbness at all and less chafing. Here are my stats:
Time: 6:01 (elapsed time was 6:57 - see below for reason)
Distance: 97 miles
Elevation Gain: 5835 feet
Average Speed: 16.1 mph
Since my goal is averaging 16 mph, this rehearsal was a success. The reason for the longer elapsed time is that I had to stop the timer a few times to ride into a park to use the restroom. I didn't count this since I won't have to do that on race day. Also, with about 5 miles left in the ride, 3 riders were approaching from the other direction and the middle guy wiped out at about 30 mph and did a face plant on the street. I stopped to help out as he was in pretty bad shape and we had to call an ambulance. That was the first time I've seen someone wipe out on a bike in person and it was a little scary. Luckily I already got the 40.7 mph hills out of the way before I saw that.
Run:
Total disaster. I only made it about 20 steps jogging before my knees started stabbing. I walked a 15 min mile and then tried to jog again and same thing. So I walked 4 miles in an hour pretty easily. As you all know, I've been struggling with this for a few months now. The bottom line is that it's too late to fix it and it is what it is. I'm going to have to walk the marathon at a 4 mph pace. While this isn't how I wanted it to go, I will still achieve my ultimate goal if finishing IMCDA by midnight. Thanks to EN, I have dialed in the swim at about 1:30 and the bike at about 7:00 so that gives me a big enough margin (8:30) to walk the marathon at 4mph and still have ~2 hours to spare, which will be good since the hills will probably slow me down to about 3.5 mph.
Overall, I'm happy with where I'm at in terms of fitness and I'll just have to take what my knees will give me on race day. The RR's have helped me simulate what will happen on race day so I can put together the right strategy to finish the race.
The run afterwards was great. Basically held it at 9:25 the whole way. The last 1-1.5 miles the legs clicked into running mode and really felt good.
I pronounce myself ready for CDA. And can't wait to get out there with some people. Riding 100+ by yourself is damn boring!
@ Steve, Allen, Michael - I'm glad the weather cooperated back there for your RR's. When you take rain out of the equation, it's almost fun, huh?
GH - I'm not worried about your race, as long as you keep below 70% and stay steady, which I know you'll do. My numbers were also "low", but the end result was just fine.
I split the ride into six intervals, each about 18-19 miles long. My course was three separate out and backs from one location, so I could trade bottles, etc three times. There's nothing flat here, but the climbs are all long and steady, about 1-2% grades except for two segments of 4 miles or so where some 4-7% grades are thrown in.
The weather was clear, with smoke haze from forest fires down on the NM border. The temp ranged from 50F at the 8 AM start to 85 at the finish. It got warm during the third loop, and hot on the run. Good.
Here are the numbers, poorly formatted:
Seg. Miles Time HR IF NP VI Elev. Gain/loss Wind
1 19 52:30 99 0.62 133 1.04 Down 880' Calm to 5 mph tail
2 18.8 1:02:38 104 0.70 150 1.03 Up 880' Calm to 5 mph V
3 18.9 1:14:50 107 0.684 147 1.04 Up 1710' 5 mph mostly tail
4 18.5 50:10 Unk 0.51 109 1.24 Back down 5-10 head
5 19.7 1:06:50 114 0.674 145 1.04 Up 1222' 10-20 mostly tail; now it's 80+F
6 17.1 51:08 101 0.52 112 1.13 Back down 15-20 mph mostly head
Total time 5:59:30, distance 112.3, TSS 244, Total elev gain 4640' (I left out the gains on the downhills above), IF 0.64
The last segment always gets windy like that, and I put it there to test my persistence and toughness. I don't understand why I get the high VIs when I'm doing downhills like that. Some of the time, I am coasting, which accounts for the low IF, and may also affect the VI?
For the run, I had consulted our soon-to-be released app for determining pace degradation when running in the heat. The course I ran was down the first three miles 1-2%, then back up. So my plan was to have the pace for the first 3 to be the same as the second 3, to reflect both the change in gradient and the 30 sec add to the first three mile. I ran the heat app the night before @ 80, which showed I should go 9:45 (+ 30 sec for the first 3 miles), so I was planning on 10 minute miles. I went back and checked the numbers for 85 F (the actual temp), and it showed I should expect to go 10:14, compared to my LRP of 8:58 (from a VDOT of 47, based on a recent HM; my LRP from my 5K VDOT is 49 >> 8:39)
Mile Pace NGP from WKO+ HR
1 9:13 9:55 114
2 9:41 10:06 116
3 9:21 9:48 117
4 10:03 9:31 119
5 9:48 9:22 120
6 9:45 9:08 122 Total time 57:55
The NGP supposedly accounts for differences in grade. The HR rise demonstrates how I gradually increased the effort level during the course of the run, confirmed by the drop in NGP. I drank (while walking) about 7 oz each mile, 'cause that's all I could carry with me.
I probably could have used some salt tabs the last 2 hours of the bike, and I could have done with a lot more rest the week before!
But all things considered, this RR was a success. I demonstated to myself a number of things I was concerned about: I can safely and successfully eat and drink on the bike (I have ongoing swallowing difficulties from my accident 9 months ago). I have enough bike fitness to go 4 miles farther than last year on the same course, and still run well in the heat of the day.
What can I learn (maybe not before CDA)? I need to get a better handle on descending easy grades, so I can have a better VI and IF on that type of terrain.
BTW, don't freak out about my HRs; my resting rate is 38, and my max is something less than 167!
@ Allen - Hang in there man. You are ready for the swim and bike. Maybe your knee just needs a few days or weeks rest to be ready to run again. Even if it isn't, your guts and determination are going to get you to the finish line.
@ Tucker - Sounds like you are ready too. Better yet, you believe you are ready. Yep, 100 miles by your self can sure be boring. Looking forward to riding with you in CDA.
I did RR#2 today. Great day to ride. Temp - 70 @ start, 88 @ finish. Sunny with gentle breeze. Rode the Udder Century that goes up into Wisconsin (hence the cow theme). Course - flat to gently rolling hills but nothing like the hills I rode last weekend west of Madison. Did 101 miles in 5:21 rolling time. Avg speed 18.8 mph. I rode along in HR Z1 (130 bpm or less) for miles 0-80, and averaged about 17.8 mph. Concentrated really hard to ride steady and stay aero as much as possible. For the last 20 miles, I pushed the pace up to 21-22 mph and took it up to Z3 ( HR up to 145-150). I know that I'm not supposed to do that in the RR, but it was by choice to make sure my legs were extra tired for the run. I also wanted to just see if I could push it hard after 80 miles and discover how my body handled it on a hot day. I certainly don't plan to hammer the last 20 miles @ IMCDA in Z3. I drank 2 bottles of 3x concentrated Infinit + 5 24 oz water bottles + ate 1/2 bagel after 56 miles. This was the same nutrutian plan as last RR and it worked well again. Only screw up was that I was planning on bring and using some Scap salt pills during the ride since it was 20 degrees hotter than my other long rides. But I forgot them and left them in the car. Anyway, I felt fine and didn't need them as the Infinit did the job. That's reassuring.
On the run, I felt good and did about 6 miles in about 54 minutes. I say "about" because I forgot to hit the start button on my garmin when I started running. During the first mile or so, I was so focused on the current pace and HR screens that I didn't even notice it was not recording distance or time. Was able to run 8:50 pace and keep my HR below 135. As in RR#1, it was really hard to go slow (EZ + 30") at the start. Had to force myself to walk 30 steps to slow down. Finally got my garmin started and was able to do miles in 8:45 range. Ran the last one in 8:25. Carried a bottle of regular strength Infinit on the run and consumed it all. Overall, it was a good run even in 88* temp with bright sun. No GI issues. No bonk.
Net, I think I'm ready. Just need some sleep.
How did everyone else do today?
Great job everybody! I just got back from my RR about two hours ago. Here are my stats
Time - 6:25:14
Dist - 106
Avg Speed – 16.4
TSS - 280
IF- .664
NP- 110
VI- 1.07
Elevation Gain – 3607
I can’t compare this ride with my first RR because that day it was 45, raining and windy. Today it was 90 degrees. It was my first long ride in the heat and I didn’t fare well. My HR averaged 7 beats higher than it should have been. Even though I rode at my goal watts, the effort felt much higher than that. I tooke my S-Caps faithfully, but still had some muscle cramping, especially the last 20 miles or so. The run was super slow, but I finished it without any of my injuries flaring up.
It was super tough, but I needed that heat to get me ready for CDA. I am so ready for the taper!
@michael: nice overall time. it helps not to make multiple wrong turns, right?
also nice to know that the weather can be calm over there. i'll ride to the best of my current ability on the bike. it's no fun for me to be ultra conservative at this point in my athletic development. i must admit, however, that i do look forward to the run.
respectfully, of course.
@allen: no knee pain on the bike? well, at least you are now numbness free and have a contingency plan in case the knee pain comes up again. by the way, it might be that you CAN run, BUT only once your knees recover from the bike. as evidenced by your ability to run when you are not fresh off the bike. so, start walking if you feel pain at the start of the run, but try running once you start to feel normal again. that just might be what the dr. ordered...no pun intended.
@tucker: thanks for the warning, if i pass you on the bike, i am swinging WIDE!! definitely don't want any part of the 'dirty air' behind you!!!
@bruce: great job. here's a great trick for helping you to run slow at the beginning of the run: once at CdA in the days before the race, go see the hill that you will have to run up TWICE(!). if that doesn't inspire you to start slow, then nothing will.
@vicki: the numbers don't lie, so simply adjust accordingly. i am doing the same. my bike numbers are so low, they aren't even on the EN pacing chart.
but as Al points out, the key is to do what you can and to stay steady.
@Al: thanks for the faith in my abilities. indeed i have analyzed both RR's and my current ability is clear. i will go 66% for the whole bike segment, with only 22miles of 70% on the second loop hills, IF and ONLY IF I feel up to it. The 66% is not holding anything back, it is simply what i am currently able to do without blowing up. question about your RR:
-it looks like you went with 10's/mile on the run per your heat app, if set at 80degrees. if i understood your post correctly, the temp ended up actually being 85degrees and your pace should have been 10:15's NOT 10's. could you tell the difference? in other words, were you wishing you were running 10:15's? or was the distance of the run too short to tell? looks like i am on the part of the curve that requires a more significant change than 5 degrees, before my pace is affected, but just curious if 85 was significant enough for you to feel.
-also, the high VI on the descent could be artifact, in the sense that it IS high in terms of norm power to avg power, but benign in terms of it's effect on your performance/physiology. not worth fixing, in other words, but good to know it is a confounding variable when reviewing your numbers.
-i find that lowering my cadence over rough road helps keep my numbers and body stable vs. spinning over the bumps. the paris-roubaix riders do this to smooth out the bumps. adpoting a low cadence on descents might prevent that jump in watts (and body) when one first tries to pedal again after momentum has waned. this might stabilize the VI on that descent you describe. not sure.
GH
@ GH - regarding the heat app: I see it primarily as a guideline for those less experienced in racing IM in the heat. It is almost impossible to explain to someone how MUCH they must slow down to survive when temps get over 82F or so. So the data-driven app ("here's what people *actually did* in high temperatures") is a good brake for them.
For me, for the past 6 years I have been doing my races without a pace watch or HRM in temps ranging from 48-98F, and have been running by RPE. It's served me well so far. I wasn't driving myself by the Garmin on this RR run, either pace or HR. I was just observing, and then analyzing after the fact. I suspect if I knew I had to go 26.2, I would have gone slower in those conditions, more like what the app projects.
I do know I lost about 2# on the day, and could have done with a lot more water on the run, but 32 oz was all I was carrying, which was probably about 30 oz less than I would take in the race in those conditions. If I'd kept up that pace + fluid intake, I wold have started to slow down drastically about mile 10-12 due to reaching the 2-3% dehydration barrier.
One of my mantras for IM racing:
"Pay attention to your nutrition and pace, and your time and place will take care of themselves" (Nutrition including fluid, of course.)
After that the ride was relatively straight forward, heat continued to climb into the mid to upper 90s. Filled water at the local park, but someone was using the facets for a party and I had to detach the speed fill and try to fill it from the water fountain. Then pushed on to a place just after the middle point to find the water facet was broken there, so had to push back to the prior park sans water for about 40 minutes or so.
Drank a bit too much water there, which I belched back up near the end of the ride. Then dropped off the bike grabbed the fuel belt, hat, etc. and went out on the run in the now 97 degree St. Louis heat and humidity. The humidity wasn't horrible, but I could not find any shade for relief from the sun. Put in the 6 miles with a combination of running and walking to try to slow things down. Tried to guess that if the pace I was supposed to do with +30 seconds was around 8 mins, then I should probably be closer to 9 mins in that weather based on some of the stuff I saw with IM TX. Finished the water on my belt within 30-35 minutes so had to loop back to get more to finish out the run in a bit over 50 minutes.
Overall felt pretty cooked at the end of the RR. The sad thing is just like Vicki I went from one extreme (wet, cold, windy and going into shivering fits in the ride) to heat exhaustion type weather.
I did end up getting a different magnet for the joule which attaches with a screw etc to the spokes on the inside of the disk cover. Tested it out yesterday and I think I have that issue fixed now.
All in all did 116 miles in 5:50 or so with 15+ mins in refilling water, etc. so lets just call it 5:40. The VI on it was a 1.05 and a TSS of 280 as I recall.
@Al: thanks very much. that makes complete sense. that's great that you can run purely on RPE! truly advanced racing.
yes, but if you can't do 65-70%, then do what you can. if you can do 70%, then not likely a good idea to go higher unless you've proven you can do it and have a good run afterwards.
gh