IM to HIM transition
Ok, I just pulled the trigger on a HIM labor day weekend (Lake George)
, but I'm struggling to wrap my head around the philosophy of the transition. I've read the transition training plan ebook and it seems to indicate that I'm just working on carrying my IM fitness into the HIM vs. doing a 2-2.5 week build to reap any gains from the big day. Is that correct?
I've done a few rides and a run over the past few weeks somewhat according to the plan. On Friday, my cousin was in town and I ended up with a short 40 minute ride, but 2 x 5-6 min of vo2 max+ up the Blue Hill observatory road. On Saturday, the transition ride felt good, but my legs could definitely feel fatigue after the 1.25 hr mark. Today, legs felt great. I didn't even get the 20 minute warm up in as the legs just hit 85% on autopilot. Only did the 1:20 due to a flat, but everytime I looked down the watts just kept increasing with the same RPE. Ended up at over .90 IF for the ride with a peak 60 minutes of .926 IF. If it wasn't for the flat and needing to get home for dinner, who knows.
So, with 4 weeks left, I'd figure I'd jump into the HIM plan, but just be somewhat cautious on the runs (although I don't really know what that looks like). A bike FTP test is scheduled for this week- should I do this? Rather than doing the TP runs, should they just be HMP runs? Given todays ride and in looking at the ABP rides in my IM build, it seems like my ability to tolerate 80-85% for long durations has improved. Should I just work on dialing in race pace on the bike and experiment with run pace (since I'm not a strong runner)?
Thanks for the guidance. My head is just feeling a little lost on what direction to go at this time.
Comments
That sounds like a good idea for the weekends - Saturday a Brick and Sunday a ride. Add to it one FTP workout of 30-35 minutes total work time on the bike (followed by a shorter, faster run) and one TP workout of about 20 minutes work time on the run. I'm not familiar with the runs in the HIM plan, but I would think 1.5-1.75 hour long runs with about 20-30 minutes of HMP work spaced into 2-3 intervals after a 20 minute warm-up would be the way to go. Those are the six key workouts, a brick and another bike on the weekend, two interval days on the run and bike, and a long run. Then do whatever amount of swimming you personally need.
To me, the key to a "short" turn around between big races is to keep your fueling topped up both during and after workouts, and closely monitor your recovery and sleep needs, and be willing to cut back or skip a workout here and there if necessary.
Here's the results for today--up to 244 watts (up 9-14 watts depending on the number I use from IMLP), which includes the test being longer than it should because I'm still having problems with the PT signal cutting out.
Interval 1:
Duration: 20:13 (21:10)
Work: 295 kJ
TSS: 33.8 (intensity factor 1.002)
Norm Power: 244
VI: 1
Distance: 7.323 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 413 243 watts
Cadence: 30 149 93 rpm
Speed: 2.4 32.9 22.1 mph
Interval 3:
Duration: 20:21 (21:35)
Work: 298 kJ
TSS: 34.9 (intensity factor 1.015)
Norm Power: 248
VI: 1.01
Distance: 7.347 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 408 245 watts
Cadence: 36 131 93 rpm
Speed: 3.4 31.7 22.0 mph
FTP test:
Duration: 42:35 (44:49)
Work: 614 kJ
TSS: 70.9 (intensity factor 1)
Norm Power: 244
VI: 1.01
Distance: 15.22 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 413 240 watts
Cadence: 30 149 93 rpm
Speed: 2.4 32.9 21.8 mph
I think these numbers will help me with my HIM in a few weeks. I'm glad that I've been able to push watts in the 80-85% zones during IM training and usually ended up in the 88% range. Now I need to work on running after the bike
@ Keith - Great! A power boost is always a good thing. No doubt the IM LP race followed by a little time off contributed to the jump. Now blast away at those bricks.