How would you improve this run scenario
So last week I raced a 70.3 (actually a 67.1, because of weather) but the run was a half marathon.
I set out to follow the EN template and this was my run plan:
Miles 1-3: 10:15 pace.
Miles 3-6: 9:30-9:45 pace.
Miles 6-10: 9:15 pace
Miles 10-13.1: 27 minute 5K.
All was going just fine through mile 6 when I started fading a bit and settled into slower pace, around 10:20-10:30. I was killing it through the 10K relative to my plan, but after 10K I just lost power. I ran the whole run portion with no walk breaks, but when I called on my speed at the end it just wasn't there and I ended up running the last 5K about 6 minutes slower than I planned on.
My wife took several pictures and in a lot of the later run pics I notice I was flat footed in several of the pics, indicating my form had broken down.
My fitness is at an all time high, but I obsiously need to work on my closing form/speed.
Has this happened to you? If so what specifically did you work on to correct it? Should I look at some more specific track work? Strength training? Any pointers are appreciated.
Cheers!
Comments
Was this your first 70.3? Do you ride with power and if so how did the numbers look?
What was you food and fluid intake like during the race?
Also was this your A race or where you training through it?
We can sort this out.
No, this is not my first 70.3. This is my 3rd year back racing long course (including Ironman). However, I do not ride with Power (yet). I am still a HR athlete. That said, my ride (although windy as hell) was very good. I stayed in high HR2 with only occasional dips into low HR3. On a very windy course my pace was about 19.2 mph, which is about Par for me.
I have a nutrition plan that is virtually fool proof. More than enough water, main fueling sources are Hammer Perpetuem and these cornmeal cookies I make (pinole). On the bike I "eat" about 250-300 calories per hour.
I had one gel to start run and one gel at mile 6 plus one capsule of endurolytes every 3 miles.
This aslo was not my A race, that is IM Louisville in August.
All I have on Bike is speed and HR.
Killing it on run means I was nailing my race plan. My vDot is somewhere around 34.87. It was my plan to 1st three miles easy, next 3 at Marathon pace, then slowly speed up, running last 5K at threshold.
I held Marathon pace through 6, but faded back into Easy pace after 6.2 miles.
I know its easier to diagnose if I had bike numbers, but pace and HR is all I've got, unfortunately.
This statement has me wondering (although windy as hell) maybe more got sucked out of you then you know.
So you know I still think you did well.
Almost every "slow" run in a triathlon is a run pacing problem, not a run fitness issue. From what we know so far, here are some of the areas which might have had an impact on the ability to maintain pace on race day:
• This was a duathlon. Although it may not seem like a hard 2 mile run at the start of the race would affect the miles at the end, more than 5 hours later, in fact _everything_ we do on race day will affect our ability to maintain pace to the end of the run.
• The temperature. If you're used to running in the cool of the morning, then the sun, higher temp, and humidity at the middle of the day can have as much as a min/mile affect on the run pace you can hold.
• The bike. This is the least likely, as the couse is flat, implying no match burning surges. But, still, an effort 5% higher than ideal will have a massive impact on the run, turning one from a runner to a walker, even if biked at a steady level. Even 2-3% will slow one down signficantly. Given the variability of heart rate, that's why a power meter is much more helpful that HR the longer the race distance.
Also, the flat bike course means you'll be in an unchanging position over the entire 54 miles, using the same muscles and motions the whole way. This actually is worse for the upcoming run than a course which allows some sitting up, stadning, coasting downhill, etc.
• Lack of a run/walk strategy. Over the years, I have seen over and over, both in myself and in others, that walking 20-30 seconds/mile on long training runs, and in half marathons and marathons, will almost always reulst in a faster pace/mile (and thus faster over all time) then trying to rn each and every single step in a race.
• Early pace. There is a certain average pace/mile which the above factors will allow one to go in an HIM or IM run. It's a pay me now or pay me later thing. If you go too fast at the start, you _will_ slow down later, to get to that overall average pace. It's very tricky, of course, knowing just what that pace should be to put you in the best position to not slow down. And this race offered a couple of curve balls to make it harder - the run at the start, the nature of the weather, and (oddly enough) the flat bike course.
Run Splits Guidance is to work around your determined Marathon Pace (MP) from the Data Tool:
•First 3 miles at MP + 30" per mile.
•Middle 7 miles at MP.
•Last 3+ miles at Best Effort.
by your vdot it looks like the middle 7 miles should have been 9:46.
looks a bit fast for some of the run.
And whatever Al says...+1. Hes got it figured out.
Thanks both for the responses. I think a couple of things:
- I am totally discounting the first two mile run, not even factoring it into the calcuations for the day. I need to keep that in mind.
- My pacing might have been slightly more than I had needed, so paying further attention to that is crucial
- I am, yet again, shown why I need to invest in a power meter.
These responses are really great, shows me again why joining Team EN was such a great idea.
So here are your numbers:
(O'all/Div)
Ok, so maybe you went out too hard for the first 2mi run. Everything else looks ok except for the last 40' of your run.
Now how did your RR go? What kind of pace were you able to hold off that bike? How did the conditions vary? You live down there so I assume you are acclimated to the temps but are you running in the heat?
One thing that jumps out to me is the calories. One gel to start the run and another at mile six just seems light. Especially with you running out of gas at the end. How did you fuel pre-race as well? I'm assuming you had some time to wait around for your run to start.
And as Al mentioned, early pace. Maybe you started too fast considering the conditions and should have dialed back even more to start. You mentioned you ran the whole race, so no walking the aid stations to get your nutrition, water, sponges?
Oh and I think you original plan to run the lasat 5k at threshold was a little ambitious. I don't think I could do that in an open half. Maybe others can.
Confident you nail the next one...and remember, it's all about the journey....
Last season I saw video of me running at the end of a 70.3 — I was shocked at how bad my running form was.
I got a Garmin footpod and forced myself to have a cadance of over 90, which has made a big difference to my running efficiency.
Looking at some pictures of me I was shocked to see how bad my form was breaking down, heavy feet, etc. That was a very vulable tool.
Tucker - thanks very much for this analysis.
The bike was significantly windy. That course is my weekend long course I ride every Sat & Sun, on a "normal" day if I'm putting in a hard effort my speed is somewhere around 20-21 mph. Wind was definitley a factor.
I did back off of calories on the run as I always do. I tend to go a little heavier on the bike and then keep just enough to maintain on the run. Thus far that formula has worked, but as I push from being an 11:00+ minute runner in long races to a 8:30-9:00 runner in long races maybe I need to rethink my caloric needs on the run.
Thanks again for the response.