2016 IM Canada Week 17- EN4KEYS
#EN4KEYS WEEK 17
I LOVE YOUR POSTS!!! Keep the mojo going my friends!!!
Canada Crew we are 4 weeks out from race week and there are 4 Keys of Racing within EN. What sets EN athletes drastically apart from other athletes is the ability to know to race. You're putting in the training and doing a fantastic job of posting your information with the team to discuss but as you wind down your training in the next couple weeks you need to put your head in a space to have the 4Keys down pat. Even if you have been with EN for awhile, there is always something to learn or something you can teach to help someone else's race experience.
Not to reinvent the wheel here is a mixture of coaches perspective and a couple other race captains:
X - Race day is about execution NOT fitness
Theme for this week is important. Start visualizing your upcoming RR2 and Race Day in terms of simply Executing your Fitness:
The majority of athletes on race day are fitness-focused (look at my T-shirt, look at my abs/veins/etc, look at how fast I can go in the first hour of the bike, etc.). They think of race day as the application of their fitness to the course, the distance. They are wrong. Race day is about the application of sound execution skills to a long day. Your fitness is just along for the ride. Through our observation of many, many races we can tell you that fully 90% of athletes out there do not understand this and do not know how to execute properly. For the Endurance Nation athlete then, race day is largely an exercise is doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing!
Easy to read/comprehend the above, difficult to actually apply on race day, when you feel rested, invincible with adrenaline and the best you have felt during the entire training cycle. So important to start thinking and scripting this concept now.
Good Job team.... keep chipping away, two more weeks left of fitness
#EN4Keys
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That was a tough week for me. Over 8 days, 20 hours of cycling with 21k vertical. Also 46 miles of running last week, I think the first time I've gone over 40 in a week. Robin, I'm envying your early taper.
Despite the fatigue, my swim went reasonably well today. I lowered my 50 free PR by a second during the sprints, and held on longer than expected through the workout before fatigue started slowing me down.
Wed PM - 94 mins on the trainer w FTP work. Was feeling tired and only got in 30 mins hard work before finishing with some Z2. Grade: B- I Watched a youtube video of part of the IM Switzerland bike course. No sound, but had a schematic of elevation and the bike course with a red dot moving on each as the bike moved forward on the video. The rider's speed and heart rate were also shown on the video. Good preview without being there.
Good work, Paul.
I had a decent ride. My legs felt pretty tired initially, but I managed 18' and 25' at 95% average. The rolling and curving terrain near me makes holding constant power a challenge, but I'm starting to compensate better by pushing harder uphill (110-120%) and even pedaling while braking on some of the downhills. I went out for the brick run after but was pretty tired and dehydrated and ended up shortening it to 4 miles.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's long run. 18 miles will be my longest run in over ten years.
I too am looking forward to the brute tomorrow. Which is really hard to explain to normal people. It will be another afternoon WKO for me. Good luck all.
DS
Im in at 2:28:xx. That is 15 minutes faster than my 2015 pre-IMCDA self. In aggregate, it does not look like I hit the recommended paces - I was about 20 sec faster/mile than z1 for the first 6, about 10 sec slower/mile than TRP for the middle 9, and got nowhere close to z2 for the final 3 - though I was able to speed up for the final three and got sub-8 on average. I happily hovered near TRP with 760ft of elevation gain, a little over half that which we will see on race day. I had purposely removed some elevation from my route so that I had a super flat first 6 miles respecting the achilles. At the end, the feet were aching, the hammies were feeling pre-crampy, but did not hit "the wall" which I consider my biggest achievement today. Definitely had another few miles in the tank, but not at that sub-8' pace.
I don't know what we have on tap tomorrow yet, time for some tacos. Good luck all.
18 miles done here too. I was using heart rate more than pace, and the pace wasn't as fast as it usually is on that route. I chalk that up to tired legs from yesterday's brick, plus the warm weather. Still, under 8 per mile on a hilly route and I will take it. Now to ice the knees.
Monday rest after long weekend
Tues pm: 2 "laps" at the local reservoir. Each lap 1.2 mi. Very easy effort finished in 60'. Bricked a 4mi run at TRP. Skipped the 3' x Z5 intensity bc legs still felt fatigued from weekend.
Wed pm: 75' bike with 20' high Z4 work. Felt surprising strong. Skipped the run brick and got in a real good stretch/roll out.
Thurs pm: 2:30 run. (I really have to sych myself up for these runs) I put in "Pumping Iron" (LOL) and started in low Z1 on the TM. My HR shot up to 170 then slowly dropped. Not sure if this is real or if my monitor is malfunctioning. Looking at the HR graph, I think it was glitching. Stayed in Z1 for 60' (HR monitor was correct by now), then dropped to TRP for 90', finished with some high Z2 for a total of 18 mi. Used the TM to simulate aid stations and to get my fueling down. I tend to bonk really ez when I run long on the road and it gets ugly fast. The other day I ate some wild apples off someone's tree! Anyways, I got down 24oz SL Hydration/hr and 1 gu/45'. Felt awesome at the end. Training going excellent. Looking forward to the weekend.
Paul, Do you have another son named Daniel? I know a Daniel Hough, we are in the same AG. He is an amazing triathlete going 4:20 at Victoria 70.3 and placing 4th in AG! I love Bend, don't get over there enough.
Off to the pool this morning at O dark 30 for 4500 yards followed by 45 mins weights at Snap Fitness. Ran 5 miles tonight, but fell apart the last mile; but that's one better than last night. Heat re-acclimation project continues.
Gave myself an A for effort today. I'm still a little under the weather. I got up at 7:30 and felt achy. I had a drink, a powerbar, vitamins and some aspirin. Checked the weather - currently 82 degrees, 82% humidity ... heading to 115 real feel and some storms. Went back to bed and got up at 9:45!
Felt better and went straight to the pool for an easy 1500 yards, then knocked off some needed yard work before the storms came. So at 1pm I got on the trainer for Spinervals Hard Core 100 - 5 hrs 35 mins of a programmed, training century ride. Mental toughness! It poured a few times outside and I heard boomers so it was the right call even though painful.
Spent the afternoon learning how to and cleaning out my hot tub - the green hue prevented my favorite method of recovery the past 2 weeks.
Really awkward owning a Trek in Tacoma. The bike finally works for me after 4 years of nit picking at it, but only one LBS in town sells Trek, and that shop consistently hoses me. So I take it to a different LBS (that sells either Cervelo or specialized), not sure why, but I always feel like a schmuck for it. So I will try to pull off another 3-4 hours trainer ABP ride tomorrow then return it to the mechanic probably to lose it until Wednesday.
I am shipping the kids to gramma camp Tuesday, so will lay low with them Monday, but the up side is my RR2 next weekend is looking free and clear - that said, how many ironmans does one have to do to be excused from a RR???
Doug I feel the same with LBS just at the corner of my house.. I brought the bike to have the rear derailleur hanger fixed... 2 hours later in my first ride, the screw wasnt even there anymore. The other time, they haven't seen my cracked frame. Can't trust this place anymore... but they are the only selling Kuota in Montreal. I should had gone with my first choice with Argon.. grr.
1. When I bring in my bike for anything it comes with a 6 pack of microbrew
2. As president of the local Tri club, I refer everyone to the shop. There are 5 shops to choose from.
3. I ask them for small ($25) gift certs to hand out to club members instead of a big sponsor check to get people in the shop.
4. I buy everything I can from them instead of shopping online.
5. Only one guy works on my bike and I call ahead to make sure he's free.
6. I bring beer.
@ Francis - I bought my Argon 18 Gallium Pro online from Wrench Science in California. Nobody sells Argon 18 in Tampa Bay.
Sunday - another day with lots of interference. Ran first at 10:15am on trails. Unbearable heat! Lunch, yardwork, and watching some tri on TV before I made it to the pool for 2000 SCY. Too hot to ride outside so 45 miles on the trainer. Not ABP though...didn't have it in me ... so Z1 spin the legs while finally watching the final episode of the Hunger Games. How I despise Katniss and always hoped someone would whack her. Not a series I will watch again.
I had a quality Sunday today. 2 hours of z3 magic on the trainer - I think I am really starting to get the hang of it. Then did a brick run cause I had the time and felt the groove. Taking a day off to be with the kiddos tomorrow, not to mention trying to get my brakes working again. Happy 4th!
I went out this morning for the ABP ride, felt the rain picking up, and decided to head back in. It was the right call. The weather finally dried out in the afternoon and I had a nice ride. My legs felt tired at the start but I built as I went on. I ended up at 0.75 IF for 3 1/2 hours. Easily my highest IF for an ABP ride and for any ride that long.
Saturday: 110 mi in 6:21. Rode with 2 friends and their pace wasn't as hard as I wanted, but I got the volume in and that's more important to me right now. Bricked 45' at Race pace HR, felt great. Starting to dial in my fueling. I've been using 3x24oz bottles. One BTA, one rear saddle, and one on seat tube. I don't have a refillable (top loading) BTA. What are your guys strategy on taking liquid from aid stations?
Sunday was about more volume. 4hrs 30 in the saddle. Worked on fueling properly. My body is getting used to the long rides. I do still have one issue with tightness between my shoulder blades. I was told by my guy at the lbs to move my pads in. Seems to help but still have discomfort in aero. He's going to look at my position this week.
Week 17 done!!
Brian, I'm using XLab's Torpedo Versa BTA which is pretty easy to refill on the go. I can generally grab a bottle at the start of the aid station, squeeze it in, and toss at the end without slowing much.
I'm planning to start with the torpedo bottle and one behind the saddle filled with Infinit. The first 2-3 aid stations I'll refill the Torpedo with Gatorade. After that I will switch to water. The hotter it is, the earlier the switch over to water. I'm aiming for about 1,800-2,000 calories on the ride (half liquid, half Clif Bloks).
Do we know if it's Gatorade endurance and does it come in that bottle you twist open w your mouth? Those don't fit in a normal cage for those that don't transfer to a BTA setup.
A normal cage would probably work, depending on the style. I swapped out the Torpedo cage that came with the Versa for a Gorilla XT for extra security. There is some molding on the bottle that helps it lock into the cage so if the cage is of a very different design it might not work (though you could always get a Gorilla cage).
I think it will be normal Gatorade on course; I don't think Gatorade Endurance is available in Canada. No idea on the bottles but my guess would be the twist style.
going pretty well.
Saturday. 5:30 bike at 250 np. I don't remember ever doing better. then six mile run. like racing ironman, first 3 miles did not feel good. but then I did feel good.
sunday. ( previous weekend was the last long long run at 19.5 miles). 16 miles. 7:11 moving pace.
Monday. yesterday. 4000 meters with floaty shorts at the pool. 2 x 2000 m. each better than 32 minutes.
so I am done the big big stuff. this Saturday will push a 4 hour bike. sunday 11-13 mile run.
so seem to be pretty much on track. putting this stuff out there to help keep me accountable on race day.
doug.
I am going to try to race to the best of my physical ability.
moving pace - meaning did not include toilet stops - during the race will try to do these on the fly.
my workout schedule is a combo of input from teammates, customized input from coaches, experience from past years, and what has worked in the past. I only roughly follow the EN plans. I do not do a high weekly total running mileage so a couple long long runs seems to work.