Week 9 IMCDA 2010
Hey campers-
Starting to be in that OMG race 3 weeks and change. Big workout week this week. FTP test and RR on Saturday. Look in the wiki for guidance RR. Remember to treat the RR as just that....a race simulation. Ride at wattage/hr guidance and try to nail down your nutrition for race day. As it says in the notes for RR..."you will not be rested for this workout". Don't get hung up on wattage, speed, etc. This day is about getting the time/distance in the saddle at as close to race pace as possible. Most important to this day is getting your nutriton right. Also a good time to be thinking about your ONE THING! On race day you will be rested going into the ride and not coming out of a big training week. RR is very important so if you have some SAU's to burn now is the time.
Good practice to post what you plan to do. Write it down, so you can refer back to it and see what worked and what did not. Post it to here and we can all look it over and give guidance/feedback. Sometimes when you are too close to it you don't see the potential problems.
As a start, let''s all offer up one thing that really needs to be dialed in....I will start.
I need to nail my nutrition. Used INFINIT on last couple long rides and rr, but got bored with it. Plan on taking INFINIT during race because it works, but I am going to stick some power bars on my top tube in case I crave solids. None the less, I need to get in 300 calories an hour or so. Did not manage this last rr and paid the price.
After this week is time to do the bike tune up, break in new shoes if you have not already, manage your last minute details with home/family/work. Handle the things you can control and let the things you can not roll off your back.
Been in CDA for 5 days and been nothing but wet/windy/cold. Mild winter means for wet/cold Spring. Hopefully, weather turns corner here in next two weeks. According to local weather guy it should start warming up substantially around 9 days from now.
Comments
I still need to dial in my nutrition, too. I am still trying new things to get it right. I had some better luck yesterday. I am sure I will get it handled soon, but just need to tweak a few things.
My one issue that I didn't think would bother me much seems to be on my mind a bit--and that is I don't have an EN tri top for the event. I got one from Rich but it didn't fit. Sent it back requesting an XL but they were already gone. I know I will get to meet a lot of you during the week of the event, but in the haze of the race, having the EN colors will help when things get bad and I need help. At least, that's what keeps going through my mind. I entered a post on the "En tri-top loaner" thread so we will see what happens.
Hey, here's my May training totals. I can't believe all of this volume. But more than just volume, it is the intesity levels that is more amazing.
S: 32474.00 Yd - 12h 12m
B: 414.50 Mi - 27h 59m 49s
R: 87.87 Mi - 16h 00m 24s
Have a great week everyone!
Down to 4 weeks to go and I am still sooooo in.
Can't wait till it gets here!! Please pray for a warm-up though!!
Lisa
Lisa
Mike's post sent me scurrying back to my training log, out of curiosity if nothing else. I've been telling people on this forum and among my training buddies that the EN plan is more "intense" with fewer hours than what I've done before. In order to test that theory, I compared May totals in '8, '9, and '10 :
Year 2008 2009 2010
Swim (Hrs/meters/km/hr) 11.3/30416/2.7 13.7/36306/2.6 9.5/27600/2.9
Bike (Hrs/miles/mi/hr) 42.8/642/15.0 40.3/630/15.7 41.2/681/16.5
Run (Hrs/miles/min/mi) 18.6/126/8:52 16.0/107/8:58 17.3/121/8:34
Total Hours 72.7 74.7 67
Result 11:29/3rd/PR 11:42/1st/CR ?????
(Just a reminder: training is not a competition)
The key numbers are the last in each series; my swim speed, bike speed, and run pace are all faster, each by about 10.5% (amazing!), showing that I am indeed working at a higher intensity. (I know I am not any faster than previous years - 5K and 21K running races are the same, swim T Pace the same, etc.) And, except for swimming, I'm putting in about the same hours with more miles. I'm interested in seeing how this story turns out - have I been overcooking myself, or just getting more "race strength"?
@ Donna - Bennett Bay Hill is the turnaround on the run course, down in the lower right hand corner of the map. (There's another turn around about 1&14 miles into the course; this one comes approx. miles 8 and 20.) They don't want anyone running around the neighborhoods of downtown CDA after midnight, I guess, i.e., they promised the residents all the hubbub would be over on their streets by a specific time. Miles 22-25 are through a rather nice residential district.
Well for scheduling reasons I did the long run today - 150 minutes and covered 16.3 miles (was tired and a little disappointed that I covered less distance than last long run (17.5 in 2:32). I only made one of the MP intervals of 10' (downhill) and could only hold it for 6' on the second interval. It really hurt today.
I am glad only one more 120' run before the race.
Tom
I really cannot wait until the FTP test on Wed. I see a lot of people here are really fast on the bike... I just want to get up to 230ish from 214. Based on training, I should be there. We'll see!
Goals for this weekends RR:
1. Continue to dial in the nutrition. I've been tweaking the concentration of my Infinit as it tends to aggravate my GI system about 3 hours in. I think this past weekends 4.5 hour helped, but we'll see how I feel over a 6 hour ride. I'm not 100% sure of how many calories I need per hour, so that will be part of this RR.
2. I started breaking in a new pair of racing flats yesterday and I'll continue to do so this weekend (I always love the feeling of new shoes).
3. Continue to work on my aero position so I don't cramp as much in my neck and traps.
After the RR, it'll be time to take the bike in for a tune up, new set of tubes and tires, and detail clean.
Good Luck everyone!
@ Bryan - as usual, thanks for keeping it going!
@ Al - the data that you've kept is pretty cool. I've never tracked my swim or run data but think that it's great to see. I was looking at another post of yours, and the ability to put number and length of long runs per race prep against marathon times was very interesting.
I had a really rough recovery week last week and had to skip my 5k run test. I was just dead tired on Thursday night and had to get some sleep before the Friday morning swim. I ended up having a pretty good swim and then a great weekend of workouts including a very good brick run on Sunday and a 2 x 1 mile at Z4 last night. No chance for a Monday/Tuesday swim given pool closings, but oh well.
Hit my race weight goal of 165 this morning though think I paid for it a little last week in terms of recovery, i.e. I dropped 3 pounds last week (usual rate is 0.5 lb/week) and once I got within 2 pounds of my goal I was a bit hesitant to replace calories. That left me too tired to hit some of the intervals or my Thursday run at all. I'll actually take the lighter self over a couple of missed intervals. vDot and FTP are pretty much dialed and I'm going to stay conservative there. The biggest challenge over the next 3 weeks is going to be trying to maintain my current weight.
Good luck to everyone who is going for the race rehearsal this weekend. I'm close enough to Lake Placid that I couldn't resist going up for the IMLP Rally so I'll push mine off until the end of week 10. The plan for me is to get in a solid RR on Friday on the course, and maybe hook up with the group for a long ride on Saturday if I can otherwise fit my swim in. The biggest RR challenge for me is going to be to focus on my hydration. I'm using the 1 bottle Infinit per hour method and not really subsidizing with extra water. No stomach issues at all, even in the heat. But, I have been dehydrated during and after every ride - must, must fix that.
Getting very excited to meet you all. Keep it up!
I've also posted this in the Admin forum, but thought, since it I only see this bug in posts from a few people in this group, that someone here might know something about this:
Occasionally, I get in bad link to a forum topic in the email notification I receive. Specifically, in the middle of the link, where .../Community/Forums/... usually appears, I see ,,,/DEV_GroupView/... Clicking on this link gives a blank forum page - totally blank, just white space. This only happens when I get links to posts by a few specific persons, in the IM CDA group: Donna, Aaron, and Lisa.
I was feeling pretty good about my May training numbers . . .
41,199 m / 13:22:56
637.72 Miles / 37:03:18 /17.2 mph
134.44 miles / 19:50:40 / 8:51
Total time: 70:16:54
Then I saw that a friend of mine rode 1337 miles in May
- which made me worry, and then I thought maybe volume isn't all there is.
Anyway scrubbed my plan pool swim today and swam around 2500 meters in the Pacific - absolutely beautiful day - with some of my Camp Pendleton Tri Team friends
@ Bryan - what's the water temp? Scared Floridians want to know!
Where are you that you are already having highs over 100? BTW, I have run in over 100 degrees in Iraq (dry heat) and Qatar (humid). When I was in Qatar I would generally try to run about 0530 in the morning, but it would still be 97 or 98 for the low -- and HUMID. It was brutal.
Now I gotta go pack for Phoenix. Hopefully I can get my run in at some point on Thursday and another run in on Friday. RR#2 is SUnday for me.
@ Thomas - If you've been doing the prescribed EN intensity with those May training numbers, and you follow EN race execution protocol, you will have NO PROBLEM on June 27th. More volume will not necessarily make you faster on race day, unless your goal is to get under 9:30. Besides, with your schedule, when would you have time to do another 7-8 hours of biking a week? And could you still do all the running and swimming you've done? I look forward to trying to run you down - you'll be starting the marathon before 2 PM I predict.
@ Donna - I agree about NO RUNNING at that temp. First year for IM CDA, it was 98 when I got off the bike, and I never left T2 - didn't see the point. Is there any way to schedule the RR so you start running around sunset and maybe get a little break - at least no radiant heat?
Crazy schedule this week. One day off. Will be doing long swim Sunday (supposed to be day off), long run tomorrow, RR on Saturday with FTP test tonight! Might be dark when I am done!
Hope everyone is charging these last 10 days of hard workouts. Looking at next weekend it starts to wind down a bit.......
@ Al - thanks for the reassurance regarding volume vs intensity. I am still a little nervous about my first IM - my friend with the high May cycling mileage has been trying to qualify for Kona for a couple of years. I think he put in 25 hours three weeks before Cali 70.3 this year. He missed the Kona spots roll down by about 4 minutes (his swim split was something like 38:xx) I actually believe that if he trained "smarter" ie EN like he could qualify. He is sold on volume though.
I rearranged my week and actually scrubbed the power testing on the bike this week - I hit 334 FTP last week and don't want to raise my goal watts at this point - but rode 75' of intervals and did the swim RR today (like the short pool - took almost two minutes off of my last RR swim). Plan is to bump goal watts from 210 to 220 for the race vice 230.
Tomorrow I am going to do my semiannual Navy Physical Fitness Test - two minutes of push ups, two minutes of situps and a 1.5 mile run.
Goal is a 6:40ish pace for the 1.5 miles.
Looking forward to RR on Saturday for some "easy" miles
Tom
One more question -
I am planning to pick a goal pace that is lower than my existing vdot (46) - like a vdot of 42 or 43 at 75% from pacing charts. My current vdot easy pace is 9:07. Should I aim for that pace + 30" during the RR run, or should I run at 10:20 + 30"?
Tom
@ Thomas - I don't know the *right* VDOT for you to use for RR or the IM, but I can tell you my plans. My 5K VDOT is 49.6, an LRP of about 8:40. At the suggestion of coaches, though, I'm going to use a VDOT of 47 (8:57), based on a half marathon I ran May 2nd. In lieu of a recent 1/2 marathon like that to use, you might look at what your LRP is in reality. Can you routinely do 9:07 during the warm-ups and the "easy" intervals in your long/Thursday runs? If so, then plan on about 9:45 for the first six miles in the RR and IM, and see what transpires from that. But if you struggle to hit that 9:00-9:10 pace during the easy intervals between the harder intervals on those long runs, then, yeah, a slower pace is warranted.
IMO the main point of the slower pace is to make sure you get a good start on hydration and glucose intake early in the run, so you don't get too far behind towards the end. Basically, you need to run at whatever pace qill allow you to get that early hydration and calories ABSORBED, rather than keep it rattling around in the upper GI tract.
@ Tom - Sure folks will have differing opinions about dialing down vDot for IM, but here is my take. Going from 46 to 42 is akin to taking 10% off your effort. Probably works out to more than that. With the huge wattage you are putting up I might recco that you ride at 71% off the power chart and just crush your run. Last season was my first with EN and it really took me by surprise when I ran the whole marathon and ended up with a 4:10 (i think). Not much more than that. I left some out there by going a bit conservative. My vDot from last 5k test was 46, 47 from a 10k effort and 46 from a PR at 1/2 mary distance last Sunday. I guess this is a long way of saying trust your run. Knock the vDot down 1 maybe, 2 at the most.....but your EARNED that vDot and need to use it!
For myself and my crazy schedule this week I did do the FTP test this evening and mentally screwed myself before I even went out. Long day, meeting at 6pm, back was hurting, yada, yada yada. Funny thing was I managed a 6 point jump from 264 to 270!
Probably could have done better, but I was going around Westlake with a few right hand turns and some lights. Ran probably 10 lights and even saw Ventura County Sheriff turn around but think I was long gone before he figured out where I went. Nice thing about going around this loop is no blind corners so I can see well in advance of intersections! Slow down...right turn.....hammer time!
I will take the FTP bump as it creeps me ever closer to the 300 club! Just want it!
I am facing an internal demon with my gains in FTP and vDot. Having a hard time believing that I am steadily getting faster and am a year older. Really trusting the training and am going to leave it out there on race day! Gotta expect everything out of oneself!!
Saturday I am riding the IMCDA bike course with a buddy from high school. He did IMCDA in '08 and is also doing it this year. So far, the weather forecast is calling for sunny skies. Now I just have to remember where I put my sunglasses :-)
Looking forward to seeing how tomorrow goes and reading all the reports. Good luck to all!
RR#2 done! Bike felt great - almost hit my goal watts (again iBike seemed to give me a hour or so of low power output) with IF of .68 and TSS of 277. Covered 112.4 miles and then did easy run at my EP (low vdot at 75%) + 30".
Full RR report to follow.
Tom
Plan:
Ride 6 hours at 220w, IF .70.
Food: 8 150cal eGels q 40’, 40 ounces of powerade for the ride = 255 cal/hr x 6 hours. + 40 ounces of water for the bike. For run 16 ounces of powerade and 16 ounces of water and a little coke = 200+ cal.
RUN: 10:50 (vdot of 43 @ 75% from pace charts)
Actual:
Bike: 5:57 hours (112.4 Miles with 3314 feet of altitude gain). 207 watts, HR average was 121. iBike power seemed low for my 4th hour as I was riding into head wind. IF .68, TSS 277
connect.garmin.com/activity/35792679
Run: 1:00 (10:14 pace with average HR of 132bpm).
connect.garmin.com/activity/35792687
I changed my route to ride predominately on Camp Pendleton with fewer stop lights – although I did have some slow admin mileage through Carlsbad for the first 30’ and towards the 5 hour mark.
I wore cycling jersey with tri shorts and over my EN singlet. Ibike power put me in the 210-220 for the first 2 hours or so. Later as I hit onshore breeze it seemed low – Had power numbers below 200 and as low as 168 (for 8 Mile segment) while maintaining >18 mph with HR in 120s.
Food: Took eGels every 40’ with swig of water and powerade every 20 minutes ( I carried 2 - 20 ounce bottles of powerade). This time I carried a Camelback and made one stop for a Coke. Total time 6:10 with rolling time of 5:57.
Took 5’ to stow my bike, put shoes on and take off cycling jersey. I was aiming for 10:50 (10:20 + 30”). I walked about a minute every mile for the first 2 miles. Run felt a lot better this go around. During my minute walks I would drink about 3-4 ounces of water alternating with powerade and a little Coke.
Pros: Bike went well – although power numbers were better they were still low but I was happy with my average pace on the bike. I was also happy with staying aero most of the ride. I peed five times on the bike and weighed my starting weight – 2 pounds after the race rehearsal – so my hydration worked pretty well.
Cons: Power goals not met.
RR#2
Plan was to bike 105 and run 5. Just like to be different and that 105 fits my route nicely!! Wore red tri kit instead of blue one and that is not good. Too see through in some areas and shows!!
Plan was to take in 4 bottles INFINIT at 290 calories each and 2 power bars at 230 calories each.
FTP is 270 and I used .74 if off of chart for goal wattage of 200 and 190. Mental block for me thinking I can ride the whole course at 200 watts. My main goal is to run really well off bike, but don't want to be conservative to a fault. Thought I would try this for today and see how it played out. That is what RR is for right...
RESULT
Mounted the bike at 6:30 with two bottles and two powerbars cut up and stuck on top tube. Weather was funky. Plan was to ride PCH north and there was a "coastal soup" (what I heard on radio) just laying on the coast. Not raining, not sunny, not foggy just this soup with some wind. Made you feel damp the whole time. Decided to go with light vest over tri top.
Got in the 105 in 5:30 or a bit less and ran the 5. Legs were pretty dead off the bike and I am chalking that up to FTP test on Thursday night and being up late and on my feet most of yesterday. Think the weather was really more like humidity because I was really working up a lather. May dial down wattage a bit for race.
Only ended up with 249 TSS and an IF of .70. Probably has a bit to do with being 7 miles short. PNorm was 186. Got down 3 full bottles of INFINIT and both powerbars for a total of 1300 calories or so. Even drinking every 10 minutes makes it hard for me to take on that much liquid. Even stopped to pee once and had to pee right when done with run. Color of urine was good.
GOOD:
Held wattage pretty good and would probably feel better being fully rested/recovered for that kind of effort. INFINIT and Powerbars work good for me. Did not feel underhydrated or hungry. Pace off bike was quick at first but got it under control quick. Not too worried here.
BAD:
Red tri shorts and sticking PB to top tube is awful messy. Think I may go back to bento and leave them wrapped or not push them on there so well!
Looking forward to really hitting the workouts well in the next couple of weeks and then heading to CDA.