Week 11 IMCDA 2010
Hey Campers-
Water report from yesterday. Had friend go test water with pool thermometer as he was going to swim anyway....Almost 58 degrees! Weather for this week looks pretty warm so it will heat up even more. Should be north of 60 come race day if nothing crazy happens.
Last week seemed like a big week even though no "long" rides. I substituted a couple runs plus the tough rides Saturday/Sunday and am feeling it today. Almost 50 running last week! Saturday was good for almost 200 TSS on bike and Sunday was tough. Managed over an hour at 85% which made for good night's sleep!
Will have final confirmation for dinner plans by tomorrow and will let everyone know. Will be somewhere close to downtown on Thursday evening. Boat did not work out...too much $$!
Things to do this week:
Bike Tune
Gear check (do you have everything you need)
Write race plan (detail is important)
Take care of "stuff" on homefront so you can leave next week without baggage!
Focus on good nutrition from here on out. Workouts will be lessening so don't overeat! Don't want to carry extra weight come race day!!
Comments
Bryan - thanks for the update on the water temp and for the good tips. Sounds like you beat yourself up pretty good last week - I hope it pays some good dividends.
I took Thursday and Friday off last week to attend the IMLP Rally with Coach Rich. I actually got my first open water swim this year and was able to test myself against last years results on the bike course. There is some debate about the set up of the new out and back section of the course (if you're familiar with it), so it's not really an apples-to-apples comparison.
I feel very comfortable in the water this year and felt very good swimming Thursday, which was a good sign. There was no way to measure exact distance, so I swam for 60 minutes, stopping around the same spot each time. My splits were all about 15 minutes each length and I kept a pretty steady pace.
I executed RR#2 on Friday and was able to hold my VI to 1.05 with IFs of 0.68 on the first loop and 0.70 on the second (shorter) loop. Felt very strong on the climb back into town, which was a really good feeling. TSS was 281 and the 5 mile run felt almost effortless - of course. I think my previously stated time goal of a 6:10 bike is now a 6:10-6:20. It's really going to depend on my ability to stay feuled and hydrated. Knock wood - the weather is showing 70s through June 23rd. I don't mind rain at all, just watching out for the hotter temps. I will say that I certainly took care of the hydration problem I have been having. 7 20oz bottles in 6 hours = 8 stops and about 1 lb lost.
I also wanted to give a plug for RnP regarding the free IMLP Rally. It was just awesome and I hope that you all will have a chance to attend one. It certainly didn't hurt to listen to Rich talk about the 4 keys the night before the RR. Secondly, there must have been 40 people riding the day of the RR from the team or those interested in it (perhaps bought a plan online but not a full-fledged member). That made the ride fun and actually simulated a race scenario as you're watching what others do, trying to hold watts on the hills and screaming past them on downhills, etc. On top of that, Rich included a bike handling/set-up talk the next night which really helped to put my head in the game as I make my final adjustments, particularly thinking about when to coast, pedaling through tops of hills, when to stay in aero (>13 mph), climbing in aero most of time to help control watts, etc. Throw in basically unlimited access to Rich - who loves to talk about EN strategy so you never feel guilty about asking questions - and you can't beat that deal.
Have a great week all,
Dominic
Good advice from Bryan on diet. I'm going to move to more salads this week.
I tried to do the swim this morning and after the 6th 100 (50 fast/50 slow) I literally had zero energy. I was more like a bobber in the water than a swimmer, my legs were about a foot under water instead of near the surface and my arms felt like lead weights. I packed it in and got out.
Not sure what is going on, but I remember from the "Ironman Taper" podcast that goofy things happen during this time.
I did the swim today- felt fairly good. Managed a 40 min run. Ended up running faster than I wanted. My IT band is still a little sore. Still not sure if its from stretching or if its really an issue. Hopefully it will get better quick with the decreased workload.
I'm starting to get all my stuff together. My wife laughs at me because I have so much stuff to bring (hot weather stuff and cold weather stuff).
Remember, Rich is a much faster biker than almost all of us. I find I can stay down on the aerobars unless the grade is steeper than 6-7%, which means about 7-8 mph sometimes for me. If your fit on the TT bike is good, it will generally be more comfortable down on the bars than sitting up. That was brought home to me last Friday, when I had to ride nearly two hours sitting up, due to a flat front tire. My shoulders and upper arms ached much worse than they do after a 5-6 hour ride in TT position.
Also, at least for those of us being cautious on descents, going downhill is really a time to pay attention to whether to stay in the aerobars, or hold on next to the brakes, especially if it's steep, wet, or curvy.
Got my bike back from the mechanic today, after it's pre-race tune, with a new chain, wheels trued, and shifting adjusted. Now I just have dig out the chain whip to put the wheel cover on and I'll be ready to race this weekend - my warm-up sprint tri on Saturday.
My bike was dropped off at the shop today for a once over. Getting closer.
Skipped the run today because I jammed into the corner of my desk right on my IT Band! Ouch! Could not believe it! Pretty sore today so decided to rest it and ice. Hit the swim and 2400 yds felt like cake walk. 20 x 100 as 75 hard/25 easy. Really did not even feel tuckered out after the swim.
Really going to have to mentally stay on task when it comes to diet this week. My eating habits, though always around good foods, are like eat-work-eat-workout-eat and eat more. Always grazing on fruit/veggies/nuts/granola. Have to cut way back now that workouts are subsiding!
Getting close!
Since I haven't been riding for the last week, I took that time to get my bike tuned. Picked it up last night and they did a great job cleaning it, looks brand new. I got new tires, shifting adjusted, and new break pads as well. I drop the bike and gear bag off with Tribike Transport next Monday (21st).
Plan for the rest of this week:
Finish packing my gear bag
Do 3 more swims and runs
Make sure I have all my nutrition purchased and packed
Take the pedals off my bike
@Al - Good luck on your sprint. I'm sure you will crush it.
@Bryan - Thanks for all the great information and water temp updates. Take care of that IT injury.
Looking forward to seeing/meeting everyone next week.
Started making my packing lists and the "5-bag" lists (T1, T2, special needs and dry clothes). Interesting after I went through the 5 lists, i realized I did not include my swim stuff like wet suit, cap, goggles, etc. Doh!
@ Mike - I have a massage scheduled for Wed night and one more before I fly out next week.
@ Al - I wanted to do a sprint tri this weekend, but it didn't seem to fit the EN protocol. I would be very interested in your thoughts on how it fits with the IM tune-up. My personal thought is that it is liking doing a 5K sharpening race the week before a marathon...a perfectly good idea.
@ Donna - bib numbers are up.
I've done various races a week or two before IMCDA for the past 6+ years, usually a sprint, but twice a really hard Xterra (not such a good idea) and once an Oly (also not good if run at race speed). The sprint just allows me to shake the cobwebs out, make any race admin mistakes I've got lurking in my sub-conscious - like forgetting to put on my helmet in T2, or neglecting to pack socks - and just get a kick in the head about the mental race place.
It's "only" an hour, so I just don't see how it's different than any other FTP or TP workout I might do before a race. Two weeks might be better, but I was on call last Saturday, and there are no local races that weekend anyway.
Dom
@ Donna
The portion of the course worth previewing is all out on the top end in Hayden. You want to see English Pt Road and all the rollers that follow. The portion of the course from town to Higgins Pt Turnaround and back is pretty uneventful. Mostly flat with one quick short climb.
Bike yesterday and no run. Furniture arrived and Oglets made it in about 5pm! That is awesome. We have been apart (except for visits) for 5+ months. Great to have everyone under one roof again! On the downside....not sure I will even be able to find all my stuff before needing to get on plane Wednesday! Should have put my stuff together pre moving truck!
I took the last 2 days fairly easy. I'm going to swim at lunch and then try to run a mile or two to see how the IT Band feels. We'll see. Hopefully sitting for a few days on the drive up there will help rest it.
I do have one question though. How much is too little taper? I mean I could totally take the next 10 days off, but i'm worried that would mess with my fitness.
STRUGGLE TO EVEN GET CLOSE TO NORMAL LET ALONE ECLIPSE THAT LEVEL
FYI Normal is 73F. I'm sure this means it will be 93F on race afternoon. Out to the last long run now.
@Al - there are 31 M60-64 on the participant list. Go get 'em!
Barker Ken M 63 CA
Beck Paul M 60 WI
Carey John M 61 ID
Caverley Steven M 63 UT
Cheves Cecil M 60 GA
Croft John M 62 MT
Elberson William M 62 AK
Elmer Ben M 60 WA
Evanson Ronny M 63 ID
Fleschner Steve M 60 IN
Flynn Patrick M 62 ID
Fraser Stephen M 63 ID
garrett charles M 60 BC
Ladewig Rob M 61 CO
long Paul M 64 AB
Martin Timothy M 63 OK
Miller John M 60 ID
Moore Jerry M 62 WA
Nordquest Richard M 63 CA
partel ken M 61 NC
Pulizzano Joe M 60 WI
Rahmer Dave M 61 WA
Reynolds Stephen M 60 OK
Rice Pete M 60 CA
Schultz Steven M 61 ID
spilsbury brent M 62 WA
stichter william M 60 WA
Truscott Al M 61 WA
Waller Jonathan M 62 PA
watts steven M 60 CO
Weber Dave M 61 OR
@ Paul - Thanks to your instructions, i was able to generate the participant listed sorted by age. While I don't see anyone I haven't beaten before, some names are not familiar to me, and I'm not going to search for their IM history, as I have been working for the past several years on trying to run MY race, not somebody else's.
What's most disconcerting is to watch the numbers dwindle by more than 50% every 5 years. That raises the stakes, as I can no longer really say, if something doesn't go well, "There's always next year."
Hope all is well for everyone.
On my last race rehearsal I broke a spoke - got it replaced after a week (Reynold's Strike 66mm wheel) of waiting for replacement spokes to come in and took it out for a spin today - and dangit if I didn't have another spoke break today. I don't know if this was good luck -today vs next Sunday or not. Trying to get Nytro to rebuild my wheel with all new spokes as I write this.
I am not sure if I should plan to use a different wheel set or not . . . unfortunately my only other wheels are Mavic Ksyriums (not the most aero set up) or some heavy Shimano R500s.
They are stock spokes - front wheel actually.
Sorry meant to add that I like the wheelset - I would have added that they are bomber wheels until I hit a pothole two weeks ago - I heard a metallic twang and my wheel went out of true. I had the spoke replaced by Nytro and 60 miles later - no impact and another spoke broke - sort of wonder if it was weakened by the initial pothole.
I have used them a lot - not quite every day but they have worked very well for the last 13 months - and I am a big guy having ridden most of my miles on the wheels at 200 pounds.
Today: 50F and raining. No race for me; I had not pre-registered, and I just could not fathom why I needed to drive 1.5 hours round trip, pay $85, shiver, and possibly risk injury from wet roads and trails when I could very easily, for less time and $, just do this week's FTP interval workout on the trainer. So I did.
With extra time on my hands, I decided to clean up my blog, which had been infiltrated by malicious code. I found something I'd written the end of March this year, which seemed like great advice to myself for the race next week, so I thought I'd share it. The context is: most of my successful races seem to have come after I have felt like I had given up on (or may let go of) the race.
"Discipline. Patience. Consistency. Humility. These words really define what I'm training myself to be.
Humility: never expect success.
Consistency: the best performance comes from simply repeating, over and over, what one is capable of; “stay within yourself”.
Patience: “Let the game come to you”. Don’t try to finish before it’s over; save something for the end, then give everything you have left.
Discipline: If you feel you can't go on, just do something, and do as much as you can in that given moment."
Friday night...no training. Pulled weeds for 90 mins. When is this race going to get here? Watched Coach P's 10 min bullets for IMCDA ... twice!
Saturday ... 1 mile open water race in Clearwater Bay. Water temp was 88 with some chop. I only swam 36 mins but everyone agreed the course was way long. Easy 3 mile run afterwards. Watched the IMCDA course talk...2nd time; then 90 mins on the trainer (Spinervals: Totally Time Trial).
Sunday ... Easy spinning while watching the 4 Keys DVD...2nd time around. Easy run. Easy swim. Pack gear bag.
Team Hough flies out Wednesday...can't wait to meet you guys at the dinner.
Yikes! Some lobster tanks are cooler! I don't think I could swim a mile, much less race, in that. Good job to finish, I'd say. A bit different from my race-prep swim in the lake here today. Air temp was 55F, with some water droplets in the air. Water temp was 64.4, and I used my neoprene cap and booties, just to give them a run-through in case I need them in Lake CDA. I was chilled on my arms for the first two lengths ( about 630 meters), and then felt OK. My times were not slower than usual. Surprising, as in the past, I heat up with the neoprene hat over 62F, and the booties have always seemed like cement socks. Today, my feet just bobbed on the surface. 2535 meters in 47:34, including a total of 1:40 resting between lengths.