Week 8 Training Test - How did everyone do?
Hi Teammates,
I hope everyone survived Sat's Week 8 workout/test. It was pouring here in SW Virginia so I saw in the local pool then got back in my car to head home where I had to use my computrainer then the treadmill.
Can anyone tell me whether they think computrainer rides are harder than outdoors? I am thinking yes, no stopping for traffice etc. I rode the IM Fl course. Wow it was hot in my basement.
Here are some things I learned;
Riding long indoors defintely requires way more hydration; I was sweating a lot and I didn't keep well hydrated. I died around 42min into the run. I kept pace til then but needed a gel to revive me. I walked 50% of the last 15min of the run.
Nutrition was not on at all; I needed more calories on the bike. Good thing to know.
Posttraining lessons;
Tangerine gel does not agree with my GI tract.
Ice baths may be a lot safer than hot baths. After a hot bath where I thought I could benefit from the tubs jets I nearly passed out when standing out of the tub. I did make it to the bed where I collapsed for 20min of incoherency.
Overall a good day.
I am looking forward to how all of you did. Please share.
Comments
I've ridden my trainer a lot this season - starting out bc of an injury and lately bc of the oppressive heat and humidity (and bad air quality). i definitely sweat buckets and get a crazy hard workout... so in that sense it's good stuff. I don't know if I sweat more, per se, bc there's no wind to wick it off...
A computrainer sounds cool... I've had my cycleops fluid 2 for many years now... but being able to ride the course sounds like a great advantage (particularly bc next year I'm planning to do IMWI and it would be nice to get some hill work in in the off season when it's snowy out).
I've noticed that even a warm shower after a workout is uncomfortable... I keep sweating and have trouble lowering my body temp... glad you're okay.
Wow....that big day #1 was tough! I have a pretty big training group here that I've sorta melded together to do the 'big' workouts. There were 19 of us; all participating in IMFL or IMAZ. We had our own little triathlon set up at a friend's house who lives on the Medina River. The day started at 7am with the hour swim....the water was fine, although a little creepy with the lily pads. As far as how the swim went: just got out feeling like I needed to find my land legs after no walls to hang on to for a whole hour; and a little full from the water I swallowed along the way. Observation...I have zero sense of direction. I spent as much time swimming back and forth as I did going forward. We had big bouy's set up every quarter mile so it was definitely me! It was really nice having the transition racks set up and that made for an easy move to the bike. I had pre planned my Ironman pace to be 17.5 so that's what I stuck with and it worked out fine. We had water stops set up along the course so I got off the bike to refill every 10 miles. My heart rate was in check for the whole 3.5 hours, although I felt really tight across my shoulders(from the swim). I normally feel very comfortable in my aerobars so this was something new. My personal goal for the day was to actually run the run! Typically I go way too hard on the bike and struggle throughout the run. This was so much better!!! I felt like a slow poke at the beginning but that ended on the back side when I was still running and many others were walking. Yeah me. We ended the day with a rope swinging contest into the river....
The temperatures were in the upper 90's with the heat index being 105. Starting the run at noon with little/no shade was probably risky. We had frozen towels and ziplock bags of ice at each mile along with accelerade and water. This is probably what saved me. I often have GI issues in these extreme temperatures so I decided to go all liquid rather than any gels or bars. This worked for me but I could tell I was just about maxed out on time with this plan. Towards the end of the run I was having trouble absorbing the fluid I was taking in....you know that sloshy feeling. I'm open for suggestions for how to get in enough calories on these long days with a finicky stomach.
What worked:
giving up a little speed on the bike to gain alot on the run
nutrition plan(although had the distance been longer it would have failed me)
What I need to work on:
swimming straight/sighting...swimming in general.
maintaining focus when out there by myself on both the bike and run
consistent cadence on the bike
I'm pretty satisfied with how the day went in general, although I'm hoping as the temperatures get more bearable my speed will increase with the same effort....otherwise I'm looking at a REALLY long day out there for IM. Also...I'm so happy I didn't sign up for IMTX because there have been many days in May just like what I had yesterday. I can't even imagine how to get through that for 140.6 miles!
12 more weeks!!!!
I didn't make the swim but got in a strong 75 mile ride with a 4.5 mile run. Ride was an out and back with a group in New Orlenas. I spend most of my time riding along side the pace line or off the back or the front to stay out of the draft and keep my watts up. We had rain throughout the ride but it wasn't too bad. Nutrition was pretty simple -- 3 bottles of gatorade, 50 oz of water and 3 gels. Not my normal nutrition plan but my Infinit order hadn't come in yet.
At the turnaround I was slightly below .69 IF and really felt like I hadn't done much yet. On the way back we pushed some headwind and some of the people in the group started to fade. With about 15 mile to go most people started sitting in and me and and one other guy took turns pulling the group back to the lakefront. I felt strong the second half of the ride and was almost .76 by the time I finished up the 4 hours.
It was 1130 at this point and getting quite warm. I got in about 35 minutes of the 1 hour run before the heat did me in.
Overall a good day -- I also had a good bike test session earlier in the week and emerged with a 16 watt increase in FTP.
This week thus far hasn't been a great week of training for me, but I'm heading to Panama City Beach next week for a big week of training/family vacation.
Planning to ride the course hopefully twice and really pack in some cycling volume
Mark