IMAZ Taper - < 20 days left!!!
So I figured I'd kick start another thread here...anyone enjoying the taper? I've read a lot in the forums how people can go stir crazy reducing workload. Am I the only one that is going crazy having to continue what feels like a difficult work load? I know that may be a sign of over training, but man, I'm exhausted and I would love even more rest then what we're getting. And this is coming from a guy that could only get in 3 hours of RR this past weekend because of tire problems. Maybe that was a blessing in disguise.
Hope everyone is having an awesome week - < 20 days to go!!!!</p>
Adam
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If you track your PMC in WKO+, you should find things reached their peak on Sunday and Monday: TSS and CTL reach their max points at that time. You SHOULD feel exhausted now. Rest AS MUCH AS YOU WANT this week - its better for you than any single workout you'll do this week.
Yeah, Paul, I was worried about all the acronyms, but my fingers were getting tired at this point (seriously). CTL = Chronic Training Load, and TSB = Training Stress Balancer, PMC - Performance Management Chart, Anyway, the idea, as you say, is that an "objective" measure of my pre-IM training load, updated daily based on both the previous 42 days worth of work (CTL) and the previous 7 days (ATL) invariably shows that my heaviest period of work is always the period ending about 20-21 days before the race. And, that my "stress" from both chronic and actue workload reaches its zenith (nadir?) at almost the same time.
@al, that actually made a lot of sense. thanks for the feedback. I haven't run since last Thursday because of my missed RR this past weekend (tire problem from my other post). So today I ran, and it was absolutely bliss. I mean, my legs felt fresh and it was the best i've felt on a run in a long time, particularly since it was after an hour swim. I can finally see that just cutting back and finally cooling down will eventually help.
@scott @chuck - this just shows that we're not the only ones feeling this way and the feeling is shared. I'm guessing if we didn't feel this way, we may not have trained hard enough in the past 20 weeks. I got my bike back last night (tuned up, gator skins, cleaned, new chain, etc...), and for the first time in a while, was excited to get on it. it carried over into my swim/run today. maybe doing something nice for the bike, or yourself, or skipping a workout is just what we need! on my ride last night, i left the HR monitor at home and just rode. first time in a while I enjoyed it. felt good! maybe even aside from rest, trying to do these workouts for fun may pump some excitement back into this so we don't feel so down. just a thought!
Theory - Received wisdom over the past decade or so is that (a) running longer than 2.5 hours puts so much stress on the body, both structurally and endocrinologically, that the time needed for recovery, which may be 2-5 days, eats into the time needed for continued effective training; and (b) coaches and athletes have discovered that runners do just as well on 2.5 hours as they did on the old standard of 20 miles or 3 hours whichever is more.
Personal experience - In the past ten years, I have done 17 IM marathons and 5 stand along marathons. My times for IMs have been in the 4-5 hour range, with stand alones about 35 minutes faster. At first, I would run for three hours at least once or twice before a race. Over the years, I have gradually reduced that, and now do 2 runs of 2:15 to 2:25 before a race. My times have consistently gotten FASTER as I've done this, down to 4:0X at this point.
Bottom line, there is a lot of experience in EN with runners going 10-12 minute miles who have super races and have "only" done 2.5 hour runs in training. DO NOT WORRY. Many IMs have been won by pros who NEVER ran more than 17-20 miles EVER in their lives before the actual race. (E.g., recent Kona winners like Craig Alexander and Mirinda Carfrae.) The EN plan gives you more than enough running strength and endurance to finish the IM marathon respectably, assuming you don't kill yourself on the bike!
I've switched over to focusing on really getting a solid sleep schedule going. 8 to 9hrs vs the 6 to 8 that i had been doing. it feels great and allows me to get solid taper workouts in. also, washing hands frequently and keeping on top of my nutrition to avoid getting sick.
i am swimming more than the taper recommends now, just because it helps me to get my technique honed for the race, but I am not tiring myself out.
also reading thru forums/wikis more to catch onto any helpful tips.
that's about it for me!
good luck to everyone!
GH
From that article: “It’s to hit that second run already beat up and to force yourself physically and mentally to focus and run with good form,” Wheeler explains. “You’re not going to feel as bad as the last 10K in the Ironman, but it’s pretty close. It’s also to help force your stomach to get used taking in food, digesting food and working out basically all day long.”
I think the EN plans accomplish the same thing with less time and distance through the use of harder efforts early in the long run, and then finishing at what is (at that point in the run) a harder effort. Works just as well as the split run, which I have used in the past. The KEY THING, though, is to run no longer/farther than the distance/time which will allow you to keep up with the training plan. I sometimes end up running LESS than the max RnP suggest for that very reason, with no effect on the key outcome - race performance. As long as it's over about 2:10-15, better too little than too much is my philosophy.
So I stubbed my pinky toe and it swelled up and bruised. I'm taking a couple days off of running to let it heal. I do not want to screw up my whole race to get a couple of runs in. I did do the hour run with the TP intervals before I stubbed it. I'm still riding and it seems OK. I'm doing the long bike tomorrow and as long as it still feels OK will do the 2.5 hour brick Saturday. Anyone think this is a bad plan?
@Terry - hope that pinky heels up
I've run 3 marathons - i'm of the opinion that you can get by running 15-16 miles, but only if you do tempo runs where you're really pushing yourself. I think long slow runs at 15 miles will leave you hurting. The EN philosophy is that your race day is the easiest day, so hopefully those last few miles don't hurt. I know in my 3 marathons, I hit the wall twice, and the one I did not, I negative split and felt awesome. I think most of it depends on nutrition and rest leading up to the event. if you can manage that, no wall will stop you!
terry: let it heal until you can run with no problem. you might have some pain if you squeeze the toe with your hand, but if it doesn't hurt when you ride or run, then it will heal by race time. in the meantime, sleep.
my two cents on the run: this race prep my longest run was 2:17, i tested my race pace startegy up to mile 14 and when satisfied that my sensations and nutrition were perfect, i easily picked it up for the remaining 3miles, for a 16.9miler. in other words, the first 14 miles were very easy for me as a consequence of following the ENway. prior to that, i just did fast 'short' runs, my longest being 2:07 for 16.6 miles. my fastest long run being a 13.1miler at 1:27. the only problem i have found with the EN way is that the intensity makes it hard to take in nutrition as you would on race day, but that's what the RR's are for. i also include one more long run at race pace to practice nutrition intake and to psychologically convince myself that i can go the target race pace for close to 18miles.
most people prefer the longer way of training because it doesn't involve as much pain and suffering
. either way works, as long as the method is done right.
rest up!
GH
@ Scott - A Cold is a sure sign your body is at the precipice of over-training. Assuming you feel you HAVE to do the RR, make sure the next day is totally off. The next week should also consist of as much rest as you can tolerate. My theory is the cold viruses are always out there attacking us. Cold Symptoms are a sign we can't effectively fight back because our systems are overloaded or drained by something else, like lack of sleep, too much physical activity, or other stressors. The cold symptoms are the body's way of making one stop and get the down time it needs to re-group and restore healthy functioning.
Greetings all,
This week has been crazy, did get my RR#2 in last Friday before going out of town hence the lack of report.
To sum it up, started cold, I mean really cold, got a flat 3 hours in and it took me 30 minuted to change because my fingers were so cold......then at about 70 miles I was stooped by a shefiff for 15 minutes due to mountain lion sighting.......not kidding. Anywho, 5 and a half hours cold and wind about 90 miles but did not make the run. Am okay with that.
Have been in denial about head cold all week, then read Al's wisdom about cold and healing, so took today OFF. And now it is time for work and I am panicking about missing brick or long run......it's official I am losing it!
But we are all here getting racer ready together in spirit; wishing everyone a happy weekend.
Hope we all stay healthy and no more crashes......and flat karma should be good for us now too!
Cheers
Stacy
Our first serious cold snap hit today and this morning the temperature was 58! Tomorrow's low is supposed to be 45 with a high of 67. It will warm back up to the 80s next week, but I'm going to have to wait until noon tomorrow so I can ride in the 60s instead of the 50s. Yes, I am a wuss. Get better and enjoy the taper.
@Paul: thanks for the well wishes.......you may not like the cold weather but a wuss you are not.....as I have said before just READING your posts related to training exhausts me, am excited for you to blow it out of the water next weekend!
And I think I would hurl if I ran over a snake.......
Two weeks to go! I rode on my race wheels today (HED 3 front and HED Jet Disc rear) so I could break in my new tires. The wind caught that tri-spoke a couple of times pretty good. After the ride, I took the bike for a race tune-up. TBT pick-up for the Tampa Bay area is Tuesday so it's getting very real.