Check this out if you haven't seen it already...

Ironman - Till I Collapse

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqpYKx8Fvk&feature=related

Trainer ride done, 2 loops of the IMCDA course on the computrainer Real Course Video. I wanted off that bike pretty bad at the end but stuck it out. Having a solid week of training with still a big weekend ahead.

Hope everyone else is having success on those long workouts this week!

Wow.  Thanks for posting.  That is interesting to watch, but for me that's a pretty depressing video.  Especially for those of you who are first-timers, that's downright scary.   Seeing all of those epic bonks strung together is not a good representation of what your race should, or will, be like.   Keep in mind that all of those were examples of poorly executed race-day pacing efforts.  If you train right, you'll make it to the Start Line; if you race right, you'll make it to the Finish Line. 

The idea is to finish with a smile on your face, not your body on a gurney.  It's not like the Nike rep is going to be waiting at the finish line with a contract for you, so enjoy your race....don't ruin it....pace yourself to the conditions you encounter on race day. 

Having finished IMLOU last year (a race that is noted for having one of Ironman's highest attrition rates ever) I saw many many many bonked racers that day, heard ambulances all day long and into the night, all because people were pacing for a fast finish, when they should have just been pacing to finish.

How confident can I be that neoprene caps will be sold at the expo?

Ran my first 20 of the season this morning.  Woohoo!   1st run coming out of a 2 week layoff due to achilles issues.  Felt pretty good before, pretty good during, and hopefully good tonight.  Gonna start Icing the stew out of it shortly.

The run itself was less than spectacular.  Started out running 9 flat, fading to 10 flat by about 15.   Then 15 -20 became my traditional death shuffle.  But I averaged 10, so i'm ok with that given my hiatus of run training.

I am sure they will be selling them, after all WTC usually doesn't miss too many chances to make a buck. But if possible I would pick one up ahead of time. I had friends who did CDA  a few years back during the cold year and said there was nothing left at the expo for warmer gear by time they got there. I picked up a cap this morning and am heading to the local "lake" here in a bit to find out how cold it is.

I agree, get one ahead of time - they're like $20-30.  If you're thinking you would rather test the water in CdA first -- my opinion - just get the cap  If you decide you don't want to use it, it'll be really easy to sell it to someone who forgot theirs.

I scored a neoprene zoot cap for 25 total off ebay. the blue seventy ones look good too.

good work on that long run after injury. even with loads of salt and electrolyte drinks, i had the worst cramps in my legs ever after yesterday's 125 miler in the 90s in ga. i wanted my mama for 6 hours afterward. i think it may have had something to do with the shorter cranks on my new bike, which got stolen last night in my nightmare (EEEK!).

IMTX has been amazing to watch. i am crying watching these folks suffering through it...

Dude, im totally right there with you on loving the trainer. I catch up on deadliest catch, ultimate fighter, real rides cda course etc.  And no stop signs, lights, traffic, every 10 minutes to deal with.  It took me 10 hours just to get 8 hrs of riding time 2 days ago. My tire got sliced 15miles into it which cost me 4 tubes and a bunch of pit stops.  Love the trainer!

Ok, 105/5 done and feeling fine.  I would like a few opinions on my last two weeks before my three week taper.

My coach is telling me NOT to do anything more than 45 minutes after my last few long rides.  Her view is if your overall plan is working at this point, the muscle memory benefit of a run after a long ride loses a ton of its value after 45 minutes.  For me, that's a fairly easy 10k.  Thoughts?  I ask because I was planning on doing long runs (10-13 miles) over the next two weeks after my long rides.

I've got 5 century rides (105-110 miles) and long runs (19-22 miles) over the last 6 weeks under my belt going into my final two weeks.  Feel fine.  No injuries.  However, a bit flat.

Any of you veterans have some thoughts/advice?  Plan calls for 20 hours and 20/22 and 110/6 longs over the next two weeks.  Basically, more of the same.        

I like your coach's advice.  But I generally tiptoe a very fine line between improving my running and getting hurt.  Past injuries and other problems force me to be very careful.  So I never run too far in a brick in training.  That same advice is also good as you head into taper time.

Of course I did all that and I'm still nursing an injury right now

I'd suggest doing the long runs the day after your long bike.  You still get the feel of running on tired legs but I find that little bit of recovery time is beneficial.  This is all my opinion though, based on me.  Maybe some of the coaches on here can offer a better viewpoint since they deal with multiple athletes.

Because it was a good "key" workout for me on the IMFL build up, I am going to try and do one longer brick (100+/10) but otherwise, I don't run much more than 6 mi brick runs after long rides as we move forward. However, I am running a lot of miles for me weekly and have a 21 and a 22 long run this week and next respectively. Its also nice that we get a day off next Monday for Memorial Day if you want to stuff something long in there.

Personally, with what you said and knowing your training a bit from what you have posted, I would say that you are fine either way. Conventional wisdom will tell you to be conservative, but aggressive opinions will lean towards pushing it. Just recall the famous words of alltom1 "You can't force feed endurance". Its not like cramming for an exam. Either you have been building it steadily over years or you haven't. The risk of injury at this point is palpable. Regardless, pacing properly is the key to the day imho.

I just did IMTX yesterday and I am itching to find another IM.  I was originaly thinking of Cancun for a vacation for my wife, but she made a comment about it being a little cooler than yesterday.  Without reading the 130 pages maybe someone can give me a cliff note version of a few questions.

Is the area expensive to stay at?  What is there for the family to do during the race?  Coming from houston where is the best place to fly into?

Good luck to all and have train hard the next few weeks.