Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 17)

What trainer do you use? What type of workouts on the trainer do you use to get you ready for the hills?

Thanks Tiana

I cannot really speak for anyone else, but my training on a trainer is just interval training and there is no real “hill work” done. I do hill work when I go outside to ride.

Hi there,

I hope everyone is healthy and training going good. I have a question for those who ve done IMKY already. What are the wind conditions on a bike course? Anything we should be ready y for or keep in mind while training,

Thank you,

I haven't done IMKY...yet but since I live in Louisville, I have trained on the course. There is a section of Hwy 42 that tends to have a head wind 90% of the time. It's not a terribly long section but it comes right after some pretty significant hills so it can make recovering from the hills a little more difficult. You go thru the section twice. Otherwise, normally the wind doesn't play much of a factor in my limited experience.

100 days to go!  Who is getting pumped/excited/nervous?

I personnally am........excited.......pumped.......nervous. 

Thats about it.

First IM here.  Following the Free BT IM plan. Currently at week 15 and feeling pretty good.  Did the GA Marathon in March and parlayed that training into IM training.  Just trying not to over train and listen to my body correctly.  We have a far amount of hills here in North GA, so not to worried about the bike. I just want to stay injury free leading up to the race.  Glad I found this thread. 

Silly question and I know it will vary, but what speed do you guys average on a typical 30-50 mile ride?

When you say it that way, it makes me a little nervous being my first IM but I guess I'm more excited than anything.

Ackk!  I just threw up a bit...

This race is 4 years in the making and I can't wait for it to get here.  I find myself day dreaming of running down the finishers chute when I am out on my runs now.  I am a pretty impulsive person and for once I forced myself to take this slowly and enjoy the ride by increasing my race distance one step each year.  So from Couch Potato to Sprint, Olympic, HIM and finally the Full. 

Seemed so far off in 2008 and now that's it's so close...ughh, I am about to explode with excitement, fear, etc.  

WOO HOO!

Joey,

Welcome to the group!!!  I live in the Pinehurst NC area so I'm sure we are close to each other.  I did IM Louisville 2011 and found that the Sandhills area was just about perfect for training for Louisville. If you are familiar with the Pinehurst International Triathlon put on by Set Up Events, that course will prepare you very well for what you will encounter in Kentucky.

I'm going back this year with the hope of setting a PR time for the iron distance.  We should get together and train for Ironman.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Alan

WOW, everyone must be outside training. No posts in a week. I'm doing the BT 20 week program, started a week early and this is the first recovery week. It was a rought 8 weeks. Usual soreness and issues, the right foot is a little tender I believe from my bike shoes.

Would a pair of new carbon shoes help? Could my cleat need to be replaced or adjusted?

For those of you that are interested in training on the course a time or two prior to the race, Bob at Iamtri.com puts on a nice ride of the course several times over the next couple of months.  I live nearby but had never actually ridden the course from start to finish.  Thanks to Bob I was able to ride the entire course with complete with 7(?) water stops.  Traffic was a little scary and I will probably wait for the race to ride again.  Here are some things I made note of...

It's roughly 16 miles to the first 1694 Out and back, mostly uphill but nothing very steep, just long and easy.  1694 out and back has the two longest climbs of the day.  The only really challenging part of either climb is the first 200 meters or so right at the bottom of the valley.   Other than that it's a steady spin to the top in each direction.  The plus about the out and back was the long downhills that you can carry lots of speed and fun on if your into that sort of thing.  

The Lagrange loop is much hillier than I recall having ridden different sections individually.  Of course you get to do this twice.  There are a couple of short climbs on 393 but nothing serious.  However, the rolling hills never seem to end.  Roads overall are in great shape with the only real rough patch being on River Rd. in the last 7 miles or so, not much fun on a tired butt.  The greatest part is that the last 25 miles or so trends downhill which is great for tired legs and lets you spin up a bit to get ready for the run.  

You will pass a Thornton's gas station on 42, about mile 97-98, pat yourself on the back and smile big.  You are about begin your final descent back down to the river.  This is a long downhill that again allows for lots of speed and a chance to start reflecting on your ride and getting mentally ready for the run.  If your like me this is the part where you muster up your best Airline Captains voice and say "Thank you Lady's and Gentlemen, we are about to begin our final descent to Louisville.  The weather is beautiful with a slightly overcast sky and 85 degrees..."   You get the idea.

Jennifer,

I'm from the Pinehurst area and I'm planning on joining one of the Iamtri rides later in the summer.  I'm thinking the last weekend of July.

I rode the course 3 weeks before the race last year, and it was the best thing I did in training.  I think the benefit is enormous, especially for first time IM Louisville participants.

Hope to me you soon

Alan

If I had to guess I would say 100 or so people were there for this ride.  In addition to riding the course IamTri will also be hosting swims in the river beginning in June(?).  If your in the Carolina's I would suspect the hills are similar to your typical riding there.  The river swim may be of value if you are not a regular open water swimmer.  9 hours...I guess it depends on your level of experience and goals for the race as to whether or not it's worth it.  That would be tough for me to justify.