Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 18)

Randy - Way to go!

Rene - Glad to hear they at least tried to make up for it. 

Jim- I've had many triathlon dreams. In one I forgot to bring my bike.  In another, I found out the morning of the race that they'd doubled the length of the run. They're really similar to those dreams a lot of people have where they suddenly realize they've got an exam and they've never even been to the class. I thought it was interesting that your dream switched from triathlon to work. Hmmm....

Congratulations to Randy and Rene on 1st AG. Way to go and those times are pretty darn fast ... :-)

My weekend was not nearly as exciting and I didn't get any training in at all ... after 8 hours of putting the swing set for my daughters together I was beat on Saturday and today there it was again ... the yard work ... ! I might make it on the bike trainer tonight for an hour if I don't fall asleep before ... I got 3 more weeks until the OLY! Can't wait to test myself in the OLY distance ... 

Let this week be a better week than last week!

Thanks everyone!  Made it home.  Cleaned up and got unpacked.  Headed to bed soon! Its been a good day...thanks for letting me share it with you.

Randy

Good morning all,

Recovering from a busy weekend at work.  Congrats again to Randy and Rene! 

As IM Texas approaches (less than 3 weeks) the biggest training issue glaring at me is my lack of long bike rides.  I just cannot find enough time to do century rides with my schedule.  I am going to focus extra on bike and swim in the next week before the taper.   I've done centuries multiple times in the past before IM's, but this race I will have to go in without having done one!!.  I've done good volumes in my training, and have improved both run and bike fitness this year, so I will just have to hope this proves out on race day.  My longest ride this year was 82 miles, and this was accomplished at a good pace with lots left over.  Anyone else ever done a full IM wiithout doing a century ride?  Having done IM's in the past, I know what I'm getting into and feel I will be able to get through this.  It's just a little nerve wracking going into it without doing the full distance.  Appreciate any insights!  Jim

Jim-no IM experience here.  But, since you have done numerous races at that distance I suspect you will be fine without doing a century prior to your race this year.  You seem satisfied with your training volume and given your experience I don't think you will miss having done a "long ride" come race day.

Easy ride this evening for me and an easy run tomorrow....then back to training.

Randy 

My race reoport from yesterday is posted in the Race Reports forum.. West Point Lake Olympic.  Sorry I don't know how to link it here.

Randy

Although my own approach to IM will not be what Fred does, I agree with him that this is a valid approach.  Overall volume is much much more important than the length of your long rides.  Jim, you've done the volume.  Trust that and stay within your limits and you are good to go.

Randy, do you wear a heart monitor during your race, or do you just pay attention to it? I'm wondering because I just started training with one and I'm wondering if I should wear it in next weekend's race. 

Alright, so now I'm sharing my angst as my race approaches.

I rarely taper for races, as we've established.  I'm terrible at it, and it sucks, and I don't really understand how it affects me.  But I'm trying.  Today, after a really good swim (my swim taper starts tomorrow) I went out for a short run (3 miles) and I thought I'd do one easy, one at race effort, and one easy.  My 'race effort' mile was a total bust -- 30s faster per mile than what is probably reasonable for me, and I honestly thought "this is awesome -- I'm really holding back".  It's very very frustrating.  The devil in me says "hey so now you know you can go 6:20/mile in the race!" and the reasonable person (so, so much weaker than the devil) says "You idiot!  Stick to the plan!"

The whole point of this race is to learn something about what to expect for IMWI, and I think I'll learn a lot more if I go slightly too easy than too hard and blow up (yet again...).  I just need the will-power to STICK. TO. THE. PLAN.  Why is that so hard?

What is that saying?  You can't teach an old dog..........Oh well never mind. Don't want to be rude.  The taper is the price you pay to kill it on race day!!!  What else have I heard....the hay is in the barn....don't burn down the barn.  Enough of the cliches?  More painful than the taper?  Michael, you are going to have a great race.  Your body just doesn't know what its like to perform fully rested.  Hang in there.  Have to admit I am enjoying your taper....figured you would "struggle" a bit.

Randy

I do wear a HR monitor when racing.  At the race over the weekedn I noticed it had come unhooked when I got on the bike so I pulled it out and tucked it in my top.  I never look at it during the swim and will usually glance at it during the bike and run.  I pay much more attention to my power numbers on the bike and how I feel on the run.  I do think it is beneficial post race to look back and see what my HR was at different points in the race.  Its a great tool but HR can vary greatly depending on the conditions.

Randy

Thanks Jason.  Yes, I was in Fred's mentor group last season and I hold him in very high regard!  He is very knowledgeable and has the talent to boot.

I don't have any experience with the frustration of tapering, but I can related to the frustration of holding back in a workout. Yesterday I was biking on my local paved trail and got passed by a group of bikers and it took everything I had not to try to keep up. I was really trying to stay in Zone 2 with my heart rate and knew that I needed to not kill myself since this is my last week of training...but it was so tough not to try to keep up!

On another note, CELEBRATION! All day today I felt tired and fat, just a little worn out. But I made myself go to the gym tonight, and I'm glad I did. I did 3 miles on the treadmill, slow and under control, and then felt good. So, for the first time I did 15 straight laps in the pool in 17.03! I really focused on pacing myself. It felt great, my breathing was under control, and I had plenty of energy when I was done, and I even sprinted the last length as hard as I could. It's so great to actually see progress since I started training  Feeling great, and the first race is the 12th!

You want taper?  I'll stop by tomorrow on my way back from Florida and force you to run with me... that will take care of your taper pace problem... well, if I figure out a way not to let you speed up... 

That angst is why you're a great racer... me, I relish the taper :-)  Hell, I taper year round!

Hang in there, Michael... just think how you'll sail across pristine White Lake.

Stu

Glad to see you guys still kicking @ss.  I caught up on the posts.  I apologize for the absence.  Sometimes life gets in the way.

Getting up early - I too am working towards this.  I feel it will be key over the coming months for IM training.

Taper - Every workout has a purpose.  SO does the taper.  If Michael can suffer through his swims, he can suffer through a taper!

Hug the ones you love.  Tomorrow is not a guarantee.

Jamie-great job on the run/swim combo workout.  I have always liked that combination.  Last Fall when I was trying to run 5-6 days a week I would often do 20-30 minutes on the treadmill, rinse off/change and do a swim.  I think it really helps with the first few laps of the swim as your HR is up from the previous run.  You don't have that UGH feeling through the first couple of hundred yards while your body adjusts to the increasing HR.  Great job.  Is the swim in your race an open water swim?

Tapering-funny how a word becomes part of our vocabulary.  My daughter, a HS junior, runs cross country but is not very competitive about it.  Throughout the Summer last year I was asking her "Shouldn't you be running today?" or something similar.  She quickly began responding that she was "tapering" for this or that.  I know she had heard me grumbling about  tapering for a race and quickly incorporated the word into her vocabulary for use whenever convenient.  Fortunately, she has not decided that she needs to "taper" for exams.

Randy