Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas 2012 : Official Thread (Page 21)

Had to break down tonight and finally hit the treadmill. We have had the craziest winter here, I think it is the least snow I have ever seen to this point of winter in my lifetime. Only about 12 inches so far and they predict about 80-85 inches for the winter.

The problem is we had a thunderstorm Sunday night and got a ton of rain and then....temps dropped and now it is ice everywhere. Roads are getting better but sidewalks and paths are skating rinks are crap.

Was really nice to be able to hold a consistent pace and not need a headlamp.

Saw a note on FB that the Ironman FB site will have the race director for IMTX online for a Q&A on Tuesday the 31st at 2pm CT ....

Anyone still hearing rumors of a bike course change to 2 loops? It seems to have quieted down lately and I would have to think if they were going to change the course it would have been announced by now?

Yea, its been mentioned before but only rumor  .. Maybe someone will ask and get an answer out of the RD on Tuesdays chat

Is anyone riding the north portion of the course Saturday?  I was planning on setting sail around 9am.  I was thinking of 65-75 miles total, but I can be tempted to go more, or less...  If not I will kill my "nerve" on a tough trainer workout

110% completely jealous of you fine folks who get to ride the course as much as you please

you tell me what I can do to help you be better prepared, and I will do it.

Get the folks at Computrainer to release the Real Course Video of IMTX. Talked to the rep at CDA last year in June and he said it should be out late summer early fall, now its almost February and no sign of it. At least if I had that I could "visualize" what the bike course looks and feels like.

Oh, and make it about 70 degrees  outside this weekend so I can go for a nice long ride

Issue sort of solved.  Booked a plane ticket that'll get me home on sunday, 2 hours before my daughter's first communion.  The flight won't be fun but I'll make it back in plenty of time then I can let the pain set in.

Here's the new problem.  Now I have to either ship my bike fedex, ups, or tribike transport.  I'm leaning towards tribike transport because that'll take away the unpacking and packing.  The problem lies in the fact that I'd have to drop the bike off on the 8th.  Maybe it's time I buy a second bike???

Second vote for Tri Bike Transport. It will make your life a lot easier not having to worry about packing it up the night of the race, sucks not having it the days pre-race but in your situation I am sure you will want ease of operation when you get across that finish line.

Awesome though that you will be there on race day with us

We caught a little "warmth" and sunshine yesterday (38 degrees) so I ventured outside for my ride. For some reason  I went south where it is all hills and struggled mightely. The winds picked up, the roads were rough with a little snow and ice on them and the wind chill was mid 20's.

But was able to get in a little over 50 miles outside in January

Now its back to the trainer cause we got 4 inches of snow overnight

I am loving my trainer this year.  I have done most of my rides on the trainer and I feel I am ahead of last year because of it.  This morning I did 3.5 hours using trainerroad.com and netflix.

BTW, if you have not seen the great divide (mountian biking the contenital divide from canada to mexico and hell on wheels (Tour de France through the eys of a german team) I reccomend them. 

Is there a plan you are following on Trainer Road or are you just riding.  I've just put the pt to use and am looking at a way to maximize it as we move towards May.

I am using finks competitive plan again so most rides just say z2.  I did z2 last year and got a lot out of my training, but I do believe I can get more out of my rides. 

To be honest I am just looking for rides based on what I want to do.  I use the search feature and find them based on time, threshold, vo2 max, sweet spot, etc.  I have done both 3 hr rides and rockhouse was an absolute killer.  Something about 4 x 30 sec at 147% of ftp after 2:50 on the trainer.  be very careful becasue if you do not factor in your runs/swims it makes for a long week.  I was in the middle of a ride this past week and I was worthless.  I changed it to the "free ride" and just started spinning.  Jorge has a 7 week plan that would be good to follow now that training is just getting on its way.  I have my mind made up that this is the way i will train most of the way this year.  I am getting some killer workouts and I love having a data point to chase.  I hope to get my ftp/kg close to 3.5 or more before may.  I am losing the weight and working hard to do it and I plan on testing again in 4 weeks to see where I am at.   

KSH- since you are the resident swimmer I have a question.  Last year I swam a mediocre 1:17 at IMTX.  I never did hard intervals, but rather swam the given distance of what ever workout I felt like doing.  After the IM I had a friend come watch me swim (he is a low 50 IM swimmer) and the only thing he saw was I was not gliding enough during my swim.  Right now I know I can go out and swim the distance in exactly what I did last year, but that is not good enough for me.  I plan on swimming a 1000TT on Monday then replanning my swim workouts for the remainder of the training.  This month I swam more than anymonth last year in prep for this race, but I am still the same speed.  Can you throw out a workout or two that I can build on?  I have 3 swims a week for sure and I will not have a 4th until it gets warmer out and our outdoor pool in the neighbor hood warms up.  HELP me. 

I believe if I can get my swim better I will be able to meet another huge goal

So 2 weeks in a row I have missed my Sunday afternoon ride due to family, but they have only been a sceduled 30 minute spin.  I have had a good 3 rides, but my goal is to get to 4 rides a week with a 5th ride mixed in.  I want to improve my swimming, bike then run. 

A pretty descent week of training for me. All my runs were on the treadmill due to ice and snow but did get a ride outside on the "nice" day of the week. Swimming is starting to come along but still have a ton of work to do. NEED to get my weight down also, running out of weeks.

Train hard everyone!

Thanks for taking the time and responding.  I will do the TT tomorrow.  Last year I swam on Mondays and I still have that in my mind.  I guess finishing about the same time will be ok, if I am real fresh coming out.  I know I have a few minutes in T1&T2 to save with being fresh out of water, remembering where my T1 bag is and not changing from bike to tri shorts this year.  I guess my point is I want to do the most with my workouts and go in knowing I did not cheat myself.  No second guessing this year like I did last...

It's been a good and solid month...31days = 31workouts (more like 50 with two-a-days).  I was travelling for work all month, but had a good gym nearby with a pool and spin classes to keep me on schedule.  It's good to be back home with my real bike and normal training grounds!

Likewise...February really starts increasing the volume and intensity.  I'm looking forward to another good month of training!  I hope everyone is staying healthy and training hard!

January was good, I feel like I'm getting my endurance and strength back. The weather has been warm which is nice for the bike rides, but a little nervous for what that means for May. I'm hoping we will still get a "winter" maybe it's just a little late resulting in a cooler May!

This week is a recovery week for me. Looking forward to the volume increase in February!!