Ryan Mac’s HIM Focus Group - CLOSED (Page 24)

My 910xt shows it as long too and I swam pretty straight.  I have 2306 yards on mine, but the course might well have been closer to 2200 yards....my rounding of the turn buoys looks a little less sharp than yours do.  A 1:48/100m pace sounds more in line with my effort than the published 1:57/100m -- both are a lot slower than I should have done, but I clearly forgot I was in a race and thought I was just out for a leisurely swim on Sunday!

Had my RR nearly written, but something happened and BT lost bike, T2, and the portion of run that I had written....will try to re-write and finish tonight.

Alright, BT didn't lose my RR this time

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=531563&posts=1#M5112183 

Good stuff Stuart!   

All those rides will really pay dividends.  I did a 2:30 ride the other week and did not carry enough nutrition and really paid the price.  Apparently I need a reminder every now and then.  It is definitely an important aspect that can be easily overlooked.

Look forward to tracking your race in a few weeks!

I raced a 25K (15.5 miles) run race this past weekend and it kicked my butt.

I ran the first 7-8 miles at 6:25 mile pace and was feeling ok.  The second half is much tougher with rolling terrain and I really started to hurt and fade.  Ended up finishing in 1:44 or 6:40ish pace.

The distance was completely new to me and was difficult for me mentally.  I think it will pay dividends later though.

First triathlon in 2 weeks and then HIM in 4 or 5!

It was the US Road Race 25K Championship.  I think 22,000 runners.

As far as coaching goes, and I can only speak for me, but I hit a plateau and was frustrated with the feeling that I was spending all this time training and not making any serious gains.  For me if I was going to invest all this time (which is precious) into training, then I wanted to get every ounce out of that effort with improvement.  Keep in mind, that for me, I am training to be the best I possibly can be and not just to finish.  I felt like a coach was worth it and I have not been disappointed.

Another point, is people hate change.  The thing that has really sparked gains is him forcing me out of my comfort zone and doing things I would never do on my own.  Something like having the trust to push one sport to the back for awhile to focus on another and really improve it.  I would have never had the mental strength to do that because I thought I would never be able to get back that fitness.  But, when done correctly, it can really really work.

I have unlimited access to him.  I get plans on a weekly basis.  Worth every penny in my opinion.

I don't have a coach, but have really been considering it.  The one thing that's holding me back right now is that I will do very limited racing next year (at least for the first half to three quarters of the year), so it seems like a really inopportune time to invest in a coach.

I'm relatively new to the whole triathlon world.  Last year, I did three HIM's all 8-10 weeks apart -- by the end, I was really burned out and not improving.  I tried to learn from that for this year's race schedule....but then had some setbacks (in the form of too much bad stress in my life, and thus not recovering well) and have still not seen the improvements I'd like. 

I've also tried some different things (a run focus that resulted in no net gains, and then a different run philosophy which has also resulted in no net gains), but feel like I need some guidance if I actually want to improve.  So after the crazy-ness is over next year, I will be strongly considering a coach.

Good points Marc.

I think you really enjoy the data part of it and I do not .  I like to browse it but not really analyze it to see what needs to be changed in my training.  Basically, I prefer all the thinking be done by a coach so I don't have too!!

For Marc, he really enjoys that aspect, so that would be another consideration and is individual.

All good stuff. I don't have a coach.  I do attend a coached swim group. I work really well in group settings more so than 1 on 1 which sounds strange. 

I get quite a bit out of the coached swim group - great feedback and her style seems to change as my needs change. Sometimes she really pushes me, sometimes she's tough and others she just provide positive reinforcement for good effort. I have improved and I definitely push myself harder in the pool as a result of going to her swim than I would if i swam on my own. 

I am in an odd place. I don't think i'll get a coach in the foreseeable future but know a few people who have and it's been a mixed bag of experience. I think being sure that they listen to you is key. A friend who is an excellent runner wanted to improve her bike for her 2nd IM but the coach said he wanted to make sure she was set up for a strong run.  And in the end her 2nd IM was very similar to the first which she achieved on her own. 

I wish I could get into a swim group.  I normally swim at lunch by myself.  There was a good group in the mornings but I no longer make that time work.

I am pretty much 100% solo always on my workouts which is mainly because I just want to focus on my workout and not get distracted.  But, for swimming, I would not mind swimming with some faster folks.

This weekend is going to be a grind:

Saturday: 80 mile TT

Sunday: 2:15 Run

Ugh!

Wow, 80 mile TT??  Do you have a plan for pacing that?  That seems like it would be incredibly mentally challenging!  At least with HIM/IM pacing, you're not hurting that badly....and for a 40k TT, you know you only have to sustain the hurt for an hour!  And an 80 mile long ride (group ride) would almost certainly include some hard efforts and some recovery efforts.  Will really be looking forward to hearing about it!

I am in pain thinking about it.  He wants me around 85%FTP, high end of HIM effort, but honestly I would be surprised if I can maintain that.  I have a feeling I will be limping this home!!

If it makes you feel any better, 85% won't hurt for a while....but an 80 mile ride goes on for longer than "a while", I suppose!  Wishing you all the best and really curious to hear about it after.  I honestly had figured you were coming back to say "oops, 80k, not 80 miles!"  Even 80k would be long!

x2 - best of luck with it - i am sure a good part of it is mental training too! 

But maybe you can nap with the kids ... i would definitely need one after that! 

What %FTP do you think you would ride an 80 mile TT at?