Ryan Mac’s HIM Focus Group - CLOSED (Page 25)

So, I kinda chickened out in some ways.  It was hard mentally to wrap my head around hammering for 80 miles for a couple reasons.  This was the longest ride I have ever done for one, and two I had a 2:15 run on the schedule the following day.

So, I felt pretty good actually, but decided to just start low 200 watts and build from there.  Eventually got my average up to 212 before the legs started burning and I just wanted to get off the bike.  Managed about 73-74 miles at 208NP (low Z3) which is about 10-15 watts below HIM effort.

The legs on the run really felt it about mile 10 but hung tough.  It was hot and humid too but nutrition was pretty good.  Mostly just leg fatigue.

Big weekend for me.  I have a tough brick today and then I think things will wind down a touch with an Olympic Sunday.

Ryan, that mental aspect can be so tough! But good job on getting out there. 80 miles is no joke even if you didn't quite do exactly the workout that was prescribed. 

I had a good weekend. I went out with a couple of friends for a ride on Saturday. We went out to a hilly area and took on some climbs.  One real jerk of a hill where I was cursing the entire time. The F word just kept coming out of me. hahahaha!  We went down a super twisty one that scared the wits out of me - and our one riding buddy went back up. But, I did not. My race is not hilly so i did not need to do that to myself and frankly i was not descending it again!

I logged a two hour run on Sunday mid-day so i am feeling good. I haven't put together a super strong training cycle but I should be able to do at least what I did last year in terms of time for my race. I won't be upset with that. 

I again, have Friday booked off so i can go tackle a long ride - probably solo out in the boonies. 

I can't believe it is May already

Oh and I did my first bike commute of the year today! I cruise it in - no need to be a hero on big city streets. I just want to enjoy not being crammed on transit. 

First triathlon of the year coming up on Sunday - an Olympic.

Feel like I am primed for a good bike-run but will be interesting to see where my swim is at.  Certainly not at my peak swim fitness last year but also not too far off.  Looking forward to it though!!

My first triathlon of the year went pretty well.  I finished 4th OA and 1st AG in what is always a competitive field at this race.  Standing at the start line I was wondering if I would even be top 10.

I have started to be really aggressive at the start of the swim and get good positioning which has really paid off.  I got on the feet of the 'would be' 1st swimmer out and by the first turn about 3-4 of us were together.  I drafted well and a 3 person pack formed and I was eventually 5th out of the water, the last in that train, as the top 2 separated.  Only 90 seconds back out of the water.

On the bike I pushed about 10 watts harder than last year and knew coming off the bike it  may affect my run.  I made up one spot on the bike and moved up to 4th.  Bike was at 242W or 90%FTP.

I came off the bike and the first few miles were terrible.  I usually come off flying but this did not happen.  I could see 3rd right up the road and we were running about the same pace.  Eventually, by 2.5 miles I felt better and started getting faster and negative split the run by about 30 seconds which never usually happens.

The telling thing for me is I finished ahead of some fast guys by 2+minutes that smoked me pretty good last year at this race.  So, a good start to the year.  3 weeks to my first HIM of the year and 2 tough weeks of training.

Nice work, Ryan! 

Your hard work is paying off, clearly! 

Are you using this race to set targets for your HIM?

Great race, Ryan!  Looking forward to hearing about your HIM!

What do you think caused the first few miles of the run to feel terrible?  Was your pace slower than you'd planned / expected at that point, or was it just feeling bad?

The run course is flat but I have never ran it well.  It just felt like I pushed the bike too hard.  The course has two difficult climbs to navigate where it is impossible to get over it without spiking watts.  I just checked my VI and it was 1.03 which is not too bad really.

My splits were

6:39

6:39

6:43

6:30

6:34

6:28

I thought I would be in the 6:20-6:25 pace average so it was a little disheartening at the start. 

I have a pretty good idea of targets for the HIM prior to this race although this is good information to have.  For the HIM, I am probably looking to target 225 watts for the bike and run 7:00 pace.  Conditions will determine how aggressive I am with that.  If it is hot, I will back down both those targets.

Last year, 218 watts got me 2:26 bike split at this race.  Trying to keep time goals out of my head but I really want sub 4:30 .

What does everybody have on tap for the weekend?

I have a 3 hour ride Saturday and my longest run ever on Sunday of 20 miles eeeeeeek!

We've had a lot of storms rolling through recently (about 30 minutes north of me has had some major flooding), but it looks like we have a 2-3 hour window tomorrow morning, so we're starting at 6:30 and hoping to get a solid ride in.  If it's bad, I'll stick with the trainer.

Swim was canceled this morning due to lightning (we swim in an outdoor pool.....full disclosure: they did move to the indoor pool, but the last time I swam in it, I ended up with a gnarly sinus infection, so I won't swim in it anymore), so low volume swim week for me.  Hoping to get in an hour run tonight and a couple shorter runs this weekend as well.

Best of luck for your 20 mile run!  What's your pacing and nutrition strategy going to be?  How much further is this than your previous longest run?  FWIW, I do NOT envy you!

Well done Stuart! 

That is a tough race to set a PR at.  Sounds like you executed your plan very well.

The heat and me do not get along .

Great weekend of training for me.

I had a 3 hour ride scheduled Saturday but it rained all day and had to break it up.  Did 2 hours on the trainer during the day and then followed up at night with a harder sweetspot ride for the last hour.

The 20 mile run Sunday went great.  The conditions were perfect - 60 degrees and nice cool wind off the lake.  The miles just clicked off.  I made a major fumble with nutrition though.  the bike shop was closed sunday so could not get gels.  I had to grab a snickers at the half way point (along with my 1 gel).  I definitely needed some more fuel but luckily it did not cause any big issues.

Last tough week of training before taper!!

Anybody racing in the next 2 weekends?

I have my HIM on June 14 and feeling pretty confident at this point.  Definitely looking forward to it.

I will be really happy when this week is over as this build is starting to take its toll!!

I've got a sprint on the 14th and a 40k TT on the 20th.  Unfortunately, my power meter is acting up and I may need to send it back to Quarq -- if I don't have it back before the 40k, I may bail on that race altogether.  I don't know that I can truly pace a TT well without my PM, and I also would like to use the race as a true test of my FTP -- without my PM, I don't know that I really want to put myself in that much pain...

Hey guys\gals.  I'm back.  I had to sideline Gulf Coast 70.3 because my mom could never recover from her brain aneurysm and passed away.  It's been hard and training came to halt.  I've gained weight because everybody wants to feed you when you are grieving.  I'm 17 weeks out from Augusta 70.3.  I have to lose about 15 pounds, get more efficient in the water, increase FTP and get faster on the run.

First of all, very sorry for the loss.  I am sure that was and still is very difficult.

I would say that 16-20 weeks of focus is enough to allow you to still have a good race at Augusta.  My advice would be to not try to ramp up too quickly, especially with the run.  If you are anxious, increasing bike volume would be your best bet as bike fitness carries over nicely to your run (but not vice versa).

Glad to have you back.

Also so very sorry for your loss. It's never easy but to lose your mom ... you're in my thoughts.

As Ryan said, you can definitely have a good race - here's hoping you find some relief in training. I know in so many circumstances just getting moving makes me feel so much better and give some good time for reflection. 

My race is coming up too. It is on the 14th. I definitely have not put in the bike time i need to feel confident that I could PR but I know i'll be fine. it is what it is and I can't change it now. I should be able to do about the same as last year, I hope

I am tired and cranky though. Looking forward to a nice break from training after this. We're getting ready to get a huge home reno underway and it will give me time to focus on that! 

Plan for my race is pretty much in place, just need to execute and nail my nutrition.

Swim:  Go out hard the first couple hundred and try to find some good feet to follow.

Bike:  Range is 225W to 235W.  I will likely start at 225 and assess how I feel and hopefully build from there.  218W last year got me a 2:26 bike split so depending on conditions should be faster.

Run: Likely working in the low 160s heart rate range which should be well under 7:00 pace but again conditions will dictate.  

Sounds simple right .