Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Official Thread (Page 29)

I wore neprene cap and booties at Boise ~70.3 and boy was I happy I did.  More for the cold before the swim, but also for the swim.  Your best bet is to try a swim in a cold lake some time before the race and see if you can barrow a neoprene cap and some booties.  Some people can't wear the cap because they usually have a chin strap and it freaks folks out.  Good luck with whatever you decided.

Maybe I'll get out side this week here in Michigan, but the weekend looks pretty wet. 

yes im ready. making few adjustments to it this week because of other commitments but fine otherwise.  should be painfully fun.

{dkahns51 - 2013-04-21 6:43 PM So to the people following the 36 week plan. You ready ? For the 17 hr, 18:20, 17, then 19 hour week? These are going to be 4 epic weeks ahead of us! I just hurt my knee today so i'm hopping it heals up quick or i will be forced to water run.}

Well I hope my triathlon skills are better than my math skills!!  After reading your message I realized that I was a week ahead as I just did the 17 hour week (I picked up the training around week 2 of competitive season).  So what do you all think...Do I repeat the 17 hour week or do some sort of modification?  This weekend was intense with the iron saturday (which I had to do sunday) and the bike sandwich sunday (which I did on Saturday).  Glad today is a rest day!!!

I was actually a week ahead myself, but i repeated the 15:30 week before the recovery week we just had to get back on track. Just pick a week to do 2x or if you really need it have a 3 week taper.

Definitely wear a cap. I also wore ear plugs because it helps with equalibreum and prevents an ear ache.

Does anyone have advice on ear plug styles?  I seem to have problems finding ones to stay in my ears (smaller ear canal).  I am very concerned (that's an understatement) about the cold water and its effect.

On a positive note, although Saturday morning saw us running in snow flurries, we had our first bike ride on Sunday on which we didn't get snowed or sleeted on.  Yes, it was still windy and cold, yes we had to navigate around large sink holes and flooded areas, but -  we were outside and not on the trainer!  After all this cold training, I hope we don't get our first hot weather for the Ironman.  It would be quite a shock to the body.

I use wax ear plugs. All you do is warm them up by rolling them in your hands for a second then press them into your ears. If you reach over and pull your ear with your opposite hand from behind a little it will open the ear up and you can get it in there a little better. I have only had issues a couple times but that's after I used them a couple times. Just what works for me. I have ear plugs at work all day so i know I could not swim with the standard types.

I personally like the AquaBlock plugs but they make other kinds of ear plugs. I have tried other brands and I think these are the best. Plus they make ear wax too

Mack's

Okay, so I only made it 78 miles on the IM course yesterday, as I bonked at the 65 mile mark.  I road the hill portion twice.   I have road my bike on parts of the course 5x now, and each time the wind has kicked my A$$.   Is it always windy up on the "Prarie" level?  Road conditions pretty bad since last time.  Lots of hazzards spread out over the course.   There is a fine gravel on the hills, and when the wind hits you, going downhill,  you feel the ground slip underneath your tires.  scarey.

My neighbor, who is doing the Boise 1/2IM, swam in Rose lake yesterday.   Said the water temp was 49.  Cold for the first 5 mins....then was not a problem.   I will assume then most of our local shallow lakes about ready for us.

We just had a thread on this same topic here at work. Lake Sammamish here in the Seattle area is at 49F now, that will put most of the smaller lakes at ~50F or better. I'd probably wait for a few more weeks, but yes, looks like we'll be finally getting some OWS practice soon.

I'd cut back to 15:30 this week and then jump up week 7 for next if it was me. I am doing the same plan. Your body will thank you later on.  

So far the 17 hour week is working out pretty good for me. I am making a few modifications to it because of things going on this coming weekend but overall it will be a very big bike week for me. 

I'm hoping coming up to get out to Medical Lake. I think last year I started swimming in it the first week of May. It was cold but tolerable enough to do. I swam at CDA around Memorial Day. Did about 1000 yards that day. I was cold afterwards and during but part of that had to do with the crappy weather the day I went swimming there. Good rollers to practice swimming in though was all I can say about it.

Might of mentioned before but at CDA you can swim pretty close to shore and if you have a problem just stand up. That is one good thing about it there. You can see the bottom down to about 10 feet too which is nice.  Amazing what you find in there. I found what looked like a lifeguard chair there this last year. 

I use wax ear plugs. All you do is warm them up by rolling them in your hands for a second then press them into your ears. If you reach over and pull your ear with your opposite hand from behind a little it will open the ear up and you can get it in there a little better. I have only had issues a couple times but that's after I used them a couple times. Just what works for me. I have ear plugs at work all day so i know I could not swim with the standard types.

I personally like the AquaBlock plugs but they make other kinds of ear plugs. I have tried other brands and I think these are the best. Plus they make ear wax too.

Thanks for the advice.  I went online to order some and was confused by all the choices.  I know I need to get them and start trying them to see what works. Did not realize that they made wax ones.

Any ideas on how to avoid ice cream headaches when putting your head down in the water for the swim?  My coldest swim was in water that was supposedly 59-60 degrees and when I put my head down would get that headache.  Or do you finally adapt?  <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}

Who's in for this Saturday?

Sat Apr 27

63^°

41^°

Cloudy / Wind

Chance of rain:

10%

Wind:

SSW at 20 mph

Definitely use the silicone ear plugs (I think when people say "wax" they are actually referring to the silicone plugs).  Haven't tried it yet, but I've heard that one of the best ways to keep your body temp up, and get rid of the ice cream headache, is a "cap sandwich" - wear a normal cap under a neoprene cap with the race cap  on top.

Here's a thread I found a while ago that has some good cold water tips:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=475100&posts=3&start=1

No go for me on Saturday.  I am doing the Silver Mountain Leadman event, then an open water swim in Rose lake.

Sunday?

I can't do Sunday myself due to scheduling conflict.

I need help getting faster on the bike.   Yah.Yah. I know, dont we all.   But I cant seem to get over 16mph avg on the Cda Course.   If I consistantly push for a faster average, I am completely exhausted in the end.  The hills are killing me.   I dont want to push so hard I loose time by having to walk in the marathon.  Any suggestions?

Well for the most part just practice on those hills at this point IMO.  Spin the hills and if you are going by HR only and no power, remember to ease up on the beginning of the hills and the last 1/4 to 1/3 pick it up a little bit. Sure you can recover a little bit on the downhill but do an active recovery by spinning and pushing lightly.  I'm by far not an expert with this though. 

Have you been fitted to your bike properly? That can make a difference as well. Crank size can matter, cassette you are using as well. Trying to push too hard of a gear going up the hills? I switched to a 165mm from 175mm crank and went from a 53/39 to a 50/34. I also have switched out my cassette to a 11-28 from 12-25.  But I like to spin about 95rpm.

so hopefully some of these ideas will help you out.

Sounds like great advice, but the gear stuff went way over my head...LOL.   You would seriously laugh out loud if you saw my bike.  I did the Cda IM in 2011 and averaged 18.5mph on the old course.   I just need to Man up and do more hills.   How often do you guys/gals consume calories on you bike segment?  What do you choose to eat?

18.5 is a solid bike time. Sounds like you already know what you are doing.

I am not an expert by any means but I think Spie34 just gave you some great advice for the gearing. 53/39 just refers to the number of teeth on your front rings big/small. 12/28 refers to the smallest ring in the back and the largest. Having a 28 in the back makes it easier to spin fast going up a hill.

Yes, you do need to hit the hills but you need to do it in the right gears. Not to expensive to change out your gearing and it will save your legs for the run. I am guessing that if you are on a road bike you might already be using 12/28.

I am still trying to figure out nutrition. I just learned that my body doesn't like the maltodextrin based drinks (like ironman perform) so I will be taking something else on the course. I take something every 20 minutes.

18.5 is pretty stout! 

I did IMTX last year at 17.5 and was happy with that.

I like to eat real food on the bike. I take uncrustables on all training ride and in races, peanut butter and jelly and peanut butter and honey....come on, how good is that? Put a few in the special needs bag for the bike.

If  I am burning 600-700 calories per hr on the bike, and only replace with 3 gel packs/and one bottle of gatorade per hour.    That would put me in a 150-200 calorie per hour deficit.  Should try something else with more calories?