Ironman 70.3 California : Official Thread (Page 3)

Chris - good to hear that you're on the mend!  And yeah, I need to get back on the CompuTrainer, too.  As tough as spin can be at times, it's also fairly easy to slack by turning the resistance down to make it more comfortable.  With the CT, there's no escaping the pain.

I treat the LA Fitness classes like a one-hour interval or tempo session.  You definitely spend time working harder than race pace and it's a good way to take advantage of the mornings before work.  I've been more run-focused lately, with the Carlsbad Marathon coming up next month, and have key runs scheduled for the evenings.  I'll stick with the spin / CT and an occasional weekend long ride until after Carlsbad.  I don't mind the cold so much (is it really cold here?), but I definitely don't want to ride outside in the dark.  It's dangerous enough around here out on the roads during daylight hours.

I had a question for some veterans of the 70.3 race and the Oceanside 70.3 in particular.  This will be my first 1/2 and I wanted to set some reasonable time goals for myself and I am having a tough time setting a goal for the Bike Portion of hte race.  If on a flat Olympic distance course I avg approx 20.5 mph, what is reasonable to expect on the Oceanside course considering it is longer & hillier.  I appreciate you help in advance.

I think it will really depend on the wind.  This year, we had a helping wind (especially in the last 10 miles) that took some bite out of the course.  I talked to a "Cali Half" veteran who said that the bike course was the easiest he'd ever seen it.

I would guess that if you could take the wind out of the equation, you might expect to ride somewhere between a mile and two miles per hour slower than your oly pace.  But then that depends on how well you climb.

An example: Earlier this year, with very similar fitness, I did Oceanside and then SuperSeal (flat Olympic), two weeks apart.  I was about 21.25 mph for the 70.3 and then 22.5 for the oly.  Wind conditions were a bit better for Oceanside, so perhaps if all things were equal, the 70.3 would have been about 1-1/2 mph slower?

If you're 20.5 in an Oly, maybe shoot for somewhere around 19 at Oside?  Breaking 3 hours sounds like a good goal.  Who knows, though...lot's of variables.  FWIW: I was 3:03 on a road bike in 2009 (my first HIM).  Wow, was that really just last year?  I guess so...for a couple of weeks, anyway.

Stuck on the trainer for 2:15 today.  Sometimes it's more fun that cleaning my bike after riding on wet roads.

Next week I replace five days of training with five days of eating cookies.   

Ha,  I replaced the last five days of training with five days of sinus infection and coughing.  I like the cookie idea better

still getting lots of rain.  thankfully l only have to run about 200yds to get to the gym (Oxy College) so I'm on the tready again...I know I could run outside but why risk getting sick.

Also, got the new bike frameset today, so I will take that to the shop in a few weeks and have it built up and start some riding again in Jan!

I hope that tomorrow is the last of the stinking rain!  Everyone keeps telling me that my bike training is super important for this race.  The bike trainer just isn't getting it done.   

I ended up missing out on training AND missing out on cookies because I got sick.  Booo.   

  I hope you are on the mend and will be back out training soon. 

Should we be on week 12 of a training plan this week?  I think I have lost count somehow.  Are we really only 12 weeks out?!

twelve weeks from this Saturday! 

Is anyone thinking of wearing a neoprene swim cap?

Hi Everyone.   Just joining in.  Did O'side last year and looking foward to doing it again.

As mentioned already, time is a tickin and I can't believe there are only a few months of training left.

I've been running like a dog lately trying to build up my run over the off season, but cycling has taken a hit.

Got a trainer recently and have been using that a lot given all the rain we've had in So Cal lately.

Also, just got back in the pool over the last week or two.

Man..  got a lot work to do.

Hope everyone's training is going well.

Happy New Year everyone!  Trying to get back to training after a few weeks of not much but eating.

Had to cut my long run a bit short on Sunday (hot feet from brand-new Newtons) and I've been struggling with motivation for a.m. spin.  I've actually thought about swimming a few times, though, so perhaps I'm ahead of where I was last year at this point :P

Track tonight, woo.

Destroyer - I might wear a neoprene cap for the swim.  Couldn't hurt.  I wore one my first year, but not last year (I think I forgot about it).  It felt much warmer this past year - despite the fact that the temps were posted / announced as the same (58°).

I'm expecting the water temp to be below 60°, but I'm just hoping it's not below 55°!

This is my first HIM and it sounds like you guys have a lot of experience and time to train. Am I being under realistic to make my goal just to finish? I know when I am out there I will give it all hell but to start with out a clearly defined goal other than to finish, is that just dumb?I have a 50 hour a week job and a family to provide for (swim, bike not a problem) but I've just been notching 4mi into my run workouts. Is a half Mary plan good enough to finish out the 11 weeks left?

No matter how experienced, I think everyone wishes they had more time to devote to training.  And we all have our strengths and weaknesses (mine is the swim).

If you feel like neither the swim nor bike will pose problems for you (the bike is the toothy part of this race), I would think you can definitely shoot for loftier goals than simply finishing.  The Oceanside run course in itself is not all that challenging.  It's just tough to keep the pace after 3, 4, 5 hours of racing - especially if you've burned too many matches on the bike.  I'm pretty sure the HIM run hurts for everyone.

If your training time is severely limited as you mentioned, I would recommend checking out the half marathon plan from FIRST (see attached).  The plan focuses on three specific run training days - interval, tempo and long.  Of course, the plan can be used as a guideline and I try not to beat myself up if I can't finish every set or hit every split.  The goal for me (at least at this point) is to start every workout and try to go as hard as possible, while still feeling like I can finish the set.  I don't think there's much sense in going out too hard, trying to hit splits that are too fast for my current fitness, if I can't complete the workout.  The idea is to spend time at intensity to make your cruising pace feel easier.  If you're consistent with your training, the sets will become more manageable as you get closer to race day.  I've used FIRST plans for the last 3-4 years and have found that they have gotten me to the starting line healthy and prepared for the distance.

Good luck!




Attachments
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Half Marathon Program.pdf (46KB - 24 downloads)

I'm going to start looking ahead at my training plan and figure out a day that I want to get down to oceanside to run on the course.  It will probably be on a sunday in January or February.  I'll let you guys know if I pick a date.  Feel free to let me know what would work for you if you want to meet up.  Hopefully someone that actually knows the route will be there.   We can run a loop of it together and then do our own thing or whatever works after that.  

I went ahead and ordered a neoprene swim cap.  I got the one by BlueSeventy.  I'll wear it around the house and decide later if I'll wear it for the race.  I also ordered what will be my race goggles, BlueSeventy Vision with mirror blue lenses.  I have them now with yellow lenses.  They are super comfortable and I think the blue will be the ride lens for a rising sun.   

The route's pretty easy, attached a link.  Basically Esplanade to Wisconsin, up the small hill, to Pacific and back.  Only difference is there's a new bridge across the channel on Pacific that you run across, then go up and around the condos, no sand this year.  Was being built the year I did it.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/14617055;jsessionid=40E0596FF8DA79762BC722EC87DADEC1

Edited by ChrisM 2011-01-04 11:47 PM

Mike,Many thanks! I am pretty restricted on time lately and I am really gonna focus on run. I'm gonna put my time in though. I maybe the only finisher whose run time exceeds the bike and swim split combined!

I'm up for course previews any weekend other than Jan 22-23 (Carlsbad) or Feb 12-13 (Palm Springs).  I could do a lap or two on Sunday the 16th if that works for you.  I'm supposed to do 8-12 that weekend to taper for the marathon, so I could do at least one at race pace.  Whatever works with your schedule tho since you have to make the trip down.  I live about 30 min away.

It might be nice to set up a BT bike preview and ride from the harbor, through the front side of base to Christianitos and back.  Maybe even run a loop of the run course after?  Did it last year with some friends a couple of times.  Maybe the weekend of Mar 12 for the brick?

Good call on the tinted lenses for this race.  Visibility after the turn is pretty brutal.  I ended up swimming off into the middle of the course last year and a lifeguard paddler had to redirect me.  Fortunately, there's the big building that helps for sighting.

Just a purely academic question, since none of you guys know me...  I still have hope of showing up and at least finishing.  Swim and bike should be OK, it's the run I have issues with, nagging injuries have prevented me from getting much consistent base in.

Not trying to PR, and the run was never my strong suit (fastest HIM run, and that was when I was in IM shape, was 2:09 on a hard Pumpkinman course). 

Just looking ahead in these last 12 weeks at trying to do a reasonable build up of miles, what would be the run milestone you think I'd have to hit to have the least amount of fitness to be able to finish?  8 miles?  10 miles?  I know I could walk the whole thing, so maybe the answer is "0."

This isn't a "what the least I can do and get away with it?" question as I am really not like that.  I missed this race last year due to a peroneal tendonopathy, I would just like to not have to totally bail a second time. 

All this talk is getting me nervous and excited all at once!  I agree that the rain has really made my bike suffer.  I am just not putting in the time or effort on the trainer that I would be doing outside.  This makes me super nervous since everyone says that the ride is the kicker.  Hopefully, the rain has past for awhile so I can get outside!

Chris, are you having any pain in your hip during your last couple runs?  Your training logs don't mention any in the days that I looked at.  If you can keep putting in  a couple runs a week at 10 min/mile pace you should be able to go from 3 miles to 5 miles in two weeks, then 6 in another week or two and that leaves you another month until race day.  Since you're not new to the distance or sport I would think you could get away with 8 although 10 would be nice. 

I'm going to put in 1:45 for the rollers tonight while watching the first episode from the new season of biggest loser.  It almost sounds like fun.  I think my bike fitness has taken hit as well.  I've put in the time, but I don't have a way to make sure I'm putting in the proper effort while I ride stationary.  

Thanks Paul....hope to see you out there.

Destroyer - no pain during the run.  Just a little soreness after.  I pulled the plug the minute I felt something, and it seemed to happen the last two times when I did back to back days, so I am going to try to avoid that.  I'm just gonna keep on with it and see where it goes.  Being smart about it is going to be the tough part 

I am doing my normal 2 x 3-3.5K masters workouts, and will add a regular third day in Feb.   For biking, I am doing Jorge's winter program using power for the first time.  I have to say using power has really kicked my a$$ over just doing HR intervals like I used to.  On the CT you can set the power where you want to be, and you either make it or you stop.  And unlike a regular trainer, it gets harder the slower you go, so it's a beeyatch

Trying to get in 2-3 during the week and a long one on the weekends.  Probably 60 or so this Sat.  Also planning on adding more hills in Feb.

Edited by ChrisM 2011-01-06 5:35 PM