kenj triathletes in training - IM and HIM focused - Closed (Page 35)

A couple thoughts Becky, but first of all, great weekend of training!!

One thing to remember in comparing workouts to races is rest and recovery.  When you race, especially your A race, you will not have a 14 mile run in the day before.  That run creates a fatigue factor that hopefully you wont have on race day.  It also depletes your glycogen stores that you will be building leading up to your race, so you probably started a bit under fueled, regardless of what you ate after the run or before the bike.    Another intangible is the race day adrenaline.  Something that needs to be managed, but if managed properly so you don't go out too fast, can provide a bit of a boost over the course of the day.

In the end, you can't base your race strategy on one weekend of training.  You will have some weekends that are good, others not so good.  It is all cumulative. 

Thanks DJ!  Yes, this race wasn't even on the schedule a couple of weeks ago, it was a last minute add on.  I have a race the weekend after next that is a sprint on Saturday and a HIM on Sunday called the double Mussel.  (named after the Zebra Mussel's in the lake).  I have done both races in the past but never both the same weekend so it should be a learning experience.  My A race though is IMFL not until November and I have another full IM in August.

I hope you guys get some relief from the heat, Elvis was just on from the Las Vegas strip and it is so hot he had to dress as Hawaii Elvis, LOL!   My son who lives in SO Cal was complaining about it as well.  On the other hand, we on the East Coast are preparing to build an arc. 

That sounds like a great ride!!

Great perspective!  A lot of people will say that they could never do an IM, and I tell them that it isnt the race distance, but the commitment to the training.  It is an undertaking that tests your resolve to reach the goal!

Originally posted by Omahabritt Hey everyone, gone for a bit & back again. The 2 weeks after Kansas, I did a bit of soul searching, ignored BT, missed 2 weekends worth of long workouts (one for no reason at all & one due to my Mom's celebration of life ceremony.). I seriously considered dropping out of IMWI. Luckily, my cousin & his wife came into town, & talked some sense into me. (They have both done IMWI several times.) So last week, I decided to switch training plans (I've never felt fully on board with Fink-& affected my HIM), & got back in the groove. Finished "bike week", where I had 5 rides total (11hours, 174miles total), lots of hills, hill repeats etc. Not including another 1 1/2hr ride this am (my quads were finally crying "uncle"). I'm feeling much better & looking forward to the next 10 weeks of training before IMWI. DJ-The weather in Vegas is crazy! In the paper they were worried about the concrete burning the feet of people & pets! Yikes! Brian--now your back ?!? When are you going to catch a break? Sorry about your wife & her issues as well. It's got to be hard having to deal with something so uncommon. Glad Desoto was able to help you out. My trisuit was Desoto & I loved it. (I say was, because we forgot the plastic transition bag at the hotel in KS. I thought it only had my googles & IM swim cap. A couple days later, when doing laundry, & realized the trisuit was in there as well! , we had already called & there was no sign of it) Sounds like everyone has had some good races!!

Great to have you back in the game.  You went through an emotional time I am sure and adding the pressure of IM training on top of that it is easy to see how you could become overwhelmed.   Sorry about leaving your bag behind!! I lose more HR straps that way!

Sounds like you had a great week of training Ali!! Glad to hear you had someone to talk to about IM!!

If I were swimming in the pool I would do a couple of longer straight swims, but would still do a lot of drills and interval on other days just due to the boredom.  When I have open water access, like from now through September, I do straight swims almost exclusively.  I will force myself to the pool once in a while if I think I am losing form or intensity, which I have a tendency to do swimming only one pace.

Racing is fun, but I think you are getting close enough to your A race where a race may become counter productive in the sense that you would probably be giving up whatever long session you would be doing on that day. 

Just my 2 cents.

Congrats on the PR Adam, sounds like you had a well executed race!! I am glad your race went well!!

Pre race jitters aren't uncommon, I get them as well although I must admit not as much as I used to.  I try and make a race or 2 a year an A race to get the adrenaline flowing which will make me a bit nervous pre race, but then it also makes the other races seem like I want to be anywhere but there at the time.  But once I get going I am usually ok.

Again, great job Adam!!

Originally posted by Meulen

Originally posted by acv Any thoughts on this..... It seems I always have the "why am I doing this" pre-race thoughts during the race briefing. Thinking back I've almost always felt this way. Maybe once or twice I didn't have those feelings but I had them again on Sunday. After the race I'm always pumped about it and during the race I'm very focused but right before I say to myself why am I doing this. Maybe I am just crazy and this is my brains way of telling me that I'm crazy for doing this.......

I'm kind of the same way. Races are stressful to me, which is the exact opposite reason I got into this sport. It's a hassle to get all your gear together, travel, and get to that starting line very early in the morning. After it's done it validates the work you did so of course you are pumped. You should be! Personally, I could do without the races and be perfectly content training and hitting weight loss or performance goals. But, just like training isn't always fun, the results are mentally rewarding. whether results be losing 20lbs or taking 20 minutes off your HIM time. So even if racing is stressful it gets me to that result and sense of accomplishment I'm looking for. I always admire guys like Bill that race so much. I would mentally pop! My life is soooo stressful outside of tri's with my job, I like to know that if I can't wake up an hour late I can still go for that ride I had planned. I couldn't get myself to the starting line every weekend on time. I need to shift things around and make them work to keep me happy. I wish I could do it mentally, because there is a huge benefit to all that racing experience. People I know that race all the time still struggle with race strategies, but it always seems they are dealing with slight adjustments rather than big disasters. That said....I've only race 2x this year and won't race again due to injury. To be honest, I don't miss having to travel and get to a race. But I do miss the fact that I won't have a performance baseline, or an accurate nutrition/race strategy that will reflect my current fitness next season, and I won't have sense of accomplishment for the work I put in for quite some time.

I am not sure I would have the discipline to train as much as I do without have the race as a goal.  I am impressed with people that do.  I do agree though that this needs to be a source of stress relief from the daily grind of work.  If this becomes just another chore it would lose its appeal to me.  That is why it is nice to have a Sunday rest day or take some time off for vacation after the season is over. 

Back to training this morning with a short, but intense bike ride.  I did it on the trainer after the strength training program.  As usual it is raining here again.

I did throw together a race report for the race this weekend if anyone is suffering from insomnia!   You can find it here!

Good advice, even after you get recovered. 

The rain around here is getting close to ridiculous and I think you get everything that we get.  When it isn't raining, it is 100% humidity due to all the rain.  Oh well, can't control the weather (but we can complain about it! ) 

Karen, are you getting any PT for the shoulder?  Before the MRI found the tear, they treated mine as bursitis and had me do some PT.  A lot of it was stretching the joint and some strengthening. 

You may have a stretched bolt on your seat, I wouldn't worry about the bike shop.  If it is the bolt, it is probably a specific bolt you would have to go to them for anyways.

Have fun at the track, I used to race cars myself.  Lots of fun, but makes triathlon look inexpensive!!

Very good Becky!  Your swimming will continue to improve as you train, especially the ability to pace properly for the distance.  You should try pushing one of your other 3500 swims past where you think you need to be to test the other end of the spectrum too.