Manatee Mentors 2015.2 CLOSED (Poptarts? Pet pics?) (Page 35)

I LOVE this puppy!!

Had a really good training weekend.  I'm not going to write a race report for the 5k on Saturday as it was uneventful and I really wasn't racing it.  Decided that I would treat it with similar intensity to my tempo workouts so as to not compromise my ongoing training.  It was a tough run nontheless due to the hilliness of the course and a very strong headwind on some long exposed sections.  At the finish, I grabbed a drink of water and then immediately ran the course again at a reduced pace to get my miles in.

Next day was able to finally get my longer ride in.  Did a hard 90 minutes on the trainer.  I setup a little transition area in the room and jumped off my bike got my running shoes on and ran a couple of miles.  Over the next few months prepping for my HIM, I think this workout is going to be the key workout of the week.  When the weather gets nicer I'll lengthen it out.  I usually don't run well off the bike but the trail running I've done has provided some very beneficial leg strength.  My short run felt so good.  So glad I scratched the trail HM as there is no way I would have gotten this workout in.

Great job!!  Looks like your foot's healing up well--what a relief, hey?

Went to practice for the first time in a few weeks (I keep finding myself saying that this year!)

We did a long warmup then 4 miles at 6:42 then a 3 mile jog and 5 x 300M barefoot turnover drills on the turf followed by a cooldown.

It felt really good to get out there with the team. I was running with a really talented masters runner who ran the Olympic trials a few times. It's so amazing to be able to have these resources to bounce ideas off of. 

Afterward, my cousin and I went and did some trail running (you can see some entertaining pictures on my instagram) It was pouring down rain but there was still about 2-3' of snow on the trail higher up which we proceeded to post-hole through. Then a snow cornice broke and I fell into a creek... Like totally submerged. Even my head and face went under. lol! My cousin was trying to decided whether he should laugh his azz off or help me out. And I was laughing so hard I could hardly stand up. We were motivated to run faster on the way back so I didn't  become hypthermic, lol. 

Salty dear, you're supposed to take the ice bath *after* exertion, not during it!  Looks like a good, "cleansing" weekend, both mentally and physically. 

How awesome to be able to run with somebody of that caliber at your team practice.  It seems like you're finding a good balance between the team training and your trail running.

Loved the pix, love the story even more! Glad you had fun with your cousin. 

Practice sounds awesome, in a lung burning, leg burning kind of way

Congrats on a great weekend of training!

I knew from context what a "snow cornice" was, but had to google it just to make sure!  

Thanks.  Foot is back to normal.  I think I'm past it.  Wheww 

Haha. Yeah, just keep in mind anything you Google is more intense. This was a very low-danger "accident"

It was just about 3' of snow that was built up on the edge of the creek and when I stepped, it basically broke off and I fell in.

And it the water was only like, 18" deep. I just fell in such a way (face first) that my head went under. 

Glad you just did it as a workout. I imagine that helped in normalizing your foot. 

Was quite a nasty weekend for weather eh?

That sounds like a really tough workout but sounds like you got through it all.  You most certainly are in an eviable position to have such great resources.  Keep up the good work.

Yeah, the wind and rain were pretty nasty this weekend.  I was invited to go do some trail running early Sunday morning but I knew it was going to be crazy out and I wanted to stick with my planned workout.  You must have been freezing after falling in the creek.  Hope it wasn't too far back to the car. 

I'm 12 weeks out.  That's a pretty respectable speed on the bike with the runs.  On the bike, pacing is really the key on race day so as to be able to run well.  I haven't done it well in the past and am really going to focus there.  When I do my long continuous swims I think that I mentally do a good job of thinking about keeping a pace that allows me to bike well but my mentality on the bike has not been as patient and disciplined.  I tend to just ride hard which I guess is ok in practice but come race day it becomes tough to dial it back a notch.  I'm trying to acquire some of this mental discipline now.  With about 15 minutes left in my ride I started thinking and visualizing my run and I think it really helped.  Anyway, I have no doubt after your 10k a few weeks ago that you are going to nail the pacing and have a great race. 

I'm learning better thanks to my wise friends

Salty - so sorry for your cousin.  We're a big family with lots of cousins and all pretty tight.  I can only imagine the shock and pain that caused you - even more for being tragic and sudden.

To switch gears on you (which feel weird), sounds like your own weekend was awesome.  Not sure I'd enjoy the dunking enough to laugh that much whilst wet!  Too funny.

Pops - glad to hear the foot is behind you.  Looking forward to hearing how that key workout works for you going forward.  My last serious go-round with structured HIM training had a similar one (long ride with 2-3 miles right off the bike on Sunday, with Saturday being a 30' warmup on the trainer and the week's long run).  I found it a great strength builder...

MattMS - looking forward to the RR, but that sounds like a heck of a race!

Decent weekend of training here, but more importantly was at SxSW with the family.  What a blast!!!  This is going to be a tough week to hang with my training volume! 

Matt

Wow, Sean!  You're making great progress.  Keep it up!

OMG was going to ask if you guys were going to do some SXSW!

Again, I am sad to miss it this year. It has a very special place in my heart. I generally discover ALL of my music for the whole year there. You could be waiting in line at one of the big, more corporate venues when some random singer/songwriter serenades you who then goes on to become one of the best new artists of the year. Then you get inside the venue to find a full band set up in the restroom, jamming. It's such an awesome experience. 

I've not been to the interactive or film part, which I would also like to go to. 

Walking the aid stations can be a good strategy.  I did that in the two IM's I've done.  In a long race like an HIM or IM, nutrition and hydration are critical to a good day.  By walking the aid stations you have time to grab and get down what you need.  Your body also absorbs calories better when blood flow is diverted back from the extremities.  If you do the math on it you do not lose much time if you keep walking briskly.  Walking all the aid stations is fairly conservative IMO though given what I know of your training and ability but would be good bonk insurance and for a first HIM would be better than walking even a few of the latter miles.  Lot of ways to skin this cat.

Originally posted by Richardsdrr WTF is this? http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-cakes-american-a... 1. WTF is he wearing? 2. WTF is that music? 3. Ok, all Welsh girls are as fit as her, I'll give them that.

hahaha, it's like a public access tv comercial

Hard to see how a Welsh woman producer and Welsh woman actress could get the Welsh so angry at them for not being authentic !!

And, does your post mean that you don't go around in kilts??

Originally posted by Richardsdrr WTF is this? http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-cakes-american-a... 1. WTF is he wearing? 2. WTF is that music? 3. Ok, all Welsh girls are as fit as her, I'll give them that.

And much Walesing and gnashing of teeth ensued.  Good grief!

TLDR version:  What worked for me my first (and so far only) two HIM's:   Don't put yourself in a hole on the swim, OR the bike.  Power as a max effort/spike in effort limiter with HR as the general throttle worked for me on the bike.  Paced the bike a hair slower than I thought I could handle (especially on my first HIM) and could empty the tank on the run if I undershot the biking effort level (I did not, as it happens!), as the converse is painful.  AND HAVE FUN!

Long form response:

Definitely lots of ways to skin the cat.  Lots of pithy expressions about pacing, too.  "You can't win it on the swim, but you can lose it."  "Bike for show, run for dough."  "It's all about the run."  "Float, hammer, jog."  "Float, coast, hammer."  and so on...

Perhaps my favorite, though, is, "It's all about the bike... because it's all about the run."  For many, getting through the swim as fast as you can without blowing up (so, not losing it but not HAMMERING) is the first step.  Then it's bike as consistently hard as you can while saving enough to run as optimally as you can.

THAT is hard to figure out, IMO!  In the couple HIM's I've done (so, not a ton of experience here), I used power to prevent spikes in effort (maximum limiter) and HR to set my general effort level.  I picked both the power and HR numbers based on test rides in training and how I felt in runs off the bike (and then set them even a little lower - by a few bpm - than that, as I figured anything left in the tank at the end of the run I could empty out).  Turned out that being that little bit conservative on the bike kept me from blowing up on the run.  I had NOTHING left in the tank for any kick at the end, but my pace only slowed a little the last couple miles.  I think that had I gone any faster/harder on the bike I would have imploded on the last 5k.  It was pretty painful anyway, those last few miles, and I could not have gone a lot further...

Wow - not sure any of that is helpful, but as I have my first HIM in almost a year in a month or so, this has been on my mind.  Helps me to think through my approach, as I'm rusty and not sure WHAT kind of time I will shoot for... 

This next go 'round, I should have been spending more time on the bike, as I think that effort would pay off **for me** and **at this point in my tri-evolution** with the biggest time savings.  Aw, heck, though - who really knows?  Right now I'm just happy to be back consistently training after a long time not being able to balance that with the move and new job and not letting my family commitments slip (priorities are such for me - tri is great, but it slips to just "fitness" from "competitive" when family or work demand it at this point in my life).

Most important thing is to have fun, and this kind of thinking is fun for me!

Matt