JohnnyKay and Fred Doucette's HIM/IM focused Mentor group-CLOSED (Page 36)

I did for my first HIM back in 2006.  I think the point of the plan is to get you to finish (and to get through the training without injuring yourself), problem is I don't think that there's enough volume in the plan (on both the run and bike) to make the run go super smoothly unless you have a strong running background (although as a side note, I think lots of people especially in their first half, tend to over pace the bike). 

Have you thought about the intermediate plan?

You have a lot of exciting things coming up. Sounds like your training has you prepared and ready to go!

I'm just as pumped as Jimmy. 90 minute run yesterday, sub 8 average pace. From here on out it's just small little sessions to keep things sharp. Probably a 20-30 minute jog after work today, short swim tomorrow, Wednesday is my travel day, then a few more short sessions Thursday/Friday at the race.

I was asking my fiance last night how she was feeling about the race and aside from "nervous, excited, ready to have my fiance back" she had an interesting comment. She said she doesn't think outsiders know how much time and dedication something like this takes. I'd have to agree. Even I didn't have a full appreciation for the distance when I was doing shorter tris. Imagine someone who doesn't do tris at all, or anything physical for that matter.

I think they can't really get their head around the work required to be ready at the start line...which is like 95% of the race IMO. Instead, they think about the work you'll put in on race day and their head explodes when they hear you'll be working out for 12 hours (if I'm lucky) straight. To me, that's the easy part. All of the sacrifice over the last 20 weeks has been the hard part. A 12 hour race is just the icing on the cake - proof that you've done the hard work during training.

Like in grad school, you take tons of classes inching your way towards some goal. You study your a$$ off, doing the preparation for one big test - call it your thesis or capstone. Getting ready for the test is the hard part. Taking the test is easy if you've done the work, that's the part that earns you the right to slap a new license plate cover on your car or hang the diploma on your wall.

Agree 1000%.  For me the actual Ironman race  is only ONE of the rewards for all the hard work put into preparation for it.  The real reward for me is a sense of well being, the knowledge that I can set goals and complete them, and the confidence in myself that I can push through many unique challenges with a "can do" attitude.  Plus triathlons are just plain fun!!  I know I will never qualify for Kona or even see a podium, but in my own little world I earn that podium every time I show up.

Well...before it's too late (I know they'll be traveling soon and not sure if they'll be on BT)...just wanted to wish Dave and Jimmy safe travels and best of luck at IMTX.

I know Fred's racing this weekend as well (Good luck to you too Sir)...anyone else?  Seems like racing season is kicking into full gear.

Morning everyone!  Pouring rain here in CT (and cold -- high 40s) making training not so fun.  Waiting for the rain to lighten up a little to go out and run and then 2 hours on the trainer tonight.

I feel like the weather has been so non co-operative this year.  Super cold and snowy winter, windy beyond belief spring and now lots of cold rain.  I could really go for 90 degrees and humid.

Good luck to everyone as you get ready to race this weekend.  With the Ironman and really competitive Olympic, I'm guessing there will be some good reading for race reports.

My legs are a little better today, but my god were they shattered yesterday.  I know I didn't leave anything on that run course!

Same in the Midwest...we're all a bit depressed out here.

Best of luck to Dave & Jimmy in TX this weekend!  Sounds like you are both approaching it with a great attitude, so I'm sure you will enjoy the day no matter what challenges are thrown at you.

I'm still recovering from my weekend event.  A small race, with no PR at stake (not even a distance I will likely ever do anywhere else), no fanfare, few fans (and my family, wisely, stayed home), and a day of rain to boot.  It was awesome!

Have to say, I was even less prepared for it than I thought--probably a good thing I never figured that out! 

Feet are feeling better today.  I suppose I'll try my luck at a short run during my lunch break, then going on a group ride after work. 

Bib numbers for IMTX so we can track?

Fred Doucette - 2011-05-17 12:26 PM A couple of good threads in tri talk, including Neil's thread. Go check it out

Neil's thread IS a good one, and it made me want to ask a sort of related question.  

So, when you are primarily focused on tri training and you do a running race, how do you set your time goal?  Would it be realistic for me to try to PR my 5k this weekend, even though I am doing HIM training?  I guess I shouldn't sign up for random races without thinking of how they fit into my overall plan.  I am such a novice.

I've been doing Z1-Z2 stuff, just started doing a tiny bit of Z4 work, maybe 20 MPW?  I am sure last year's PR was done on less as I had just started a beginner OLY training program with much less running...

Nothing wrong with entering some 'random' races.  Racing can be excellent training.  Often it's a good way to get your intensity in for the week.  So, for instance, you don't have to be doing a lot of hard running to go enter a 5k and run hard.

As far as setting goals or expectations for that kind of race, it does help to have some kind of recent result (racing or training) on which to base it.  But, if you don't have it before this weekend, you will have it afterward. 

Biggest thing is not to let it derail your primary goals too much (assuming this is the HIM).  The run should replace any intense running you had planned for the week and/or might have you actually run a little less.  But you should try to get the bulk of your swimming & biking done as planned.

I don't think you (or anyone with your kind of goals) NEEDS to race 5k/10k-type races.  But the recovery costs from those races is relatively low.  A 5k is +/-20min of hard running.  A 10k +/-40min of threshold-type running.  Take out any other hard efforts you might have scheduled in your week and the 'incremental' stress is not that great.  So you get some added training benefit by running harder than you would have plus you get to really push yourself in a race.  It's unlikley you would need to make any major adjustments to the rest of your training from a load standpoint (from a scheduling standpoint may be another issue and is one reason I don't race more often).

Actually, I think in the past I've told you, specifically, I thought it would be good for you to do some more 'short' races.  I still believe that.  Though I know it's not your "thing".

I do plan on using my time to calibrate my run zones.  I don't run 5k's much anymore, but since I started "racing" my times have come down dramatically each time...last year was just under 22 which was a full minute faster than my previous pr.  I know I can't realistically expect to continue to pr by a minute...just not sure where I am going to level out doing non specific (i.e. HIM) training.   

I'll drop any tempo running in the plan out this week, and do everything else pretty much as planned, and I'll hope I can just beat my PR by a couple of seconds, if at all!  Thanks for the thoughts.