Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 45)

Originally posted by BigAirT

Originally posted by bgeyeguy

Question for the group.  I am doing a sprint in August that has a pretty steady/steep climb of about 5 miles after descending the same hill.  For a steady state effort, do I do back to my roadie days of switching muscle groups (but did not have to run afterwards), quads to hamis (sitting more back in saddle), with some standing if the effort calls for it, or just stay with quads and slide more to front of saddle and push down more (tri bike).  I will be switching my cassette to the 28'er to give me some more wiggle to easy spin as much as possible.  I am going to the site of the race in two weeks to ride up and down a few times as well.

I was experimenting today on trainer with some big gear efforts to simulate slow cadence efforts up the hill.

Thanks.

Fred, glad you back is better and looking forward to see you defend the honor of the the USA!

brian

Don't know the exact grade of hill, but some of the better cyclists on our team said they were relegated to 7-9mph going up the 5 miles. Not sure if that was a 'Battle story" exaggeration. 

I don't know the correct answer, all I can do is tell how I handle big hills (I've been told I'm pretty good on them & I do pass a lot of people on the hills). I tend to mix it up on big hills, I will move forward and back as well as up and down to use different muscle groups so I don't burn my legs out too quickly or push my HR through the roof. I also tend to push a little bigger gear than most & just gut it out on shorter hills or to give that last push as I'm nearing the top. This being said we have gears for a reason so don't be afraid to use them, mix it up, interval it, whatever it takes. I know it sounds like I'm talking in circles, I guess that goes with my ADD, what was I talking about To summarize, I mix things up as I feel I have to in order to make the hill in light of how my body feels & how much race/ride I have left. Try googling a "Map My Ride" of the race route or any elevation info you can find then practice on hills as close as you can find, if you don't have hills as long try doing them multiple times. Hope this helps!

Thanks Big AirT!!  Will do1

What's on tap for training for everyone today?

I was able to get in about a 6 mile run this morning and will try to get in about 4k in the pool this evening.

Today was a 1 hour peppy ride this morning and... NOTHING ELSE!

I love rest & test week.  I get to recover and, best of all, race this weekend!

Matt

Today was a 1.5m OWS followed by a moderate 30 minute run.  An easy day before tomorrow's 1m s/2:30 hr b/1 hr run triple brick.  When I went to my gym to swim last week there was a notice the pool would be closed for maintenance all this week which kinda made me accelerate my move to OWS, and I'm glad it did.  Haven't done OWS much and I'm struggling to keep in a straight line, so more practice will be a good thing!  Increasing sighting frequency to try and get it under control but I think I just got spoiled by the black line . . .

On a related but separate note, when I did my Oly last year I asked the rules official if it was OK to wear a tempo trainer under the swim cap during the swim, and he said it was OK, so that was going to be a part of my plan for Vineman 70.3 to keep from rushing during the swim.  Well, I saw a posting somewhere that said this was NOT legal, so did further research which eventually led me to sending an email to the USAT for clarification.  Turns out it is OK to wear the tempo trainer during the race, but not anywhere on the head (they said it was OK to attach it to the collar of the wetsuit) which pretty much negates the value of the device.  So, anyone have good advice for keeping the adrenaline under control during the first few hundred yards?  As a side note, the advice I have received about the venue is that there is no chance to get in the water and swim a couple of hundred before your wave.  Waves are separated by 6 minutes and you get to get wet during that time and maybe cram in a few strokes, but that's it.

Baby Brick, 45min/20min.

About an hour on the trainer this a.m. and then a 1.5mi OWS after work. Water was great and I was so happy to be out there. Wasn't sure if the beach would be closed bc we had storms this morning and afternoon, but it cleared up in time for me to head out and bonus: not many people there so I was able to get a locker. And!! I was able to put on my long sleeve wetsuit sans assistance (I've been having trouble with the arms/shoulders).

Very proud of myself this morning

I put my big girl bike shorts on and did a ride that has intimidated me since I started training with (virtual) power -- the dreaded 2x20 @ FTP.  It actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting.  I held my FTP for both of the 20 minute intervals....legs were a little tired by the end of the intervals, but heart rate still had room to go up a bit.  It was more of a mental game to not stare at the time!

Still dealing with whatever this sickness was -- mostly just pain in my lymph node and the left side of my neck.  Swimming tonight could be a failure, but riding was alright.

Great job.  You do realize though that this is a double edged sword.  Great that you finished the workout as prescribed...but a little scary because this means your FTP has likely gone up, and you need to shoot for a higher number (read more suffering) next time. 

Hah, yep, I even wrote that in my training log this morning!  I have plans to do a new 20 minute test next Saturday.  I expect future workouts will hurt even more!

Today was a triple brick and I felt it went really well.  It was the first swim that I've left the tempo trainer in the bag (per my post above).  Got home and looked at the Garmin data.  It said my OWS(in a reservoir swimming area 88 yds long, so laps) was 1654 yards in 24:24 which calculates out to a pace of 1:28/100 yds.  That was way cool since my previous continuous swim times in the pool were at about a 1:50.  If only!  I think my Garmin had a bit of a brain fart as that seems like a bit of a stretch!  We'll see what the next swim brings.

You didn't count how many laps of 88 yards you did? 

Either way, nice swim.  I've been swimming a lot more recently and have been seeing some really nice gains in fitness.  Last night I was able to do a 6x100 sending off at 2' where the goal was to either hold the same pace or go faster with each rep.  I held 1:21, 21, 21, 20, 20, 20.  Earlier this year my fastest 100 all out was 1:21.  By the end of this week I should have about 30k yards over the past 3 weeks.  I'm hopefully optimistic that I can sustain 10-11k a week for the next 15 weeks.

Wow, that is fast!!

I got back in the pool last night, I only managed 800yds.  Got too frustrated by having a breast stroker on both sides of me, but remembered that I have to be patient because that is how I started a few years back.  But I don't remember kicking people who were swimming next to me.  I guess the positive, it will prepare me for getting kicked during my next race.

I'm glad the swim is going well for you all.  Actually, it has been for me, as well (best swim fitness I've ever been in the last month or so, by a long measure), and I've been enjoying it.  Yes, even the vomit-inducing sets in the pool, as they seem to be paying off!

Unfortunately, yesterday during an easy rest-week swim in the local pond, I seem to have aggravated my left shoulder (same thing as when I tried to "swim pretty" during my one and only ever swim lesson last December - and that had me out of the pool for 6 weeks with a cortisone shot and a slow ramp back later in the winter).

Such a mind-*&^*#@, as this is a REST week and I'm going to race my first ever Oly on Sunday.  Plus, I have another 3 races after this one (a sprint, Oly and first ever HIM) to which I've really been looking forward and also have been feeling pretty good about the training...

ARGH.  Well, I hope it's just minor, easily treated in 24-48 hours with ibuprofen and rest, and won't take me out of racing for the season.  Although, as I often say, "Hope is not a strategy."    I'm going to start the race on Sunday, but will drop if it feels like the shoulder is at all an issue.  While I LOVE to race, I like being able to feed myself and do other ADL's even more.  

Will let you know how it goes - just wanted to let off a little steam (I figured y'all would get it).  Sorry to be a downer!!

Have a great weekend all.  Gotta go pack for the race and a weekend in VT (so, it'll be a good weekend with the family on a lake even if I don't race - I just need to remind myself of that).     I'll put up a potentially VERY short RR after.  LOL

Matt

Wow, Jason, that's some good progress!  I think I'm right about where you used to be -- my 100 all-out is just on the verge of going sub-1:20, so maybe if I stick with my (relatively) high volume swimming, I'll get to the point where I can hold paces like that! 

I swam this morning and it seems that my cruise all day pace is about 100's on a 1:45 interval.  That consistently gives me 7-9 seconds of rest.  Of course, that just means that the Master's coaches are going to realize it soon and make me go on a faster interval

We need to find you a team and get you road racing!!!

I was able to get in a good 6ish mile run this morning and will swim about 3k OW later.  At the end of my run, it started to drizzle a bit just as the sun was coming out and it created a huge rainbow going right across the street I was heading down.  Too bad I didn't have a camera on me.

Will be riding about 100 tomorrow with a few other guys training for various IMs.  I'll be on my road bike again sucking wheels when I need to and just focusing on getting time in the saddle.  I'll probably get back on the tri bike next week.