Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 47)

My volume hasn't been close to what some of you are pumping out, so I won't begin a taper until end of the week.

Happy taper to all of you that begin now...

Just be careful- you are at a point where you wont really gain fitness, but can put yourself at risk. That said, my first week of taper still has 14 hours in it, and the final 2 weeks it really drops off according to my plan.

I need advice...  I went out for my last long run yesterday with a head cold (sore throat, congestion, etc) and it was a total failure - only did an hour. 

I did 16.4 miles on July 4th and that was my last long run (due to leg muscle burn out issues .. i.e. over training, under recovering).  My question is:  Do I try my long run over again say on Wednesday when I am feeling better or is that too close to the IM?

Does anyone still have a long run planned for this weekend or is everyone in taper mode? 

I am worried about missing this last long run since it's been so long since I did a long run and, if for nothing else, I think I need it for mental confidence going into the IM.

Thanks Guys!!

I think you are ok to run long this week, you really need to focus on tapering the last 2 weeks up to the race. Now is the time to be careful though- if your long run was 16 miles over a month ago, don't go out and try 20 this week just because- that is an opportunity for injury. Good luck

It was still pretty dark outside when we started (really dark when the pros went off), I opted for clear but I was pretty close to the start of the line.  If you're farther back in the que you could probably use smoke.

I can tell you starting at the middle/back you will have alot of people to pass if you are doing a 1hr swim.  I am much slower than you and started crashing into people about 100 yards out and kept hitting walls of people until the turnaround down stream.  This year I am going to try the front of the line.  Good luck as I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, I can't imagine waiting around for 3 hrs.  Good luck

I needed a long run and with time running out, decided to do a 20-miler today rather than wait for the weekend. I feel more comfortable doing it 20 days out rather than 15 days out.

Holy crap. We're 20 days out.

Did I read correctly in your blog that your previous longest run was 13 miles?  So you said the hell with the 10% rule and went right to 50%....glad you got through it, hope you don't have any lingering pains in the following days.

Well, you weren't supposed to see that...

Only you know how you feel after long runs.  Does it normally take you over a week to feel recovered?  If it were me I would be able to do a long run and be confident that I wouldn't be burnt out for a race in two weeks. 

My peak weekend went well.  I did a sprint tri on saturday and a long bike on sunday.  I forgot how to swim as soon as I hit the water on saturday though.  I just couldn't keep my legs from sinking.  The bike sunday went well though.  120 miles with 6200ft of elevation.  I'm into a recovery week now and then taper, taper, race!  I really don't know what to expect from Louisville, but everything I can control should be top notch.

Well here's my newbie two cents on long runs at this point. I'm following the novice plan in Friel and Byrn's "Going Long" and haven't put in near the time and mileage I see some doing on this site. I'm a back of the packer just wanting to finish under the deadline with my body and mind somewhat intact. Friel is not a big fan of any runs over 2 hours period during the last 15 weeks of the training plan. I did my first marathon in the early spring and have done two centuries with half hour runs.

The book agrees with a lot of the others that at this point you won't gain endurance. It will just increase the chance of overtraining or injury. My book absolutely pounds it into you to back off these last three weeks and focus on two "Break Through" workouts a week. One midweek with total off day and a Saturday or Sunday longer one followed by total day off. I'm 49 years old and I'm trusting the training. It's hard because of the unknown. The book is telling me to shift my focus to the mental part of the race from here on out. And that's exactly what I'm trying to do.

My goal is to read the last three chapters of the book everyday until the race so it will be pounded in me not to do something stupid and waste a years worth of training and anxiety.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I wrote this to mainly listen to my own medicine.

How about lunch on Friday?  I don't know anything about the area, so hopefully someone can chime in with ideas on where and then we can figure out a time that will work best for everyone. 

I read "Don't eat the Paste" the night before an IM.  I think it's the best advice I've ever read about race day.

Edited by brown_dog_us 2010-08-09 3:58 PM

Thanks

I know I'm gonna get a lot of crap for not doing a search first, but does anyone have any recommendations as to a bike case rental company?  I want to check my bike in on my flight.

Including an aero bottle... how many water bottles is the avg. person bringing on the bike.  I'm thinking abot my 20oz aero and 20oz water bottle.  

Not trying to get anyone's hopes up, but the 10 day forecast for Louisville is trending towards high 80s...

I really hope that the trend is correct.




I'm going to roll out with a 20 ounce aero bottle (sports drink) and a nutrition bottle. If we can't mix nutrition before the race on Sunday, then I'll have to mix it at the first aid station I come to.

Since there's going to be an aid stop every 10 miles, you probably don't need much more than that, unless you're not going to live off the course.

During my longer training rides, I take 5 full bottles with me. That translates to roughly 6.25 lbs of fluid. I'm going to feel LIGHT come race day!

Edited by tri_d00d 2010-08-10 7:41 AM

Three bottles for me, my aerobottle and two Gatorade/Water mixes. The rest I will get on course.

All the wetsuit / skinsuit talk aside -- I am planning on wearing my two piece and changing bottoms throughout: swim bottoms on swim, bike shorts on bike (throw tri top on over swim top and wear through rest) and run shorts on run. This way I am most comfortable for each leg. Is this crazy talk or is anyone else doing this? (Obviously not shooting for superfast T times - and I heard that you can change in transition).

Thoughts??

I don't think this is crazy at all.  If my tri-top works in the pool for 4k without significant chafing (testing next week), I'll wear tri-top/bike shorts for the swim and bike, then do a complete change for singlet and shorts/fresh socks for the run.  A fresh pair of shorts/socks will help my mental state for sure.  If the tri-top is bad for the swim, I'll be doing what you are doing.

On the bottle question, my aero no longer fits on my bike so I will run at least 1 20oz bottle of water and 1 of electrolyte drink, but maybe 2 bottles of water and one of electrolyte drink, depending on the aid station placement.  I don't want to be rationing my water.  Others may differ but I'd rather carry extra than run out.

Edited by Mrs. brown_dog_us 2010-08-10 8:50 AM

One 40 ounce speedfill mounted low on frame with Infinit at normal strength, 1, 20 ounce bottle in rocket launcher mixed normal strength with Infinit, and 1, 20 ounce bottle mixed 3 times normal strength with Infinit, will mix with water off course.

Can you tell that I am a believer in Infinit?