swbkrun's group- CLOSED (Page 55)

Congrats Janet - way to rock that race!

Trevor - take some time to do those short/slow training days.  Take a few days or a week and just recoup, refocus and set your new goals.  You'll get back into the swing of things in no time and you prolly won't lose much ground in that short of a break.

Today I rode outside for the first time this year (still on my old road bike as I'm still waiting for my P2C).  I had limited time and had something to prove to myself - I hit just over 18 miles in 1 hour.  That's one of my best training rides (thank you Spinervals). 

I think my avg race pace last year was 17 mph.  So I am hoping for 22 mph avg race pace this year.  New bike, decent winter training...  TT on the 29th so we'll see.

As far as riding goes, nothing will get you better than T.I.T.S (Time in the Saddle you pervs...)

Look at those skinny whimps that ride the TdF they don't hang out at the gym much, they just ride all day.

Let me know how your TT goes.  I am doing my first in May.  How long is the TT?  Mine is 36K on supposedly very flat ground.

My first is 17.3 miles (K's I'm not sure) then I have a 40k TT in May.  For me, this is the year of the bike.  I'm pretty excited.

Fisk Knob is supposed to be noob friendly... I'll let you know.

Trevor--I think we all react differently post race and I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Give yourself a couple of weeks to chill and rebuild and then pick the plan that will give you an even better results in your next race.  For me, I too often want to train even harder immediately after an event. That can be a disaster for the body when it needs a little R&R.

I did my first race of the season yesterday, the Shamrock Shuffle.  Weather was perfect (40F at the start), the course a series of very challenging hills and lots of costumes to keep you amused (it is Madison after all!).  Got in the groove with a guy for about 3m before he dropped me on the last hill.  Not my best performance, but still had a lot of fun.  Good pacing practice for my 50K relay in a couple of weeks.

Happy Monday!

Anyone have any advice for me in my first 1/2 mary this weekend?

Had my last long training run yesterday 11 miles run at a pretty easy 10:15 pace which has been what the majority of my long runs have been at.  Tempo runs have been at 8:55 pace, speed workouts at 8:10 pace.

What pace I plan on running I have no idea, I am not a good planner.  Would like to do sub 2 hr so that means running 9:00/miles, not 100% sure I can keep that up for 13 miles

I plan on wearing a fuel belt because as I have found in other races I simply cannot drink out of a cup and run at the same time.  Easy with water bottles to squirt and drink.

Pancake flat course at Virginia Beach, weather in the mid/low 50's hopefully no rain.

Two Three questions:

What's your longest Tempo run?
Do you care if you blow up trying to achieve the 2 hours? or is finishing it strong more important?

Hey gang,

Just a quick check in today, I am on business in WI and out of pocket till mid week.  I guess I got it bad.  After not working out on sunday due to rain and the pool being closed, I really had intentions of getting a good workout in yesterday.  I was flying to WI and plan was to get in and get a good run in.  I got delayed out of atlanta and missed my flight in chicago which resulted in a 6 hr layover.  I actually left the airport and checked in to a day pass at the Hilton where I got a 7 mile run in and lifted weights. 

How is that for not sitting at the bar for 6 hrs?... Although I did finish up with a few prior to catching the flight.       Ya'll have a good week.

Longest tempo run was 8 miles, 1 mile warmup, 8 mi @ 8:55, 1 mile cooldown.

Was tough because I did it on a hilly course, didn't keep the pace.

I purposely haven't been very goal oriented so not sure why I have been shooting for the sub 2 hr pace.  That is a good point I suppose I can just run 9 min miles for as long as I can and see if I can sustain for 13 miles if I can't I just slow down.

First, if you can hold 9:09's the whole time you will hit 2 hours.  Based on your Tempo run, I would say you have a very good possibility of hitting that goal, especially on a flat course. 

Two possible options:

1. Be conservative, run the first part of the course at a comfortable (note: not slow) pace with the expectation you will pick it up at the 10K point. 

2. Be aggressive: run at 9's (knowing you are going to bank that :09) for the latter half of the race if you need to slow down.

I am usually more conservative at the start and build.  The downside is that can leave something on the table at the end.  That has happened to me more than once. 

Suzy

Thanks Suzy, I like the banking :09 per mile.

It's difficult because I haven't done 2 races yet of the same distance.

5k, 4miler, 8k, 5 miler, 10k and all my tri's so far have been different distances so difficult to plan anything based on prior experience.

Tony,

I agree with Suzy... Work for a negative split.  Keep in mind your first mile may be pretty quick if you get all caught up in the hype, or REALLY slow because it is a crowded start.  Try to settle into 9:10's or so then when you the second 1/2 of the run be sure to stride it out!  Push 8:50's or so... Your last mile you will usually have a "runner's high" coming towards the finish.

A lot of factors to consider.... Crowds, potty breaks, aid/water stations (are you skipping those?).... All of these factors go into your overall time!  You will do great, but don't hurt yourself. It is better to finish knowing you raced SMART, TRAINED HARD, GAVE IT YOUR ALL, than not finishing at all!   You have plenty of race experience.  Take everything you learned from what you've already race, and read and you will be fine!

Interesting Reads

http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2009/03/faster-farther.html

Barry, nice job on opting for the 7 mile run and a few drinks later vs.  7 drinks and no run! Especially after the crazy travel you had.

Tony, I would hold back a little also.  I think I may have gone out a little too hard on my first half last month...and was pretty gassed at the end...and just 10 sec slower/mile can make a substantial difference in effort and for the first 6 miles of your race, it would only be 1 minute extra, which is nothing when you really think about it.

 I think 8.5 mi was my longest tempo run and it was about 10 sec slower than my race pace which would make it seem like you will smash that goal!  Especially if that run was on hills and your race is on flats.

 Good luck this weekend!

 I am sad because my two hour bike ride today has been changed to trainer ride due to heavy rains again. 

Trevor:  Don't worry too much about the funk. I had that happen after almost every race last  year. It is the let down after you have trainined so hard  for so long and in mere minutes or hours it is all done. It will pass very quickly once you start to focus on your next race. Not only will it pass it will gicve you all kinds of expereince to work with for your next one.

No comment on the half Mary as I have on done one and that was on my own. I know I went out quickly ( I didn't think so at the time) and ended up having to walk run the last 5K.I also didn't have enough hydration/fuel with me for the distance.

Beautiful weather her for the next few days so I am going to try and get an outside bike and run in. Did my siwm today and felt pretty good.

Hi Guys

Gordo was nice enough to let me attend his "first timers" webex call with his athletes today.  I heard a lot of interesting stuff as it pertains to moving up to a HIM or IM.  One area I found particularly interesting was the whole area of "Building Confidence", basically knowingy you are ready for the distance.  He outlined a Big Day Training plan for HIM as follows:

3K Swim followed by a 3-4 hour ride followed by a 20-45 minute run.  In the beginning none is done with a racing mindset, but as you progress you insert mainsets of 20-40 mins/hour of more intense biking with the last mainset being the most difficult.

I know a lot of us are considering/doing our first HIMs this summer/fall and I thought it was something worth doing.  For those who have done longer distance tris, what do you think of this idea?

He had some other good thoughts if anyone is interested.

Suzy

I would be very interested Suzy as I am one of those moving up to the HIM in the fall. I like th idea of confidence building.

Suzy,

Do you know if Gordo archived that to one of his sights?

Hey Rob

The second area I thought was interesting focused on nutrition.  This article highlights a lot of what we discussed.  It is on his site.  He strongly suggested keeping things simple, practicing different types of nutrition and calorie intakes long before race day.

He also discussed how to handle transitions, especially if  you are a first timer which I never would have considered:

T1: Going from hortizontal to vertical is hard on the body.  He suggested walking through it to avoid huge HR spikes.  He suggested drinking only water for the first 20-30 minutes of the bike before transitioning to calories.

T2: Going from a TT position to a running position is also hard on the body. Walk through the transition and start taking in nutrition after the first mile.  The goal is to get enough in the tank to keep you going long term.  If you have enough in the first half of the race your last half has the potential to be stronger!

Hope this helps.

Suzy

Yes, it is on his site. Here is the link: http://www.endurancecorner.com/library/webinars/stepping_up_to_ironman_and_half_ironman

Happy Tuesday everyone, anyone have anything exciting planned for today?  Just bought a new seat for my road bike, lol since I took off parts from that to build up my Tri-bike I need to go back and replace parts.

Need to buy an aero front for my tri-bike so I can give my road bike back it's front.  Then I need to buy some PR 3's for it, never ending hemmoraging of money...

Oh, and taking my son to the Smithsonian Air and space museum today after work, it's cool he is now old enough to enjoy this stuff.

Hi Guys!   

RE: faster/farther, When I first started running, I really like the longer slower efforts.  They seemed easier.    Now that I have been running for six years mainly focusing on the marathon, I am really growing to dislike the longer 20m+ slower runs and much prefer Tempo runs and half marathons.   These might still be considered on the long side, but I find them more enjoyable.  I am wondering if I will feel the same way about triathlons once I start doing something longer than a sprint.

Make it a good day!
Suzy

Well, I am back from the dead... This past month has been crazy but hopefully I can get back on track.  It has been very depressing trying to find a new job in this market.  It has really cut into my training but I do have some good news to report.  I received an offer from a great company here in Austin on Thursday and I am excited.  It worked out great because I was officially laid off from my other job this past friday.  And now for the best news...........I have a 3 week vacation.  I am convinced that I landed the only decent job in town as there is absolutely nothing out there.  The only downside is that I will have to make a pretty deceny commute daily and I am not sure how I am going to get the training I need in.  I will do the best I can though..

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It looks like I'm going to have to skip my half marathon in April.  My daughter's soccer team is having a fund-raising breakfast that same morning and I really feel like I should be there for that (parents are expected to help out although I could probably get out of it if I asked).  But my daughter is more important to me than running this half and I don't want to disappoint her.  It's not necessarily a bad thing though - I have a 10k scheduled for the following weekend that I want to do well at and my first tri is the week after that, so I'm really OK with skipping the half marathon.  And considering my weekly mileage and long runs right now, I wouldn't really be ready for it anyway.  I'm sure I could still finish but wouldn't be happy with my performance.  This way I can re-work my training a little and concentrate more on my swimming and biking, which I need to do anyway.  And there's always the possibility that I can do the 5k that's associated with the half since it's on Saturday. 

Have a good day!
Janet