Ironman USA Lake Placid : Official Thread (Page 68)

I feel like Big Proud Momma: way to go, kids, at the races!!!! Aggie, 36 minute PR!!, Dream Chaser is a rock star, First AG Jon!!, sub 5 hours Jay!!!  Crazy good. 

Mr. Brad, I am sorry... I think everyone had good things to say... you are definitely at great fitness, as your HIM showed. 

 Keep calm, and carry on.  (I think this is a British saying....love it) 

Ok, so during a 2 hour workout this morning I encountered crazy hills, strong crosswinds, torrential downpours, extreme humidity, followed by blistering sun...

So aside from hail, locusts, and Mirror Lake turning to blood, what other kind of weather should I prepare for?

Hey kids!

Thanks for talking me down off the ledge!

I swam yesterday and felt ok. Some discomfort but full range of motion. Went to my primary doc this morning and he confirmed chest contusion/bruised ribs. Not much treatment other than keep moving, do some light stretching to keep scar tissue from forming and to keep ancillary muscles loose. He also said that though I am experiencing pain with movement and exercise I can't really do further damage and actually encouraged me to push things just a bit to stimulate blood flow, get muscles moving, etc.

I plan to ramp back up with swimming and cycling and will do some elliptical and stair master stuff as I easy back in to running. I am looking in to water running, but don't have a belt and don't have access to a pool with deep water.

Anyway, I am getting better. Thanks for all the support!!

Thanks for volunteering....not sure where Run Aid Station #3 is but I hope I'm almost done by the time I come through there!!

Enjoy the volunteering...it is a blast.....one note about Monday.....get there early!! The line will build up very quickly.....And it goes slow once it opens.......

Paul

Morning/afternoon from the West Coast! My legs are angry...holy man...hills hills hills...I'm back to the what doesn't kill me makes me stronger approach to forcing myself to train through it. I haven't run on average this slow in a long time...haha. Hopefully I have an a$$ of steel when I go back home to flat Alberta. 

Did a VO2 max run workout this morning. Oh hard runs on tired legs.

Sounds like everyone's training is going well! Sorry you have had a setback Brad Never fun but everyone above is right, takes a few weeks to decompensate and even then you probably only lose 10-20% of cardiovascular fitness. I think the problem is more muscular/skeletal "loss of fitness" compared to cardiovascular over that period of time...so you might be a bit sore while building back up after being out for a few weeks but generally okay CV wise. Don't quote the science behind that statement but I'm pretty sure that is a fairly accurate reiteration of something I learned in some physiology course at some point along the course of my degree?  

The heat is a killer - ran 10miles in central park this morning and my legs just did not want to move. Same thing on Tuesdays run but I thouht that was due to Rev3. I hate to think what someone did in those communal water fountains that I drink out of. I carry Gatorade in those wanky fuel belts but there is only so much that you can carry. City water and GUI has to form some of the rehydration and fuel.

Hope everyone has a productive w/e training. Its going to down in NY so I think i`ll scratch the 112mile ride and just do a long chilled run in the rain - rest the hamstring (only hurts when I cycle)..... Off to heaven (Placid) again in couple weeks (24-27th). I feel if I can do the 112m/13.1m brick then, i`ll be ok....

43 days……

Oh - big thanks to all volunteers in advance. I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering last year….. Met some very cool (crazy) people.

Hey guys...I am happy to say it is not ridiculous hot where I am...which is probably going to bite me in the butt on race day...sigh* Legs still angry...I'm definitely making sure I'm not pushing too hard...and it's not so much "sore" as just crampy/throbby/cranky...so I might just be being a big whiner. My number one priority is to hit race day uninjured. I had problems all last summer into my 70.3 in August and that was no fun.

Also, just rented my wheels for race day! Going to run 404s front and back for the race. I want to have some nice wheels but nothing too aggressive if the weather becomes extremely non cooperative! Haha.

So ya...this race finally feels real to me now that it's less than 7 weeks.  Quite frankly, I'm starting to question why I truly decided to entire this race.  I took the uncommon approach, and registered for it last year before even have completed a triathlon or anything longing than a 10 mile race.  My training has been going well with exception of a lot of slacking on swim, will have no problem building quickly again for it.  A recent ~95 mile bike/6 mile run brick with biking the last 10-15 miles HARD and the run @10:30's with my HR @ my "Could run all day pace" made me realize that pending poor race day execution, bike mechanical failures (please no), illness, or something completely out of my control (hey, happens), that the finish line IS going to happen.

That's my rammble for the night....I've cleary failed at fixing my poor sleep habits. 

Good luck to everyone's training, racing, recovery, etc!  As much as I don't enjoy the time requirements of this training, I feel blessed to be in a position where I am ABLE to do something this cool.  Feels a little selfish, but hopefully it will result in some good long term!

Morning! Hope everyone has a good training weekend! I've got a day camp today in Vancouver. Sounds like there will be some HILLS involved. Haha. My gear is all packed and ready to go. Tired today but I guess that is the name of the game right now.

Have a good one!

completely agree! funny how a lot of folks are having the same thoughts. just finished 80mi bike and 6.5 mi run brick and am like, who am i? Also, it's strange how I guess you can just turn your mind off (for the most part) during training... doesn't seem like it at the time but then you look back and are like where did all that time go? maybe there is some kind of IM hypnosis involved. Maybe I shouldn't post direclty after a long workout because they don't make sense. But the race does feel very real an close!

Don't yell at me, dude

Happy to report a 40 mile ride today. Feeling better every day! Now I need to figure out how to get back in full swing.

Dream Chaser - 2011-06-12 1:56 PM

mndymond - 2011-06-12 10:06 AM Looks like everyone is busy training this weekend! I'm having a difficult start to the morning and procrastinating the start to my ride. Can anyone relate to sluggish? haha. Got to get a move on!

I procastinated this morning, but it was more weather-related.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep!! That will help with the sluggishness.  Also: Caffeine is your friend

WHERE THE HECK IS EVERYONE!!!  We started this thread with A LOT of people, and it seems 75% have just 'disappeared'.  Where you at Ironman Training BT Peeps? 

Haha. Oh caffeine....my old friend. I'm pretty sure I have been exceptionally good at over the past few months at caffeine intake and sleep. Haha. Been keeping a regular 9+hrs of sleep per night. Last night might have been a bit more. I guess the training is just taking it's toll and I just have to HTFU. I haven't been doing hcore volume over the past few weeks either...I guess the intensity has increased in the place of volume though...so maybe that is it.

I became extremely cranky during my ride this morning and turned around earlier than I planned too...the hills were kicking my a$$. I'm happy I switched to 11-28...but in some areas even the 28 wasn't enough to prevent me from getting out of the saddle purely to go forwards. I went across this dam and I'm sure the look on my face would have been epic when I saw the switchbacks when I went around one corner.

SOmething like this:

followed by a gigantic f-bomb under my breath...

I hope LP is easy after all of this. Haha!

Dream Chaser - 2011-06-12 3:56 PM

mndymond - 2011-06-12 10:06 AM Looks like everyone is busy training this weekend! I'm having a difficult start to the morning and procrastinating the start to my ride. Can anyone relate to sluggish? haha. Got to get a move on!

I procastinated this morning, but it was more weather-related.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep!! That will help with the sluggishness.  Also: Caffeine is your friend

WHERE THE HECK IS EVERYONE!!!  We started this thread with A LOT of people, and it seems 75% have just 'disappeared'.  Where you at Ironman Training BT Peeps? 

I'm still here...training is going well...nothing new to report other than I'm fitter than I've ever been in my life.  Can't wait for the race.

I will be getting into town on Tuesday and staying until the following Tuesday...staying at the Wildwood on the Lake motel.  As far as group swims, I would like to do some light swims Wednesday and Friday morning.  Who is up for it?

More importantly, what are the good brewpubs in town.  Really looking forward to having a couple of local ales after the race...maybe even one or two before  Anyone up for a Thursday "carbo loading" happy hour?

Dream Chaser - 2011-06-12 2:56 PM

mndymond - 2011-06-12 10:06 AM Looks like everyone is busy training this weekend! I'm having a difficult start to the morning and procrastinating the start to my ride. Can anyone relate to sluggish? haha. Got to get a move on!

I procastinated this morning, but it was more weather-related.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep!! That will help with the sluggishness.  Also: Caffeine is your friend

WHERE THE HECK IS EVERYONE!!!  We started this thread with A LOT of people, and it seems 75% have just 'disappeared'.  Where you at Ironman Training BT Peeps? 

I'm around.  Just getting back to it after Rev3.  I might actually sneak up to LP and ride the course this week if it works out.

WHERE THE HECK IS EVERYONE!!!  We started this thread with A LOT of people, and it seems 75% have just 'disappeared'.  Where you at Ironman Training BT Peeps? 

 As such a novice I’m a little intimidated by everything the rest of you report, but if you want to remember what it was like to be starting off and not knowing much, here goes.

 We rode a challenging 105 mile course of hills this weekend in which I made and learned from mistakes.  At around mile 37, just after finishing a very challenging hill, I shifted back into my big ring before moving back to a smaller cassette, causing my chain to freeze.  Because it was so tight, we were unable to move it to a smaller ring or cassette and I was left waiting for a SAG van while the rest of my family went on.  Fortunately for me, a couple of very kind riders came by who had the tool to take apart my chain, enabling them to free the chain from its tight position, allowing me to continue.  They also inserted a master link which would make it easier to deal with any future chain problems.  Lessons learned:  1) shift to a smaller cassette before shifting to the big ring [I probably am the only one who would make this mistake, but just in case there is another novice who doesn’t realize the importance of shifting the cassette first] and 2) make sure you have a master link somewhere in your chain.  I finished the ride, but found my bike often reluctant to shift from big to small ring, forcing me to take many hills in the big ring and doing a number on my legs.  At ~ mile 91, there is the dreaded hill called “the Wall”.  My goal was to make it all the way to the top, as last year I had to get off my bike and walk part of it.  But after 60 miles of big ring hill climbs, I was having my doubts.  I decided to give it everything I had and go as far as I could.  I was lucky enough to shift into my small ring and although my legs were screaming at me, I made it to the top!  Needless to say I was pretty excited.    

 piratenick – thanks for the advice regarding the importance of getting a bike fit.  Although I didn’t want to spend the $, I did get a professional fit before doing this ride.  We found that I wasn’t putting the weight where I should be and the problems would only have continued to grow.  Some changes did result in improvement in the discomfort – not discomfort free, but definitely better.

Dream Chaser - 2011-06-12 2:56 PM

mndymond - 2011-06-12 10:06 AM Looks like everyone is busy training this weekend! I'm having a difficult start to the morning and procrastinating the start to my ride. Can anyone relate to sluggish? haha. Got to get a move on!

I procastinated this morning, but it was more weather-related.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep!! That will help with the sluggishness.  Also: Caffeine is your friend

WHERE THE HECK IS EVERYONE!!!  We started this thread with A LOT of people, and it seems 75% have just 'disappeared'.  Where you at Ironman Training BT Peeps? 

Just got back from the Start-Tri camp in Lake Placid. Swam the swim course, biked the bike course, and ran the run course. This weekend will go a long way towards allaying a lot of concerns that I may have had come race weekend.

It rained the better part of the day on Saturday while we were riding the bike course. Good preparation for the race, as I understand it rains quite often in LP. Also had the opportunity to run the LP run course at the same time 3,000 other folks were doing the LP Marathon!

I can't say enough nice things about the two guys that coached this camp; Mickey Cassu and Jason Norman. These guys were fantastic! Food, lodging, and their expertise all at an incredibly reasonable price . It's a small camp, so you can really tap into their extensive knowledge base. They even made a slow piker like me feel welcome.

Thanks a lot guys, I'll see you in July.

rb