Ironman St. George - Utah : Official Thread (Page 7)

We went up last weekend and did a loop of the bike and run.  It's absolutely beautiful scenery and a nice community.  The race will be very memorable.   A fun part of the bike loop is finiding a great corner bakery on the way back into town as you turn on U18.  It's right after the big switchback.  I've never had a bear claw on a ride before and it sure was tasty.

There is the little Mom and Pop place called the Bear Paw at 75 North Main St. You need to go there for your recovery meal and order the breakfast potatoes. Absolutely stellar.

Mike

I'll put my wetsuit on and either head to Barton Springs or if Lake Travis has enough water near Lakeway Park I'll get in there.

I will post a report on the IMSG course when I get back. In particular, I'm looking forward to being able to solidfy what type of crank and gearing I'll use come race day. I'm leaning towards a compact crank but won't decide until after I ride it. I currently run a 12-23 on back so anything I change to will provide more spinning capability.

I'm squarely in the 'bring it' camp.

My longs lately are:
Swim 2.5 miles
Bike 85 miles
Run 16 miles

Totals for week are
Swim 7.5 miles
Bike 160 miles
Run 42 miles

I guess that leaves me in the "Got Left Behind Camp". Great weekly mileage!

i am coming off my own injury as well with a muscle strain along the outer part of my right shin. pretty much was killing me to bike or run but i think i am getting past it now. time to whip up a training plan for the next 3.5 months.

rick, i look forward to your scouting report for utah and how the terrain compares to austin. i like to frequent the fitzhughs route to johnson city that is laced with hills. the jack and adams team (several of them racing IMSG) do a marbles falls 150mile super loop that will make a man of you. its got some insane climbing at times (its one of my bike routes if you want to check it out) that i plan to do once or twice. i also plan to race the tall texan half in borne march 28 (i think). its 5 weeks out from IMSG. the bike course is super hilly and the run is a little rough so should be a good indicator of were your fitness is for utah and leave you a few weeks to make some last second adjustments.

good luck to everyone as we approach may 1st!

Todd, let's absolutely plan on doing Fitzhugh. I'm ready for a change of bike scenery and I've never done that ride. I've heard it's great.

I don't have plans for Tall Texan Half as that's to close to IMSG. I did Longhorn 4 weeks before IMFL last time and I just don't have the ability to train during a race. If I'm entered I want to race it. I think I lost some valuable training time last time I did a half that close to IM.

I was thinking about the Tall Texan as well (I am in Houston).  I had a serious foot injury last summer and recovery was tough and I am just now getting in the long rides and runs.  I have never done a full Ironman so my question for you experienced Ironmen is should I do the Tall Texan half 5 weeks prior to IMSG?  I have done quite a few halfs and know what to expect of the Tall Texan (it was my first half over 4 years ago).  I am planning on doing it as training and just looking for a 6 to 7 hour training day - should I do it or should I just leave all my gas in the tank for May 1st, bear in mind my goal in IMSG is just to finish at 16:59:59 or better.

Thanks for your advice

doing the tall texan depends on how you approach the race. if you go all out it could effect your IM performance. however, being 5 weeks out i think its the perfect amount of time to taper. i want the race feel prior to utah and i want the challenging bike course followed by at least 6 hard running miles. i plan the race the tall texan and then a sprint 3 weeks out as well.

rick, i am done for the fitzhughs ride soon (maybe feb 7th).

Just signed up for a Multisports.com training camp in St George for the end of Feb! I'm really excited to ride and run the course just to be somewhat comfortable prior to the race.

Thank goodness...I was in the "I'm freaking out" camp since this is my first IM...but the last month was spectacular!  Here are my longs:

Swim: 3,000m
Bike: 92 miles
Run: 16 miles

So this puts me in the "I'm freaking out camp" my longs are just:
Swim - 2500 meters 1:05
Bike - 59 miles 4 hrs
Run - 11 miles 2:10

you guys are already up to 90+ miles for a long rides???

I'm only to about 60 and I'm not freaking out at all.  There is plenty of time yet.


I did a 4750 meter swim, 60 mile bike, and probably 7-8 mile run so far.   Feeling easy and feeling good.  Those number should be going up pretty fast pretty soon.  Can't wait.

Don't freak out.  For most IMers, it's more about heart and a "don't quit" attitude than anything else... including trianing (within reason, of course).

I agree, just because people are putting in long runs and rides doesn't really mean much at this point. I know lots of people that won't put in as many miles as I do and they'll be faster than me. It's always a fine balance between just right and burn out. I'm fortunate because I have a much bigger base than I had for my last IM. In fact, I have been looking back at my logs for the same time prior to my last IM just as a comparison and I was nowhere near the volume I am now. Granted, I have some different goals for this race but volume isn't everything. I've had plenty of shorter, more intense workouts that were downright nasty.

I hope that is true. I just got sidelined with a little peroneal tendonitis and have been grounded from running or biking for a while. Ugh! I am working hard with PT and won't start freaking out for another week or so if things don't start getting much better in a hurry.

Hmmmmm. You guys are cycling maniacs already putting up 100 mile rides. I'd probably throw my bike off a cliff while I was on it if I was doing those long rides right now through April.

My longs:

Swim: 0
Bike: 55
Run: 13

When I do not swim train I come out of 4000yds in about 59 minutes. When I am incredibly swim fit I come out in about 57 minutes. So I say SCREW IT!

FYI...here's the last 5 yrs of Weather on May 1.

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Max Temp (Time)	78	91	86	66	84
	4-6:00PM	4-6:00PM	Noon-7:00PM	4-6:00PM	4:00PM
Min Temp	57	60	66	42	55
(Time)	7:00AM	7:00AM	5-7:00AM	7:00AM	7:00AM
Avg. Wind	8mph	4mph	7mph	15mph	4mph
Max Wind	33mph	38mph	29mph	44mph	24mph
(Time)	4-8:00PM	4-8:00PM	3-8:00PM	3:00AM	5-7:00PM

Attachments
----------------
St. George 5 yr Weather History.xls (34KB - 14 downloads)

My Max distances are below.  I agree that there is no true ratio to training distance and success!!  I am using a coach for the first time so my bike miles are higher than usual but i needed that.

Swim - 3800Y
Bike - 100 miles
Run - 16 miles

Lots of shorter speed work as well.

The caveat for me as far as my long runs to-date is that I'm not just training for IMSG, but also for LA Marathon on March 21...I wouldn't be running 3+ hours yet if it wasn't for that.  (And, if I avoid re-injury, I'm not just running LA, but taking a shot at a BQ, if all systems are 'go' on race day.)

However, with the bike, 80-90 miles is a long ways from 112 in my experience and I've still got to ramp up the amount of climbing on my long rides in addition to continuing to build volume in order to hit my goals.  Frankly, IMO, I'm about a week off where I'd like to be on the bike at this point.  I'd already built to a 81 mile/5:25 ride by about 16 weeks (111 days) out from my first IM...first 100 mile ride was 8 weeks out...and I was definitely not overtrained by race day....slightly undertrained, if anything.

Wow, give me last years weather on May 1, 2010 and I'll be REALLY happy! That max wind of 24mph could be fun but if it gets windier from 5-7pm I'll be well off the bike.

By the way, did y'all notice they changed the swim slightly? They changed the direction. Not sure what that means for wind or looking into the sun?

Hey tcovert,

I live in Sherman Oaks, and was wondering where you ride.  I've been riding from Topanga and Ventura over Topanga, and then up PCH toward Pt. Magu and back for the long rides.  Topanga from the PCH side has the same elevation gain as SG in half the distance, so I've been using it as a tool to get my climbing legs.  Anything else you'd recommend locally for longer rides of 4+ hours?  Any roads/routes that you know of locally that better mimic the long 1-3% grades of the SG course?  Any help would be great!

To get climbing in, mostly I ride from Encino through the foothills in Glendale and up to Foothill Blvd in Tujunga.  Then, usually on up Foothill all the way to the north end, over the top of Balboa Blvd, then...well, different options after that.  (EDIT:  See ride profile below for R/T from Encino, home directly down Balboa Blvd.)  Sometimes I take a side loop of Lopez Canyon off Foothill to add a tougher grade.  Little Tujunga Canyon is another side option.  The climb from Victory and Sonora (near Griffith Park) over Kenneth and Mountain, then up La Canada and Honolulu to Tujunga Canyon and Foothill is about 10 miles of constant grade, mostly in the 3-5% zone.  I'm a big fan of that ride.  And if you continue on Foothill north (past Hansen Dam and on through Pacoima and Sylmar), you are on another pretty constant uphill grade.  No epic 10-15% grades, just non-stop elevation gain.

I did ride from Santa Monica (as an ocean swim/bike brick), up PCH, over Topanga Canyon, up to Porter Ranch, over to Sylmar, back to Sherman Oaks last summer as one of my longer rides before Vineman.  Ended up as about 85 miles (IIRC) and a ton of climbing.  May repeat that if I decide to get in an ocean swim in SM in March.

Otherwise, I use the San Gabriel River Trail for a lot of my longer rides...safe and a reasonable net elevation gain on the return leg (I ride from Duarte south, then return).  To get in 100+, I'll do Duarte to Seal Beach, then down PCH to Newport Bch and return.



Edited by tcovert 2010-01-27 6:07 PM

You guys are freaking me out with all your long distances! I've only done:

Swim - 3,600 yards
Bike - 70 miles
Run - I did a marathon last month, but since then have only been averaging about 10-13 for long runs

I know there's plenty of time left, but I'm already on the verge of burn out! It probably doesn't help that I'm on my feet all day at work. And I don't know what to do about this constant state of hunger I'm in, besides eat all the time and get fat. Nothing seems to fill me up.

Speaking of food, what is your current weight and what is your goal race weight for IMSG?  I am currently at 175 and I want to try to race around 157-160!!!  I am trying to make sure I am eating more than enough for the work load but still lean out as I get closer to the race.  It seems to be a fine line between enough and not enough food.