Fred Doucette's Half-Iron and Ironman Focused Group! -CLOSED! (Page 7)

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My goal this week is to not miss one training session. I have my 1/2 marathon coming up in less than 3 weeks and I want to give it all I've got before I taper. Knowing that there are people checking your logs helps me get those workouts in sometimes. Hope everyone's week is off to a great start. Can you believe that next week will be 2011. Where does the time go?

Tonight's training is a 30 min run and 45 min swim. I think I'll also do some core and stretching tonight.

Todd, good luck with your half marathon.

Interesting with all this run talk: today I was at the gym and bored on the treadmill so did mile repeats.   My gut feeling is that I shouldn't be doing too much of this (even though it's fun) because I agree with Randy that it is hardish to recover from (and harder than it used to be as I get closer to 40)...when I tore my hamstring in 2009 it took more than a year before I could do mile repeats.  As for thinking about IM marathon pace I have heard other people on this forum express that they wished they had learned/practiced running slower...they felt they just didn't know how to run slow so it was either run too fast or have to walk.  I never succeeded in pacing myself well for any of the 5 marathons I ran (always out too fast) .  Hope to have patience to really work on proper pacing

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I'm doing run/walk in training right now because I plan to do that in races. I have found that my times are actually faster run/walking that just running at a slower pace for the whole time. Mentally, it's also easier for me because it helps me break down the race into a more manageable segment. I just tell myself that I only have to run for 4 minutes and then I get to walk (4.0-4.2 mph) for 1 minute. It makes it so easy because your mind knows that it only has to run for 4 minutes. If I thought about running for 2 more hours or 10 more miles, my mind doesn't process that as easily. My fitness just isn't to the level that I can go out and run a fast 13.1 miles.

I can do the run segments at the same pace for the whole run on my longer runs and vary them or speed them up for my shorter runs. It works well for me. There is an ego thing that 4 minutes into my 1/2 marathon I'll be walking but I've made peace with that.

Yes the run/walk strategy is another very interesting discussion and I think probably would be a great idea for many of us at the IM.  As Fred said, many of us will walk and I am absolutely sure I will be one of them (i also know from reading a lot of race reports that the IM marathon is a total wild card...the less experienced crowd can be a good 1 to2 hours! off their prediction)... as for working the walking muscles (I'm glad Fred posted that) one cool thing for me is that my means of transport (to work etc) is walking! and so even though I don't post it in my training logs I think I walk (fairly fast) about 10, maybe even 15 miles a week ... so it is cool to think this might come in handy race day.  Kate 

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Last year I bought Run Workouts for Runners and Triathletes, and there is a section on AeT run/walk intervals, "the intent of which is to stress the leg muscles more than the hear and lungs".  Using these intervals has been really helpful for me in building up my stamina for my runs.

Edited by StMaas 2010-12-27 10:39 PM

Hi all - just rolled in from the family round-about, and have just read through the great discussion about run pace - won't try to comment on everybody's posts, but rather just jump right in with my own question: for everybody using run pace - how do you do it? do you use gps or a foot pod to track pace real time, or have you just become sensitive to your pace? I do admit this is a loaded question: for Christmas I received a chunky gift certificate to All Three Sports (not NEARLY enough to get a Di2 rig though ) and am considering trading in my old polar HRM for a GPS wrist unit.

For years I ran according to HR, for the past three I have been RPE, and have never used pace, although I am completely open to it. I might mention a fourth option, one that I have been utilizing per my coach for the past 2 months with some success: stride rate. It may just be semantics, but rather than running "slow" or "fast" my coach instead has me running "easy" or "strong." Because my AAA race this year will be IMLP, I am running a lot of hills, but mostly on trails to lower the impact and speed recovery. Because of the variable terrain, pace is tough to measure. Instead, I practice running a steady stride rate (180 foot strikes per minute) no matter what speed or terrain I am running. This means that as I run uphill, my stride shortens dramatically, and downhill it really stretches out. On these runs HR is a limiter - I have a max and min HR that I do my long runs on; foe example, on steep ups if my HR gets +5 max, I have to walk until it gets back to -5 max. When I started this routine, it was frustrating at first, and VERY frustrating 1.5 hours into the run. Two months later, I am literally floating  uphill 20 bpm HR lower than when I began. A huge part of this is due to an increase in bio-mechanical efficiency, clearly visible in before and after video. Seems you can teach an old dog new tricks after all.

And Kate, thanks for the props - that made my day!

I use a Garmin 305 for all of my outdoor runs and bikes. I use Ascent (Mac) to download all my data and I love it. Here are some screen grabs from the program.

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The garmin software is very basic and as I was doing a little research, I came upon Ascent. It costs some money to buy it but there is a trial I believe. I don't know if it works on PCs but I love it. You can even watch your ride or run like a movie and it shows you speed, HR, RPM, Elevation change and power (if you're using it) as it goes along. I would highly recommend it. It shows me where I'm slacking on my rides and has shown me how I've progressed on hills.

Today's training is a 45 min spin and 45 min swim.

Can we discuss pedals next?

Swimming & Aqua jogging completed for the day. 1:10 bike left on the schedule for this afternoon.

Good afternoon! Glad to hear plenty others doing RPE for running since this is all I've done.  Usually only know my pace when on treadmill.  Todd those graphics are cool!...so it is tempting to get something like that.  On the flip side, it was interesting to hear Rusty's story about giving up the gadgets and going to RPE and finding that very freeing.  At the end of the day, I have the most work cut out for me in swimming and biking so I best put all my brain cells towards that even though I love thinking about running

Oh goodness sakes I have one more thing to say about running and then I will forever hold my peace! It is an aspiration of mine to execute a properly paced marathon (hey never to early to be making the POST IM goal!) but really pacing in the IM marathon will be somewhat beside the point. Meaning those of us not FOP are just trying to hang on for dear life I would imagine (and yes it is freaky to even imagine that new place of pain we will be in!) and just propel ourselves forward with whatever we got left: running, walking, who cares if it is 10:00 miles or 13:30, whatever. Sorry for the rambling...this is just coming from an understandable place of fear of the 140.6. A respectful fear the 140.6 deserves! Kate

By the time race day is here you will be ready. Don't worry.

By the time race day is here you will be ready. Don't worry.

oops! Double post

Edited by Catwoman 2010-12-28 4:54 PM

One thing I noted once I started riding longer this past summer, the stock saddle on my Roubaix won't cut it for repeated long hauls.  Reccomendations/opinions on seating upgrades, especially for the 'big-boned' set would be appreciated!

advice so nice you said it thrice!

(haha, sorry about that) 

Lots of people have good luck with the Adamo Road or Race or the Cobb V-flow series.  Cobb has 180 day guarantee, so if you don't like it, send it back within 6 months and you get your money back.  Otherwise, try to find a bike shop that will let you test one for awhile (a local one for me let be try the Adamo Race for 60 days - ended up returning it after a month for the Road).  If you can't do that, get tot he shop with your bike, shorts, get on the trainer there and run through as many as you can until you find one you like.  Fizik one's are pretty popular too.  But this is very personal stuff - you won't know until you try it.  I had issues for years before finding the Adamo...I thought I was destined to have to stand every 10 min forever.  Sitting on that for the first time though was like an epiphany!