16 months, still suck! (Page 7)

Stop trying to fix things, Karen!

^^^This is precisely why I keep coming back to this thread. Offering advice at this point seems like a completely waste of time.  She already knows what she's going to do and is clearly ignoring everyone's advice. I'm here because I want to get into coaching and there's been an absolute treasure trove of advice here from all sorts of different angles.  I actually have someone who's asked me to coach her to her first Ironman and this thread has been awesome at giving me things to look for and pay attention to.  

Who do you think scheduled the test.....

I just don't get how doing a bike test on Tuesday to try to fix the bike zones given my zones during last Saturday's HIM is a bad idea (and not having done it this week to recover from the HIM, so pretty much as soon as it was possible).

It's not ignoring advice, I think the question is what will be different this time that will result in setting actual accurate HR zones?  If it's the same test protocol, followed by the same person analysing the data and setting the zones, how are the results going to be any more accurate than your current zones?  What are you doing this time that will result in accurate results from the testing?

Thanks to everyone, for your infinite wisdom on this post! if GatorDeb (who I cannot believe is a real person) Doesn't listen to some of the advise than there are others, myself included who certainly will

I have just looked up the previous thread, and had the best belly laugh of my life! Funny its the same people answering.....with equal levels of rising exasperation. So perhaps you are all part of a conspiracy to draw Newbies like me in........if thats the case it has worked......(twilight music in background)

You want me to ask someone who scheduled something why it's a bad idea to do the scheduled activity? 

I stated why she did and I agree with it.  I was in z5 during the whole HIM a week ago.  There was a week for rest and now another bike test to try to fix the zones.  Not that complicated.

Further, I have never been zone 5 on the trainer, where I've done all the other tests, so I'm doing it outside this time for the first time to see if it helps get accurate zones this time around.

Good luck on the test.  I hope you find that inner drive to really push and get some accurate numbers.  I also hope that if you do not find it and come up with bad numbers again that you find the inner drive to stand up to your coach and ask for an alternate method to training, such as RPE. 

Keep in mind that the test should suck.  You will want to quit.  Don't. 

My mantra for the whole ride will be "IMCDA IMCDA IMCDA IMCDA" for the duration of it.  Something happens to me on race day that I push harder, so I will to try to channel Race Mode.

Use the data you already have from your HIM race to sets your zones. Redoing test outside may be  better than how you have been doing it on the trainer but your race is real world results from last week.

Does your coach know how to set zones other ways than the test she has given you?

If I were in your shoes and wanted to test again next week, I'd ask my coach to give me zones based on race as well as on test to see how they compare.

If your avg HR for your race is not mid to low zone 3 or high zone 2, they will likely be set wrong again.

That's a good idea.  I'll ask her to give me zones for both the Tuesday test and the race and I'll plug in the numbers myself here on the BT zone creator and I'll analyze Tuesday night how all four of them compare.  Heck I'll just post them here also.

I can even then use the results from Tuesday to manually calculate what my zones would have been on Saturday.

Coincidentally my coach says to do races on high zone 2 and low zone 3.

The only thing I can reassure you of is that your post subject title sux. I finished my first HIM in 8 hours and worked my butt off to do so. Did I train in my perfect zones? I don't know. I know that I worked as hard as I could, worked on swim form rode hills, built up my running, and did my best to avoid injury.

Personally, I'd never EVER sign up for an IM without knowing I could finish it in a reasonable amount of time. If I can't get my 70.3 times down to 7 hours, I'll pass on the IM signup. Otherwise I'm just gambling my money, even with the best of coaching. 

Come ride the rural roads with me and get chased on practically every ride by some lunatic farm dog/dogs and you'll find all the inner drive you need to push the numbers .

Good luck on your test.