Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 76)

Regan--I get what you are saying.  I am loosely following the don Fink Competitive plan minus all the life interruptions.  The 5 hour ride this weekend will be just that.  I plan to average about 18 mph.

My thoughts are that the Don Fink plan has worked for so many people that it has to be trusted if you are getting in a majority of the workouts.  I think it is normal to question the plan at this stage in the game. At least that is what I tell myself.

Nathan

So far I've done a 116 and 119 bike.  I will probably get one more 100+ ride in and a couple 60-90 with bricks.  I'm not really following an IM run plan as I'm stupid and have an Ultra too soon (October) after the Ironman.  It's all fun!

Swimming is where I am falling apart. I have a herniated disc in my neck that is giving me some serious issues and can only swim at 50% intensity and yardage.  At this point, I'm worried about that.  Doc says I should be okay for the race but #$%^& WHAT ABOUT TRAINING :-) 

Sounds like everyone's training is going great!

My longest ride will probably be this Sunday when we do 105.  I went down to LV last weekend to ride full course, temps around 96 and heat index was God knows where.  Didn't hydrate enough and totally fell apart at 94.  So this weekend I will be practicing getting in as much fluid as possible.  Goal is to get in 6-7 full bottles of maltodextrin drink as well as some solid food.

Running is my strength, so i probably wont go over 15-16 with most miles being as bricks.  1-2 hour runs after 5-6 hour bikes.  Plus I just did CdA - so i guess 26.2 miles was my longest run   

I swam in the river last weekend and was surprised by how nice the temperature was.  2/3 of race will be with current.  Plan to hammer out first .7 miles and then even out with the current.  Does that seem like a reasonable strategy?

Good Luck to everyone in these last few BIG training weeks!

Not a bad strategy, and honestly I will probably do the same, but the .7 will be a crowded slugfest with the relatively narrow channel and people jumping in two at a time every two seconds or so. You will have to work the crowds which will make it a tougher effort for that portion. When it opens up into the main part of the river you can get clear of traffic as much as you want and settle into your own pace, but you won't really feel the current too much. The current is certainly there and will help, but you won't feel it, so don't freak out when you think you are somehow out of the current. Hope this helps.

Following the Fink comp. plan and the longest ride is 6hrs. Did 5hrs today but the two weeks I was slowed from food poisioning has put a damper on my progress.  I have found that it seems like the people with bike background bike more in training, runners run more and swimmers swim more so don't let that worry you. Stick to the plan and have a good plan on race day. Nutrition and pacing yourself will be key on race day more so than a few extra miles I think.

I see its been hot there. ITs usually in the 100-115 here this time of year but of course because I need it its been consistant in the mid 80's and low humidity.

How long and steep are the hills and how many on the bike course?

Somebody said they swam in the river. Is the water higher than usual and dirter? All the creeks and rivers in nor. cal(i am in So cal) are high and dirty right now.

The weather channel weather claims it is 92' here, and 'feels like' 95'. In these conditions, I rode 60 miles averaging 20.9 mph. I was pretty tired toward the end, but not cooked like my last ride of 112 mi. Anyway, I'll take it.

Rode 73 miles in 100+ degree heat yesterday (solo). Got behind on hydration; it's rough to drink oven-hot water. Even with re-filling with ice at gas stations in insulated bottles, it turns warm rather quickly out there. My stomach started to turn queasy near the end - my calories were fine, just think it was the lack of water near the end. Good thing is that during the race the cold bottle hand ups are every 10 miles or so.

Waiting for the sun to start going down to do my 2.5-hour run tonight...

Got in 100 miles on the bike today.  It was in the mid 90's today with a heat index of 100.  But today I made a serious effort to keep drinking.  I got in 5 bottles of infinit, 3 bottles of gatorade and 12 enduralytes.  And I felt remarkably good on the bike.  But the 3 mile run after was brutal.   Running doesn't usually go bad for me and i felt miserable.  headache and soooo hot.  thank goodness for sponges on the run course.  they will be my friend.

As for the river,i think it is still a little high, but didn't notice it was exceptionally dirty.  saw a bit of bark and other natural stuff where we got in, but out in the river it was fine.

have a great week out there!

Great ride with my wife on the tandem at the Holland Hundred!  Good thing we started early since the temps really came up fast after about 12pm.  Still, one of the best one-day event rides we've done in a long time.  Tried to keep a steady tempo with some pretty fast speed, sometimes averaging 22 mph until we ran into some hills, of course.  Felt good to do a long ride with some increasing heat in preparation for Louisville.

A question for the Louisville vets - well any IM branded race vets

On the bike course is there any kind of mechanical support? I'll be carrying 2 tubes and CO2 so flats aren't a problem. What worries me are the things I can't handle on the road such as a snapped chain or blownout sidewall on a tire.

Thanks,

Peter B

The following is from the 2010 'Athlete Guide,' which will be almost identical to the 2011 'Athlete Guide'. It's currently on their website.

...On race day, bike tech vehicles will patrol the course to aid in emergency repairs.

Peter B - Ditto what Sam said.  I'm certainly not nearly as experienced as most of you, but my younger cousin did a 1/2 IM sponsored by Ironman last year in Texas and really suffered on the bike:  2 flats + some misc. mechanical issues, and the organization kept him rolling and able to finish, though not what he had ideally hoped for, of course, the entire event.  Sounds like IM folks support the bike pretty well.

Personally, in addition to a coupla tubes and gas, I carry a small (modified) pliers and allen set.  It's saved me more than once from having to toss in the towel and SAG.  I've heard, but never tried, fixing sidewall issues with dollar bills, PowerBar wrappers, etc.  One of the best suggestions I've read in preparation for this event is to put another old tire and a tube in your special needs bag, which you can get at the 1/2 point, I believe.  That way you can re-tube/tire, if necessary, from a more rudimentary repair. 

Just my two-cents, again.

Cool to see everyone's work over the weekend. We didn't have the heat that most of you seem to have been able to access.

OWS Fri, 90-miler Sat, 2:30 trail run Sun.

Seems daunting to think about having to do more distance for all 3 back-to-back-to-back in brutally hot & humid conditions. But I guess we've still got about 4 weeks to prep.  Need to work those brick runs off the bike when the last thing I feel like doing is running.  Definitely something I was missing from my CDA training last year.

OWS tonight.

My gear cable snapped at IMWI in '09.  There were motorcycle support guys riding around that were able to help.  They had all kinds of stuff with them, even spare wheels attached to the back of their motorcycles.  The guy that stopped for me was awesome, said he had been doing this for 25 years, he was super quick.  Unfortunately, my repair was extreme (he had never seen this happen in his 25 year experience), and took multiple attempts to fix.  Paired with my poor biking skills, I lost too much time and didn't make the cutoff (missed by 13 minutes) at mile 95 and was pulled from the course.  This, however, was no fault of the support crew.  They were amazing.  He even calmed me down and sat me in the shade while he worked on my bike.

Hopefully, this won't happen to any of us.  But, as I know all too well, it's nice to know that they are there if you need them!  Even though I didn't make it to the check point; I wouldn't have even stood a chance if it weren't for them, as my cable snapped at mile 50.

We are coordinating large group trainings for Ironman Louisville this upcoming weekend (July 23-24) and August 6-7.  Saturday 8-9am swim behind Towhead Island (kayak support/$5 per swimmer), 9:30am bike ride (80 & 112 mile options) with full SAG/aid support the whole way/aid every 15 miles (water, ice, Ironman Perform, fruit, peanut butter, energy bars, gel/gu); $10/rider.   Sunday 8am long run (9-13 miles with water and Ironman Perform provided along the route); free for run.  Meet each day at the Yellow Lot on River Road (near Tumbleweeds IMKY swim start at 1201 River Road, Louisville, KY  40602).  If swimming arrive by 7:45am to check-in, for those only biking arrive by 9am for check-in, getting your bike/gear ready and pre-ride announcements at 9:20am.  Wheels roll at 9:30am sharp.  RSVP by emailing [email protected] .  Come join us.  We'll have 90-100 riders this Saturday from about 15 different states!

I'm in & looking forward to it.