Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 83)

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Howdy folks,

Sounds like you're all still in full swing. I just finished my last commitment of the season last weekend. I did the three-day Tour de Pink bike ride from Philly to DC.

I did 200 miles (78/65/57) which is the most I've ever been on a bike in one go. Before this the most I've ever ridden was 40 miles. Never so much in so few days. The countryside, and the company, was beautiful. It was a good three days.

The only wrinkle was the head cold I picked up. I hate being sick. Bleh.

Now I have to plan my winter before I get used to no activity.

Good job Rene!  You know, I just woke up from working my 12 hour night shift and have to go back in in 5 hours.  Just seeing your post about your excellent run was honestly enough to give me the motivation to get up and go to the YMCA for a swim and run before going back to work.  Thank you!

Day #4/7 of nights.  It's hard to get used to them especially because I don't do them all the time.  Feel like I'm kind of living in a fog.  Still getting my training done though not sure how my body is handling these hours and sleep changes.  Anyone else go through this?  My intuition tells me to ensure I get enough sleep and nutrition, and I will be OK. 

My season is still in full swing with IM AZ 7 weeks away.   Hope the forum keeps going as it is a great support!  Jim

Been on the road today so just checking in.

Rene-good work! Always nice to have those solid workouts....good confidence builders too.

Mark-the 3 day ride sounds like fun.

Jimmy-I've never been in that situation with changing schedules. I agree with you...get the sleep in and workout when you can. Sleep is key.

Longish brick for me today. Hour bike then 35-40 minute run. All done! Rest day tomorrow ahead of race on Saturday.

Randy 

Ouch.  There was a time when I could easily get away with weird sleep schedules.  I can't do it any more.  But I think that your intuition is correct -- get as much sleep as you can and eat well.

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't checked-in quite a while! I have been extremely busy with starting a new job, training, and traveling up to Augusta this past weekend.

Micro-race report (still working on it):

First, I really didn't taper for this race. My schedule actually had me doing a HIM a week after than I actually did, so I did the regular week (a large volume, peak week) through Wednesday, and the Thursday-Sunday I followed of the following week (that actually had me 'tapering' somewhat into the HIM). Rather confusing to explain on here....but regardless, I went into Augusta with some rather tight/heavy legs. I felt great overall though with my diet and race weight.

I did a solid plyometic (i.e. Box jumps) workout on Friday AM before I left, really trying to fire my legs, and loosen them up. I felt much better after the workout was done. After being in the care for about 5 hours, I decided to knock out a treadmill run at the hotel gym (quick 30 minute run), followed by a nice stretch. Saturday I went to the local Y in Augusta and did some 200 intervals in my wetsuit, just to get the feel and fire the arms. All in all, a great swim.

Pre-race meal(s): Did my biggest meal 24 hours before the race (i.e. breakfast) with some amazing sweet potato pancakes. For dinner we went to Outback and did chicken, sweet potato. and rice. No salad. (As it turned out, the perfect meal...NO real bad GI issues).

Race time: Woke up around 4am and had some coffee, Kashi hot cereal, and a banana.

Did some basic warm-up drills that I normally do, and got lined up for the swim. With it being a water start, a lot of people lined up on the front, but I took my spot near the back. However, I was feeling  a bit more confident and started to ease towards the front-right. Never really had any issues about crowding or anything of the sort. All in all a good swim. No real fatigue, but had some sighting issues as I was swimming with another guy in front (thinking he was sighting as he was a great swimmer), and ended up overshooting the swim exit. Took about a minute or so to get back o n track.

Compared to last year, I was about the same in time. But mentally, I was much stronger.

T1: Good transition, wetsuit stripper fumbled a bit with my suit, but we got it done.

Bike: Started off slow(er) than I typically have, and made sure my legs were firing. Drank only water for the first 5-8 miles, and then started to sip on my multi-hour bottle of Hammer Pepetuem. My goal was to mainly use liquid nutrition, but also cut up a Powerbar Performance Energy bar to have something 'solid' to chew on.

At about mile 10 I started to really get into a great groove on the bike, and this continued through the rest of the bike leg. I feel far more comfortable being in Aero for long periods of time, than I used to. No shoulder pain/discomfort. It was great saying "On your left" as opposed to hearing "On your left." Definitely a mental boost.

Nutrition wise on the bike, I feel like I nailed it. Granted it wasn't extremely hot, but I still adapted to the conditions, and adjusted my nutrition accordingly.

Run: I felt pretty good coming off the bike, and locked in a pretty steady pace for a large majority of the 13.1. My mom came with me up to Augusta, and was able to see her almost 7 times on the run course (or more actually), which made it easy to stay motivated. Again, nutrition felt good. Only did one package of stringer gels/gummies with a banana at one of the aid stations. I ran with a fuel belt which was filled with two bottles of Nuun, so I could get some electrolyte fluids.

I paced pretty evenly during both laps, though I slowed a little to run with a guy I met on an Augusta Facebook group (I know, I am a dork).

Finished strong, and felt accomplished with this race with a well executed plan in both performance and nutrition. Compared to last year I was 37 minutes faster than last year, with almost all of the time coming from the bike and run split.

The best part is a) I had plenty more left in the tank, b) I recovered extremely quick and am back on track with my peak training week, c) I feel as if on tapered legs I could have broke 4:50 (if not faster).

2012 Results

All in all, I am happy. I needed the good execution leading into IMFL. While it wasn't perfect, it was a huge step forward. Looking forward, I really want to try and qualify for Vegas in 2014 (my last year in 25-29 before I age up with the rest of the 30-34 sharks.

Jason-"Once A Runner" is kind of the bible for serious distance runners. My son's copy is almost worn out. I have never read it but apparently it really is a compelling read.

Randy

Nick-that's a great race!  Excellent work. You are in a good spot heading to IMFL! Nice job. Been curious to hear how it went for you.

Randy

Nick - super race!  You're gonna rock FL.

Thanks for the book recommendations.  Good reads are definitely inspiring.

Let's see... websites.

BT is it as far as tri sites (other than Set-up events to review results / consider races)

washingtonpost.com and pbs.org for news (preferred NYT, but haven't ponied up the subscription yet)

facebook.com - great way to stay in touch with family and friends.  Also get some links to interesting articles here.  I have several friends who are voracious on-line readers and they find things I'd never find on my own.

a bunch of Irish music sites... thesession.org is probably my "go to" resource for in-depth discussions on tunes

thesabre.com to watch the manic Wahoo (UVa) fans lose their minds during and after each game (really, someone should do some psychological studies about on-line fan bases and political junkies - I find it really hard to relate to these folks, but am drawn in like a moth to a flame)

google.com is my homepage and it is probably my most used resource.  Love google translate even though my wife would tell you it isn't very accurate.  It is, however, more accurate than my Spanish, French or Chinese.

So for today, one last swim in prep for Saturday's OLY.  Been doing a bit of a "crash" training on the swim the last two weeks while tapering on the bike and run.  Probably should have started a week earlier :-)  Anyway, the great thing about this race is that it starts at 10am (which really helps as it is a 2 hour drive).  They've moved the location this year, so I won't be able to do an apples to apples comparison with previous races (though i think the bike course is the same, just a different start location). 

Have a great day, everyone!

Stu

Have a good swim, Stu.  It looks like you are set up for a good race.  I love the 10am start time!  Good for fall races especially.

I'm taking a 2-week (at least) hiatus from swim training and I'll probably ride my bike only a couple of times.  I need a break from those things to recharge my enthusiasm.  I'll keep running, because I'm always enthusiastic about running and it is very mentally therapeutic for me.

Have a great day everyone.  It is very rainy here.

Stu-with your swimming background I'm sure it will not take much for you to be race ready. Good luck! Hope you have a great race.

Michael-I'm trying to figure out what to do after my race Saturday in terms of the "off season".  I took a month off from swimming last year and had a hard time getting back into it.  I suspect that was due mostly to the fact that I don't enjoy swimming like I do running and biking.  I think I may cut back on swimming and add a little more running in with an eye toward a half marathon.

There was a good, in my opinion, article/plan in Triathlete Magazine this month about half marathon training while continuing to maintain swimming and biking.  Very specific plan. Focus was definitely on the run while keeping a reduced base of swimming and biking.

Randy 

This will be my first off-season, so I have no idea what to do. I might try some strength training, since I hate it and I don't have to worry about being sore for races. I'll keep SBRing, but probably without any serious tempo work.

On another note, my last race is yet to be run. So, I have a question about it: So far, I've done Sprints and one Sprint+(the Dam Tri, which was billed as a Sprinternational). In Sprints, it seems like the general advice is to go all out the whole time, pretty much. However, with the Olympic being a little longer, do you guys/gals go into a race of this distance with a more precise race plan? I'm specifically trying to think of the bike, since it's my overall weakest area. If you go hard/medium/easy during different times in the race, how/when do you know when to change up? I'm racing without a power meter, also, so none of those fancy numbers will mean anything. I can go by effort and PRE.

Any advice is welcome!

Great question Jamie.  Yes, Olympic is a bit different.  In a sprint, I don't even think about the run during the bike -- the result is that I can't really feel my legs during the first part of the run, but I've learned that this doesn't matter.

DUring an Oly, I do think a bit about pacing the bike -- it isn't just 'hammer until you can't stand the pain'.  But it is still a very hard effort.

I'd say that your experience at the Lake Murray 'sprinternational' is probably a pretty good indication.  That race is more like an olympic distance race than it is like a sprint.  After all, the bike was 21 miles, just a few shy of the Olympic distance.  So you should take a lot away from that experience.

Having said that, I think that many people do not go hard enough in the bike portion of an Oly.  (I would say the *opposite* about HIM, and even more so about IM.)  Assuming that a person is well trained in the run (i.e., running 6.2 miles is no big deal), that person can generally afford to go quite hard on the bike and still be able to run.

It took me 2 years to figure out how to go hard enough in sprints and Olys.  Sometimes I still get it wrong.  I would encourage you to err on the side of going too hard on the bike.  You will learn a lot more about racing from going too hard than you will learn from going too easy.

Jamie-many people kind of lump sprint and olympic distance races in together. In reality it is a big step up from a sprint with most distances being twice as far.  In a sprint you can go pretty much all out and not risk bonking or just falling apart. Too hard on the swim/bike in an olympic and the run can turn into a tough time.  I know that's not very encouraging but I think the most important thing in any race over a sprint is pacing.

Pre-race: Maybe a gel 15 minutes before the swim start. Of course hydrate well in the days leading up to the race. Don't overdo it on race morning. You will have time on the bike to get fluids.

Swim-it is what it is. Don't push too hard. Try to get into a comfortable rhythm and cruise through.  Much better chance of hurting your race than helping by pushing too hard on the swim.

Bike-You will be going almost 25 miles. If its not hot I will try to take in about 20 ounces of fluid (1 bottle)...typically something with  calories so you can stay fueled as well as hydrated. I use Accelerade at about 2/3 strength in a olympic and that gets me 150-200 calories. I'll pack a gel on the bike but will not typically use it. More of a back up in case something happens with fluids. On a hot day I will have 2 bottles on the bike. One as described above and one with just water. Try to stop drinking about 10 minutes before the end of the bike portion so anything in your stomach has a chance to settle and be absorbed before you head out on the run...don't want too much sloshing around when you start the run. Bike pacing...hard to describe. It should be a "challenging" pace but not feel "too hard." Pretty specific huh? Those additional miles on the bike in an olympic will take their toll if you go too hard. Maybe back a bit off your sprint pace....remember you still have to run twice as far off the bike  

Run-I'll usually take a gel with me on the run and eat it with a bit of water at mile 1. (might be a good point for a caffeinated gel for a little boost-assuming you have tried them before) Take it easier than you feel that you should during the first mile. Try to build into the race for the first 3-4 miles...either maintaining a steady pace or possible speeding up a bit if you have the legs. For the last mile or two just give it what you have...let it all hang out and cross the finish line knowing you've done all you could.  Of course your pace may need to be adjusted depending on heat or hills on the course.

Don't overdo the nutrition or fluids. You really don't need a ton of calories to fuel yourself throught the race. In most cases a bottle on the bike and a gel on the run along with water as needed through the race. 

Its a challenging distance.  Much more strategy and pacing to consider.

Randy 

Looks like Michael beat to the punch....giving good advice while I was putting my post together.

Randy