Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 94)

DV1

Dude I am sooooooooooooooo excited for ya too!!!! I;m hooked on this now... I'd do another this weekend if I could. Can't wait for next year ... and yes I'm still training!!!!!!!!!! LMAO

Garrunning - same goes for you Bud!!!!!!!!

I'm having what I can only assume is phanton pain all over my body. Shoulder pain, neck pain, hamstring pain, etc..... Aside from a sore knee off and on throughout training, I've had none of this, Now, in my final taper week, my body decides to push back - Hah! What a farse.

Message to my body, "I'm not listening - there's nothing you can do to discourage or scare me. I'm a fine tuned well oiled HIM machine ready to go to the line."

I hate to jinx things, but the weather for Steelhead looks absolutely perfect; forecast *65ish at 6:00 am only getting to around *80 as a high. If that pans out, I'm going into the race shooting for my best-case scenario time. After all, *80 and partly cloudy is pretty best case no matter how you slice it!

OMG Bro!!!! Too funny and very spooky!!

During that last week I had more aches and pains than ever before (hip, groin, shoulder, elbow, thigh, ankles, calf etc ...) With the exception of my left knee all the rest were complete BS - all in the mind. The red section of your post is true ... believe and rock it out!!!!

So I started putting together my race-day nutrition plan today and it seems like a whole lot of eating.

I'm shooting for between 250-300 calories an hour so in total, I need to consume around 1500 calories.

That's like 5 gels, a Cliff Bar and 5 - 20oz bottles of sports drink.

I need advice from those that have finished the HIM distance. Was the extra food/calories needed for the HIM distance okay with your belly?

If it helps my nutrition plan was as follows:

Temp 28C

Bike - 2 x 24oz Gu Brew (2 x sodium) - had about 1/3 of a bottle left.

 4 x Gu Gels (one after 15mins then every 40mins thereafter) final one 20 mins from T2

1 x Gu Chomps (eat 1 every now and then to vary the Gel texture in mouth.

Run - I just used the offerings at the Aid Stations. Due to the temp and humidity hydration was abig factor so I had 1/2 cup of Ironman Perform at every aid station plus 1/2 cup of water atevery other. Had 1 gel at midpoint. Putting ice-cubes in my run hat certainly kept my headcool and helped enormously to keep me comfortable in the stifling heat

Worked fine for me. Do you know what is on offer at the aid stations for your HIM?

Steve

That's helpful, thanks Steve. I'll propably drink an extra bottle on the bike and maybe take two gels on the run ... depending on my tummy :-)

I'm ready for this. Last night in bed I was totally stoked and going through the race in my mind.

Swim - start smart

Bike - don't push too hard

Run - stay mentally strong ... and negative split

I am very excited for you!!!!! Tomorrow is my 3 hr ride day! Keep smiling

"Git er dun" Garra and enjoy the solitude and focus on form!!! I got in 2hr + on the bike today just because... LOL

With the first 3 hour ride comes a great sense of accomplishment! Enjoy it :-) 

Hah - rain and rip currents. I guess I jinxed it :-)

It does'nt matter what the conditions are - everyone competing there will have to experience the same thing. Just focus on your race and performance, play it smart, believe in all the training you've done and most importantly - enjoy the occasion. That finisher's medal will soon be in your grasp!!!

Good luck Buddy :-)

Steve

Good luck tomorrow DV!!!! Can't wait to hear about it.

3 hour ride went well I think I finally know what I am going to do for nutrition also. I ended up at 60 miles for the 3 hours and the course had a lot of hills. It was the first time riding the course and I was shocked with the elevation change. It was still a blast!! I finished it of with a 2.5 mile run that felt pretty good.

Garruning,

Awesome ride and training session !! It all eases off  in the final 2 weeks.

Glad to hear you got the nutrition plan all sorted out.

Steve

DV1 -

Good luck Buddy - sooooooo excited for ya!!! Go get em Dude - Woot Woot!!!

Short report, then I'm off to bed.

Swim cancelled - for good, 4-5 ft surfable reasons!

Race became a time trial start duathlon.

After the swim was cancelled, I decided just to have fun, instead of chase any time goals, but threw out a 4:30 benchmark so my wife had something to cheer for. My HIM goal was going to be 5:00 and I'm a pretty good swimmer, so I just knocked 30 minutes off.

Still, I was racing to have fun today first, and to reach my time goal second - maybe that's how it should always be? 

Well the bike was, how shall I say it ...... FUN! It was a side by side time trial start, and by the time I went off, 1450 of my fellow competitors were already on the course in a line that must have stretched for fiftenn miles. Needless to say, it was impossible not to draft to some degree; there were regularily two, three, or four riders wide across the road. It was a sloppy mess of bikes zigging and zagging, trying not to draft and trying to stay to the right of the yellow line, but both were pretty difficult. I've never ridden in a big group of bikers before, so I was having a blast, About a dozen of us were going a similar speed, passing the numerous competitors in front of us (remember, 1450 women and older men - nothing against them, but they're typically slower). We kept as much distance between us as possible, not drafting like a peleton does, but it was futile. I had no idea how fast we were going because my Garmin was on the wrong setting, so I just went with the flow, and I had a blast! Mile 5 turned to mile 30 in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it we were at transition. The course didn't reall start to fan out until we got to mile 45, but even then, you were lucky to get two or three bike lengths between you before you'd come up on one, two, or ten slower moving cyclists.

The run started with a side stitch for about 2 miles, and I never found the groove after it went away. I didn't know how fast I was going (again, Garmin issues), but I suspected around 9 min miles. I had hoped for 8's, but I just didn't have the legs. I definately went too hard on the bike, - it was so much fun, and I think I paid for it a bit on the run ... but I didn't care! It was a great day and I was having a blast (i.e. hardest frekin run of my life kind of blast, asking myself why in the hel* I signed up for this thing)! It was humble pie to have so many people pass me, but nothing got me down. I did what I could today, and am happy to report that I met my 4:30 goal. We'll call 4:30:29 meeting because it's in the 4:30 minute! I actually finished in 4:28:37 according to my Garmin, and paced myself in from aobut 5 miles out. If I had know I needed to make up 29 seconds, it would have been no problem.

Average bike speed - 24.07 mph - (102 out of 2100ish - 19th in AG)

Run speed - 9:49 min miles - OUCH (482 out of 2100ish - 78th in AG). I guess I was going slower than I thought :-)

Overall AG 78th out of 300ish

Today was a GREAT day for my family. Those that have provided insights and answers to my newbie questions are all a part of my success and I want you to know how appreciative I am.

Thank you all for the support!

Now when's IM Arizona registration open? - LOL

Man am I tight this morning - all over too.

I'm still laughing at my bike speed. My training suggests that I could have gone about 21.5 mph and I figured with a busy bike course, catching and passing a few hundred people, that the 20 second draft zone would have provided a bit of a bump ... maybe to 22 mph. My time results certainly aren't indicitive of my actual no-draft ability. But as my wife pointed out, everyone on the course was in the same boat, so getting 19th in my AG for the bike leg was pretty good.

I'm kind of surprised that WTC would "allow" this in a Nationals qualifying race. We saw not a single marshall on the course, and even if there had been marshals, unless thay wanted to penalize the entire field, it would have been impossible to pick individuals out. It was literally a train of 2000 competitors that stretched for 15 miles. You'd think that WTC would have in place plans for a cancelled swim start that would allow the bike/run to be a fair fight... especially at a venue like Steelhead where there's a history of foul water conditions. I guess the fact that we were all in the same boat does make it "fair," but it's not really what non-drafting triathloning is all about.

I suppose that discussion is for another forum ;-)

I'm already looking to see about another HIM this year so I can get an actual time. It was a lot of training and hard work not to have an actual SBR time to call my own. As much as results don't really mean much in the end, I'd like to know what I'm capable of in a race that enforces the SBR rule book. Steelhead was a really long, really fun group session brick workout ... which reminds me, I need to add it to my training logs :-)

DV:

I saw that the swim was cancelled when I checked in on Athlete Tracker @ Ironman.com and couldn't believe what I read... I guess you were right - you did Jinx it!!!! LOL. However, that is one hell of a bike ride!!! When I saw the time split I sensed a bit of emotion was fuelling the leg turnover and driving you on!!! Great time Dude!!

Having read you're post I am so glad to see that you managed to turn a negative into a positive, and above all had a blast! I think that we all do this for fun and lifestyle choice, so times only satisfy the goals that we set ourselves and not much else.

Hope you find another race soon and get that 70.3 under you're belt. 

Great job & well done.

Steve

I'm really thinking about doing another HIM this year. The way I figure it, If I'd gone my anticipated speed on the bike and run, my time would have been virtually the same as my actual really fast bike and really slow run brick. I want to be a smarter racer though, and think two conservative splits is way better than a really fast one and a really slow one.

I'd like to test that theory ... despite the fact that about 24 hours ago I was questioning my sanity for getting into this sport around mile 9 of the run :-)

Not having the swim leg meant I hit the bike with all the energy and adrenaline one would normally burn off in the water. I think I got into a fast bike groove at the start, and it felt good, so I stayed there - oops!

It's the second time I've gone too hard on the bike and paid for it, but the first time it was due to a cancelled swim so I forgive myself. Now I'm a race more experienced, a long brick stronger, and ready to tackle the distance again.

If you can find a suitable event, I say GO for it!!! You've already got that HIM endurance and a few race experiences to draw from.

I remember reading a comment from a pro coach that he could not understand it when people said "Wow!!! I had a great swim and a fantastic bike leg, but an absolutely terrible run" because all three legs are related to each other and the key is to find the optimal balance between all three. A smart swim and bike leg set you up for a good run (barring injury of course). Having done a few races - these words make so much more sense to me now.

Steve

You nailed it Steve :-) It's a swim, bike, run combo in triathloning.

I'm gonna take my HIM fitness to Tawas, MI for the 3D Triathlon Festival HIM on September 10th. I'm officially back to week 4 of the plan baby - woohooooooo!!!

Actually, I'm still in recovery week ... don't tell anyone I just had a great 1500 yard swim :-)

I think I'm becoming somewhat addicted to having a race on the calendar.