Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Official Thread (Page 95)

This idea is beyond reproach.  I have become a self-absorbed grouch.  Even more than usual.

Wow! Nothing quite like going on a bike ride that can be seen from 1,000 miles up in space.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84136994

(BikeRoute.jpg)

Had a good week. This was really the first week that I have felt a bit like the walking dead at times, tired but I guess that had to come at some point right? Had lactate testing done last weekend, and my HR ranges for the bike are now a bit lower, so that will take some time to get used to, feel like I am going SO slow...

Swim- 2h40m 8,000 yards

Bike 5h30 90.2 miles 

Run-3h30m 17.5 miles

Some monster weeks! Nice.

I had an epic fail yesterday. Double flatted in the low 90 miles of a 115/6 brick ruining the rest of my ride and my run. This comes right after I spoke positively of butyl tubes. Had things gone well, I would have considered latex, but now I am reconsidering the slime tubes. I know it was probably just a coincidence to get two flats back to back but y'all know how it goes.

EDIT to add: Love that map view from the garmin and Britt's killer computrainer ride. Check her logs!

Pretty happy with my week.  No training today so we can spoil my wife, or else I'd have a few more miles tacked on to the run and bike numbers.  I'm alternating long run weeks, so this weeks runs were all in the 5,6, and 7 mile area, but I ran 6 out of 7 days.  Had a really nice 30/6.2 brick yesterday at what I hope would be my oly race pace...and that felt awesome.  

Swim:  2000yds

Bike:  130 miles

Run:  34.2 miles

edited to add an extra 4 miles onto the run.   The kids went to church with grandma and we took the baby for a run.  Her idea. 

Great point Adidas. I dont really fault the tubes as much as user error but you know how  you always want to look for a scapegoat. I am going to try the butyl tubes again but consider the latex, keeping with the Corso Evo tires.

Week totals for me if I don't sneak in a swim tonight are:

7000 yards on 3 swims (if no Mom's day this would have been 11,500)

196 mi bike (should have been 220 without the flatting)

56.5 mi run

I know there are a lot of haters out there but I dug this as the 10 commandments of sorts:

http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/05/7-basic-training-assumptions.html

Regarding tire pressure... you'll see that Michelin lines up pretty close to zipp... bottom line is the most people should not be inflating their tires to max pressure.  If your tire is over-inflated, instead of the tire compressing and then returning to shape at the cotact patch, it actually bounces up and down.  Imperceptible to you, but those fractions of a millimeter add up over 112 miles.  In effect, you increase the rolling resistance of a tire/tube combo by over-inflating.  The impact of this increases with rough surfaces.

http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=airpressure.view

I'm learning so much here.  Thanks for the tire pressure info.  I've always though higher pressure was better, so as a relatively lighter rider I've always been riding over inflated tires.  I probably won't deal with changing my tires or tubes out because the money and mental stress is not worth it to me at this point, but changing how much air I put in my tires is something I can handle.  

I've had a really strong week of training.  I don't feel completely wiped, and no one has accused me of looking sick, but if I'm leaving a 1/2 gallon in the tank rather than riding on fumes, I'm ok with that.  I know all the type 'A' people ironman attracts have a hard time hearing this, but sometimes more is not better.  Overtraining can lead to endocrine and adrenal system stress that may take months or years to recover from.  Rest, physical and mental, is a training cornerstone. Don't underrate it. 

Also, all you women out there (since you were not addressed earlier ), the first thing you should do when you hit your taper is take your SO out for a fantastic night and find every opportunity to express gratitude for the support he/she has given you.  You know the volunteer that makes you cry on the course of because of the simple assistance they give, thank them, but remember your SO has given the same more times than you've noticed through your training induced coma.  I'm very blessed to be riding this roller coaster for a 5th time.  My husband and daughter are wonderful support.  It helps that they are both athletes that understand soreness, exhaustion, and hunger induced moments of insanity

...stepping off my soap box

Walk: 1mi 20min

Rest: I got two nights of 10 hours sleep! (I need it because my allergies have been kicking my butt more than my training!)

Dallas, Texas Weather Today: 91 degrees, 45% Humidity, 22mph winds

WTF?  This is May......and what is with the wind this year in Texas?   

I did 104/5 and consumed about 300 oz of water/gatorade in 6 hours.  I also ate what seemed like 1,500 calories.  My 5 miler after seemed fine.  No issues. 

I ride the ZIPP Tangente tires and normally run them at 120 psi.  Today, I lowered them to 115 psi and the ride felt better.  

ONLY 4 WEEKS OF MAJOR TRAINING LEFT AS OF NOW.

My coach/advisor told me to keep pushing distance, but to slow down 15-20 seconds on my long runs and cut back on the distance of my tempo runs.  No time to heal if you get injured at this stage. 

Party on!

MAY BE A WASTE OF TIME SINCE IT IS SO DEPENDENT ON EACH PERSON BUT  IT MAY BE INTERESTING TO SEE EVERYONE'S PLANS AND EQUIPMENT:

Swim - xterra full sleeve vortex 2, baracuda ultimate goggles, will have a neoprene hat and see if I need it, may also place a gel under a wrist for the second loop. Depending on air temp may swim with bike shorts and tri top.

Bike - bike shorts and tri top, specialized transition pro, compact 50/30 with 12/27 cassette. speedplay pedals, old cannondale shoes, specialized tri tip saddle, zipp 404's, gp4000S tires, laser tardiz helment, front profile design aero drink, and rear mount x wing.  (carry 2 co2, allen wrenches, 2 tire levers, 1 80mm tube).  nutrition, will live off course - training and using all power bar stuff now.  will have 2 bottles of powerbar perform with me and a whole power bar and a gel  to start.  My drinking and eating totaly is like 3 aims said last post - dependant on temp. 

run - tri shorts, tri top, cep socks, saucony guide 3 shoes.  again live off course.  I had great luck drinking sports drink on the run this weekend at a half IM each mile and a gel every 2-3 miles depending on feel.  I have also been adding coke on long runs.  Will add some broth as i get into the 20's to see how it goes.  so far in training I can eat bars running.  however, will probably stick with gels and perform first 13 miles and then add salty snacks, broth and coke at the end.  I have found when I keep my hr in zone 2-3 I can tell when I need to eat. Hopefully this will hold true at a IM distance.  I know I need to get fuel at least every 3 miles and fluid every mile if feel goes out the window.

bike special need, suncreen, tube, co2, tire, weather indicated clothing if needed, body glide, chapstick, - open for suggestions

run special needs - long sleeve shirt, socks, mole skin, sunscreen, chapstick, body glide, advil, open to suggestions.

Again I hope this is not a waste of time.  We have spent much time on the various options.  I thought it might be interesting to see what our plans are.

Post race- all about the family in glacier.  Undecided about the tat. however, have the design - standard mdot m but the dot is a stop sign encircled  and line crossed through for never stop.  may put a sword as the line stabbing the stop sign.  we will see - no way I am putting my eggs in that basket before they are hatched!!!!

Me, for the curious:

Same tri jersey + tri shorts throughout the day.  Sunscreen and foul weather gear in bike AND run bags.

Swim - full sleeve wetsuit + neoprene cap.  I didn't wear the cap last year but my body temp was definitely affected by the end of the swim.

Bike - P4, standard + 12/27 cassette, Cobb V-Flow Plus, Hed 3 front + PT disc cover rear (my brother's stealing my other wheels), bontrager R4 aero tires, Giro Advantage 2 helmet, front profile design aero drink, no rear cages.  I cut up my P4 water bottle to turn it into a flat/tool kit.  Clif bar and a small gel flask in my jersey for backup, otherwise living off the course.

run - asics gel kayano shoes, socks, white hat, sunglasses.  More gel / different flavor in my run bag.  Doesn't hurt to wrap your shoes and socks in another plastic bag inside your run bag to make sure they stay dry.

I had sunscreen in my run special needs bag last year but the truth is, if you need it by then, you screwed up and should've had it in your transition bag.  Doesn't hurt to have extra but don't leave it out of your regular bike/run transition bags.

I'll probably have tubes / co2 in bike special needs.  But overall I find most of the other stuff I would want in special needs bags, I could use in the regular transition bags.

I have a ballpark time I'm shooting for but I won't be disappointed if I miss it.  My most important thing is to finish strong like I did last year and feel good enough to hang out till midnight and cheer for everyone.

Tri Jersey  and Tri shorts throughout day. Perl Izumi shorts and an IMFL tri jersey. 

Swim - full sleeve wetsuit.  Thinking about the neoprene cap but will have to wait till expo to buy.  

Bike - Felt B2R, Compact crank+ 11/26 cassette, Cobb V-Flow Max, 808/1080 clinchers, helmet is LG Superleggera, have a torpedo style bottle holder plus a bottle holder on my seat tube. Toolkit with 2 co2 bottles, 2 tubes, tire levers, & patch kit mounted to seat rails.  I have a gel flask holder on my top tube just aft of my stem.  I'll put something like a clif bar and uncrustable in jersey pocket.  Otherwise will get most of nutrition from the course.  will make a gameday decision for arm warmers/gloves. 

run - brooks adrenaline, socks, visor, sunglasses.  4 roctane gels in jersey pockets.

Not planning on putting much in special needs.  tubes + co2 in bike but won't stop if I haven't flatted.  run special needs will put something like bag of M&M's and windbreaker in case my day has been a disaster and I'm finishing late.

This makes perfect sense.  I can't believe I never realized it before.  Before today's ride (62 miles), I reduced the tire pressure to 110 psi.  Wow, what a difference! The whole ride felt more smooth, especially on chip-sealed roads, I certainly didn't lose any speed, and I felt much fresher at the end than I did on a ride of the same length last weekend.  I strongly encourage any other max pressure folks to give it a try letting a little air out of the tires.

There's a place for max pressure... but only if you've got the mass to justify it.  Track (velodrome) riders also use insanely high pressure, since they are riding on a near perfectly smooth surface.  But for the rest of us riding on pavement and weighing less than 170ish... I'd recommend reducing per the chart.

Not only will the comfort change dramatically (comfort on the bike greatly reduces the fatigue of riding all day)... it is the FASTER option.  Hard to compare on a route with stop signs, traffic, water breaks, etc... but the charts are not about getting comfortable... they are about max performance of the tire.  For once in life, it's not a compromise... you'll be faster and more comfortable at the correct pressure.

Good to know on the tire pressure! That was new for me too!! Thanks, all!  This thread of people rock.

I just wanted to point out that IMTX is scared of our post count and someone posted over that that IMCdA has 119 pages (they're at like 95 w/less than 2 weeks to race day) and they don't want to get page whipped...I don't think they stand a chance against us.   I will be heading there to watch their race, and likely revel in the fact that as they are fighting 100% humidity and having to carry a machete with them to cut through said humidity, we are likely to have a gorgeous day...and even if it's not a gorgeous day, I can pretty much put money on the fact that it will not be both AS HOT and AS HUMID as IMTX is likely to be (I'm a native of that area). 

Anyhow, happy training to all. We're "on deck" in the US IM world, so to speak, after IMTX we take to the batter's box!