General Discussion Triathlon Talk » HIM Bike Readiness Rss Feed  
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2015-08-07 9:00 AM


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Subject: HIM Bike Readiness
I’m looking for some opinions from the brain trust on my bike volume. I’m doing my first HIM in a little less than two months. I had developed a plan back in May that I thought would prepare me. I’m not straight off the couch. This spring I did a couple Olys, finishing MOP. My best time was 2:42:0 (Swim: 31:00, Bike 1:14:00, run 53:00) so I had decent baseline fitness. But during the course of the summer I amended the original plan to address current conditions in my fitness and now I’m looking back and feeling like I’ve undertrained on the bike.
My original plan was a fairly vanilla 2 swim, 4 bike, 3 run per week format. I’m pretty confident and strong on the swim relative to the other two so that’s why I cut a swim out and allocated it to the bike. However before launching into the HIM plan, upon completing my second Oly in April I came away pretty dissatisfied with my run, so I amended the plan to ramp up my run frequency and mileage. Beginning in May I kept my 2 swims per week, but I had to cut my rides down to 3 to accommodate 6 runs per week. During Base 1 and 2 I slowly built my weekly run mileage up to 30 mpw and by the end of the base period I was logging a little more than 14 hours per week in total training. Half of that was dedicated to cycling. Over the last month I continued to increase my run mileage and now I’m regularly logging 40 mpw with long runs of 12-13 miles each week. I feel good about this. But as a result my cycling time as a percentage of my weekly training hours is lower than it should be. Right now I’m training about 13.5 hours per week, but 45% of that time is spent running and 40% is spent cycling. I understand that is atypical, but I really want to maintain my run mileage at 40 mpw.
When you play the numbers game you know that certain statistics mean very little. Had I maintained 30 mpw running the relative percentages wouldn’t be so skewed. So I don’t want to focus on that as much as my total cycling time. As it stands now I’m still only riding three times a week, two of those are one hour trainer sessions with high intensity interval work. The third is a three hour ride out on the road. I have a loop from my house that is 57 miles long and that gets me my three hours. Again, that’s about all my schedule permits. To date I’ve logged six 50+ mile rides, with the longest being 60. I have four more of these scheduled before the race.
I understand I’ve given basic information here. I’d love to share great metrics with you all about heart rate and power, but I don’t train with any of those things. I’m a low budget athlete. I’m having some doubts about my bike fitness and since this will be my first time at the HIM distance I want to be sure I have a good idea about where I am at from a training standpoint so that I can pace my bike appropriately to set myself up to put together the best run I am capable of. Again, I have no doubts about my swim fitness, I feel good about my run mileage, and I have a nutrition plan that I test in training on my long rides. It really comes down to being honest with my abilities riding so I don’t ruin my race by going out too hard.


2015-08-07 9:17 AM
in reply to: Gatornate

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Elite
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PEI, Canada
Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness

2 x 1 hour interval workout + 1 longer ride (also with some intensity) on top of frequent running was pretty much the staple diet for my HIM training.

2015-08-07 4:33 PM
in reply to: axteraa


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Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
Originally posted by axteraa

2 x 1 hour interval workout + 1 longer ride (also with some intensity) on top of frequent running was pretty much the staple diet for my HIM training.




Yeah, I don't see a problem here. 3 hour ride on the weekends, two one hour trainer sessions. . . unless you're mailing in those workouts, I wouldn't worry.

2015-08-07 5:35 PM
in reply to: #5133578


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Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
Definitely not mailing it in. Both trainer sessions are structured and challenging. The long ride has some long sustained efforts scattered about

I appreciate the feedback. I want to go more like 3.5-4 hours on the long ride but the schedule doesn't permit. So doubt creeps in.
2015-08-07 5:37 PM
in reply to: #5133766


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2525
Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
Oh also the long ride involves four bridges and four overpasses (the florida version of climbing)
2015-08-07 6:32 PM
in reply to: Gatornate

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Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness

If you don't have additional time for your long rides, you can always push them harder.  Higher fitness is a result of higher training loads.  Training load is a factor of both time and intensity.  A lot of beginners focus way too much on distance and time and lose track of the intensity part of the equation.  3 hours is more than enough time during a long ride to build HIM fitness if you ride hard enough.

 

 



2015-08-08 5:50 AM
in reply to: Jason N

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Veteran
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The Woodlands, TX
Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
Rest assured, you're doing way more work than a lot of HIM participants and way less than others. You'll be just fine on race day from a fitness standpoint. Pacing on the bike will be the key!

I agree you're putting in enough time. If you want to use it most effectively, make sure you have enough intensity thrown into your rides.
2015-08-08 6:56 AM
in reply to: #5133767


72
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Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
Thanks for the feedback. I feel good about the quality of my training rides. I think between now and the race I need to come up with a plan for pacing like you all are saying is so important (and I agree)
2015-08-08 11:28 AM
in reply to: #5133802

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119
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Groton, New York
Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
My longest run up to my first half (couple weeks ago) was 6 miles. I rode 56 miles once a couple weeks before the race but otherwise I had a couple 30 mile rides and basically just 30 minute trainer sessions 2-3 times a week. Finished the race in quite a lot of pain in 5:52 with an irritated ITB. Longest weekly mileage only up around 12-15 miles. Yeah dumb but I just ran out of time. Somehow I think you will be just fine.
2015-08-10 4:26 PM
in reply to: Gatornate

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Houston, Texas
Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
One thing to keep in mind on the HIM is that you really have to pace the bike to have a good run. I have messed that up 3 times in a row on HIM's.... yes I'm a moron. You will have more than plenty of rides to get you through the race. Just pace and plan nutrition and go have fun with no worries.
2015-08-11 3:41 PM
in reply to: Gatornate

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Regular
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Subject: RE: HIM Bike Readiness
I just completed my second HIM - Steelhead. I am most definitely MOP....

My average run MPW for the last three months was 16.6, with one long run per week (6 to 11 miles), 4 to 5 miles of interval work, and one 4 to 5 mile tempo run.
My average average bike MPW for the last three months was 82; with two long rides on the weekends and one interval ride during the week.

I finished with 35 (Swim), 2:35 (Bike), and 1:58 (Run) for 5:16 total

In my opinion, you are solid and will finish strong. Assuming you can judge your perceived effort on the bike and run.


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