HIM in 2 weeks - Question on long bike ride / run this weekend

Don't do the run, because your ride will be the longest you've done, you can't afford to overdo it or get injured at this point. Running on bad legs will benefit you zero...and could hurt.

FWIW, there's no way I'd do a HIM with my two longest rides of 52 and 56 miles (but that's just me). So, whatever you do, make sure to dial way back on the bike during your race...set a realistic pace to finish...I assume your goal is simply to finish?

The first few HIM's I did, I didn't ride longer than 56 miles in training (although I did that distance several times), so don't let that waiver your confidence.

I think at this point, having fresh and rested legs will do you more benefit than the little bit of extra training. So I'd probably agree with d.wilk and do the ride, but skip the run.

If this is your first HIM, bike the course and run for 10 minutes super easy and I mean guilty pace easy. That way you have a familiar feeling for race day and can make some final tweaks on your race day plan. If you've done some HIMs before, skip it.

Thanks everyone for the info!

I forgot to mention, this will be my 3rd HIM. I consistently biked 40-47 miles the past (2) months for my long bikes.

I over biked the prior HIM's, ended up walking more than I wanted on the run... Hoping for a better run this year.

Good Luck!

what has been your running volume up to this point ?

if you have 2 weeks till the HIM, I don't see a problem doing a last run & bike this weekend and continuing with your training up till the following weekend. Then I would drop back with a taper plan for the remaining time.

I wouldn't much more than what your last long run was (assuming it was recent) but it should be fine 2 weeks out.

But I am not saying to attempt "cramming" (which would be bad), just following through with a training plan till the race.

that's MO.

Yup, very important question. It will give us a better picture to help you out and possibly explain why you've been walking more than you wanted to during the half marathon.

ETA: Also what has your bike weekly volume been like and how was your bike pacing the past HIMs you've done?

Edited by kloofyroland 2015-08-07 8:04 PM

Not sure I agree. I've done two of my three HIM with long rides of 90-100 km and had a strong ride (for me) and run with no trouble in finishing either. For my first HIM I did end up doing one ride considerably longer than race distance, because I wanted to keep a friend company for an 85 mile ride. Likewise, before I started training for my two HIM this year, I did one ride (on a bike tour) of about 90 miles, but that was almost six months out, so doubt it influenced my race fitness much, except maybe as a confidence-builder.

Since January of this year, my longest ride was about 100 km (62 miles) and many long rides were 90 km (race distance). I dropped my bike split from 3:27 in my first HIM to 2:58 (in one race) and 3:03 (other race, in very windy conditions). I did my "long" rides with quite a bit of race-pace intensity, though, and my other two rides each week had lots of intervals at harder than race pace effort. If the OP has done previous HIM and rides close to race distance already, and there aren't particular injury concerns, I don't see too much risk in a 10-20 minute easy brick run after, although it probably isn't necessary. But definitely that should be the last longer ride before the race and should probably be followed by a rest or swim-only day and starting taper.

Hot Runner just out of curiosity how did you feel about your run splits in those two races where you posted a 3 hour bike split? Did you feel like your race set you up for a good run on those days?

Well....Not a simple answer for the first race. I had come down with a nasty virus (head and chest congestion, low fever, muscle aches) three days before the race and was still pretty sick on race day. This was IM Vietnam 70.3 and conditions were extreme by the time the run started--95F with high humidity when I STARTED the run at 10:45 AM, and others have reported temps of 101 to 105 on the run course during the time I was on it. I knew I was too sick to pull off an ideal race that day, but I decided to follow my original pacing plan on the bike (which I had determined from the pace I could hold in long training rides and still do a 40-50 minute brick run at close to 5 minutes/km) as much as I was able to, and then let the chips fall where they may on the run. I've worked very hard on my biking over the past two years, plus it was my first race on a tri bike, so I really wanted to see what I could do on the bike. I definitely was not pushing it harder than I normally would in a race where I was planning to really race the run. Doing so would have led me to DNF in those conditions.

My legs were fine on the run--no pain or cramping. But almost as soon as I started running I started coughing so hard I was gagging at times. (I have asthma and it really affects me when I'm sick; for some reason, much more so when running than biking or swimming. Thus my decision to "sacrifice" the run.) I got dizzy and nauseous every time I moved beyond a survival shuffle, so shuffle it was. It was a bit rough, but I finished. I'm certain my issues were due to illness and heat, not bike pacing.

For the second one, I had a strong run (for me) after the 3:03 split. It was about seven minutes slower than my first HIM split (though 23 minutes faster than IM Vietnam!), but this course included over three miles on sand, and my stand-alone run fitness isn't quite where it was for my first HIM three years ago, when I was doing more mileage and coming off a bunch of altitude training. I ran almost perfectly even splits on an out and back course, only one person passed me, and my last few miles were the fastest of the race, so in my book, it was a strong run.

I think the key is figuring out in training what pace is realistic to set you up for a strong run. I basically took my average pace for the main part of my long rides (not counting the first and last 5 km, which I ride out of aero on a busy road) where I was able to have a good brick run afterwards, and added about 1 kph (to account for being rested from taper and for race-day adrenaline) to get target race pace. I normally train by heart rate and for me that pace corresponds really well to 80-85% of my LT heart rate from a 20-minute test.

Hope some of this makes sense.

Edited by Hot Runner 2015-08-08 8:07 AM

Run volume has been consistent over the past 4 weeks. Long run on Saturday 10-11 miles, 6-7 mile run Tuesday and a 4 mile run Thursday. This weekend will be my last weekend prior to my event next week Sunday. Planning another 11 mile run Saturday and biking the course 57 miles on Sunday. Then I will begin my taper. Last year during both my events my run was around 2:20. Not good at all. I'm feeling stronger this year with my runs and hope I can better my times.

My average bike was 18.1 MPH.

Thanks so much!

I think you should start your taper this weekend. Going for those distances this weekend might not leave you tapered well enough for your race. I suggest you do 2/3rds of the bike distance you're planning on Sunday on as much of the course as you can and do a 7-8 mile tempo run on Saturday.

What are your workout plans during your final taper week?

=^.^=
Roland

Meh, those distances shouldn't be a problem two weeks out if you're properly trained for a half. They shouldn't even leave you wrecked unless you really hammer them.

I agree but unless I'm mistaken, I think the OP is racing the weekend of 8/22-8/23.

For my May HIM, I was kind of following the plan that Triatlon.com publishes.

Two weeks out, I rode 60 on Saturday with a 20 minute run off the bike. That Sunday, I did an OWS in the morning and ran 14 miles in the afternoon...I was pooped at the end of that run.

The weekend before the race I biked 33 miles with a 15 minute run off the bike and did another OWS and an 8 mile run the following day.

I felt great on race day.

If your race is next week (8/22 or 8/23) I would recommend a shorter "long" run and ride this weekend. As in no more than 60-75 minutes of running and two to 2 1/2 hours of biking, maybe with some bits of HIM pace intensity thrown in, such as 4 X 1 mile on the run, or 5 X 10 minutes on the bike. Really no need to do more than that. The chance of gaining additional aerobic fitness or endurance at this point is very minimal. What you can focus on is really dialing in what the right pace on the bike feels like, and doing a final trial run of your nutrition and hydration plan. It would be awesome if you could do the long ride on the course as well to get a feel for it, but I don't think it's necessary to ride the whole thing. (Says the girl who "accidentally" swam the whole course at race pace the day before her first HIM!) If you're only doing a one-week taper, you don't want to begin it really tired and leave yourself vulnerable to illness. (I don't know about others, but I tend to get sick during taper, maybe because it messes with my routine and sleep patterns.) Good luck with the race! Pace well on the bike and you should be able to nail a strong run.

Edited by Hot Runner 2015-08-15 5:04 AM