So, here I am six days out from what I consider the biggest race of my 'tri life.' I did qualify for and race the 70.3 WC in Vegas last year, but this race, I feel, has bigger implications. If I do well at IMMT I'll have a good shot at getting to Kona, which has been a long term goal of mine.
At the start of this year I was fortunate enough to be selected by Steve Johnson of Darkhorse Multisport to be a sponsored athlete, receiving free coaching for the year. Steve has given me lots of workouts that I doubted I could actually do. However, I was able to get through virtually all of what I was asked to do, only falling short on my prescribed #'s a couple of times. I've swam more in the first seven months than I swam all of last year. I've done more high intensity runs and bikes than in the past, and I feel that my fitness has improved.
Going into Tremblant I have high expectations. When I signed up for this race last year my goal was to qualify for Kona. I know that I wouldn't have trained as hard had I not been associated with Steve. As a result, I feel that I'm ready to excel and have a great race. I've been very consistent in my training this year, averaging 12 hours per week, which has translated into 12k yards of swimming, 110 miles of biking, and 30 miles of running. At the start of the year I had a strong swim focus, and was getting in 4-5 swims and 15-16,000 yards a week. As the season progressed, those swim numbers dropped a bit as my bike and run mileage increased.
My IM build comprised of about six big weeks where I hit around 17-21 hours of training, getting a high of 281 miles on the bike, 21,000 yards in the pool, and 45 miles of running (not all in the same week, though). These weeks were hard on my new family, as most of these weeks were comprised of a Saturday swim and 5+ hour ride and a Sunday bike or swim followed by a long run. Katie wasn't psyched (even remotely) about these long training days, but allowed me to put in the time, and I thank her a great deal for being at home with our little buddy, Jackson!
As I look at how the race will shape up I know there will be some rough patches where I'm not feeling that great, and may even doubt myself. Over the past week or two I've been thinking of the consistent training over the past seven months, which leads into mantra #1: TRUST THE TRAINING. Steve knows his stuff, and I need to trust the numbers I will be hitting in the race - I know they are feasible. I know there will be times during the race where I may see someone pass me or be well ahead of me at a turnaround. I can't make foolish mistakes like going over my wattage on the bike or pace on the run. This leads to mantra #2: PATIENCE PAYS. It's a long day, and if I hit the numbers I am capable of (and don't do anything stupid) I should finish near the top of my AG. I'll be saying these two phrases to myself on race day, especially when I might be in a 'spot of bother.' I've put in the time and volume, or, as Quentin Cassidy would say, 'Miles of trials, and trials of miles.' I just need to be smart on race day and good things will happen.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Seeds are Sewn.....
Or, as coach Steve said, 'The hay's in the barn.' The big chunk of my Ironman training is now done, and I was able to get through unscathed by injury. After mid-June's HIM, July was my biggest month ever. I got in just under 84 hours of training time, logging the following volume:
Swim: 72,200 yards Bike: 941 miles Run: 177 miles
I've had some months in marathon training where I was around 300 miles, however, the swim and bike volumes are the highest I've had in a single month. I honestly wasn't quite sure I'd be able to get in all the workouts Steve gave me, but I was able to hit nearly all of the numbers prescribed. It was sometimes challenging to find the training time with our new 4-month old son, but Katie has been very accommodating - I owe her BIG TIME!!!!
Ironman Tremblant is now exactly two weeks away. Time to get in a good taper and rest up for the big day. I have high expectations for the race and feel like I should do well. I did a bit of reconnaissance work on my AG at Tremblant and found out that there is only one guy who placed in the top 10 in the 35-39 AG who is racing this year (and not aging up). It also doesn't look like any of the top guys from the 30-34 AG are aging up. However, I'm well aware that there are plenty of fast guys out there who didn't race last year (hopefully myself included!). I also noticed that Sam Gyde (Kona 35-39 champ) is racing, but he won't be taking a Kona slot - I guess I won't win the AG!
In terms of times, I feel that I'm capable of a 1:06ish swim. I've put in nearly 400,000 yards so far this year, and I've definitely seen some speed and endurance improvements. If anything, I should be able to come out of the water fresh and ready to get in a good bike.
My long rides, of which I did 6 over 100 miles (with 123 being the longest), are pointing towards targeting 240-245 watts. This is what I've been averaging on the long rides, and I feel like I should be able to run well off that type of power. In 2012 when I did the Tremblant 70.3 I averaged 278 watts and had a bike split of 2:23. I'm hoping to be close to 5:00 for the full. If all goes well, I hope to be starting the run around 6:10 or so into the race.
My long runs, the longest which I did this morning (20.1), have all been at a 7:30 pace or better. Today's run was in cooler weather and I ended up averaging 7:22 for the run with a HR of 151. I felt like I could have kept this pace up for a while longer and felt comfortable. It'll be a different story after a little swim and ride, though! I'm well aware that a 7:30 pace equates to a 3:15 marathon, and I feel like that's a high target to aim for. However, Steve is confident I can do it. If the weather is cooler it'll help out a lot. I did a few of my longer runs in temps that were in the 90's with high humidity, and I definitely wilted near the end.
For time goals, my A goal would be around 9:25. This would roughly equate to a 1:05 swim, 5:00 bike, and 3:15 run + transition times. Everything would have to align perfectly for that to take place. Realistically, I think targeting a 9:30-9:40 finish is more realistic, and if I'm faster I'd be very happy. Last year's results were pretty close, with 2-9 in the 35-39 AG finishing between 9:32 and 9:41. There should be 7-8 Kona slots for the AG with 75 being handed out at the race. I'm hoping to be holding one of those papers two weeks from today!
Swim: 72,200 yards Bike: 941 miles Run: 177 miles
I've had some months in marathon training where I was around 300 miles, however, the swim and bike volumes are the highest I've had in a single month. I honestly wasn't quite sure I'd be able to get in all the workouts Steve gave me, but I was able to hit nearly all of the numbers prescribed. It was sometimes challenging to find the training time with our new 4-month old son, but Katie has been very accommodating - I owe her BIG TIME!!!!
Ironman Tremblant is now exactly two weeks away. Time to get in a good taper and rest up for the big day. I have high expectations for the race and feel like I should do well. I did a bit of reconnaissance work on my AG at Tremblant and found out that there is only one guy who placed in the top 10 in the 35-39 AG who is racing this year (and not aging up). It also doesn't look like any of the top guys from the 30-34 AG are aging up. However, I'm well aware that there are plenty of fast guys out there who didn't race last year (hopefully myself included!). I also noticed that Sam Gyde (Kona 35-39 champ) is racing, but he won't be taking a Kona slot - I guess I won't win the AG!
In terms of times, I feel that I'm capable of a 1:06ish swim. I've put in nearly 400,000 yards so far this year, and I've definitely seen some speed and endurance improvements. If anything, I should be able to come out of the water fresh and ready to get in a good bike.
My long rides, of which I did 6 over 100 miles (with 123 being the longest), are pointing towards targeting 240-245 watts. This is what I've been averaging on the long rides, and I feel like I should be able to run well off that type of power. In 2012 when I did the Tremblant 70.3 I averaged 278 watts and had a bike split of 2:23. I'm hoping to be close to 5:00 for the full. If all goes well, I hope to be starting the run around 6:10 or so into the race.
My long runs, the longest which I did this morning (20.1), have all been at a 7:30 pace or better. Today's run was in cooler weather and I ended up averaging 7:22 for the run with a HR of 151. I felt like I could have kept this pace up for a while longer and felt comfortable. It'll be a different story after a little swim and ride, though! I'm well aware that a 7:30 pace equates to a 3:15 marathon, and I feel like that's a high target to aim for. However, Steve is confident I can do it. If the weather is cooler it'll help out a lot. I did a few of my longer runs in temps that were in the 90's with high humidity, and I definitely wilted near the end.
For time goals, my A goal would be around 9:25. This would roughly equate to a 1:05 swim, 5:00 bike, and 3:15 run + transition times. Everything would have to align perfectly for that to take place. Realistically, I think targeting a 9:30-9:40 finish is more realistic, and if I'm faster I'd be very happy. Last year's results were pretty close, with 2-9 in the 35-39 AG finishing between 9:32 and 9:41. There should be 7-8 Kona slots for the AG with 75 being handed out at the race. I'm hoping to be holding one of those papers two weeks from today!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Four Weeks To Go!
It's now the third week of July, which means that IMMT is actually less than four weeks away. Since I raced Patriot, I feel my training has gone quite well. The time spent on Nantucket with my family was great, and I really kicked off the IM training while we were there. The last few weeks of training have been pretty tough, and having a 3 1/2 month old baby certainly doesn't allow for endless hours of training time. He is super cute, though!!
My last three weeks of training have looked like this, with training time ranging from 17.5-21.5 hrs:
Swim: 16,300 Swim: 16,100 Swim: 13,400
Bike: 242 Bike: 281 Bike: 211
Run: 30 Run: 36 Run: 41
I've got two more weeks of some high volume, then it's time for taper, baby! This week I have two 5-hr rides, which should be around 110-112 miles a piece. This coming Sunday is another 18-19 mile run, the majority of which will be done at my target pace of 7:30. That pace seems pretty easy to hold on a long run, but I know it will be a whole different matter after a nice little 112 mile bike ride.
I think my swim endurance has improved over the course of the season. It's definitely my weakest area, but I think that I should be able to swim a 1:05-1:06. I've been hitting my faster 100's in the low 1:20's, and did a 40x100 yd workout recently where I was right around 1:27 on a 1:40 sendoff for the first 30 and 1:35 on the last 10.
My long rides have been going pretty well. So far, I've done three 100+ rides, and two that were around 95. I will probably end up with six rides of over 100 miles, which should set me up pretty well for a strong bike time at IMMT. I'm targeting around 245 watts on the bike, which I hope will put me pretty close to a 5:00 bike split. I went 2:23 in the half on 275 watts, so I feel that a time around 5:00 is reasonable.
I'm just hoping that the temperature at IMMT is relatively cool. The average high temps there in August are in the mid 70's, which would be great. After having a week of temps in the 90's here in the Boston area that would seem quite nice! However, the heat's also been a good test to do some long training in to see what my body can handle. My 110 mile ride this past Saturday was done with a heat index of around 100, and I felt pretty good.
Running has been a bit more brutal in the heat. I think it takes me a bit longer to run in heat and humidity. After all of my recent runs it's looked like I just wore my running gear into the shower.
I've also been watching some of the Tour de France, and some of the 'fans' really crack me up, none more than this guy carrying what looks like a stuffed boar with one leg that fell off. The best part is that the guy is carrying the broken leg! Simply awesome!!!!!!
My last three weeks of training have looked like this, with training time ranging from 17.5-21.5 hrs:Swim: 16,300 Swim: 16,100 Swim: 13,400
Bike: 242 Bike: 281 Bike: 211
Run: 30 Run: 36 Run: 41
I've got two more weeks of some high volume, then it's time for taper, baby! This week I have two 5-hr rides, which should be around 110-112 miles a piece. This coming Sunday is another 18-19 mile run, the majority of which will be done at my target pace of 7:30. That pace seems pretty easy to hold on a long run, but I know it will be a whole different matter after a nice little 112 mile bike ride.
I think my swim endurance has improved over the course of the season. It's definitely my weakest area, but I think that I should be able to swim a 1:05-1:06. I've been hitting my faster 100's in the low 1:20's, and did a 40x100 yd workout recently where I was right around 1:27 on a 1:40 sendoff for the first 30 and 1:35 on the last 10.
My long rides have been going pretty well. So far, I've done three 100+ rides, and two that were around 95. I will probably end up with six rides of over 100 miles, which should set me up pretty well for a strong bike time at IMMT. I'm targeting around 245 watts on the bike, which I hope will put me pretty close to a 5:00 bike split. I went 2:23 in the half on 275 watts, so I feel that a time around 5:00 is reasonable.
I'm just hoping that the temperature at IMMT is relatively cool. The average high temps there in August are in the mid 70's, which would be great. After having a week of temps in the 90's here in the Boston area that would seem quite nice! However, the heat's also been a good test to do some long training in to see what my body can handle. My 110 mile ride this past Saturday was done with a heat index of around 100, and I felt pretty good.
Running has been a bit more brutal in the heat. I think it takes me a bit longer to run in heat and humidity. After all of my recent runs it's looked like I just wore my running gear into the shower.
I've also been watching some of the Tour de France, and some of the 'fans' really crack me up, none more than this guy carrying what looks like a stuffed boar with one leg that fell off. The best part is that the guy is carrying the broken leg! Simply awesome!!!!!!
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