Week 14 of 17 – It is NOT all about the bike

Above is how my week shook out. It was technically a Hulk Mode week in that I did every work out on  the right day for the right time! YAY ME! The week was what my Coach called a Race Simulation week. So the volume was a little light during the week and I had big workout on Sunday.

Sunday was a Metric IM Brick. 112km on the bike followed by a 26.2 km run. The goal was to use this to practice race day pace as well as my nutrition plan. My goal was to bike like I have been so far. All my long bike rides have been pretty easy effort wise. I haven’t been looking at HR data at all while riding. I wanted to fuel like I would on race day (eat every 45 min, S-Cap every hour, and drink well). My goal pace for the run was at least a 10:00/mile pace but I would be much happier with 9:30. I picked a loop that was 5.5 miles so I could circle back to my car easily for SAG support. I was super lucky and Stuart was able to run with me for the whole run (even though I am sure it was slow for him and his speedy legs!).

The ride went well and I got off the bike feeling totally fine. I wasn’t tired at all! (Garmin data is here) Looking back at the numbers I was a little disappointed but more about that later. The run went great! I tried not to go out to fast because I do that often. After the first lap and seeing a lot of 9:00-9:15 miles I told Stuart we need to scale back a little on the second loop so we could finish the third loop strong. We were very conscious of the pace each mile and just kept running. I felt great until mile 15 and them I was getting a little tired. Not super tired; just a little bored with the loops and ready to be done. (Garmin data here). I was thrilled with the 9:14 pace! (full disclosure, my autopause was on).

Now I once I saw the bike pace I was bummed. Only 16.6 MPH. I need around 17.5 MPH to get my 6:30 bike. BUT my run was amazing! I have been spending a lot of my time worrying about having this great bike split and the lesson really sunk in yesterday that not killing it on the bike is going to set me up for a really good run! That was exactly what I did during this brick. And I did it over a pretty decent distance. It was the biggest brick I have every done that is for sure!

I am still feeling very confident about race day. My coach even said maybe I can go under 12 hours! I am not going to worry about that number until I get off the bike on race day. If I work too hard on the bike I am sure the run will fall apart. I really want a run I can be proud of. I am sure I will get passed a ton on the bike (I always do) but I have a feeling that I will pick up half of those who passed me on the run!

Pick a Plan and Stick To It!

So a minor pet-peeve of mine is when people say they are training for a race but they have no plan or they don’t follow the one they have. I truly believe consistency is key to preparing for an endurance event. Above is my calendar from last month. Thanks to my amazing coach, we have worked out a schedule that works for me and one that I am able to keep to. In my opinion, this is how you train for an endurance event. It isn’t about volume but it is about consistency and making each workout count. There is no fluff in my training. I am actually doing less volume than I expected and my results so far have been amazing! The proof will be in the pudding on November 16th at Ironman Arizona.

Saturday Silliness

I have been really lucky to meet some super nice and very funny people this year through my open water swim group, Tower 26 in Santa Monica. We meet every Wednesday morning over the summer to swim in the Ocean. It has been BY FAR one of the best training experiences I have ever had. Often when you get a lot of pretty decent/REALLY GOOD (there are few pros in the group) triathletes together it isn’t always that fun. There can be a lot of ego in the sport. I have been blown away with how nice and accepting this group has been. I may not be doing triathlon next year but I have a feeling I will still be swimming with Tower 26!

Thanks for making me laugh today George!

Week 13 of 17 Ironman Arizona Training – Dangerously Confident

Last week I wrote that I feel like I may have a 6:30 bike in my legs no problem. Now I am starting to think I could be getting really close to breaking the 12 hour mark for the day overall! I think there is a need to have a certain amount of confidence going into the race. As my amazingly handsome and totally awesome husband would say “If you believe you can or you can’t, you are right either way”. I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment but I also want to try for the best day I could possibly have. This is my last big triathlon for a while; I might as well leave it all out there! This week went great again! Only yellow workout was due to a short swim because MARK SPITZ came to my open water swim to speak to our group. It was amazing to meet such a legend and hear him speak. He was very down to earth and had a great sense of humor! I finished the week with a short brick (this was a light week after last week’s 16+ hours). I broke my rule of keeping things simple and drove to a school to start my brick so I could avoid the hills. I had a great 3 hour ride followed by a very fast 20 minute run. That is not a third nipple in my shirt but I have found that my very modest cleavage works well for holding S-Caps and chap-stick… This week brings a “Monster Brick” on Sunday. It will be a metric IM bike (112 km) and run (26.2 km). I am really excited to do this as a race practice and give my nutrition strategy a test. LESS THAN 4 WEEKS. OMG!!!!!!!

Week 12 of 17 Ironman Arizona Training – 6:30 bike maybe???

 

 

That was my week… It was the biggest so far and quite possibly it will be the biggest week in this training plan. I did have to skip a 30 minute recovery run on Wednesday (I was having a rough day and just needed a break), but otherwise I nailed the rest of it.

I did two of my longest effort so far and I was so happy with each one.  On Saturday I ran for 2:30 and managed to hold a 9:30 pace YAY!!!!! I did exactly what I wanted to do and it gave me a lot of confidence! Then on Sunday I rode for 6 hours and managed to get 100 miles in. Cycling is my weakest discipline by far. When I did Ironman St. George in 2012 I spent over 8:30 on the bike! It was terrible! I have been hoping that this time around I would be able to get the bike done in 7:00; but my ultimate goal has been 6:30… Now, I think I may be able to do that! This feels a little bit like when I was training for the Portland Marathon in hopes of Qualifying for Boston. The closer I got to the race, the more confidence I had that I would be able to do it. Originally my goal time for Arizona was between 13-14 hours. After that bike ride I feel like I am knocking at the door of a 12 hour finish!

Swim 1:05

Bike 6:30

Run 4:30

Transitions :15

Total 12:20

This is exactly the confidence boost I need right now. The race is so close and it is all I can think of. I feel so bad for my family. I can’t focus on anything else. All I think of is the race! I am so lucky to have Stuart for support. Once again he is doing everything he can to make it so I don’t have to think about anything but the race. I couldn’t do this without him.

Not everybody is comfortable with putting down their goal times. “I just want to finish” is what you hear a lot. I find that when you put it out there, you have a better chance of making it happen. So I am putting it out there.

 

September was HUGE!!!

I used to look at my monthly training volume but since one of my focuses this training cycle has been to keep it simple I haven’t been looking at the monthly numbers. Just the weekly totals. Anyway, I looked at my September data and I was shocked. Granted, I crashed in August so that had the numbers down for that month, but still WOW! A picture is worth a thousand words… *yes,  I know the swimming graph says miles…that number must be yards… or I need to change professions.

SportTracks and Garmin – #KIS

This is a good day. A very very good day. SportTracks has integrated with Garmin Connect! I am of the opinion to #KIS, keep it simple. I am very busy and I don’t have time to upload my data to many different sites. Not all activity tracking sites can do the same thing but if it takes me extra step to get my data in, I often wont bother. I really like SportTracks but until now it has been a separate upload from the upload process to Garmin (which you have to do regardless). They now have the functionality that allows for an automatic upload from Garmin to SportTracks! This is awesome! It is easy to set up and works seamlessly!

There is a cost to SportTracks, $59/year. I have worked with many different activity tracking sites; Garmin Connect, Strava, Training Peaks, Daily Mile, and SportTracks. Now that I don’t have to upload separately to SportTracks I will be going back to this site to monitor my training. It shows me what I want to see and it is easy to drill down to the data I want to see.

Why I Love Triathletes…

“Also if you pee your pants at transition make sure you don’t have socks on or sit down…blister city” – anonymous 🙂

This was just posted on my Ironman Arizona Facebook Group.

 

Week 11 of 17 Ironman Arizona Training – Tick

Another week of training done! I goofed early in the week and didn’t read my plan correctly so I had to switch Tuesday and Thursday so technically I didn’t go Hulk Mode but I did do all the training on my plan!

The biggest concern this week was the heat wave we were having. That meant getting out as early as possible which isn’t always that early. Sunday I couldn’t get out until after 9:00 AM for my long ride (5:30) and I knew it was going to heat up. The tide started out fine and once I got closer to the coast (besides the wind) the temperature was perfect! I could even see some fog and cloud cover at the coast. I was riding back from my first trip to the fruit stand when I got a puncture. I ride tubeless tires and had nothing with me to fix it (yes, I know that is stupid). Amazingly the stuff they put in the tubeless tire did it’s job and it sealed itself! I decided to ride back home (and back to the heat) just in case I fully flatted. The tire made it a good 32 miles all the way home. I switched out my wheel and finished up on the trainer and then on the treadmill. It wasn’t what I was hoping for but it was all I could manage.

Overall I am feeling good and handling the training well. I am not as fast as I wish I was but I am handling the volume. Only one more really long ride coming up this weekend. The race is so close!! Right now I just need to keep my head down and finish strong (something I need to work on in the pool as well 🙂 )

 

TRISLIDE Product Review

I was very lucky this year to get support from SBR Sports. They make a series of products for athletes that I love! I use their shampoo, body wash, and conditioner after every swim and my hair has yet to turn green! Not only that, I swear my swimming suit has lasted longer because the soap gets the chlorine out of that as well.

One of their other products I have grown to love is TRISLIDE. It is a lubricant spray you can use to prevent chafing when working out. You may think this is only good for swimming in your wetsuit but that is not so! One of my favorite uses is to use it to keep from chafing on my long runs. I use it on my arms and thighs when I run long. What is great about it is it sprays on lightly but works for along time. It isn’t thick and sticky like some of the other chafing products can be. It works perfectly! With my wetsuit I use it on my wrists and neck to prevent chafing. It also helps get your suit off quickly when you are done.

They also just announced a new product called Dermasport. I am super excited to try the produce and let you know how it goes. My skin takes a beating with all the training I do in the pool, ocean, and sun. I am very excited to see how this product works.