Benchmark workout for AC 26.2

After a busy work week traveling and attending conferences I had almost resigned to the fact that I haven't been doing enough work to run the Atlantic City marathon on Oct. 13. I figured I would give myself a long run test to see how I handled the time on my feet before making a final decision, and, much to my surprise, I felt pretty good. So, baring any catastrophe or injury, I will be running the full 26.2 in 3 weeks. Did I have an amazing 20 mile run that told me I'll be able to PR in AC? No. But I had a decent enough run that told me I'll be able to finish the marathon and come out fitter on the other side without risking injury. 

I got out for 17 miles on Sunday in just over 2 hours. My HR was steady and in the 147-153 range for miles 1-14. I felt good, so I decided to hit the track for the last two and see what kind of pace I would be holding at my lactate threshold (basically the HR I can hold for a 2+hour workout). My LT heart rate is right around 173. For me right now, probably a little closer to 170. Anyway, I picked it up going around the track and did mile 15 in 6:53 with a HR of 169, then mile 16 was 6:43 with a HR of 177. Somewhere in there is my sweet spot (I think/hope). 

My 2010 Philly marathon of 3:00:47 averaged out to a 6:52 pace... I'm not sure if I can handle that again, but we shall see!

Tuesday runs

From September of 2010 through August of 2011 I ran all but 4 Tuesdays. Most of those runs were in the morning. Some were hard, some were easy, some were fast, some were slow, some were long, and some were short. But every Tuesday I ran. It has been a dietary staple that always fuels me. Since Mondays are typically rest days, Tuesday mornings were my first workout of the week, and it just fits that they were runs being my favorite discipline of my training.

Today's run made me think back to the hours I put in leading up to IM Lake Placid in 2011. I remembered how it felt to be strong and unbelievably fit. Right now I'm not, but that's OK. I'll get back there. 

It's interesting to me how the first workout of the week really sets the tone for the week. It's so important to get done because when I don't, I'm stressed for the rest of the week. And if I nail the workout, I'm happy for the rest of the week and feel less guilt even when later workouts don't go as planned. 

This week I'm happy so far. There's work to be done including a 2-2:30 run this weekend, which will be very telling of my current fitness, but I'm feeling good thanks to this morning. 

One last thought I had this morning - the training plan I am planning on starting after the AC marathon has rides on Tuesday morning rather than runs... I have always felt that Sunday-Wednesday is too long off the bike, but I will miss my therapeutic Tuesday runs.

Shoreman 70.3 race recap

It was a pretty good day at the office with all things considered. I always scroll down to find splits and then back up to read the report, so I'll just post the splits up top for anyone like me out there reading.

Swim - 34:37 (HR 132)

t1 - 3:04

Bike - 2:40:20 (HR 156)

t2 - 2:33

Run - 1:37:59 (HR 171)

Finish - 4:58:32 (HR 162)

18 OA, 3rd AG

So, like I said, not a bad day. I came in under my goal times for the swim and bike. So now the blow by blow...

I got up and ate breakfast plenty early, but got on the road a few minutes later than I should have. By the time I parked and picked up my packet it was about 6:25 and the race started at 7:00am. Of course there were lines at all the port-o-johns, so I had to wait. At about 6:50 I was next in line. I still had my bike with me and all my transition stuff. Needless to say I was quick to take care of business and then ran over to transition. I got set up and jumped into my wetsuit in record speed. I was on the beach by 6:58 for the National Anthem. Little did I know that my rush through transition would cost me a bit of time later in the day...

It was a two loop swim in a shallow lake. How shallow? When we got the 300ish yards to the other side I was scraping the ground with my pull. I even got up to dolphin dive a few times to get going and get a full breath. There was only about 25 yards of shallow water, but it was surprising. I felt pretty good, and frankly I don't know how or why. I haven't been swimming a lot. My suspicion is that the swim was a little short. The break mid way helped too. I hit the half way point at 17 minutes and exited in 34 and change. I was pretty happy at that point, and I think that's my current 70.3 swim PR...

Transition was a disaster. It was a small local race, so I just racked my bike where I could find space - no numbering on the rows. I literally ran around for what felt like 20 minutes looking for my bike. Finally I spotted it, ripped off the wetsuit, helmet on, shoes on, and off I went.

It was cold when the bike started - definitely below 60 degrees. I was pretty numb in my extremities. My HR was a little high when I started (in the 160s), so I eased off slightly to get it down into the 150s. For the first time I can remember in a race the bike felt smooth as butter and it was SO easy to get my HR to do exactly what I wanted. If I pushed a little it went up, and I could back off a little to take it down. It was perfect. The bike was also pancake flat. I'm talking NO hills, not even an ant hill. I stayed down in the aerobars and just went. Something else I have to say is how damn comfortable my new ride is. I only ride about 10% of my rides down in the aero position, so I always worry how uncomfortable I'm going to be. The Slice is PERFECT for me! I just love how it rides. Anyway, the one part of the ride that really pissed me off was the draft pack I kept getting swallowed up by. There were 4-5 guys just sitting on each others' wheels! They got to me and tried to sit on mine, but I called them out for it and one guy responded, "we're not trying to draft, but you can't help it out here..." BULL.SHIT. It was a small race... There was NO need to draft. Anyway, I pushed for a bit and let my HR get up to get away from them, but then they gobbled me up again. This happened about 3-4 times before I finally fell back from them at about mile 53. I was pissed. And it messed with my race plan because I had to ride hard surges to try and shake them. Something else that hurt me on the bike was fueling. I missed a water bottle and miscalculated in my hurried transition set up, so I was about 2 gels short of what I wanted to take in. I also ran out of water. I didn't take in anything for the last 30 minutes of the bike, which is really not ideal. I'm going to tinker with my fuel/hydration set up before I race again next year... Nevertheless, the bike went well. The Slice is awesome and my Rudy Project wingspan aerohelmet definitely helped too. I can't wait to throw some aero wheels on her next spring. Mom, Dad, Maddy, and anyone else who reads this and might potentially get me a gift some time between now and next summer, please donate to my aero wheel fund.  

The second transition was still a little confusing, but I found my spot quicker than I did coming out. I sat down and put some compression socks on because I was fearful of how my legs would hold up. I also grabbed as many gels and chomps as I could because I knew I was already behind on my nutrition plan. Then out I went.

The legs were turning over OK. I passed the draft pack punks within the first mile, which was a good feeling. The first few miles I was averaging a heart rate in the 160s and clipping off 7:10ish miles. Not ideal, but not bad. Things went on feeling pretty good until about mile 9. I started to have some cramps in my calves and my HR was well into the mid 170s. My pace had slowed too. At mile 11 I realized I needed to stop to walk a few steps. My stride was way off because of the cramping. I got passed at mile 12, and I HATE when that happens, but I had nothing to respond with. I limped across the line under 5 hours though, so I can't be too mad. My run split is my second worst half marathon though. The only one worse was in my first ever 70.3 in 2010 in which I limped a 1:55. The surges on the bike and the nutrition miscalculation definitely played a role. My fitness and low training volume is the other piece of the puzzle.

I can't be disappointed though. I had some really good parts of the day and I came out fitter. The run is concerning mostly because I'm signed up to run a marathon in 5 weeks. I'll take this week nice and easy, but then I need to test myself with a pretty long run next weekend - probably in the 18-20 mile range.

Onward and upward!

Thanks for reading!

PW

Bike set up for Saturday and thoughts on riding carbon vs steel (plus a tiny race plan)

Let's get to the good stuff first... this is 99% what my bike will look like on race day. Pretty standard - nothing too sexy, but this will be my first race on a carbon bike, and I wanted to show her off.

First you'll notice that I'm using a speedfil hydration system, which I've never used before. I've been on a couple training rides with it, but I've never raced with it. I chose it because it can hold 40oz of liquid, rather than the standard 32oz that one water bottle holds (I've never had more than one bottle cage on my frame - the Royal H has one on the down tube and the Slice has one on the seat tube). So far my thoughts are that it is a very effective and aerodynamic way to carry liquids. I do prefer being able to pull out an actual water bottle and squirt it directly in my mouth (as opposed to the straw, which can be slightly difficult to drink from at times), but I'll give this thing a whirl on Saturday. Theoretically the straw will keep me in the aero position longer, so it should be a better set up. The only 2 things that really stick out about it are that drinking through the straw can be tough and sometimes puts excess air in my stomach, and having all that weight sitting right in the middle of the bike is a feeling I'm not used to... And it sloshes around a little on climbs, which actually pushes the bike a little when it's full.

Next you'll see a carbon addition to the Slice - the Shimano Ultegra carbon pedals. I treated myself to these to save a few grams and say I have some extra carbon on my ride... I mentioned before that the Speedplay pedals weren't working for me (they caused me some foot pain that didn't go away) so I switched back to a larger platform pedal. So far, so good. I rode the metal Ultegra pedals before, so it was an easy choice to go back. So far they feel good, and I'm happy I treated myself.

Lastly, I upgraded the brakes from Tektro (which ironically come on the Slice 105 rather than Shimano 105 brakes that I wouldn't have changed) to Ultegra. The fact is that I don't need top of the line Dura Ace components, but I wanted something a little nicer than 105... Ultegra works perfectly for me. They are probably about the same weight, and the forums tell me that the Ultegra braking power isn't much better, but I feel better having these on my bike. Honestly, I want to upgrade the front and rear derailleur to Ultegra too before IMLP next year.

Now let me talk about the feel of my new bike compared to the old. My steel Royal H hybrid road bike with triathlon geometry is fast! Steel is super stiff and responsive - it's like a sports car! On the downside, it rides hard due to the stiffness, and it's heavier than it needs to be. The Slice, which is about 90% carbon (only the gruppo and cockpit aren't), rides like butter! It is still responsive, but it's SO smooth and rides soft compared to the steel bike. It's lighter and more aerodynamic too. Typically on training rides I'll go ~1mph faster at the same effort on the Slice, so it will be interesting to see how she does tomorrow. It won't be a totally fair comparison because I don't feel like I have the fitness to go out there and let it rip, but I'll have plenty of time for that in the spring leading up to IMLP next year. Last bit about the bike is that I'll just be riding the stock shimano RS-10 wheels and Shwabble tires. Fingers crossed that I'll get some nice race wheels and high end tires over the winter. This thing will FLY next year.

Absolute last bit for today since I've already been rambling... Race plan for tomorrow.

Swim - stay smooth and under control. It's two loops, which will break things up nicely. Get out and on my way. Goal time 35 minutes.

Bike - spin the legs to start. Cap my heart rate at 155. Stay aero. Remember to fuel and hydrate - 250 calories/hour plus water. Ride hard, but don't bury myself. Goal time 2:45.

Run - don't go out too hard! Capped HR at 160ish for the first 10k, then bump it to 170ish for miles 6-10 and then whatever is left for the last 5k. Stay smooth. Remember to fuel and hydrate. Don't blow up!!!

Overall - come out fitter on the other side. I'd love to be under 5 hours.

Is any of this possible right now? We'll find out in about 28 hours.

Taper time

Well it's been a low volume summer of training, and my first 70.3 since 2011 is in just 6 days. I'm not really sure what I can expect, and it's difficult for me to admit to myself that this most likely will not be my best performance nor will it be a PR. But only race day will show me what I'm capable of, and maybe it won't be so bad. Below is my training for the past month.

It is what it is. I just looked back through my training log from 2011, and I was working a lot harder back then... The last 70.3 I did was in May of 2011 and for the 8 weeks prior to the race I had putting in 12-17 hours very consistently. I had actually forgotten how much time I used to spend training.... In that last race I swam 36 minutes (with a 170 heart rate), rode 2:43 (HR 156), and ran a 1:30 (HR 164) for a finishing time of 4:54. It was also one week after I was hit by a car while riding my bike, so I remember my hip being tight and not being able to really get my legs going on the bike. I know at the time I was hoping to be in the 4:30s-4:40s. I would love to be able to stay under 5 hours at the race coming up, but it's all going to depend on how the bike goes. I'm riding carbon this time around with a tt helmet (both of which I didn't have last time) so hopefully that "free speed" everyone on slowtwitch talks about will pay off. If I can manage a decent bike split while getting enough calories in I should still be able to run around 1:30 on a flat course. Again though, only race day will show what I can do.

On a totally different note, I purchased my first pieces of art last week. These TdF prints are AWESOME and will be decorating my house and office.

http://justeleanor.bigcartel.com/product/tour-de-france-100-set-of-5-prints

Later this week I'll write up a little more about race prep/strategy and some bike upgrades that have happened lately. Thanks for reading!