Monday, October 29, 2018

Haines City here we come!

Sorry about the extended Radio silence!  There was period of time there post hurricane that we felt the odds were against this race even happening but as you probably know, if you're reading this, that it is in fact on...a day later (11/4) and a few hundred miles away in Haines City, Fla (south of Orlando).

Despite the uncertainty I continued to remain very diligent in my final IM build (and now the first half of my 2+ week taper).  I had a good race in AC in challenging conditions.  Notably I rode a comfortable 2:34 and ran a 2:40 coming in around 6:05, which with all things given, I was pleased with.  I managed to get in 7 100-mile rides and even ran a 10 and 13.1 mile run averaging around 11:15-11:20/mile, which for me is good enough!

For comparison sake, here is how my 2018 build (final three months) compares to the prior five IM builds (these are not exact as I just took the three whole months prior to the month of each IM and since the exact date of each IM differed, in some cases I caught some of the taper):

Year        Race        Swim         Bike         Run         Time
                                 (k yds)      (miles)     (miles)      (hours)
2018       FLA             79            3,129        264           284
2017       ARZ             65            2,895        267           276
2014       Kona           122           2,718        298           239
2013       Tahoe          120           3,069        337           268
2012       Kona           118           3,384        388           291
2011       ARZ            111           3,127        433           285


Commentary:  I feel quite good with my build this year.  My swim volume, while not on a par with 2014 and earlier, is up quite a bit vs. last year and was more consistent and of a much higher quality/intensity.  I think my swim right now is as strong as any of these prior years.

My bike is in very good shape in my view.  I had the second most miles of these race builds and very comparable in volume and in terms of long rides with 2011 and Arizona--which was my best race of this group (by far).

The long-term decline of my run is evident although the last 6 weeks or so was encouraging with the 70.3 and the two 10+ mile runs.

Note the total time is almost identical to 2011, but my volume in the swim and run is less.  This is due to more supplemental training in 2018 (weights, stretching, PT) and the fact that I'm a lot slower--especially on the run.  all in all, I'm pleased with where I am.

The above is through September for 2018 (since October is still not done).  Here is how October has unfolded so far (note the taper impact in the last two weeks):

Week         Swim         Bike         Run         Time

  1               9,730         224             31            22
  2               7,125         266             21            23
  3               5,500         177             21            18
  4               6,600           86               7            11

All in all, I feel good and like I'm reasonably well prepared...I'll provide a bunch of updates as we close in on race day--just 6 days to go!

onward and upward!


No comments: