Friday, November 29, 2019
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
IMAZ Flash Update
Great day!!!!
Mission accomplished for Anders and I as we both qualified for Kona 2020. Father and son, pretty special I think.
We both had the races we wanted and trained for. Little things here and there could have been better but on balance it was about as good as it gets!
Anders finished in the top 2-3% overall and beat 1/3rd of the female pros as he went sub 10 for the first time with a 9:54 that included a 3:33 marathon. Pretty good for first IM in 11 years!
My swim was slow (and 600 yards long) but I basically nailed both my bike (5:34) and run (6:05) as I actually was slightly faster than plan in both. I executed this race better than any other IM for sure. finished with a 13:23--my fastest in 7 years aND almost 7 minutes faster than my goal for the race. Of my 15 IMs, this one slots in right in the middle at 8th fastest. I'll take that at 62!
I'll write a longer update over the next couple off days but a truly satisfying experience. I am filled with gratitude and so proud of Anders and all he overcame.
Kona here we come!
Onward and Upward!
Mission accomplished for Anders and I as we both qualified for Kona 2020. Father and son, pretty special I think.
We both had the races we wanted and trained for. Little things here and there could have been better but on balance it was about as good as it gets!
Anders finished in the top 2-3% overall and beat 1/3rd of the female pros as he went sub 10 for the first time with a 9:54 that included a 3:33 marathon. Pretty good for first IM in 11 years!
My swim was slow (and 600 yards long) but I basically nailed both my bike (5:34) and run (6:05) as I actually was slightly faster than plan in both. I executed this race better than any other IM for sure. finished with a 13:23--my fastest in 7 years aND almost 7 minutes faster than my goal for the race. Of my 15 IMs, this one slots in right in the middle at 8th fastest. I'll take that at 62!
I'll write a longer update over the next couple off days but a truly satisfying experience. I am filled with gratitude and so proud of Anders and all he overcame.
Kona here we come!
Onward and Upward!
Friday, November 22, 2019
IMAZ Race Plan Detail
For this so inclined, here is the detailed IMAZ race plan from the best to the not so good. I've also broken out my run plan by mile:
BTW, "time banked" is how far ahead of my target 14 min/mile avg pace I am at any point of the marathon....
Thursday, November 21, 2019
On the ground in Tempe
Judy, Anders and I arrived yesterday afternoon, J and I via the air and Anders drove across from LA. all good here.
Lots of rain (we got soaked hiking up the ASU hill nearby before dinner last night). Forecast is for it to clear and it looks very favorable for race day (cool, low wind, dry, sunny). Better than Haines City for sure.
I went over to pick my bike up at Tri-Bike Transport this morning but they are a bit delayed so will need to go back this afternoon. I saw Frankie and Troy from IM as well as Paul Huddle (Mr. underpants run in Kona).
All is good here. I still am fighting my cold and probably will still have it on race day but it's really not a major concern at this point. My tendonitis on the top of my left foot is an issue. Frankly, it's just going to be an unknown until Sunday and then as the race unfolds, I'll find out if its a deal breaker or not. I'm being careful with it but no need to worry about it--it will either be no problem, a minor problem or a major problem and I'll just need to deal with it if and when it unfolds.
Headline on my objective for race day is:
-79 minute swim
-9 minute T1
-5:45 bike (19.5 mph)
-8 minute T2
-6:09 run (14:00 min/mile)
13:30 finish
Based on my training so far all of these are pretty reasonable targets theoretically, but the one thing I've learned about IM is the actual race can be radically different than what is doable in theory. I'd really just like to have a race that is an "expression" of the hard work and fitness I've built but I realize there is no guarantee of that. Especially at 62 years of age and with the various body issues I have.
So mostly, I'm just grateful to be here. To have some nice times with Judy and Anders and some of my IM friends. It's a gift to actually be able to start one of these things and have reason to believe that I can do it (and maybe pretty well). I won't have that much longer (if ever again) so I intend to really soak it all in!
Onward and Upward!
rc
Lots of rain (we got soaked hiking up the ASU hill nearby before dinner last night). Forecast is for it to clear and it looks very favorable for race day (cool, low wind, dry, sunny). Better than Haines City for sure.
I went over to pick my bike up at Tri-Bike Transport this morning but they are a bit delayed so will need to go back this afternoon. I saw Frankie and Troy from IM as well as Paul Huddle (Mr. underpants run in Kona).
All is good here. I still am fighting my cold and probably will still have it on race day but it's really not a major concern at this point. My tendonitis on the top of my left foot is an issue. Frankly, it's just going to be an unknown until Sunday and then as the race unfolds, I'll find out if its a deal breaker or not. I'm being careful with it but no need to worry about it--it will either be no problem, a minor problem or a major problem and I'll just need to deal with it if and when it unfolds.
Headline on my objective for race day is:
-79 minute swim
-9 minute T1
-5:45 bike (19.5 mph)
-8 minute T2
-6:09 run (14:00 min/mile)
13:30 finish
Based on my training so far all of these are pretty reasonable targets theoretically, but the one thing I've learned about IM is the actual race can be radically different than what is doable in theory. I'd really just like to have a race that is an "expression" of the hard work and fitness I've built but I realize there is no guarantee of that. Especially at 62 years of age and with the various body issues I have.
So mostly, I'm just grateful to be here. To have some nice times with Judy and Anders and some of my IM friends. It's a gift to actually be able to start one of these things and have reason to believe that I can do it (and maybe pretty well). I won't have that much longer (if ever again) so I intend to really soak it all in!
Onward and Upward!
rc
Sunday, November 17, 2019
IMAZ 2019--one week to go
Ok--sorry for the long radio silence...lots going on. anders and I did a mini-training camp near Palm Springs...I ran a 2:15 half, just walking out of my car....I've had a very bad cold the last week...feel pretty weak...I have troubling extensor tendonitis in my left foot....I just had the second of my latest 3-injection cycle knee treatments...blah, blah blah!
Anyways, no excuses, I have a bit more work early in the week up in NYC and then we leave for Tempe on Wednesday. I'm optimistic but also realistic.
Headline: I'm trying to shoot for around 13:30....more on my plan later. I thought I'd update you all on my training volume trends. First the swim:
The first chart below shows my swim volume in yards/week by week for the year to date and the second shows a trailing 4-week average of the same. The later view I think is a better indicator of the cumulative stress on my body--especially for the bike, run and total training time--maybe less so for the swim.
If you look closely you can see the real commitment I've made to swimming over the last few months, it's especially clear in the trailing 4-week graph. I've backed off the last couple of weeks as I've rolled into my taper. I've been gratified to see my fastest pool swim times of the year over the last week (hitting 1:24-1:26 on my 100 yard repeats).
Bottom line, since I'm trying to hit around 78 minutes for my swim at IMAZ I should be very well positioned! Frankly, I should really swim near 70 minutes but I've had 3 slow swims at IMAZ before so my expectations are low.
The week 20 zero in the weekly volume chart was when I was in Bolivia and the next is the week I was recovering from my shoulder separation:
Anyways, no excuses, I have a bit more work early in the week up in NYC and then we leave for Tempe on Wednesday. I'm optimistic but also realistic.
Headline: I'm trying to shoot for around 13:30....more on my plan later. I thought I'd update you all on my training volume trends. First the swim:
The first chart below shows my swim volume in yards/week by week for the year to date and the second shows a trailing 4-week average of the same. The later view I think is a better indicator of the cumulative stress on my body--especially for the bike, run and total training time--maybe less so for the swim.
If you look closely you can see the real commitment I've made to swimming over the last few months, it's especially clear in the trailing 4-week graph. I've backed off the last couple of weeks as I've rolled into my taper. I've been gratified to see my fastest pool swim times of the year over the last week (hitting 1:24-1:26 on my 100 yard repeats).
Bottom line, since I'm trying to hit around 78 minutes for my swim at IMAZ I should be very well positioned! Frankly, I should really swim near 70 minutes but I've had 3 slow swims at IMAZ before so my expectations are low.
The week 20 zero in the weekly volume chart was when I was in Bolivia and the next is the week I was recovering from my shoulder separation:
This is the trailing 4-week average view:
Next up is the bike data. You can clearly see the post Bolivia "Bike Monster" strategy kicking in around week 20 or so. I've definitely trailed off since mid-September and frankly, I'm not as strong a cyclist now as I was then. It's just too hard to train effectively here on the East Coast this late in the year as I can't bring myself to do the quality work indoors like Anders does. also, I think I'm best when I do a 14 week block at most and the extended time due to shifting from Barcelona to AZ has worn me down a bit.
Oh well--I did my 10th and last century+ ride of the year last Sunday (39 degrees and 20 mph wind when I left at first light), essentially averaging one century every 13 days from early July. I still feel like I can do a 5:45 bike ride and have enough in the tank to still do a reasonable run. Hopefully I can do that!
Trailing 4-week view:
Then there is the run. My run data is very distorted by the huge trekking/climbing I did prior to our Bolivia expedition in May. The build after that mid-season low point is effectively my real investment in triathlon running. It's not much, but it's all my knee can realistically handle. As I mentioned above, I was very pleased to run a 2:15 half IM one Saturday on a whim during one of my training runs.
In the IM I will seek to do a 6:08 or about 14 min/mile--just hoping to endure and get to the finish line!
Trailing 4-week average view:
Finally, my total time investment. I know I'm in the deep end of the pool here but I do like to train!
You can actually see my taper in the top graph--only 13 hours this week! I'll do 5-6 next week and then we'll see what happens!
More on the race and what I plan and hope to do in the week ahead!
Onward and Upward!
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