Doing my thing on the way to Kona!

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!

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....

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

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:

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!

2019 Open Water Swims

I thought you might find it interesting to see the data on my Open Water Swims during 2019.  I have 46 of them (so far)--at least my Garmin has recorded that many.  I probably have done 3-4 more but either my watch died, I didn't start it properly or in one case, recorded it as a run for some reason.

In any event, here is the raw data:

Lot's of info here (sorry bout that).  But basically, I did my first OWS on June 1st, just a couple of days after returning from Bolivia.  My yardage ranged from about 1,500 yards to over 6,000, when I swam across our lake in Minnesota.

Let mer explain the color coding.  Firstly, I had 5 swims down in Avalon that were assisted to varying degrees by a tidal current.  In the charts that follow, I exclude them from the averages and trend line analyses.  The other 41 swims were all neutral from a current perspective.  These have colors that represent my progress vs. objectives I set for myself at the beginning of the year:

Pace (per 100 yards):

Red: 1:43 and higher (about a 72 minute IM pace)

Yellow: 1:40-1:42 (70-72 minutes)

Green: 1:39 or better

My slowest was 1:53/100 and my best was 1:30/100. (26% variation)

Distance per Stroke in Meters (DPS):

Red: below 1.60 meters/stroke

Yellow: 1.60-1.65

Grey: 1.66-1.69

Light Green: 1.70-1.74

Green: 1.75 and above

My worst was 1.49 and my best 1.82 (22% variation)

Strokes per Minute (SPM):

Red: 30 or less (note this is 60 spm if you count both hands)

Yellow: 31 or 32

Green: 33 and up

My worst was 29 and my best was 35 (21% variation)

Basically, my objective was to try to swim 1.75 meters/stroke at a rate of 33 spm or an average pace of 1:35/100 yards (66:40 IM pacer, which is my PR back at IMFL in 2007).  I was actually only able to do both of these just once, on 10/1 when my pace hit my best at 1:30/100.

This chart shows the average progression by month:

Basically, I didn't make a lot of progress on my pace until September and October when I really began to go after my swimming (after focusing on the bike for most of the summer).  Strangely enough, all the improvement seems to have come from my cadence (spm) as my stroke length really didn't improve much despite my attempts to make it longer.  I'm not sure how to interpret this but you can see it clearly in the charts below:

In any event, I'm pleased with the progress, especially given my limited investment in swim training this summer.  I feel good about my swim and don't anticipate any issues at IMAZ in November.

Onward and Upward!

Major Update: The Year to Date and the next seven weeks before IMAZ!

My apologies for being radio silent over the last 7 weeks or so.  This lack of communication should not be interpreted as a lack of progress on the fitness front--in fact, quite the contrary!  I'm going to step back a bit and review the YTD, and then talk about the 7 remaining weeks till IMAZ.  Sorry for the length of this, but this is intended to be a fairly comprehensive update about my training efforts and initial thoughts about IMAZ prospects.  Here we go:

The YTD: Overview

To put 2019 training in context, please look at this first chart of my weekly training time (in hours/week) this year so far:

A number of observations:

1. There are several distinct phases or training blocks during this year's training.  Firstly, the first 4+ months of the year were principally devoted to getting ready to climb in Bolivia in the 2nd half of May.  For each of the three sports, this meant something different during this phase and I'll get into each of them below.  But the main point is that the first part of the year I was focused on getting ready for a successful mountaineering expedition to Bolivia with Anders, which we did achieve, ultimately culminating in summiting Huaya Potosi (19,974 feet) together at the end of May.

2.  Upon returning from Bolivia, just after Memorial Day weekend, I began my build for IM Barcelona, which was our "A" race on 10/6/19.   The principal part of this early IM build phase was what we labelled, "Bike Monster".  I'll get into that in more detail in the Bike section below.

3. In the middle of July I suffered a mild, Grade I shoulder separation in a bike crash and just 11 days later, Anders (my racing partner for this IM) fractured his collarbone at IM70.3 Santa Rosa.  This significantly impacted both his and my training.

4.  We shifted our "A" race, after Anders' crash, to IMAZ (11/24).  This was 8 weeks later than IM Barcelona.  This was a great call and I think we will both be ready to have a great race, but it meant a significant adjustment in training plans for both of us.  For me, I've found through the years (and 14 IM races) that I can handle about 14-16 weeks of serious hard-core IM training before I begin to break-down.  Now I had 8 more unplanned weeks on top of 8 I had in front of me--this on top of the 8 I had in the bank.  I wasn't quite sure how to react to this but my body intervened and I experienced some over-training symptoms in August.  As a result, I backed off a lot over two separate 3 and 6 day periods and rebounded to a good equilibrium.

5. Over the last 5-6 weeks I've once again entered a serious, progressive IM build--this time focused on IMAZ.  The nature of this build differs by sport which I will detail below, but I seem to be building well for my big race 7 weeks from now.

6. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this chart clearly shows the HUGE commitment I've made to training this year.  I've rarely been below 20 hours/week--that's a lot for anyone and its especially a lot for a 62 YO has-been with a bad knee!  The week before last was my highest time commitment post Bolivia, which means it was my biggest Tri-specific week this year.

The Swim

The chart below shows my swim yards/week for the year to date:

 Observations for the swim:

1. Pre-Bolivia, I was just "going through the motions".  That is, I was in the pool enough to get my feel for the water, but wasn't focused on building IM swim fitness.  I wanted to save that until post our climbing exhibition in Bolivia in May.

2. Post Bolivia, I began my (first) IM swim build, which was going great (got up to 10,000+/week) until my shoulder separation.  I had to take about 9 days off from swimming as a result.

3. Ironically, Anders' injury got me going again as I went to Santa Monica for 10 days to help him and given time constraints, focused on swimming (love the SMCC pool!) and running.

4. Since then I've been in a very solid second IM swim build block.  Couple of highlights:

-in late August I swam over 6,000 yards across our Lake in Minnesota at about a 72 minute IM pace.  This is nearly 50% further than an IM swim and clearly demonstrated that I had fully recovered from my bike crash:

-Recently, on 10/1,  I had a breakthrough (of sorts) swim TT, where I hit 1:30/100 yards (63 minute IM pace) for 2,400 yards:

5. The week before last I did 14,000+ yards and I hit 44,000+ yards for October--both high-water marks for the last three years.  I feel very good about the status of my swim with 7 weeks to go!

6. Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that like both of the above two swims, the majority of my post Bolivia swims have been in the open water.   I think this will serve me well come race day.  Indeed, this week I'm in SH swimming and the water temp is now about 62 degrees--which is a bit tough but is about what I'll see on race morning....

The Bike

Here is what the same chart looks like for my bike:

Observations:

1. The pre-Bolivia period up through mid-May, my bike took second seat to my hiking/climbing/running as I focused on getting ready for Bolivia.  Most of this riding was indoors and frequently on Zwift.

2.  In Bolivia,  Anders first proposed the idea of a "Bike Monster" (primary focus on the bike--big miles) for my prime training strategy.  I agreed and during this period I primarily focused on biking and once I came up to speed during June was routinely averaging over 50 miles/day.  I was also frequently putting in over 20 hours/week on the bike.  Essentially all of this riding was out-doors and almost exclusively on my TT bike.  As a result, I feel very comfortable on the TT bike and am about as "aero-adapted" as I'm likely to ever be.  This is a major development for me as I haven't really been able to stay aero for the great majority of an IM since 2011--I think I can do so in Arizona come November.

3. In mid-July I had my bike crash (see in post below) and then 11 days later Anders had his far worse crash.  The net result was a big pullback while I was in Santa Monica.  In retrospect, this was very helpful as I was able to accelerate my swim recovery and I began pushing my run more.

4. I bounced around a bit for 6 weeks or so trying to refocus on IMAZ.  Over the past month or so, I've been finding a nice medium where I can maintain my bike fitness and increaser my emphasis on the swim and run..

5. During this time I've done 8 rides of at least 100 miles.  In September I was finally able to go sub 5 hours for a century ride:

6. Going forward I have 5 more hardcore weeks.  I'd like to do around 280-300 miles/week.  I'd like to do 2-3 more centuries.  I'm also trying to introduce more intensity, albeit over shorter distances.  I'd like to average 20mph (5:36 bike split) at IMAZ and I feel like I've (at least so far) given myself a good chance to do that.

The Run (and walk, hike, trek and climb)

1.  You can see the huge volume leading up to and including Bolivia.  The 5 smaller spikes are trips to Shenandoah and the Great Saunter.  The volume for the Bolivia climbs is considerably exaggerated as I credit high altitude climbing at the rate of 4 miles/hour.

2.  Upon returning from Bolivia most of what you see is running, although I mix in some walking/hiking every now and then.

3. Since my overtraining bout, I've been building my run pretty well.  Last week I ran 24 miles and walked 6.  I had two runs of 10 and 11 miles.  This week I hope to run 12 and 13 miles for these two "long runs".  I'm practicing the Galloway method and running for 8:30 and then walking 1:30 for each 10 minute cycle.  I'm slow, but I can at least go sub 12--up to 11 miles anyways.

4. My run will be a challenge but if I can get off the bike with enough in the tank then I think I have a good chance of hitting my 14 min/mile goal (6:06 marathon).

Looking ahead 7 weeks

If I can achieve the above then I'd turn in a low 13 hour IM--which I'd be very satisfied with (well, thrilled to be honest) and in the XC world might very well punch my ticket to Kona.

The next 5 weeks are my focus now.  If I can hit my training plans and arrive on 11/10, 2 weeks before the race healthy and ready to go then I will achieve my objective for this period.  To that end, I've got a week in the middle (starting 10/18) where I take it easy for 6-7 days just to be cautious.

I'm optimistic and feel very fit.  I like where I'm at and the plan forward.  With any luck, we might be able to pull this one off!