Race Report - Twin Lakes Triathlon (06/27/2010)

As a fun little aside from the focus on long-course triathlon training and racing, I did this local sprint triathlon on Sunday. I haven't done a sprint in several years and after spending all of that time training for long-course triathlon I know my body has evolved into an endurance athlete with mostly slowtwitch muscle fibers - certainly not what you need to be successful in the world of sprint and olympic-distance triathlon.

So this was definitely a "have fun", D-priority race for me. It was composed of a 700 meter swim, 14.5 mile bike and 4.5 mile run. My plan was to try to go balls-to-the-wall the entire way and just see what kind of top-end speed I have and to have fun doing it.

Race Goals

• Win my age group
• Overall time under 1:20:00 (the time that won my age group in 2009)
• Stretch goal: podium spot for the overall

Results

• Won my age group
• Overall time: 1:18:36
• 5th overall

The Swim - 700 meters (11:12 - WTF??!!)
Goal was to go under 10:00 - no problem at all based on recent swim workouts. Had good water as there was very little wind on this small lake. I was in the 2nd wave (60 athletes per wave with 2' between each wave). Somehow I positioned myself up front and right in the middle of the group. I should have been on the outside to get a more direct line to the first turn and to avoid the chaos. I hammered it hard in the first 200 meters or so to try to get away from the beatings that take place in these sprint swims but I was unsuccessful. Additionally, I felt just plain AWFUL! My stroke felt like crap. My breathing was completely out of rhythm. I felt like I had no strength on the pulls - it was the worst I've felt during a swim in many years. I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea what my time was but I knew when I got out of the water that it was SLOW. At least it was done, but now I was worried about carrying that same crap result over to the bike and run.

T1 (1:05)
Threw the helmet on and took off. These sprints are so easy to get through transition quickly. I fumbled with my new cycling shoes for too long after I mounted the bike but eventually got them strapped and got to work.

The Bike - 14.5 miles (36:40)
Being in a pretty congested, high traffic area with a lot of stoplights and rough roads I was curious how the organizers would set up this bike course. I was pleasantly surprised. There were a lot of turns but that's what actually made this bike course fun - I love technical bike routes and had a good time carrying a ton of speed into the corners.

My aim was to ride as close to FTP (~300 watts) as possible. From the start, I just didn't have that gear in my legs. I tried and tried but had a really tough time getting there and holding it. Still I was passing people right and left, mostly folks from the first wave. I never got passed.

My time goal was to come in around or under 38:00 so I was happy with coming in over a minute under that. Here's my ride data:

Twin Lakes Tri Bike:
Duration: 37:49
Work: 545 kJ
TSS: 46.7 (intensity factor 0.861)
Norm Power: 252
VI: 1.05
Pw:HR: 0.17%
Distance: 14.376 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 570 240 watts
Heart Rate: 132 161 147 bpm
Cadence: 45 186 93 rpm
Speed: 5.2 32.4 22.9 mph

T2 (52 seconds)
Bike racked, helmet off, shoes on (sans socks), number belt on and out of transition - felt fast.

The Run - 4.5 miles (28:49)
My run plan was to start out around a 6:30/mile pace then bring it down 10 seconds at every mile. It took me a half mile or so to settle down and get a good cadence going. I found myself holding around 6:20 for most of the run fairly comfortably. By mile 3 I knew it would be a struggle to find another gear so I just hung on to whatever gas I had left. I did have a nice finishing kick in the final 1/2 mile, though.

I never got passed on the run either and I think I passed a few people at least. All in all, I was pleased with my effort on the run leg given the struggles I had with the swim and bike on the day.

My finish time was 1:18:36 which won my age group and placed me 5th overall (2 seconds ahead of 6th place).

Here's the run data:

Duration: 28:48
rTSS: 54.5 (1.023)
NGP: 6:17 (255.8 m/min)
Pa:HR: 1.05%
Distance: 4.508 mi
Elevation Gain: 549 ft
Elevation Loss: 566 ft
Grade: -0.1 % (-17 ft)

Min Max Avg
Heart Rate: 158 173 165 bpm
Cadence: 81 93 87 rpm
Speed: 4:36 11:14 6:21 min/mi
Altitude: 690 767 727 ft

My buddy and fellow Endurance Nation teammate Matt Ancona took 1st overall - he's just plain rocking these local races this year! And another friend, Mike Biarnesen, won the 50-55 age group - I'm very happy for him (and his wife Vicki for completing a solid race)!

While I hit my main goals I still have some penned up frustration about the race, especially my abysmal swim. But I'm moving on with an intense focus to work hard over the 11 weeks to prepare for Ironman. I can't let things like this get in the way of my big goal.

I have no more races on the calendar (save a 5K here or there as a test of my Vdot), it's all about getting the most out of every training session and paying attention to every detail to set me up for a successful Ironman Wisconsin on September 12th!!

Week 24 - 06/14/2010

This week ended with my first big race of the year - the High Cliff Half Ironman in Appleton, WI (click here for race report).  Because of this, the volume and intensity was down quite a bit (taper) from the past several weeks where I had been pouring it on.

The Swim
Just a couple short (2,000-2,5000m) swims.  Nothing crazy, just swimming to stay loose this week.

The Bike
After not biking last week while in North Carolina I expected my legs to be fresh and ready to go.  I found them to be a little flat but got snappier as the week went on.  Everything ready to go for race day.  Got the Slice prepped with latex tubes (lighter/faster than traditional butyl tubes) and the wheelcover on my rear training wheel that turns it into a budget-friendly wind-cheating disc.

The Run
Again, short low intensity workouts was the flavor of the week.  Just a few intervals at race pace to keep the legs springy but nothing more than that.  Made the decision to run the race in my Zoot Ultra Tempo 3.0 shoes.  These shoes have been feeling more and more comfortable (had them for a couple months now) and since the race takes place mostly on trail I thought they would be a better option that my Newtons that tend to be a little slippery off the road.

Body Composition
Gained a few last week while on vacation in North Carolina so I was intensely focused this week on proper nutrition to get back to pre-vacation weight (~169).  I ended up weighing in race morning at 168.4 lbs which is the lightest I've ever raced.  I was very pleased with my nutrition strategy during the week as well as my discipline.  I documented everything that went into my body so I can look back on what worked when IMWI race week comes.

Here are the day-to-day highlights for the week:

Monday: 60' morning ride with 4 x 8' at half Ironman race effort then 30' brick run with 3 x 3' at half Ironman pace.  Legs a little tired from weekend - need more sleep!

Tuesday: 1600m swim in outdoor pool (first time in the outdoor pool this year!) with half Ironman pace intervals.

Wednesday: Another morning ride with 3 x 8' at half Ironman effort - not feeling the best but I don't think my legs were quite awake yet.  Lunchtime swim was a repeat of Monday's workout - felt smooth and fast with very little effort!

Thursday: Another 30' morning run with strides and 3 x 2' at half Ironman pace.  Lack of sleep has me feeling a little sluggish.  Early to bed tonight!

Friday: Easy 20' run with 6 x 30" strides - ready to race!

Saturday: High Cliff Triathlon in Appleton, WI (4:22:41, 2nd AG, 13th OA)

Sunday: Rest day enjoying time with Drew and road trip back home.  IMWI is 12 weeks from today!!!

Data for week 24:


Time spent training: 9:08
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 5'
Time spent at or below LTHR pace on run: 34'
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .754
Mileage: 122 (Swim: 4.8K, Bike: 92 miles, 27 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 661
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 106.6 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): 7.5
Weight: 168.4 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 54.3

Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 24:

Race Report - High Cliff Triathlon (06/19/2010)

To avoid over-thinking and over-training for IMWI this year I decided to register and race the High Cliff Triathlon as a mid-season "A" race. This is a pretty low-key half Ironman distance race with less than 1,000 competitors that took place in Appleton, WI on June 19th.

After completing 14 weeks of the Endurance Nation OutSeason training plan I transitioned over to the Half Ironman training plan in March for my bike and swim workouts. My run workouts followed the OS plan due to recovery from an injury that didn't have me back to consistent running until April. So from April through the beginning of June I was doing a hybrid Half Ironman/OutSeason training plan and then transitioned to a 10-day taper for this Half Ironman race - a little messy.

Race Goals

• <4:32:00 (the time that won my age group in 2009)
• <31:00 Swim
• <2:30:00 Bike
• <1:30:00 Run
• Podium finish in my age group (35-39)

Results
Swim: 00:23:27 (obviously shorter than 1.2 miles!) - 7/69 AG, 30/482 OA
T1: 00:01:18 - 9/69 AG, 36/482 OA
Bike: 02:28:41 - 5/69 AG, 22/482 OA
T2: 00:01:12 - 6/69 AG, 23/482 OA
Run: 01:28:01 - 3/69 AG, 15/482 OA
Total: 04:22:41 - 2/69 AG, 13/482 OA

• 11' personal best for the Half Ironman distance

The Swim
Being on the East side of a large lake with strong winds out of the West the conditions were very choppy (~2-3 foot waves). It was difficult to get into any kind of ryhthm and the waves made sighting pretty tough, too. I never was able to get on anyone's feet and draft. I started in the 6th wave (waves separated by 2'). The first 800m or so was okay but then I started catching slower swimmers in the earlier waves which added to the frustration and energy expenditure, but that's part of a triathlon swim. I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea what my time was but it felt quick, too quick. Once I got on the bike I realized the swim must have been way short (by at least 400m).

T1
Pretty smooth except wasting about 10 seconds trying to get my Garmin strapped around my wrist. I finally gave up on it and threw it in my singlet pocket to strap it to my wrist later in the bike. I'll probably just do that at IMWI or strap it to my bike prior to race start.

The Bike
I did two race simulation rides going into the race - the first took me 2:32:00 and the second was 2:28:00 both on the same flat course near my house in northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin. I had never ridden this particular course so I didn't know if going under 2:30 would be possible. I had my everyday training wheels on the front and rear with wheelcover on the rear, aero helmet on the noggin and latex tubes so I knew I had those goodies to help me pick up some speed and time during the race.

With an FTP of 295 watts, I was targeting 235 watts (.8 IF) for the first 20' and then locking in at 250 watts (.85 IF) for the remainder of the ride. The first 20' felt comfortable. There was a very steep climb immediately upon leaving transition - I just spun up it a little below FTP while the hammerheads cranked out the watts leaving me in the dust. Fine by me...I'll see ya later!

Once I got settled in I concentrated on keeping my head tucked and paid close attention to my nutrition/hydration strategy. I had two different Infinit mixes with me: a 260 cal/hr blend that contained protein and a 200 cal/hr blend that was absent of any protein. The plan was to sip away on the protein formula for the first 1.5 hours then switch over to the no protein formula in the final hour (I've had issues with the protein formula leaving me feeling bloated and full when I transitioned to the run). At the top of every hour I was taking an electrolyte pill (Succeed S-Cap). The only GI issue I had was the occassional stomach discomfort from swallowing air while drinking. This was alleviated by sitting up which immediately freed the air to come back up.

I have to mention that these were some of the best roads I have ever ridden in a race - very smooth and no traffic. This really allowed me to keep the head down and not have to look too far ahead which would force my head up into the air. Here's the position I held for 95% of the ride:


Here's the WKO+ data for the first 20':
Duration: 20:13
Work: 263 kJ
TSS: 20.3 (intensity factor 0.776)
Norm Power: 227
VI: 1.05
Pw:HR: -4.61%
Distance: 6.449 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 423 217 watts
Heart Rate: 117 154 137 bpm
Cadence: 52 206 98 rpm
Speed: 2.9 28.5 19.1 mph

Here's the data for the remainder of the ride:
Duration: 2:12:16
Work: 1827 kJ
TSS: 141 (intensity factor 0.8)
Norm Power: 234
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: 1.32%
Distance: 51.196 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 415 230 watts
Heart Rate: 113 146 133 bpm
Cadence: 42 201 97 rpm
Speed: 4.2 35.8 23.2 mph

And here's the data for the entire ride along with the chart:
Duration: 2:32:29
Work: 2090 kJ
TSS: 161.2 (intensity factor 0.796)
Norm Power: 233
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: -1.14%
Distance: 57.645 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 423 228 watts
Heart Rate: 113 154 133 bpm
Cadence: 42 206 97 rpm
Speed: 2.9 35.8 22.7 mph



Items to note:

• Main concern: I've been having trouble hitting my peak 60' power in the late stages of a ride in training (ABP rides) and saw it during this race. Hopefully this will change as I continue to pile on more miles during the Ironman prep training phase.
• IF and TSS were below my goal. No problem, though, as I was happy with my bike split. The low TSS probably helped get me a better than expected run split.
• Unusually high cadence - I normally ride within 2 rpms of 90.
• Lower heart rate than past half Ironman races by about 8 bpm - improved fitness? old age? who cares

T2
Fumbled a little with getting my socks on but other than that I felt pretty efficient moving through transition for the first triathlon of the year.

The Run
This is where the race execution could have blown up. I haven't tested Vdot in quite a while but based on recent training runs I was guessing somewhere around 55-56. I went conservative and used a 55 Vdot to set a 7:15/mile pace for the first 3 miles, 6:45/mile pace for the next 7 miles and then try to hit 6:20s in the final 3 miles. My mantra during the run was "smooth and relaxed".

80-90% of this run is on trail. I LOVE trail running as I find it distracts my mind from concentrating on the pain, fatigue, pace, etc. Plus the trails were in excellent condition.

The same climb that we were hit with coming out of T1 on the bike was in front of us coming out of T2 on the run. It was a long march up it but thankfully it only had to be done once. The finish line would be right at the bottom of this beast! Here I am slowly moving up the climb at about a 7:30-8:00/mile pace:


Once I got up the hill and on the trail I settled myself down and locked in comfortably in the 7:20/mile pace. I made one stop at mile 3.5 for about 20-30 seconds to pee but other than that it was all about moving forward.

I had a new run nutrition strategy to try out during this race (yeah, I know, nothing new on race day but my mind is set on IMWI and ensuring a successful race there): two 100 calorie flasks of First Endurance Liquid Shot each mixed with 8 oz water - one taken at the 3 mile mark and one at the 8 mile mark. I had these in my Fuel Belt along with a Succeed S-Cap to be taken at the 5 mile mark. Due to a little calf tightness at 9 miles in I ended up taking another S-Cap. I also took a swig of Gatorade at the 11 mile mark to give me a needed sugar boost for the final kick. I experienced no GI issues at all during the run and felt completely clean, empty and properly fueled using this approach.


At around 5 miles I got passed by a guy from Wave #1 (started 10' before me) who was moving at a pretty good pace. I told myself that if I could just stay on his butt I could have a pretty good run. I ended up doing just that until mile 11 when I kicked it into another gear and passed him. It turns out he was the winner of my age group in 2009, so I picked the perfect person to pace off of. Here's a pic of me latched on to my pacing buddy:


Coming down the big hill into the finish was a blast! My legs had great turnover. I hit the finish line and was pleasantly surprised by my run split and overall time. Even better was having my wife, Andrea, and 2 year old son, Drew, right there cheering Daddy on - it doesn't get any better than that!


It turned out to be a successful race for me and gives me really good confidence going into the 12 week prep phase of Ironman Wisconsin training. I'm happy with where my fitness is at this point in the season and feel that there's still room (and time) for improvement, too.

As always, I had a great time meeting up with the lightnining fast Matt Ancona (left me in the dust by 13 minutes!), Dr. D and Beth. Great EN peeps and even better support crews in tow.

Weeks 22 & 23 - 05/31/2010-06/13/2010

OK, I've been slacking from updating my blog.  Between a busy time at work and being in the midst of a 28% workforce reduction (I survived) to a week of vacation on the beach in North Carolina where I forced myself to detach from technology to prepping for my first big race of the year, something had to give.  So I'll provide a brief synopsis of life and training for these 2 weeks in this post...

Week 22 Overview
This was a focus on recovery from the big bike weekend that I put in in Madison over Memorial Day weekend.  It took a few days for the legs to feel "snappy" again but I was amazed at how well I bounced back.  Forcing myself to stand down and listening to my body paid dividends in leading to a safe (injury-free) boost to my fitness.  My "old" self would have continued to push the limits to try to gain that extra ounce of fitness at the expense of of my body screaming for rest.   My more mature, wiser self has learned from these past mistakes and knows that fitness comes from rest and recovery.  The biking and running were pretty limited, but the swimming volume increased quite a bit.  I did get in a half Ironman race simulation on the bike and run just before leaving for vacation which went very well and gave me the confidence I needed going into my first big race of the year (High Cliff Half Ironman on June 19).

This was also a week that put a lot of focus on work.  I was preparing to take a week of vacation which is always a busy time of trying to get ahead of the game on projects and everyday tasks, but it was also complicated by the impending June 3rd announcement of employees who would be severed and those who would be retained in a 28% workforce reduction in my company.  I was fine with either decision that would be given to me but just being around the nervous-energy people that spent way to much time wanting to talk about it added to my stress.  Ultimately, I was retained by the company so it's status quo for now.

Week 23 Overview

Andrea, Drew and I spent this week in Ocean Isle Beach, NC in a beach condo with some very good friends from Greensboro, NC, Scott and Holly Cole and their kids Camden (3) and Bexley (1).  It was our first vacation of the year and was long overdue.  We had a GREAT time living pretty much the same routine everyday: breakfast, beach, lunch, nap, shower, dinner, kids' bedtime, adult beverages, adults' bedtime.  The weather couldn't have been better for a beach vacation...90 degrees, sunny and a little breeze (not a drop of rain all week).  Drew was an awesome traveler and absolutely loved the beach life.  It was great spending the whole week with him - it definitely strengthened our bond.

During our vacation I made a conscious effort to detach from technology for a few days because I felt like the Blackberry, computer, etc. was distracting me from being fully engaged with Andrea and Drew - I definitely didn't want that!  I was a little apprehensive at first thinking that I would be missing something but after the first day I felt a cool sense of freedom and engagement with those around and wanted to continue it.  It allowed me to focus on the important people in my life and fully engage with everyone.  This is definitely something I plan on doing on a consistent basis.

I didn't travel with my bike nor did I rent one, so the focus was on running this week and swim when I could fit it in.  I also started a short 10-day taper for the High Cliff Half Ironman.  The running went OK but was a struggle at times with the heat, humidity and wind which my body isn't accustomed to yet.

Data for Week 22 (recovery from Big Bike Weekend):

Time spent training: 12:37
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 23'
Time spent at or below LTHR pace on run: 25'
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .722
Mileage: 161 (Swim: 10.6K, Bike: 131 miles, Run: 23 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 805
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 116 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -22.8 (good recovery from big bike weekend)
Weight: 169.4 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 54.3

Data for Week 23 (vacation in North Carolina):

Time spent training: 8:53
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 5'
Time spent at or below LTHR pace on run: 29'
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .729
Mileage: 86 (Swim: 8.1K, Bike: 51 miles, Run: 31 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 619
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 111 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): 4 (a few days into the taper)
Weight: 171 lbs (lost a little focus while on vacation)
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 54.3

Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 23:

Week 21 - 05/24/2010

This week was all about the bike. I would be spending Memorial Day weekend in the Madison, WI area with several Endurance Nation teammates logging as many miles in the saddle as possible to hopefully give my bike fitness a major kick in the ass. My report of the "Big Bike Weekend" is here. I still managed to get in all of my scheduled swim and run workouts also.

The Swim
Another great week of swimming - I'm very pleased with the efforts I'm putting into these workouts and the times I'm seeing in my intervals. I'm really looking forward to my first race in a couple weeks to test myself against the competition and validate what I'm seeing in the pool. Until then, I'll continue to stare at the black line and get the work done!

The Bike
291 miles and 16 hours in the saddle this week...enough said!

The Run
Did a couple track workouts this week with some added distance to the second one at an easy pace just to keep up the miles but at a low enough intensity that I didn't crush the legs before the big bike weekend. Running legs are feeling great right now. My patience is wearing a little thin, though, as I feel I should be running faster speeds at this point in the season. I know it's only been 10 weeks since I've been fully recovered from the injury and I have quite a bit of time to go before Ironman Wisconsin but it's still frustrating.

With the help of one of my teammates, I came to the realization this week while pedaling the Wisconsin hills that I stand to gain the most run fitness by doing more tempo and distance work. The track/speed workouts are coming easy to me (my interval splits are always faster than the paces I should be running) so it seems these workouts aren't what I need if I want to get faster. I plan on upping the mileage over the coming weeks and doing at least 2 tempo runs per week. Hopefully by the end of July I should have my Vdot (run fitness) where I want it to be for Ironman.

Body Composition
Still maintaining a good weight and eating well. With all of the miles and calories burned over the bike weekend (~12,000) it's very easy to get carried away by justifying the indulgences and huge portions, but I did a pretty good job on staying focused (with the exception of the chips & guacamole!). Andrea, Drew and I will be on vacation the week of June 7 at a beach house in North Carolina with some friends which will make it pretty challenging to stick with the plan. But knowing that I have a big race (High Cliff Half Ironman) coming up the weekend after we get back should keep me disciplined.

Here are the day-to-day training highlights for the week:

Monday: Early morning track/speed workout for 45', then 2,800m speed session in the pool at lunch. Cranked out some hard 100s and 50s.

Tuesday: 6 x 500m in the pool targeting 1:25/100 pacing...cracked on #5 & 6. Very tough workout for me but pleased with the effort.

Wednesday: Perfect morning for bike ride so why not a 2 x 20' interval session to make the most of it? Then 3.5 mile brick run at marathon pace. Need to do more work above 300 watts!!

Thursday: 4.5K of speed work on the track followed by 5 miles at long run pace (7:45/mi) for total of 10 miles. Not much go-go in the legs today.

Friday: Nice 1.6 mile open water swim followed by 60 mile solo ride at .71 IF & 154 TSS. Just a warm up for big bike weekend in Madison.

Saturday: Day 2 of big bike weekend. Today with Endurance Nation crew: 100 mi, .72 IF, 338 TSS & A LOT of climbing on the road bike. Stuck with 3 gears for last 60 miles.

Sunday: Day 3 of bike weekend: 101 mi on Ironman Wisconsin course, 5:25 ride time, .69 IF, 258 TSS. 4 mile brick run. Fabulous day! Endurance Nation crew rocked it.

Data for the week:

Time spent training: 21:46:00
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 1:28:00
Time spent at or below LTHR pace on run: 34'
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .718
Mileage: 319 (Swim: 8.2K, Bike: 291 miles, Run: 23 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1,265
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 116 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -63.4 (HOLY FATIGUE!!)
Weight: 170.0 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 54.3
Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 21:

Big Bike Weekend: 05/28-05/31

I've had this training weekend highlighted on my schedule since January. I've really been looking forward to giving my bike fitness a big boost by doing some epic miles on some classic Madison, WI area cycling routes. It all began as a discussion on the Endurance Nation forums where someone asked who would be registering and riding in the Horribly Hilly Hundreds bike classic outside of Madison held each June. Unfortunately, due to vacation and my race schedule, I couldn't do the HHH. But since they publish the cue sheets/route maps on the HHH website several teammates decided we would just do our own self-supported ride of the HHH course. Combine this ride with a couple other rides during the weekend and we had ourselves a little training camp with an intense bike focus. So that's the "why"; now here's the "what":

Friday
Took a vacation day from work. Did a 1.6 mile open water swim at the local lake with a teammate at sunrise. Beautiful morning with sunny skies and a lake that looked like glass. This is my usual Friday morning open water swim I do in the summer. On this day I swam the route 2 minutes faster than I ever have before and with a pretty low effort. The more focused and intense swim training is really paying off!

I then did a few things at home, prepped the tri bike and was off and riding by 10:00am riding my usual route across the state line into southern Wisconsin. I rode steady and fairly easy because I knew I had many miles and much climbing coming in the days ahead.

Stats for this ride:
Distance: 60 miles
Duration: 3:01:00
IF: .71
TSS: 152
Energy burned: 2,105 kJ

Saturday
Left the house at 5:00am for the 2.5 hour drive to Madison for a 8:30am start time with the EN crew. Today we'd be riding the HHH 100K course.


The weather was perfect: sunny skies, light winds, low humidity, 70s in the morning, mid-80s in the afternoon. A few of us decided we'd do the 100K loop and then, once finished, make a decision on whether to do it again or add any incremental miles depending on how we felt. The 200K loop would have taken us pretty far from the start area so if we needed anything (nutrition, hydration, spare tubes, etc.) it would have made things more difficult. Plus, there was more climbing in doing 2 x 100K loop than 1 x 200K loop - we were all about punishing our bodies!

We rolled out of the little town of Blue Mounds, WI and hit our first climb within a few miles - a long 14%-21% grade that never seemed to end. We rolled through the many ups, downs, twists and turns until at about mile 40 my rear shifter jammed. I was on my beater road bike that I admittedly neglect performing routine maintenance. I learned my lesson on taking care of even the cheap bikes! My teammates Matt and Robert helped me try to free up the shifter to no avail. So we adjusted the tension of the shifter cable to lock me into the 23-tooth ring in the rear cassette so I could still climb. Luckily I had a triple chainring up front so I had 3 gears to ride. This left me spinning at speeds above 19 mph (flats and downhills) and grinding at speeds below 10 mph (climbs). It was frustrating but at least I could still ride. At about mile 70 the shitfter loosened up and I found a few more gears.

We made it back to the start area with 75 miles in our legs. Several of our crew had enough riding for the day (it was now about 2:00pm) so most threw the bikes in the cars and ran into the local watering hole for a cold brew. Matt and I decided we wanted more punishment but with my mechanical issues we thought it best to ride within a few miles of our cars. We ended up riding into a cool town on the IMWI course (Mt. Horeb), then following a sign we saw to Little Norway which turned out to be nothing more than a gift shop with some cool grounds that made you feel like you suddenly arrived in Europe.


We finished the ride with crushed legs and empty bellies that needed some serious filling. Thanks to our coaches we were supported with a little cash to feed all the campers, so we hit up a local Mexican restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.


Distance: 100 miles
Duration: 6:34:00
Elevation Gain: ~7,000 feet
IF: .72
TSS: 338
Energy burned: 3,811 kJ

Sunday
After some good, hard sleep Saturday night the group of around 10 met at the start of the Ironman Wisconsin bike course loop in Verona, WI. It was another beautiful day, just a touch warmer and windier but no complaints. My plan was to ride at least 2 loops of the 42 mile IMWI bike course (ignoring the 28 mile out & back section). Depending on time and how I felt I would then decide if I wanted to do another loop, add some mileage via an out & back or call it a day. Luckily I brought my tri bike so I had a fully functional, fast bike. My plan was to ride the first loop steadily and consistently - no surging and minimal drafting (treating it sort of like a race rehearsal). After the HHH ride on Saturday the IMWI course seemed tame, even though it's labeled as one of the toughest bike courses in the Ironman circuit. We did the first loop in 2:15:00.

We finished the first loop, refueled at the cars for several minutes, then set off on the second loop. After a few miles it was just Matt and I. We rode the second loop even more consistently than the first - no stops, just put the head down and cranked the pedals until the end. With a few miles to go Matt tells me we have 8 minutes until we hit the 2:15:00 mark (our time for the first loop). When someone throws a time goal at me like that I had to give it a go. So I summoned the legs for a hard effort which boiled down to riding above functional threshhold power (FTP) for the final 8 minutes. We made it in 2:14:00 - mission accomplished and I was spent!

With ~86 miles in the legs and not enough time to do a third loop before our 5:00pm dinner reservation we decided to bail on the third loop. But we wanted to hit another 100 mile day so Matt and I went out for an easy 14 mile spin on the out & back section of the IM course toward Madison.

After the riding we had time left for a 1.8 mile run to a local lake where we jumped in to cool the legs, then ran the 1.8 miles back to the car, changed clothes and headed for dinner. I drove back home that night and immediately hit the sack where I slept a solid 9.5 hours.

Distance: 101 miles
Duration: 5:25:00
Elevation Gain: ~5,000 feet
IF: .69
TSS: 258
Energy burned: 3,599 kJ

Monday
I was 40 miles away from hitting 300 total miles on the bike for the weekend, so I headed out onto the flat roads of northern Illinois for an easy spin on the tri bike to get in at least 40 miles. I was feeling pretty good so I kept rolling past the 40 mile mark until the skies darkened and the sound of thunder had me sprinting home.

Distance: 50 miles
Duration: 2:44:00
IF: .6
TSS: 97
Energy burned: 1,589 kJ

What a great weekend! My mission of throwing down some big miles was accomplished. I'm hoping to see the fruits of my labor elevate to a new level in the coming weeks. For now it's time to focus on recovery for a couple days and get back at it for 2 weeks until a June 19 Half Ironman race.

Here are the totals for the weekend:

Distance: 311 miles
Duration: 17:44:00
Elevation Gain: ~14,000 feet
Avg IF: .69
TSS: 845
Energy burned: 11,104 kJ
Performance Management Chart (bike only):