Week 10 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/23/2010 (TAPER!!)

"The hay is in the barn"


"The money is in the bank"


Whatever you want to call it, after 33 weeks of focused Ironman training to build my fitness, I have begun to back things off and let the body recover enough (but not too much!) to carry me to a successful Ironman Wisconsin finish on September 12th.  The work I've done (the "hay" or "money" if you will) has been both very challenging and enjoyable.  I've never been in better shape but I can't help feeling like I could have done more...welcome to the taper!

Even though week 10 is the beginning of a 3 week taper it didn't feel like much of a reduction in the work.  I was still feeling pretty fatigued, especially early in the week, but it sure was nice to only have a 90' "long" run and a 3 hour "long" ride as my key workouts.  However, the intensity of the sessions was still very much there.

My goals for the week were as follows:

• Quality sleep/rest (let the body heal and don't do anything stupid to cause an injury or illness)
• Quality nutrition (maintain body composition in light of less calories being burned)
• Start organizing for race week (create checklists)
• Prepare the mind (mental run-throughs of the race and prepare for the obstacles that will come, i.e. fatigue, pain, weather, mechanicals, etc.)

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:


Monday: 3,000 yard swim with 1,200 yards of all-out sprinting.  Nice to have a day off of running and biking - legs needed it!


Tuesday: 90' bike with 2 x 20' intervals at FTP.  Was hoping to put in a final FTP test but power meter still having issues.  Rode mostly on feel and heart rate.


Wednesday: Swim redemption: my weekly 1.6 mile open water swim route done in a new PR of 40:18. Makes up for Saturday's embarrassing performance.  Then a solid 8 mile run with 3 x 1 mile at threshold: 5:59, 5:51, 5:57. Perfect weather helps create a strong & enjoyable run.


Thursday: 90' very enjoyable run in perfect weather (finally!): 13.2 miles with 6 miles right on marathon pace & remainder at easy pace.


Friday: 3,000 yard endurance swim in the early morning followed by an easy 40' recovery run with some strides.  Feeling the effects of the taper now!


Saturday: 3 hour solid ride with 4 mile brick run. Still having power meter hub issues so bad data. Gotta get this solved ASAP with Ironman only 2 weeks away!!


Sunday: 2 hour steady effort ride on one of my favorite routes followed by another 4 mile brick run.  Feeling good out there!

Totals for the week:


Training duration: 12:29
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: Power meter issues so no accurate data for this metric this week, but probably somewhere around 60'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 34'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): Power meter issues so no accurate data for this metric this week
Mileage: 154 miles (Swim: 9.6K, Bike: 140 miles, Run: 34 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): ~935 (estimate since power meter was on the fritz)
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 144.7 (only down 3 TSS/day since last week=not much of a taper yet!)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -5.5 (up 7 TSS pts from last week)
Weight: 168.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295
Vdot: 56


Performance Management Chart through week 10 of Ironman Prep Training:

Week 9 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/16/2010 (3 WEEKS TO GO!)

The last week of training before the 3 week taper begins!  Man, do I need that taper...my body is starting to revolt a bit from the repetitive, high volume, high intensity training in the form of aches and pains that have the potential for blowing up into something that could shut me down.  I'm really focused on good recovery, nutrition and treating those little niggles as soon as they arise so I'm feeling 100% on race day.

Week 9 was a testing/race rehearsal week where I had one last opportunity to ensure I will be racing using the proper bike power baseline numbers and to also ensure I have everything dialed in for the actual race.  Unfortunately, I had a couple things get in the way of executing the week the way I wanted to (I'll get into that later) but overall I'm carrying a high level of confidence going into these last 3 weeks of training.

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: 7 mile run with 3 x 1 mile at 5:55-6:00/mile pace. Legs still zapped from weekend rides. Then 3000 yard swim with total of 1200 yards of all-out sprinting. Good stuff!

Tuesday: 3300 meter swim in 50 minutes in the outdoor pool with 6 x 500 picking up the pace with each one to keep myself focused.

Wednesday: Supposed to do 2 x 20 minute functional power threshold test on the bike but Powertap computer took a dump during the test. Tom at CycleOpsPower is helping me get back up and running again before IMWI race simulation on Saturday.

Thursday: Last long run done: 2:30, 21 miles with 9 miles at goal IM pace and 12 miles faster than goal pace. Best news is nutrition seems dialed in.

Friday: Day off!  Packed and headed up to Madison for race simulation day tomorrow.  Got power again on my bike just in time.

Saturday: Up & at 'em for 120.4 miles of IMWI race simulation fun on the course. One last long day.  Start with a 2.4 mile swim in the Madison Open Water Swim race (non-wetsuit division) on the same swim course as IMWI, then 112 mile ride on IMWI bike course at race pace/effort, then transition to 6 mile run at goal race pace.  Bike and run went very well.  Swim was an embarrassment!  I think I got lost or something.

Sunday: Pushed Drew in the jogging stroller in the WTTW Kids Fun and Run 5K in downtown Chicago.  Nice easy jog as the legs didn't really want to do much of anything this morning.  Fun event for the family!

Totals for the week:
Training duration: 15:30
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 35'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 32'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .799
Mileage: 189 miles (Swim: 14.8K, Bike: 142 miles, Run: 37.4 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1034
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 146.4 (all time high)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -12.2
Weight: 169.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295ish watts (wasn't able to test but basing this on recent rides)
Vdot: 56ish (again, based on recent run workouts)

Performance Management Chart through week 9 of Ironman Prep Training:

Racing for Charity

The "WHAT"

Every year I strive to do at least one big thing that I've never done, something that takes me out of my comfort zone and provides me with a new experience.  For 2010 my new adventure is dedicating my training and racing Ironman Wisconsin for a charity.

This year I am volunteering and raising funds for the XXI CENTURY KIDS 1ST FOUNDATION.  I chose this organization because it shares my passion of ensuring that the children in our communities are given the best opportunities available for health, education and quality of life.  Their mission is to develop and implement kids’ self-esteem through quality nutritional and active lifestyle programs to promote a cohesive family and to ultimately end the epidemic of child obesity in the United States.

The "WHY"

I've been working with various charities for several years but solely in volunteer roles, never as a fundraiser.  I've found that the organizations that I have the most excitement and satisfaction in working with are those that focus on children.  Whether they know it or not, kids hold the future of our society in the palms of their little hands.  I want to ensure that our communities' kids are given the best resources possible so that they develop into solid contributors to our future society.  This can be in the form of education, health, environment or lifestyle choices as the XXI Century Kids 1st Foundation works toward.

As a child my parents instilled a desire to get outside and be active.  This meant I was doing everything from riding my bike to building forts in the woods to participating in organized team sports.  After college, I got away from this mindset and felt the impact in my health.  I was lethargic, gaining weight, just poorer health overall.  So I decided to get into shape and chose endurance sports as my activity (again with my "try one new thing every year" mantra).  In my 8 years of training and racing in endurance sports I've learned the value of living a healthy lifestyle.  I've implemented a structured exercise program and made modifications to my nutrition, both of which have me feeling better than I ever have in my life - a healthy body composition, more energy, elimination of certain chronic health ailments, etc.  I see the value in giving the same choices I had as a child to our kids.

Now that I have a child of my own (Drew, 2 years old) I see the impact certain nutrition choices and activity has on his health and well-being.  As a parent we all want what's best for our kids and we certainly don't want to put them in harm's way.  By Andrea and I helping Drew make healthy activity and nutritional choices we are doing our best to avoid the child obesity monster that has detrimental effects to his future.  It's a very easy choice to make and the best insurance policy available.

The "Stats"

Over the last 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in children aged 6 to 11 years has almost tripled from 6.5% to 19.6%. The prevalence of obesity in teenagers has more than tripled from 5% in 1980 to 18.1% in 2008.

Looking at the long-term consequences, overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, which increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese. In 2000, the total cost of obesity for children and adults in the United States was estimated to be $117 billion ($61 billion in direct medical costs).

Obesity increases the risk for serious health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol — all once considered exclusively adult diseases. Obese kids also may be prone to low self-esteem that stems from being teased, bullied, or rejected by peers.

Kids who are unhappy with their weight may be more likely than average-weight kids to:

• develop unhealthy dieting habits and eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia
• be more prone to depression
• be at risk for substance abuse

Overweight and obese kids are at risk for developing medical problems that affect their present and future health and quality of life, including:

• high blood pressure, high cholesterol and abnormal blood lipid levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes
• bone and joint problems
• shortness of breath that makes exercise, sports, or any physical activity more difficult and may aggravate the symptoms or increase the chances of developing asthma
• restless or disordered sleep patterns, such as obstructive sleep apnea
• tendency to mature earlier (overweight kids may be taller and more sexually mature than their peers, raising expectations that they should act as old as they look, not as old as they are; overweight girls may have irregular menstrual cycles and fertility problems in adulthood)
• liver and gall bladder disease
• depression

Cardiovascular risk factors present in childhood (including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes) can lead to serious medical problems like heart disease, heart failure, and stroke as adults. Preventing or treating overweight and obesity in kids may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease as they get older.

How YOU Can Help
To support my fundraising efforts for the XXI Century Kids 1st Foundation please click here to donate via my personal fundraising page.  Please donate any dollar amount you’d like.  Your contributions are tax-deductible.  And don’t forget to check with your employer to see if they have a “matching gifts program.”


Thank you very much for your support!!

Week 8 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/09/2010 (4 WEEKS TO GO!)

This is going to be a short post since there really wasn't much to report this week. It was just another week of knocking out the daily training sessions and recovering as sufficiently as possible to stay healthy in this critical time when the body can break down at any point.

I have 4 weeks to go and, of course, I feel like I need more training under my belt to accomplish my goals. However, things are really feeling like they're clicking...I feel strong and comfortable on the bike and a 100 mile ride is just another ride, I'm feeling light on my feet while running and consistently hitting my interval paces and my stroke is feeling efficient and smooth while swimming. Mentally I feel like I'm in a good place, too, with continued enthusiasm and excitement for every workout. My biggest fear this year was reaching this point in the training and feeling both physically and mentally burned out. I came close to that point a couple weeks ago but it was overcome with some slight changes to my schedule and a focused effort on proper recovery after hard sessions (more sleep, stretching, massage).

This week marks the last week of long, hard Ironman training. Next week will be a test/race rehearsal week with a little less volume, then the taper will begin. It's bittersweet as I know my body is ready for a break in the rigors of this training but I'm going to miss these epic training sessions.

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: My swim is back! 3,400 yards with strong 100, 200, 300 yard intervals. Stroke feeling smooth and comfortable again, just needed a little break.

Tuesday: My best interval ride in a long time: 85' at .9 IF. FTP sets as 8' at 1.03, 12' at 1.02, 20' at .993, then a solid 15' at .8. Then a 20' easy brick run.

Wednesday: Long run a success: 2:10, 18 miles, nailed my paces...9 miles at long run pace (7:45), 9 miles at marathon pace (6:36) despite 74 degree dew point. Easy 2000 yard recovery swim at lunch with some drillwork.

Thursday: Nothing better than a swim in an outdoor pool on a perfect blue sky morning. 3,500 meters all just below Ironman pace. Then did an easy 40' recovery run in the evening to keep the legs loose - man it's hot!

Friday: 1.2 mile open water swim done early. Then another great ride with Matt Ancona: 4:30, 94 miles, 292 TSS, .802 IF. 265 TSS & .83 IF excluding 40' of warmup/cool down. Transitioned to a 30' steady brick run. Felt great all day despite the 100+ heat index.

Saturday: Easy 4 mile recovery run with the dog out front, Drew in jogging stroller and me as caboose. Looking forward to massage later!

Sunday: Matt Ancona and Matt Sullivan brought pain to my dead legs. 2 hours in my brain had enough and told my legs "F.U. - you will push FTP watts until you explode!". Brain won! Ride stats: 3:06, 64 miles, .83 IF, 210 TSS. Exclude 20' WU: .86 IF & 192 TSS. Rallied in final hour to hit peak 60' watts.

Totals for the week:
Training duration: 16:32
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 102' (new all time high!!)
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 26'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .817 (best this year!!)
Mileage: 227 miles (Swim: 10.1K, Bike: 186 miles, Run: 34 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1170
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 146.0 (all time high)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -24.5
Weight: 169.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 55.3 (but training at 56)

Performance Management Chart through week 8 of Ironman Prep Training:

Week 7 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/02/2010

34 days to go!! So, that means there are only a couple more weeks to build my fitness until the taper period starts at which point the "money is in the bank" and my success in the race all comes down to how well I execute my race plan.

This week had a lot of ups and downs in both my training and non-training lives. First, I experienced my first potential injury since the stress fracture last winter. It was a very painful quadricep cramp that stopped me in my tracks halfway through my long run. I feared the worst but after a couple days I've come to realize it seems to be just an overloaded muscle that needed a lot of manipulation to loosen it back up. Much appreciation to Leigh Boyle who is a fellow Endurance Nation teammate, 2010 IMWI competitor, physical therapist and founder of Athletes Treating Athletes. Leigh gave me a thorough plan to knock this thing and get me back on track. Luckily, the quad issue didn't affect my biking and swimming as you'll see below.

This week also marked my last week in my current job and a departure from the pharmaceutical industry where I've spent the last 10+ years. I'm super-excited to start something new, though, and look forward to diving into my new challenge very soon. I'm confident it was definitely the right decision and will lead to future career growth.

The Swim

With the help of some teammates I came to the realization this week that I needed to back off on swim frequency and structure. I was cooking myself in the pool and it came to a head in the last couple weeks when I just couldn't come close to hitting my goal paces session after session. Additionally, my stroke felt terrible - I felt like I was working way too hard. So I skipped one swim workout completely this week and replaced another one with just a nice, easy recovery swim with some drillwork - no watch, no intervals, only a focus on a smooth, balanced stroke. It worked great and I'm now back to "feeling it" again in the water!

The Bike
After the quad issue on my Wednesday long run I was a little worried about it affecting my long bike that I had planned for Friday. Fellow EN teammate and friend Matt Ancona (stud cyclist and triathlete) was going to ride with me on my normal route so I knew I would have to work hard. Luckily the quad wasn't much of an issue on the bike and I ended up putting in an unbelievable effort for just under 5 hours and right at 100 miles. I then replicated that great effort with a solo 3 hour, 67 mile ABP ("always be pushing") ride on Sunday. All of this riding lately with Matt is really paying off - wish I would have been on his wheel earlier this year.

The Run
So the quad blew up on my long run on Wednesday. Luckily, after that run I really didn't have any key run workouts for the rest of the week so I was able to really focus on getting it treated and back to 100%. It's slowly coming back but I'm amazed at how long it's taken. At least it's nothing serious! Hopefully I'll be back for next week's long run.

Body Composition
Weight continues to maintain. Nothing has changed with my diet - I continue to constantly munch away on healthy foods, although I noticed I've been grabbing at sugary stuff more this week that have been lying around the house (Tootsie Rolls, hard candy, Jelly Bellys) leftover from Drew's birthday party.

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: 8 mile run with 3 x 1 mile at 6:03/5:55/5:53. Felt great. I think I beat the fatigue that set in last week with quality sleep and a rest day on Saturday. Lunchtime speed session swim didn't go that great. Felt like I was working way too hard - need a break.

Tuesday: Confined to the pain cave (basement) for a 1.5 hour bike/run due to rain. 60' bike at .8 IF with 30/30s then steady 30' run. First time on the treadmill in months. Skipped my normal Tuesday swim to give the body and mind a break from water.

Wednesday: Long run: made it 10 miles in with some strong half marathon pace intervals then the right quad seized up. It was a long crawl trying to get back home. Very easy lunchtime recovery swim, then massage appointment in the evening to get on this quad thing quickly.

Thursday: Early morning swim in the outdoor pool during a beautiful sunrise. Felt great! I needed that break from swimming the last couple of days. Quad still really sore. No running today - just more ice, compression, self-massage and elevation.

Friday: Great ride with Matt Ancona. He crushed the bejesus out of me! 100 miles, 4:42, 310 TSS, 60'+ FTP work, .82 IF. Whew! Now that's work!

Saturday: Easy 35' run pushing Drew in the jogging stroller and Abby (yellow lab) in tow. Ran to the park, played on the swingset and slide, let Abby swim in the river then ran back home. Quad not feeling as good as I hoped.

Sunday: 67 mile, 3+ hr solo ride at .8 IF and 211 TSS. Excluding warm up and cool down: 2:52, 61 mi, .822 IF, 194 TSS. Recent rides with Matt Ancona are paying off.

Totals for the week:
Training duration: 16:36
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 77' (my best for 2010!!)
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 44'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .793
Mileage: 226 miles (Swim: 7.9K, Bike: 185 miles, Run: 36 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1128
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 140.0
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -22.3
Weight: 169.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 55.3 (but training at 56)

Performance Management Chart through week 7 of Ironman Prep Training:

Week 6 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 07/26/2010

I'm deep into the depths of Ironman training and with that comes a significant amount of fatigue. It really hit me for the first time this week. Several weeks of pushing the workout mileages, durations and intensities higher have led to overall body fatigue, extremely tired legs and a crabby attitude. This all came at an inopportune time with my first race rehearsal scheduled for the end of the week and my son's 2nd birthday party with out-of-town guests for the weekend. But I got through it, learned some lessons and hopefully didn't come across to those close to me as too abrasive or off in LaLa Land.

The Swim
I put in 3 swim sessions this week including a 2.4 mile race simulation swim at race effort. The heavy fatigue I spoke about above really showed itself for the first time on my Tuesday swim (2nd swim of the week) where I just couldn't push the paces like I had been for the past several weeks. This carried over to my race simulation swim where I swam a couple minutes slower than I had planned (and didn't feel comfortable either).

The Bike
My bike workouts this week were limited to a morning trainer ride with high intensity work, a 112 mile race simulation ride and a 3 hour "always be pushing" ride. Again, the fatigue made the race simulation ride tougher than it should have been but that's a given with trying to do this in the middle of Ironman training (much different than how I'll feel for race day after a nice taper period). My race simulation report can be found in a prior blog post.

The Run
I put in 5 run sessions this week including my longest continuous run to-date: 20.5 miles in 2-1/2 hours. It went pretty well despite the extreme heat and humidity even at 5:00 in the morning. I also did a 6 mile race simulation run off my race simulation bike ride on Friday. This was at race pace and went well.

Body Composition
Weight is right where I think it should be. It's amazing how much I eat yet I'm maintaining, if not losing a pound here or there. My plan is to carry a couple more pounds into race day with the anticipation that by the time I get to the marathon of the Ironman I will be down a few pounds anyway. I need to keep the nutrition coming over these next several weeks so my body doesn't fall apart with the amount of work I'm throwing at it.

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: Shelled legs/body made for struggle with 2 x 1.5 mile run just under 6:00 pace. Pleased with my effort to gut it out. 8.5 miles in 59 minutes. Then a great 3,000 SCY swim with total of 1,250 yards of all-out sprinting! Felt awesome pushing myself to my swim limits.

Tuesday: 60' on trainer hammering out 30/30s & 15' at .8 IF. Then 4 mile brick run at steady effort. Nice way to rack up 103 TSS before 7am. 3500 SCY endurance swim. Cracked 2000y in-just didn't have it. Tried to rally in last 700y to finish set. Stoopid early to bed tonight.

Wednesday: Long run sufferfest in crazy humidity: 2:30, 20.5 miles, final 30' @ MP turned into 30' of trying not to slow down-ended up good. Then celebration of Drew's 2nd birthday: spent morning at county fair and played all afternoon at the house. Then his favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Great day!

Thursday: 2.4 mile race simulation swim done in a 25 yard pool. Didn't feel great. Time was a couple minutes slower than I wanted but I'm tired! Focus was crap, too.

Friday: IMWI race sim ride/run done. Was bummed about ride time then found brake had major rim rub! No wonder legs felt trashed all day. Rained entire ride so very slick roads. Need better focus next time.

Saturday: Badly needed rest day! Slept in, then got ready to host Drew's 2nd birthday party and our out-of-town guests. Fun day!

Sunday: Another great ABP (always be pushing) ride with fellow EN teammate and friend Matt Ancona on his home course in the Barrington, IL area. Didn't feel great at all but he forced me to suck it up and put in some solid efforts toward the end.

Totals for the week:
Training duration: 18:36
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 29'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 49'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .702
Mileage: 241 miles (Swim: 10.1K, Bike: 190 miles, Run: 44 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1173
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 137.0
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -22.7
Weight: 168.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 293 watts
Vdot: 55.3 (but training at 56)

Performance Management Chart through week 6 of Ironman Prep Training:

IMWI Race Simulation Ride #1

IMWI race rehearsal #1 didn’t go exactly as I would have liked. Following my RR swim on Thursday (that also was a bit of a let-down) I headed to Madison early Friday morning for an 8am start on the IMWI bike course. Here’s the summary, then the detailed venting will follow:

The Bike Data
• Ride time: ~5:45:00
• NP: 201 (target was 210)
• IF: .687
• TSS: 278
• VI: 1.05

The Run Data
• Run time: 47:30 (6 miles) - hit paces right on

The Good
• Peak 60’ power was from miles 80-100
• Higher IF in 2nd half of ride
• Decent VI given the wet conditions and just not feeling “on”
• Hit run pacing well for the 6 mile out & back

The Not-So-Good
• Disappointed with ride time (thought I should be in the 5:30-5:40 range)
• Completely missed IF target (.72)
• Something kooky happened with my Powertap (it included my 10-15’ stop between loops to fill water bottles)
• Poor focus (lots going on this week in personal/professional life as well as feeling very fatigued that had my mind elsewhere)
• Discovered after the ride that my rear brake was rubbing badly
• Never felt comfortable (legs tired, aero position didn’t feel right, cold at times, hot at other times)
• Felt like I was on the edge of a bonk every 15’ – not sure if it was my nutrition or the fatigue
• Bad attitude all day

Detailed Gripe Report
As soon as I arrived in Verona (start of loop 1), I had to take a step back and ask myself, “Now, what I am doing?” It’s been a crazy week and I’ve had a lot on my mind (quit my job for a better one, son’s 2nd birthday led to household stress trying to plan a party and entertain out-of-town guests for the weekend, extended family issues, etc.) Also, looking back on last week, I was battling some serious fatigue – CTL was 140, TSB of -40. But I gathered myself best I could and headed out.

It was overcast and in the low 60s when I started. After the 60’ JRA stuff I hit the start of the first loop and it began to rain. The roads were very slick, which made the descents on the course pretty scary. Additionally, Witte Rd was all gravel (it’s only about 1 mile but with those descents I was white-knuckled the whole way). On the positive side, the road going into Cross Plains is freshly paved (wish they would do the same for the road out of Cross Plains and Stagecoach!).

I finished loop 1 and stopped back at the car to refill water bottles (approx 10-15’ break). I didn’t feel the best during loop 1 (legs were flat, body was very fatigued) but I knew I was executing my hydration/nutrition strategy correctly as I had to pee 3 times during the almost 3 hour timeframe.

I headed out for loop 2 with the intent to kick up the watts by 5 each hour. It wasn’t easy but the numbers I was seeing on my LYC were indicating I was executing per plan.

Started getting pretty burned out by mile 90 – need to find something to bring me out of that funk (caffeine?, 5-hr Energy?, No-Doz? – never tried any of them before). Peed 4 more times during the final 56 miles.

Below is the ride data. Notice the Powertap didn’t separate out my 10-15’ stop to refill water at the car. Almost like the PT thought the rear wheel was still spinning?! Not sure what the deal is with my HR at the beginning - thinking something went screwy with the monitor for a while.

Entire workout (191 watts):
Duration: 5:54:14 (5:54:41)
Work: 4068 kJ
TSS: 278.7 (intensity factor 0.687)
Norm Power: 201
VI: 1.05
Pw:HR: 0.85%
Pa:HR: 3.5%
Distance: 112.028 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 394 191 watts
Heart Rate: 58 218 117 bpm
Cadence: 30 186 88 rpm
Speed: 2.2 44.2 19.0 mph
Pace 1:21 26:49 3:10 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 832 188 lb-in



Hour by Hour:
1 – 41.8 TSS / 0.646 IF / 189 NP / 1.04 VI / 113 HRavg / 657 kJ
2 – 47.9 TSS / 0.691 IF / 203 NP / 1.04 VI / 117 HRavg / 700 kJ
3 – 49.1 TSS / 0.700 IF / 205 NP / 1.04 VI / 118 HRavg / 711 kJ
4 – 47.8 TSS / 0.691 IF / 202 NP / 1.06 VI / 116 HRavg / 691 kJ
5 – 50.2 TSS / 0.708 IF / 207 NP / 1.06 VI / 119 HRavg / 706 kJ
6 – 42.6 TSS / 0.683 IF / 200 NP / 1.07 VI / 118 HRavg / 616 kJ

Reminder: 210 watts was my target. My focus obviously fades after hour 3 as evidenced by higher VI; but that was also when it really started raining hard. I'm amazed at how low my HR is this year - last IM (2008 IMLou) my HR for RRs and the race was more like around 130 bpm.

I threw the bike in the car, got the run gear on and headed out for a 6 mile out and back, eager to get this thing done. First mile or so was a little rough – legs were tight, form felt like crap. Loosened up after the 1st mile and had no problem holding the 8:15/mi pace through mile 3. Made the turn and picked up the pace to my Z1/LRP (7:45/mi). Held it with no problem back to the car.

I was pretty spent. My quasi-race sim on the first day of the IMWI tri rally in early July didn’t leave me feeling nearly as cooked. And that was a hot, sunny day, too. I felt like that was the easiest day of training I’d had all year. This actual race sim left me feeling more like I do after the typical 4.5 hour EN-style long ride.

I decided to wipe the bike down before leaving. Gave the wheels a gentle spin to clean them off with a rag and to my shock saw that the back wheel hit a spot where it completely locked up. It appears I rode the entire time with the brake pad making pretty significant contact with the rim – IDIOT! No wonder my legs still feel cooked.

I made the drive back home pissed at the world. I carried that pissy attitude with me all weekend. I was ready to call this whole thing off because how could I even consider myself a potential Kona-qualifier with a performance like this!? I feel a little better as I took Saturday completely off and slept in both Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, Matt Ancona allowed me to vent for almost an hour during our ride on Sunday which allowed me to get a lot off my chest.

Thanks for letting me release some steam to you all. I’m now 100% focused on making RR #2 and, more importantly, the race as perfect as can be. Here’s my plan for RR #2:

 No distractions! 100% focus on executing the plan
 Sleep as much as possible during the week preceding the RR/race
 Get the bike tuned up and ensure everything is comfortable
 Positive attitude
 A little tweak to my pre-RR nutrition (throw in some solid foods instead of all liquid)