We get really good questions every week from you, our loyal audience. Some are really personal, others are really crazy, but most are applicable to the greater tri space. Instead of emailing just you back, in true EN spirit we’ll be sharing some of our responses so the at-large triathlon community can benefit. After all, together we are much smarter than any single one of us could ever be. So without further delay…

“After IMAZ last year I was a little burned out and thought about taking a year away from IM. I was already signed up for CA 70.3 but nothing after that. Thought about focusing on a marathon, but once your in Tri training it’s hard to get jazzed up about that.

I’m now on your 70.3 plan and, after only 4 weeks, it really has got my juices flowing again. So… I started thinking: Can I leverage that into a full IM in IMCDA 13 weeks later? Then I won’t have to lose the fitness as I did last year while having to wait till fall for IMAZ. And if I want to run a marathon I can do it early in the fall.

I haven’t seen your 12 week full IM plan. Would it work right after your 12 week 70.3 and a week of down time after Oceanside? Given the EN philosophy, I imagine I don’t need to worry about not having put in longer volume before that 12 weeks kicks in and the 12 week IM would start.” — Marc F.

While logistically one can’t often do a last-minute Ironman, the strategy you have outlined above is spot-on. In the EN world, the difference between a HIM and IM is only a few weeks of volume-specific work. We really care more about your power and pace at threshold than we do about your ability to handle volume, as adding volume is the easy part. Yes, the 12-week Ironman plan would work, although depending on how much work you have done for the 70.3, I’d probably:

• Take 1 very light week, following the transition guidance in the EN Manual.
• Take 1 week light with a big volume weekend (or just day) for Fri/Sat. Not hard, just two big days, Sunday OFF. Here’s some additional guidance.
• Monday pick up plan with Week 11.

You can find the plans in the store tab of the Endurance Nation site, remember that our annual sale ends on 1/31/10 at midnight!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

TeamEN Member and our IMCDA Team Captain flashes the EN gang sign shortly after setting a 1:18 PR!

Coach Rich Strauss interviews John about his performance: lessons learned, tips for first timers, vets, and much more. Listen here!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Ironman CDA 2009 has come and gone, and well over 25 Endurance Nation athletes successfully having reached the finish line. As reports from the venue suggested, the weather played a significant role on race day. It was very windy with temps dropping from the low 60s to mid-50s as rain moved in towards the end of the day. Athletes forced to slow down on the run faced the double challenge of being wet and running into stiff winds off the lake. What follows here is a general review of Team performance; specifics will come to light over the next few days as the race reports trickle in. Note: You can view results here, pictures here, and read athlete race reports here.

View this video online here.

The Swim: With water temps reaching the low- to mid-60′s, a solid 5 degrees warmer than in 2008, specific fears about handling the cold water were somewhat reduced. Instead the solid morning winds led to some serious chop, slowing the average athlete by 3-5 minutes.

View this video online here.

The Bike: Cloudy and windy conditions ensured that everyone was pretty chilly for the first one to two hours on the day. While adrenaline carried most of the competitors through the short out/back section along the lake without noticing the winds, this was not to be the case in the second lap.

Everyone enjoyed a screaming tailwind out of town. Unfortunately this turned to a pretty challenging cross/tail/head combination during the hilly loop outside of town. As always the return trip was punctuated by a solid headwind. Early fears of rain and slick roads were unfounded, as the weather held until about 5pm. Reports from the racecourse described athletes hammering early on and crushing the hills while TeamEN folks used the Four Keys Ironman Execution protocol to pace properly.

From the sidelines, it was clear that while many athletes were ready for the cold, the wind came as a surprise. The value of warm weather gear is definitely reduced when said gear is big, baggy, and hinders your ability to actually ride. In the future, folks would do well consider a quality cycling vest with arm warmers. Gloves and toe caps optional.

With the wind whipping the hills, athletes had to pedal throughout the course. In 2008, lighter winds meant cyclists could coast down most hills; the winds of ’09 meant moderate effort was needed to maintain decent speeds. In other words, this meant more work for a time similar to 2008, or just slower times overall. I estimate that, on average, athletes rode five to fifteen minutes slower than in 2008.

All of this extra work meant that by mile 65, a large portion of the MOP and BOP athletes were sitting up, hands on the hood, unable to stay down and reap the benefits of being aero.  This meant more time on the bike and more work, requires more nutrition and meant folks would be out there longer for their overall day. You can’t underestimate the ability to stay aero for the full 112 miles!

View this video online here.

The Run: Athletes ran in the same cool and cloudy conditions that pervaded the bike leg, with anyone finishing after the 5pm mark forced to deal with some rain. The crowds were out to cheer despite the rain, but the water and wind proved a hard combination for many. In particular, the exposed portion of the run along the lake meant serious winds and temperature fluctuations.

For many Team EN athletes, this was the first time they were able to run the whole marathon (or close to it), with several setting 20+ minute PRs on the day despite not biking or swimming to their time potential given the windy conditions.  In all, most folks had a solid day despite the weather and terrain, but few reported that they felt they had “left time” on the course. It was truly a day that demanded 110%.

From the Pointy End: On the pro / Kona qualification side, the fast folks were still…just plain fast. Athletes looking to qualify faced some of the fastest age group times in recent IMCDA memory. Despite the wind on the bike, many of these top athletes were able to run fast times thanks to the cooler, more forgiving temperatures. As a sample of one (n=1), a 10:04 in 2008 netted 7th place AG but in 2009 only got 16th place. The message is clear: if you are looking to qualify, you need to have your A game on regardless of race day conditions.

Congratulations to all the finishers. You have earned some well-deserved downtime…and some dry clothes! Happy recovery and see you on the roads.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Video #1: We did a Team & Family dinner on Thursday night for about 70 folks, and it was a great chance to put faces with names. Thanks to my handy new Flip camera, now you can too!

Video #2: It wouldn’t be an Ironman without an Underwear Run. Some of the old school tri folks banded together with EN’s own Bryan Ogle to organize the mayhem. See how many EN folks you can spot!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Be sure to also visit the Endurance Nation Podcast Channel to browse our library of podcasts.

We’ve been coaching, training and racing with power since about 2002. In 2007 we collaborated with several other smart coaches and athletes in the power-space to really delve into the subject of racing the Iron distance with power. Over the course of much analysis and discussion, we developed a very simple and bulletproof system.

We published these racing ideas, along with power training and file analysis, as a three part webinar series in January 2008. IMCDA’08 became an excellent proving ground for these ideas, applied across a broad range of athletes on race day. Before you listen to the podcast below, we’d like to set the stage for you with a few key ideas first:

• Should vs Could Bike Split
  We define success within the EN system as a “good” run split. There is no such thing as a good bike followed by a poor run. Our focus on the bike is to ride the bike split/effort that sets up the run. Period. We feel that focusing on the split you “could” ride vs the split you “should” ride is a very slippery slope that often results in dramatically slowing down or walking much of the run course.
  

• If You Can Measure It, You Can Control It
  We’re going to make up a new sport, Liftathlon. You and I will go to the gym, lift weights for 6hrs, and then run a marathon. The weights I put on my bar are measured. I know, in real time and all the time, exactly how much weight I’m lifting right now. More importantly, I know how much total weight I can lift, at what rate I can lift it, and still run well off the bike. As a result, I make very, very few “pacing” mistakes. After all, the weight on my bar is a Stupidometer, telling me exactly when I’m doing too much. You, however:

1. 1. Don’t know how much weight is actually on the bar. You might have a pretty good idea but you don’t absolutely KNOW.
   2. Furthermore, you really have no idea how much cumulative weight you can lift and still run well of the bench press. You are guessing, at best.
      

Now, in an event that lasts several hours during which small mistakes have a very long time to add up and express themselves, who has the advantage? If I can measure what I’m doing, if I know what I’m doing, and make fewer mistakes as a result, overtime I will do a better job of creating the conditions for success: not slowing down on the run.

• Ride A Steady Effort
  Average Watts: Think of this as the physics of you moving yourself and your bike around the course, over the hills, pushing your body through the wind, etc. Two identical riders with identical average watts will ride identical bike splits because they performed the exact same physics (assuming drag, rolling resistance, and other variables are held constant).

Normalized Watts: a construct of the guys behind CyclingPeaks, normalized watts is an attempt to create a common baseline against which we can compare two dissimilar rides or riders. Very simply, it accounts for the fact that higher watts are exponentially more costly to our bodies than lower watts. Within the context of this discussion, think of normalized watts as how tired you made yourself producing your average watts.

Riding Steady: Because higher watts are exponentially more costly than lower watts, the small time gained by powering over a hill is vastly outweighed by the cost of spiking those watts. You WILL pay for that effort later in the day. In our system we ride with very few power fluctuations: power up just a bit on a hill but maintain that “flat” power across the crest, into the downhill and across the next flat. If you find yourself riding near an EN athlete on race day, you’ll notice they will go backwards on the climb, coast by you on the downhill, and then just keep running at mile 18 while everyone else is walking. We are happy to give up 5-10 seconds on a hill to get back 30-60 minutes on the run!

• Legs = Bank Account
  You only have so much $$ in your legs and it has to last you all day. This implies two things:

1. 1. It would help if I knew how much money I had in my legs and how long I expected to be on the course spending that money. Through our analysis of many, many power files, we have identified what this cycling budget is as an objective, measurable number.
      
   2. Riding the bike is then largely about controlling the rate of my spending, in real time, so I get off the bike in T2 with enough money to spend on the run. As I’m climbing this hill I’m very tightly controlling every penny, nickel and dime that I allow to fall out of my pocket.
      

Now that you’ve wrapped your head around the key principle of racing with power, please join Rich and Patrick as they discuss the application of these tools to Patrick’s performance at IMCDA. Endurance Nation Podcast Channel

Want to learn more? Check out the Endurance Nation Power Webinar Series, with over 4hrs of audio and MUCH more!

Want to begin training and racing with power? Check out our Power Training Starter Kit. The kit includes a Powertap by Wheelbuilder, the Webinar Series and other smartware tools to help you!

Did you find this article helpful? Please use the Share It button below!

Do you have questions or comments? Please post them below. Rich and Patrick would love to hear from you!

Part III: Racing with Pace

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Coach Patrick getting it done at IMCDA’08

This article is the first in a four part series. Today we will analyze Coach Patrick’s performance within the context of the Endurance Nation Four Keys of Long Course Triathlon. In Part Two we will discuss his application of our racing with power framework. In Part Three we will discuss a new tool for us: racing with pace and what we have learned from our performances and those of our athletes. Finally, in Part Four, we will discuss what we have learned with regards to building IM fitness, refining IM execution, and our plans for applying those lessons to our Endurance Nation members.

Since our launch in November, 2007, Endurance Nation has quickly grown to over 400 athletes. Most of our members are focused on long course racing, and Ironman Coeur d’Alene was our “debut,” as a team, on the Ironman stage. We brought nearly twenty athletes to the race. Our members have all been training with the same suite of training plans, have been schooled with the same thoughts regarding training and racing with power and pace, race day execution, etc. IMCDA was a great opportunity for us to test out this integrated training and racing system across a broad range of athletes. This article is the first in a series to introduce you to our integrated long course racing system. Integrated because it combines some very powerful software (Four Keys of Long Distance Triathlon) with the hardware of Power and Pace.

We will use Coach Patrick McCrann’s performance on race day as the example of our system, but we feel the results of our other athletes also speak for themselves:

* Four athletes under 10:30, including a 29′ PR by Todd M. to finally qualify for Kona after many years of trying!
* Brenda G., missed the bike cut-off in 2007. Returned to the scene of the crime in ’08, posted a 15:01 and passed over 100 people on the run!
* Mike H., exited T2 in 983rd place, then proceeded to run down 332 athletes in route to an 11:54, a 42′ PR from last year!
* Marriane P., mother of five (5), ages 7 to 19, runs down over 320 athletes in route to a 17′ PR!

TeamEN before our free pre-race talk.

The Endurance Nation Four Keys of Long Course Triathlon are:

1. Race Day is About Execution, not Fitness
2. The Line: Nothing Matters until Mile 18 of the run
3. The Box: Race in a Box, only controlling what you can control
4. The One Thing: why are you out here?

We even put the Keys on the back of a shirt, so you can’t screw it up!
—————————————–

Stats: 1:07 swim / 5:23 bike / 3:26 run, add transitions for a race time of 10:04 which was good for 7th AG and 46th OA. I picked up a Kona slot from the rolldown (there were 6 slots, 3 rolled and 1 was added, so it went to 10th place in the group).

—————————————

My Preparation
Heading into the race, I knew I was one of our best guinea pigs, with so much going on I could barely get the baseline training done, much less the volume I have done in the past. I basically followed the EN Off Season plan, then rolled that into our Long Course plan using Power and Pace. During my build up, we launched Endurance Nation, had a baby, and got in a car accident. I wasn’t even sure I could race with 3 weeks to go, but figured that if I wasn’t in pain it couldn’t hurt (haha).

My Athlete Type: I have an endurance background from soccer to crew to marathons and finally landing in triathlon. I am 6’2″ and 185 on race day, so definitely one of the bigger guys on the course. I joke that I strive to be the first finisher with lovehandles…gotta represent! My point here is that while I am fit, I am not one of those robot athletes who could qualify any day of the year. I am fit, but I know that I have to nail my race perfectly if I am going to have a shot at a slot. Even though this was my 12th IM race (including 2 Konas), andI have a good deal of experience with the distance, I was still as nervous as everyone else on race morning.

My One Thing: I was racing to validate why I have spent the last 3-5 months training; my decision to race put a great deal of stress on the family (Emma being born, Megan growing up, etc) and I wanted to show that all the time spent wasn’t for nothing. Maura sent a great picture of her and the girls with a race sign on Saturday, and it was the best inspiration I could have asked for.

Execution vs Fitness: My main goal was to have a really smart, consistent race. I knew I didn’t bring a lot of general fitness to the table, save for some good running, so I wanted to swim easy, bike smart and then run hard. I told everyone who would listen that I was racing as a civilian, meaning that even though I was a full-time coach I has spent the past few months doing more family/life stuff than training.

In other words, my lack of training really freed me from the “tactical masturbation” that happens in race planning and early race execution on the bike. I knew I had no business going fast, so I was free to follow the plan as closely as possible.

Pre-Race Prep: Rich and I wore our Endurance Nation hats all week; meaning we had a lot of admin stuff to do around supporting our peeps and promoting Endurance Nation with our pre-race meeting. We did get in one swim and a loop of the hills. We spent a lot of time fixing my bike (Rich, I owe you big time) and otherwise tried to chill out as much as possible. Staying far from the race site made for a lot of travel time but also meant we had no race geek issues.

The Swim: Target Time: 1:00, Actual Time: 1:07
I lined up wide to avoid the crowds, and I was just unable to get back to the course until almost the turn buoy. My top goals for the swim is to swim only as fast as I can maintain my form. We call this swimming inside “the Box”, where I focus on what I can control: my stroke, my pacing, my direction, etc. Being wide allowed me to avoid a beating and to really dial in my swim form. Having this mental focus makes the actual swim pass very quickly, as it beats just staring at buoys on the horizon. As a result I ended up having a great, relaxing start to the race. Even though I clearly missed the 1:00 freight train that takes me to the swim finish, I had an enjoyable swim that undoubtedly set me up to have a really good day overall. Seeing as the delta between a good swim and a bad swim was only 7 mins (I usually swim an hour) I was happy to “give” those 7 mins up on the swim as I continued to focus on getting to mile 18 of the run with as much mojo as possible.

T1: Uneventful, save for the volunteer who tried three times to get me to run down the aisle to get my bag instead of letting me get to the wetsuit strippers. I finally had to push him aside…he was more flustered than the athletes!

The Bike: Target Time: 5:20, Actual Time: 5:23
Part of our Four Keys Race Presentation, we note that the first hour of the bike has to be easy if you are to build over the full day and have a solid run after mile 18.

I started the bike with a goal of capping the first hour at a specific effort level, with a goal of trying to sit on as easy an effort as possible without sacrificing too much speed. Even though I went easy, I was still passing folks and wasn’t getting passed too badly (guess that’s what a 1:07 swim will get you!). By the time the hills started around mile 25, I was well warmed up and ready to ride “just” 87 miles (b/c the first 25 was essentially free).

While we do have specific pacing guidance for the bike, the big picture thought here is Mile 18. In other words, you need to ride the best bike you can as you focus on being ready for Mile 18 of the run. There’s no need to fight someone else to get to the top of the next hill; it’s Mile 18 (and the race finish line) that really matter. With this frame of reference, I rode each hill at an effort that I could sustain not only for that hill, but knowing that I had more hills as well as a marathon to run.

Incredibly enough, there were folks standing and hammering in multiple places on the hills. Instead of working up the hills, I focused on being strong through the crest of the hill (when most folks back off b/c they are tired) and fast on the descents and flats. In other words, spaces where speed has a very low cost vice climbing a hill. Every time someone passed me on a hill, I would pass the same guy either descending or on the flats. The new P3C + the killer fit from Todd at TTBikeFit.com + the frontwheel from Rich at Wheelbuilder.com + the rear disc from RaceDayWheels.com meant that I was a virtual missile out on the course.

Racing the bike inside my “box” my focus areas were:

• Easy first hour
• Smart first loop leaving me room for a tougher second one
• Steady second loop
• Strong last hour
  

By the end of the first loop, I could tell there was a good headwind fighting us on the way back into town…one that would only get worse as time went on. I was comfortable over the terrain of the first hour as I repeated it on lap two, since I had gone so easy the first loop that I knew I would be faster by default.

Heading out for the hills on loop two, by mental box began getting smaller as I could really only mentally focus on the current hill (and next few miles). Instead of getting out of sorts thinking about the marathon, etc., I put my energy into making sure my nutrition was spot on. As I got more and more tired, I did more coasting and soft-pedaling. I searched for places where I didn’t really have to brake, just so I could keep my speed up.

Based on the race results data, I got faster for each split on the day (despite temps and wind), one of the few folks all day to not slow down over the last 34 miles and one of the very few who got faster at each split. My conservative pacing early on meant that I had energy to be strong over the last hour into the headwind when everyone else was fading. Catching folks and riding past them like they are standing still makes a great way to end a bike split.

T2: Also quick. I had a lot of admin stuff here (Garmin, blister patch, sunscreen, etc) so it took a while for me to get rolling. Had two volunteers to myself so it was pretty fast.

The Run: Target Time: 3:20, Actual Time: 3:26
As I mentioned above, I knew the run was where I had to get things done. I took my time in T2 to put on a blister patch on my foot, fire up my Garmin, and get sunscreen on. With my focus on Mile 18, I was happy to bleed a few seconds in T2 to be ready for the task ahead. I knew CDA has an easier run course than IMUSA or Kona, so I was cautiously optimistic for a good run time. I was aiming for 7:45 min mile average, or a low 3:20s marathon.

The general EN run strategy is to take the first 3 to 6 miles easy, depending on your fitness and race goals. I have traditionally struggled with going slowly enough, to the point where I now carry a water bottle in an attempt to slow myself down. Once I am through my 3 miles, I pick the pace up to a steady effort as I wait for the hammer to fall (somewhere in Mile 18 range). When that happens, I suck it up and just work to get it done.

When I started running, I thought the darn Garmin was broken as it kept saying I was running mid- to low 6 minute miles. Turns out I was just running too fast. I tried slowing down, but it seemed that I was standing still and still going low 7s. To mitigate this damage, I forced myself to walk the full aid station for the first 4 or 5 miles. Between running a bit too fast (even though it felt easy) and walking the full aid stations, I was still turning out sub 8s.

Once I got past the 5 mile mark, I began to try and dial in miles around the 7:45 min mark. In my head, I was going to try and be steady through mile 18 and then have a strong last 8 miles. Basically I had good miles from 5 through 17, including some pretty fast ones, and then a dark spot from 17-21 where I was feeling the effects of the day to the tune of lightheadedness, tingly arms, and a slight side cramp. I decided to back off the pace a bit to be safe, and after about 20 mins and another gel (yuck!) I was back on track. This save was made possible by the fact that (A) I wasn’t in a very big hole to begin with (proper pacing on the day), and (B) I was mentally very on top of my race.

The final climb up the big hill at the run turnaround on the lake was tough, but once I was headed back in everything was just clicking along. I latched on to a 29YO running 7:45s, then dropped him and some other guys up that last hill by the lake and held them off into town. Making the turn into the finish line was awesome…to see the whole street stretched out in front of me (and downhill!). When I got close enough to see I was going to go 10:04, I was ecstatic…crossed the finish line into the arms of friends (nothing better) and then hung out for Todd and Rich to finish. As I reflected on the run, I realized that no one passed me after mile 10 on the day; I also noted how critical it was that I had the mojo to run the last few miles mentally and physically strong. I have missed a spot by 4 seconds before…I know how important it is not to fall of the pace at the end.

After some recovery time, Rich and I got our clothes changed and went back out on the course to cheer until 11pm when we started seriously bonking (and places stopped serving food!). It was awesome to see so many EN’ers out there on the course just getting it done. Everyone was all smiles in the tent, save for a few exceptions (hey, it’s an Ironman, it’s supposed to be hard!)

Great to see folks from New England out there. Robyn, Lisa, and Ann shouted encouragement; Scott from FuelBelt made me laugh whenever I saw him, making the run just a bit “easier”. Cramer and his soon-to-be-Iron wife, Amy, seemed to be all over the course. Only place I didn’t see you guys was at the swim turnaround!!! All in all, just a great day. I am psyched to have been able to get it done and am really looking forward to some down time!

From Coach Rich: Notice a relative lack of discussion of watts, pace, and heart rate in Patrick’s race report. We will cover those details in Parts 2 and 3, but with this article we want you to focus on the Four Keys. We believe very strongly that if you have your head screwed on straight regarding the Four Keys, rest of the day, the stuff you are likely most geeked about, will just happen. To read more about the Four Keys go here, or to purchase the Four Keys DVD, go here.

Did you enjoy this article? Please leave us a comment below and share it with your friends and training partners!

Part II: Racing with Power

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

10:25:42, 15th AG, 97th OA

Sorry I’m a little late. I did this as a podcast earlier in the week but didn’t like it. I’ve since had my head wrapped around some other things.

One Thing(s)

1. Execute the best race I can.
2. Run under 3:40
3. Go under 10hrs

If you’ve read Patrick’s race report you have a good idea of our pre-race stuff. We had a long admin list and it didn’t feel like I was able to turn my head off until sometime Friday evening. Not a big deal though.

On Saturday we slept in, hung out at the condo, and then check out bikes in. We hooked up Steve Cramer and his wife Amy, in town to register for CDA, over lunch. Much to Steve’s chagrin, I risked the race on a bowl of chili. Happy to report that all was well downstairs. Patrick and I each had a Vanilla Bourbon Stout at the CDA Brewing Company. Very tasty!

Early dinner, hang out, read go to bed.

2am: 3 x 250cal Naked Juice Fruit Smoothies.
4am: wake up, coffee, toast with PBnHoney. Put on race kit, chip, body marking in the living room.
5:10-20: ferry ride across the lake to the race venue. Cool way to start the day!
5:30: check bags, bike, pump up tires, drop off bags, etc. Patrick and I were probably out of there by 6:15 to hang out in the grass behind the swim start.

Swim: 59:32, 12th AG, 73 OA
We lined up far to the right. Intent was to get clear water to the first turn then find feet and go to sleep. In my head at the swim start I didn’t care about the swim, didn’t care about the bike, I just wanted to have a good run. No HR or watch for the swim. Within a few strokes of starting I had clear water and got back on the course about two buoys from the first turn. I found myself having to swim through more people than I’m used to in a mass start like this. I probably slotting in with the 1:03 swimmers and had to work my way through them. VERY congested at that first turn but the rest of the swim was uneventful, other than having to swim through people. My PE was that of soft-pedaling: whenever I felt like I was actually pulling on the water…I stopped doing that. Again, didn’t care about the swim split. If there was a timing arch at the swim exit I didn’t see it and had no idea what my swim split was.

In retrospect, I overthunk my placement on the beach, missing the faster swimmers and having to swim through slower swimmers. I was expecting :54-55 but the above combined with just didn’t care accounts for that 4 minutes. I usually swim about 4-5th AG, top 35 OA.

T2: 3:21
Get in, get it done, though I was about :45 slower than ’05. Reflection of my focus on the rest of the day, not every second.

Bike: 5:24:21, 20th AG, 79th OA.
FTP: 300w
Estimated finish time: 5:15-20. Rode a 5:08 on the old course. a
Power goals: .73-75 IF, 285 TSS, ~215-225w Pnorm, ~208-215w Pavg, VI 1.05 or lower. Cap of 210w for the first 25 miles, then 220-225w on flats, 235-240w on long climbs, no higher than 250-260w on anything. Use the hills to stand, stretch, etc. Let everyone go on hills, bomb descents and corners.

The Numbers

Inside My Head
0-1hr: focused on sticking to my wattage targets on hills, flats, and downhills, keeping the VI very low. In particular, my hill caps were ludicrously easy. Seemed I just thought about maybe sorta looking at the monitor and I’d see 240-250w. Still very easy for me but I began to question the calibration of the PM. After about an hour my legs were calibrated to the monitor and I was fine I went backwards on any hills but made up huge ground on descents. Was totally in a breathing through my nose, falling asleep place by 30′ on the bike. But, if you look at my first hour numbers above, I was a “little” over what I wanted to see.

1-2hrs: this is where we started to get into the hills, maybe by about 1:20-25 ride time? I found myself in a little group of folks who would drill it on the climbs and then get in my way on the downhills and corners. I had a blast in that twisty stuff next to the lake. Probably around…1:50 ride time Todd came up on me and remarked that his calibration might be off? I said I’m falling asleep but my IF was ~.74. I think he made a great call by dropping back and doing is own thing several hundred yards back. We did the shaka thing on the out and backs. Very sure that the Three EN Stooges, me, Patrick, and Todd, all rode some of the most consistent bike splits out there. Look at our splits and we are within seconds of each other, I think. Pretty cool. In the small world category, I found myself riding near a Brian for a bit who looked familiar. Turns out it was Brian August, a guy I swam with in college who was 3yrs behind me. What are the odds?

0-56: Around 1:30 ride time I realized that I was likely going to be out there longer than the 5:15 I expected, would be over budget on the TSS, so I started planning to back it down, bank TSS in the second half, etc. I stayed very aero in the headwinds back into town and just did my thing. 2:41 and 143 TSS at mile 56, right on the TSS money. I have to admit that, with the volume of people who had passed me, I started to question my day a little. But at mile 56 I knew I was on the money, I had seen the bike times from last year, and was confident that there were many guys up the road who had cooked themselves and would come back to me. Still, I was focused on doing my own thing and figured that with 143 TSS in the bank against a budget of 285, and likely to be out there a little longer due to winds in the second half, that I needed to manage my effort very closely. Again, I didn’t care about the bike split and I began to not sweat my low VI goal so much. I decided I would coast more on the downhills on the second lap.

2-3hrs: see notes above. I picked up my BSN bag at miles 65, tossed my empty $15 arundel feed bottle and racked a new one. I felt AWESOME, like I hadn’t ridden the bike at all.

3-4hrs: from the BSN station, through town, out to Hayden, through about 3/4 of the hills I was completely alone. Probably 1:30-45? Handful of dudes wayyyyy off in the distance and no one behind me. Totally solo. Back in the hills which is where the extra watts came from.

4-5hrs: In the hills, out of the hills and in the headwinds back to town. More coasting, finding places to rest, and bank TSS, which is where the 1.08 VI came from.
5-finish: Pretty much done. Thinking about the run, stretching.

Bike observations:

• I rode one (1) watt Pnorm over my RR watts, 2w under my RR average watts. As Patrick and I talked about our race plans during the week, I said I was bouncing around what the spreadsheets say I should be able to do vs what I KNOW I’ve done during my race rehearsals. On race day I did the same thing: am I racing towards a spreadsheet or towards an actual performance that I know was good? That’s a good thought for us to all keep in mind.
• I rode the bike a little dynamically, meaning I used the Ergomo and my head to adjust my pacing out there to account for the fact that I was going to be out there 10′ longer than planned. I’m proud of the nearly even time and TSS splits, though I’d like to have seen lower TSS in the first 1-1:30. In retrospect I think splitting the TSS as 135/150 would have been better…but I’m not sweating it too much.
• Nutrition worked perfectly. I rolled with 1 x 600cal bottle of Infinit on the downtube. Orange, no protein, with caffeine. Empty aero bottle, couldn’t be bothered to fill it up before the race. Took a hit every 15′, chased with water. Very easy to drink out of the aerobottle and this, combined with the cool day, meant I was peeing lots and lots…while pedaling, natch. Bottle was empty at 56 and I took a gel to make up the deficit to my next bottle. Carried on with the plan and had maybe had half a bottle of G-Ade somewhere, just because. I picked up 1-2 bottles of water only at the aid stations to rinse myself off and top off the aerobottle.
• Position: my position is great for training, great for race rehearsals, but when I put a swim in front of it, it’s maybe 2cm too aggressive. If I want to ride another IM in this position I…must…stretch my hips, back and hamstring. I managed it by moving forward on the saddle from time to time to open my hips, standing in non-aero situations like hills, etc.

T2: 2:33. Turned on the Garmin, taped the instep of both feet. I was afraid I would get a blister in my left instep. I wear inserts with a wedge on the left one to add additional support. The inserts + wedge were not as broken in as I’d like them to be so this was precaution. Todd came blasting in while I was in there, on a tear to get out. I walked to the start on run course, pressed Start and began running.

Run: 3:55, 52nd AG, 251 OA, 9:00 pace
My first thought getting on the run course was that this was the year I was going to run people down. I felt great. Goal was to run a 3:40. Turning on my Garmin and looking at the time of day was the first time all day that I paid attention my total time. I saw that a 3:40 would get me about 10:05-10 so One Thing #3 is gone, unless I run like I stole it. No worries. At this time I was on track with #1, execute a great race. Time to make it #2, running a 3:40.

I have to admit that this is where my lack of attention to detail and our gap of knowledge between concrete bike pacing and concrete run pacing bit me in the ass. If you visit the Pro Lounge, you’ll see we started a thread on group-thinking an IM run pacing strategy based on VDot. That is the result of me screwing up my run and resolve to match the dialed in EN bike pacing with dialed in EN run pacing. In particular, we need to give the 6-7+hr bike people a much better plan than we have now.

This is the summary of my notes from that thread:

Rich’s assessment of Dick’s run
Estimated open half mary time of 1:33 = VDot 49 = E-pace of 8:40 and goal mary time of 3:40. However, you can see above that my NGP of my first 12 miles was significantly faster than this. I ran at an E-pace of Vdot 50-51 within the first 18 miles. In fact, I started to go downhill around mile 15-16 so was likely a little higher up to then. Net is that my NGP for the last 6 miles was almost a minute per mile slower than goal.

Should have:

• Run/walked from the start at E-pace of VDot 49 = 8:40 pace, putting money in the bank and finishing strong.
• With a history of not-so-good runs, bad feet, and desire to just run well (not slow down) I maybe should have gone with a VDot of 48, yielding E-pace of 8:48?
• As is, by over extending myself for the first 12-15 miles, running to a VDot of 50-51, I finished with an E-pace of VDot 47, all boogered in the last 6-7 miles. Awesome!
• I didn’t start walking the aid stations until mile 10.

My friggin’ feet hurt RIGHT out of the gate. It may have been the result of maybe a poor taping job + swollen feet from being out there all day + not having the laces totally dialed in + I have ludicrous flat feet. You know that when Uncle Sam requires a waiver from a doc for you to enlist in the Marines…you got broke ass feet. That’s me. Anyway, rather than standing down and maybe trying to fix it, at the time I basically accepted that this was my lot in life, was gonna be another painful run, and I was able to put it out of my head until the demons started knocking at about mile 14. Then it truly, truly sucked. While not as bad as 2005 (I basically ran myself into an injury that took forever to heal) and I had no ankle issues, the relative speed with which they felt better after the race has me thinking it was a function of the tape and maybe the shoes vs the manifestation of my injuries. Very, very frustrating as I’ve been running relatively pain free all season.

The Final Assessment

After the race I was in a semi-bad place. Not super-bad, like an 8 out of 10, largely because I just don’t care that much about my Ironman racing anymore. I was a 9.5/10 on the “Certainty of not doing an IM again” scale. Meaning, as much as I’d like to knock out a good run like I did in ’02, I don’t care that much about it to actually do another IM. Now, with some distance, a closer assessment of my run and after noodling this running with pace stuff, I’m feeling a lot better and I’ve maybe come down off the ledge to about a 7.5-8. Specifically, if I had exercised enough attention to detail and used our developing system to call myself a VDot 48 vs 49, that’s an E-pace of 8:48, marathon time of 3:50, in which case I was only off my goal by 5′. Still, not at all happy with how I got to that 3:55 but…there it is.

My major take home lesson from all of my racing with pace noodling is this:
If you want to run a faster IM on race day, you need to earn the right to run faster by running faster in training. By lifting your VDot. Just because you want to run a 3:40 don’t make it right if you don’t have the VDot to justify it. If my FTP were 280w I would never pace the bike as if my FTP were 300w. If your VDot is 49, don’t run at friggin’ 51 VDot E-pace. Wanna run faster? Earn it.

This is my fitness philosophy, in a nutshell: “This is all just a game. If it’s not fun, don’t do that. If it is fun, do more of that. Focus your fitness lifestyle (and business, in my case) on what you love to do and you’ll be happier in the end.” During our weekend together Patrick and I talked about our evolution as IM athletes and coaches, the evolution of the IM demographic, fitness as a lifestyle, and some other higher level thoughts. I must be getting old…anyway, I’ll share those thoughts with everyone next week.

In the short term, I’ve never focused on making myself a faster runner. I think I might try giving that a shot (see above) and let the wheels tell me what distance I should be racing.

It was great to see the other EN’ers on the course, get some mojo for the kit from some of the spectators and other athletes, etc. You guys don’t know it yet but as Patrick and I do our thing outside of the EN Haus, continue speaking at races, the brand recognition of EN and the EN kit will grow. You’ll definitely start to see a good bit of mojofication from the spectators and other athletes.

And, after Patrick’s performance this weekend, I decided to promote myself to the position of Czar of HIM/Short Course/Endurance Adventure Outfitter Operations, leaving the IM racing to him.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

—————————————

Short version (from an EN Athlete) of how I got it done…long version follows:

• During IM training, launch a new business.
• Make sure your business partner is in a time zone 3 hours different than yours so you can always be at odds on scheduling.
• Schedule a race in mid June so you can rack up lots of TSS on the trainer or suffer frost bite.
• Be a father to a toddler.
• 8 weeks out, have another baby.
• 6 weeks out, get in a head-on collision.
• 4 weeks out, travel 6 hours by car while still recovering from accident to put on camp.
• Chase a bunch of yahoos around IMUSA bike course in car and be forced to sleep on air mattress to accommodate clients (aka yahoos)
• Give up all hope of racing IMCDA due to inability to walk after biking. AKA – forced taper.
• 3 weeks out, say WTF, I feel ok, I can do this.
• Race Day: Rip it up and post one of your best times ever.

Goals: My main goal was to have a really smart, consistent race. I knew I didn’t bring a lot of general fitness to the table, save for some good running, so I wanted to swim easy, bike smart and then run hard. I told everyone who would listen that I was racing as a civilian, meaning that even though I was a full-time coach I has spent the past few months doing more family/life stuff than training. At the end of the day, I was very satisfied with my performance.

One Thing: I was racing to validate why I have spent the last 3-5 months training; my decision to race put a great deal of stress on the family (Emma being born, Megan growing up, etc) and I wanted to show that all the time spent wasn’t for nothing. Maura sent a great picture of her and the girls with a race sign on Saturday, and it was the best inspiration I could have asked for.

Pre-Race: Rich and I wore our Endurance Nation hats all week; meaning we had a lot of admin stuff to do around supporting our peeps and promoting Endurance Nation with our pre-race meeting. We did get in one swim and a loop of the hills. We spent a lot of time fixing my bike (rich, I owe you big time) and otherwise tried to chill out as much as possible. Staying far from the race site made for a lot of travel time but also meant we had no race geek issues.

The Swim: Target Time: 1:00, Actual Time: 1:07
We lined up wide to avoid the crowds, and I was just unable to get back to the course until almost the turn buoy. It was a great, relaxing start to the race, but I clearly missed the 1:00 freight train that takes me to the swim finish. Regardless, a pretty enjoyable swim that undoubtedly set me up to have a really good day overall.

T1: Uneventful, save for the volunteer who tried three times to get me to run down the aisle to get my bag instead of letting me get to the wetsuit strippers. I finally had to push him aside…he was more flustered than the athletes!

The Bike: Target Time: 5:20, Actual Time: 5:23
I started the bike with a goal of capping the first hour at 245W, trying to sit on 215W as much as possible. Basically this meant I was riding about 65-70% of my max power, well below my target of .72-.74 for the whole day. Part of our Four Keys Race Presentation, we note that the first hour of the bike has to be easy if you are to build over the full day and have a solid run after mile 18. Even though I went easy, I was still passing folks and wasn’t getting passed too badly (guess that’s what a 1:07 swim will get you!). By the time the hills started around mile 25, I was well warmed up and ready to ride “just” 87 miles (b/c the first 25 was essentially free).

The pre-ride that Rich and I had done really made me ready to race this course. I knew exactly where I had to be conservative and where I could push it. Incredibly enough, there were folks standing and hammering in multiple places on the hills. I would pass the same guy either descending or on the flats. The new P3C + the killer fit from Todd at TTBikeFit.com + the frontwheel from Rich at Wheelbuilder.com + the rear disc from RaceDayWheels.com meant that I was a virtual missile out on the course. Based on the results data, I got faster for each split on the day (despite temps and wind), one of the few folks all day to not slow down over the last 34 miles. I think I was having too much fun catching folks and riding past them like they were standing still.

T2: Also quick. I had a lot of admin stuff here (Garmin, blister patch, sunscreen, etc) so it took a while for me to get rolling. Had two volunteers to myself so was pretty fast.

The Run: Target Time: 3:20, Actual Time: 3:26
As I mentioned above, I knew the run was where I had to get things done. I took my time in T2 to put on a blister patch on my foot and fire up my Garmin (see below). When I started running, I thought the darn thing was broken as it kept saying I was running mid- to low 6 minute miles. Turns out I was just running too fast. I tried slowing down, but it seemed that I was standing still and still going low 7s. To mitigate this damage, I forced myself to walk the full aid station for the first 4 or 5 miles. Between running and walking the full aid stations, I was still turning out sub 8s.

I knew CDA has an easier run course than IMUSA or Kona, so I was cautiously optimistic for a good run time. Once I got past the 5 mile mark, I began to try and dial in miles around the 7:45 min mark. In my head, I was going to try and be steady through mile 18 and then have a strong last 8 miles. Basically I had good miles from 5 through 17, including some pretty fast ones, and then a dark spot from 17-21 where I was feeling the effects of the day to the tune of lightheadedness, tingly arms, and a slight side cramp. I decided to back off the pace a bit to be safe, and after about 20 mins and another gel (yuck!) I was back on track.

The final climb up the big hill at the run turnaround on the lake was tough, but once I was headed back in everything was just clicking along. I latched on to a 29YO running 7:45s, then dropped him and some other guys up that last hill by the lake and held them off into town. Making the turn into the finish line was awesome…to see the whole street stretched out in front of me (and downhill!). When I got close enough to see I was going to go 10:04, I was ecstatic…crossed the finish line into the arms of friends (nothing better) and then hung out for Todd and Rich to finish.

After some recovery time, Rich and I got our clothes changed and went back out on the course to cheer until 11pm when we started seriously bonking (and places stopped serving food!). It was awesome to see so many EN’ers out there on the course just getting it done. Everyone was all smiles in the tent, save for a few exceptions (hey, it’s an Ironman, it’s supposed to be hard!)

Great to see folks from New England out there. Robyn, Lisa, and Ann shouted encouragement; Scott from [URL="http://www.FuelBelt.com"]FuelBelt[/URL] made me laugh whenever I saw him, making the run just a bit “easier”. Cramer and his soon-to-be-Iron wife, Amy, seemed to be all over the course. Only place I didn’t see you guys was at the swim turnaround!!! All in all, just a great day. I am psyched to have been able to get it done and am really looking forward to some down time!

Power Analysis

Note: Red line is HR, Yellow is Watts, Orange is Elevation.
My basic power strategy was to have an easy (free) first hour as the course really permits that. Then to ride my wattage gears for the bulk of the ride and finish with a strong last hour. The first hour of the bike was very easy…I spent as much time at 215W (FTP of 325) as possible, with a cap of 245W for everything else. I was passed by pretty much everyone at this point; even got a couple of nice words from folks passing by. End of hour one saw me at 21 miles with 42 TSS points…asleep for all intents and purposes. By this point you are starting the hills, so I dialed in the race gears (2/Steady-230W, 3/LongClimbs-265W, 4/ShortClimbs-285W); note that this is all based off an FTP of 325 and I weigh 185lbs.

I was literally astounded at the number of folks hammering the hills out on the loop. The loop is about 22 miles, with some significant climbs. I spent a lot of time in my 39/23, sitting up and spinning at 8mph. By the time I came through at 133 TSS and low 2:40s for time, I knew I was in a great place for a good second half…and a great run.

I approached the second loop pretty much like #1, except I rode steady over the same first 21 miles of that loop instead of easy. Once I hit the hills I could be a bit more aggressive as I knew where it would pay off…and then I just rode real quality effort back into town, picking off doodes every 1-2 mins.

Entire workout (216 watts):

Duration: 5:24:26 (5:24:35)
Work: 4199 kJ
TSS: 275.6 (intensity factor 0.714)
Norm Power: 232
VI: 1.08
Elevation Gain: 4895 ft
Avg Power: 216 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 130 bpm
Avg Cadence: 84 rpm
Avg Speed: 20.9 mph

First Half vs Second Half:

Duration: 2:42:26 — 2:41:42
Work: 2063 — 2131 kJ
TSS: 133 — 142.2 (intensity factor 0.701 — 0.726)
Norm Power: 228 — 236 watts
VI: 1.08 — 1.07
Avg Power: 212 — 220 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 129 — 131 bpm
Avg Cadence: 84 —- 84 rpm
Avg Speed: 20.7 — 21.1 mph

Pace Analysis

Note: Blue line is Pace, Orange is Elevation.
The goal on the run was to aim to hold my Easy/Long pace based on our vDOT system, or 7:47. If you minus out the 4-5 pit stops, I went 3:24 for my second best IM run split ever — and, more importantly, EXACTLY on 7:47 pace. Maybe we know what we are doing after all?

As I headed out of transition, I did some walking to get the Garmin going (hence the missing .4 miles as it was acquiring satellites), then went to “jogging”. Turns out I was laying down 6:30s and couldn’t stop. The Garmin SERIOUSLY saved me here as I could have easily cooked my race in the first 2-3 miles. Using the data I slowed myself down and was able to sit on a comfortable long run pace.

Once I hit the second lap, I was confident I could run 7:45s for the rest of the way. The Garmin moved from being a governor on my pace and became a whip instead, forcing me to keep going when things got hard.

From the data, it looks as though I almost even split the two loops, with the first being an average of 7:29s, the second an average of 7:39s. The differential of 90 seconds represents my best positive split in an IM marathon ever. Typically I will go 5-8 mins slower in the second lap. Having the Garmin for miles 22-25 was awesome as I could see exactly how hard I was running and knew I was putting the hurt on any chasers. 7:30s don’t seem that fast until you are mile 22 of an IM.

Entire workout (7:54 min/mi):

Duration: 3:24:34
Work: n/a
rTSS: 265.1 (0.826)
NGP: 7:34 (212.5 m/min)
Distance: 25.833 mi

1st half vs 2nd Half:

Duration: 1:40:29 — 1:44:17
rTSS: 130.8 — 130.2 (0.817 — 0.836)
NGP: 7:29 (214.9 m/min) — 7:39 (210.3 m/min)
Distance: 12.772 mi — 13.086 mi

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Race morning dawned and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day to race. Cool temps had finally prevailed after many years of ridiculous heat, and you could just feel the energy in the air. Only problem was, you could also feel THE WIND in the air!

 Yes, that’s the flag standing straight out towards the beach where 2000+ folks were standing, trying to get psyched for the swim.  It was pretty crazy. The water looked like the ocean down in Panama CityBeach, not a bucolic lake in a resort town. You could almost convince yourself that it wasn’t that bad, but then I saw the male pros in the water w/ their head start…bobbing up and down waiting for the gun to go off….and they looked like they were getting tossed around. The only upside, I guess, was a fast return trip!!!

[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]
[endif]

The water was so rough at the turnaround that Mike Reilly, recovering from a bike crash on a loaner P3C, announced that folks could opt to do a duathlon, starting at 9:30 am. Just do the 112 ride and 26.2 mile run. Apparently about 325 athletes decided to take this option…I was surprised they gave the choice, but I am sure everyone preferred that to cancelling the swim!

BOOM! The gun goes off and the 100% anticlimactic Ironman swim start begins. The spray was flying back off the swimer’s arms onto the beach. 100% insane. The water did calm down on the second loop, but it was still choppy. Lead AG times were around an hour, about 5′ slower than usual on the day.

 Busting through transition, athletes headed right out onto the bike course. It had a small out/back along the run course and then a big loop out into Hayden, where the hills lay waiting starting at mile 24. All in all, the new course was pretty fair. Rumor has it that it was a bit harder than the old one, but almost every hill that had you climbing up for a while had a seriously nice descent where you could recover.

 The problem was, however, that 90% of the folks racing road their bikes stoopid hard. Way too hard. The image above is from the first big climb of the day…it kind of surprises you…and folks were hammering up it, standing and working their bikes. I even have them doing this on video. Even though I was a neutral marshal on the day, I wanted to scream at them! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY ARE YOU ENDING YOUR RACE HERE?? I could see maybe if you were fatigued at the end of the ride…but 1 hour into the bike?? Hello? I will have to dig more deeply into this in another post.

 Heck, some folks seemed like they were out for a leisure ride, not actually racing. Doodes hitting on aid station chicas, etc. Doesn’t anyone know how to pee on the bike anymore??? This aid station looked like a party zone!

 By the time most folks got to the run, they weren’t really running anymore (see part above on hammering bike course). Stacy, above, was one of the few exceptions. She went mid-10:30s on the day, took 5th overall woman and nabbed a Kona slot. Way to make it happen!!! Most everyone else was stumbling around like a burn victim…it was pretty ridiculous…and all this at mile 8 of the run…18 more miles to go!!

All in all, it was a great time. Such a great time that I have signed up to race there in 2008. [if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id=”_x0000_t75″ coordsize=”21600,21600″ o:spt=”75″ o:preferrelative=”t” path=”m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe” filled=”f” stroked=”f”> <v:stroke joinstyle=”miter”/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn=”if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0″/> <v:f eqn=”sum @0 1 0″/> <v:f eqn=”sum 0 0 @1″/> <v:f eqn=”prod @2 1 2″/> <v:f eqn=”prod @3 21600 pixelWidth”/> <v:f eqn=”prod @3 21600 pixelHeight”/> <v:f eqn=”sum @0 0 1″/> <v:f eqn=”prod @6 1 2″/> <v:f eqn=”prod @7 21600 pixelWidth”/> <v:f eqn=”sum @8 21600 0″/> <v:f eqn=”prod @7 21600 pixelHeight”/> <v:f eqn=”sum @10 21600 0″/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok=”f” gradientshapeok=”t” o:connecttype=”rect”/> <o:lock v:ext=”edit” aspectratio=”t”/> </v:shapetype><v:shape id=”_x0000_i1025″ type=”#_x0000_t75″ alt=”:)” style=’width:11.25pt; height:11.25pt’> <v:imagedata src=”file:///C:\DOCUME~1\GETFRI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.gif” o:href=”http://www.performancetrainingsystems.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif”/> </v:shape><![endif][if !vml][endif]Should be a blast. No I am off for a week w/ the family on the Cape as I finish up the last few big days of my training cycle…stay tuned!!!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!