Lol. I would sign up, but waiting for some work stuff to shake out along with a family trip to disney. I don’t want to spend $800 and then have a work trip get scheduled.
I did the planner. I didnt realize it took so much into account. Definitely using that for my training plan.
For me Base > Specialty, especially since you’re a novice. Btw, Wisconsin is a hard course. It may only be 3500 elevation gain, but that bike course is no joke. Every pound you lose, will make you faster unless you’re under 145lbs
Not sure if you’re all still working on this, but the rationale behind IF for an IM race is really just based on TSS. So if you are faster (Have a higher FTP/lower CdA) then you can do a higher IF since TSS has a linear relationship to IF * time.
Joe Friel put together this handy chart to help you out: (At IMFL I was at 4:59 and 271 TSS for an IF of 0.74 and legs felt great for the whole run…breathing was a whole other issue but for that I blame my cold)
My bike TSS at IM Vichy last year was 354
How was the run?
I died 
No, the bike ride took to much out of me: 40 degs in the shade (with no shade), Big hills and wrong gearing, and a year of illness.
Out of 12 IM’s was my first DNF - I pulled out halfway through run
I think thats a useful table and will likely utilize it once I do a BBS and some trialing rides targeting power, but I think I need a few more full IM races under my belt to reeeeally start pushing my IF numbers with a higher %FTP. I know I am capable of a sub 3 or around 3 hour open marathon so I really am prioritizing my run over a fast ride like @Alen. I feel like, as he said, a +/- 5% is not worth it per se for the risk of blowing up and TBH I think with errors and variances in FTP tests, its better to play it safe until I have a lot more 140.6 race miles under my belt.
In other news, my P5x came in! Woooo! Was up all night putting it together and configuring it! I’ll have to try an ftp test tonight on it. Only down side is the extensions are cut and it feels slightly short, so I might have to hunt for some longer extensions. Might look into 51 Speed shop or tririg bars. Also not a fan od the P5x pads, the seem small and flat; might move my zipps over from my SC and use that, or look into the tririg scoops. Might need some time on the current configuration though. And holy shit, does the P5x look way more amazing in person. The pictures really don’t do it justice…
Nice!
Lol.
The good news is it’s only 40 in the shade.
The bad news is there is no shade anywhere.
Sounds like redemption may be on your calendar.
Very nice bike.
Those extensions are too short for you???
@Alen I wish I was under 145 pounds. lol.
Yeah, the shop I ordered from seems to have cut them for the Demo bike, so its like sliiightly short right now. Either that or I just like a lot of bar in my hands. My ones on the Speed Concept are the exact same enve bars but uncut and I like the added length. I’ll try them for a while but might have to get some new extensions depending on my comfort.
I am picky. Very picky. 
Hi all,
All this plan builder talk has me thinking about putting in a series of sprint, standard, or middle tris and single sport events into my season - I’m not going the full distance until October 4th, and my marathon focus finishes April 19th, so I’m thinking May-Sep.
Theoretically, two or three 70:3s would be most IM specific which I’ve done before, but I’m thinking shorter distances might be more fun and easier to fit in - day a series of Olympic distance and 5k runs for example.
So for those doing something like that, share with us your non-IM season plans?
I think that’s an awesome idea and apart from some early-season focus allows you to test some thing that may be relevant for your IM, such as nutrition setup on bike, transitions, etc.
I think OD or HIM are good prep events, sprint is too short IMHO but can have value depending on your goals.
such races can take some time to recover from / prep for, depending on how you plan to race them. so just make sure that you don’t race yourself “out of fitness”.
non-IM events but part of my 2020 plan as I 'm focusing on running endurance in 2020. (I don’t want to walk during the run leg).
I also want to but haven’t yet identified yet some sprint , oly or just pure run or bike races to sharpen focus.
Not doing IM this year, but last year before IMFL I did 4 Oly distance races and 1 non-brand 70.3. I raced 2 of the Oly full gas, but those were earlier in the year. The other two Oly were done at around 90% effort and were later on (still podiumed both!), and the 70.3 was done at IM pace, so not a huge toll. But Oly races are so short that you can still get a recovery jog in the next day, then jump right back into your training without too many issues.
I highly recommend doing shorter races leading up to an IM or half if for no other reason then to figure out just how your fitness is progressing and to get excited about the sport the next time you’re faced with a 5hr trainer ride.
There’s no right or wrong path, but I’ll share what I did my first IM year:
Very hard road marathon (like 2000ft gain or something) in April
No races until my first IM in October.
I hadn’t ever done a tri longer than Olympic. I think if you wanted to slot in one 70.3, that would be a good learning experience. If you wanted to slot in an Oly or two, that would be a lot of learning with a little less mental and physical training stress. The value of a 70.3 in training is that if you mess up your nutrition in Oly, you’ll get through it. A half gives you more opportunity to mess up though, which is good learning. The flip is that if you do proper training for a full, you’ll have ample opportunity to test your nutrition over 5+ hours.
Personally, I would slot in an Oly or two at the least. A 70.3 is objectively not required, but could be argued as beneficial depending on what you’re looking to get out of it. Personally, I didn’t find that anything prepared me for the feeling of the IM marathon other than the IM marathon.
This year I’ll be doing a hune 28 half in prep for my late August full, but it’s mostly just because I want the fun of it.
I’ve never done an Oly nor a 70.3.
Although when I first started out, I did every sprint (and a lot of strange distances) I could find.
When I think about it … there used to be lots of strange distance races at one time
Most of the local events still aren’t ITU compliant distances - the bike‘s usually a bit long, the swims are often short or sometimes the run.
I can’t actually remember how many sprints I’ve done, maybe five or six? A couple of olympics
I think. Five middle distance, and this October will be my fifth long course and Ironman event.
