It’s a weird artifact of our timing system, but we do love our arbitrary targets. Well done, I’m aiming for something similar next year myself.
On the cramp front your are in Olympic Gold Medal company last weekend with Blummenfelt (leg) and Brownlee (stomach) amongst others cramping on the run at the PTO, so no worries!
I’ll bow to @mrtopher1980 ’s greater knowledge here but encourage you to read that athletes guide for the source of truth. Any further ambiguity should be sorted out at the “mandatory” pre-race presentation they do after registration.
I still haven’t got a race into the calendar this year, and it was Rouvy last year, so I can only say that I found the simulation pretty accurate for Barcelona last year, and a good motivator for those later long indoor TR rides.
Hoping for a little feedback as I’ve gotten great input here in the past! I’m currently signed up up to do Boulder 70.3 on 8/6, just under two weeks out. I’ve been following the low volume half plan with an additional long outdoor ride (or two) on the weekends. I followed similar last year when doing Oceanside and was overall happy with the result.
This last week, I was having some foot numbness so went to the Dr last Wednesday and was diagnosed with Peroneal Nerve Palsy and was told not to run at all leading up to the event (and potentially no event at all, but sigh). Doc has no problems with cycling or swimming so continuing to train those as if I’ll be cleared to race, but mentally preparing that it’s a no go. Doc said if the PT he refers me to says I can, he’s ok with it (I feel totally fine running and feel my gait is normal). I’m not planned to see him until Tuesday of race week unless I’m graced with snagging a cancellation.
My question becomes that I would be reducing my run volume slightly anyway this week and full taper next week - at least for what would have been my long run this week, would it be best to just skip and do nothing as a replacement or would keeping the volume steady and replacing with an endurance ride be the better option? The plan would have been about 10 miles for the long run this week (compared to 12-13 the past handful).
Curious to hear some input, thanks!
Unless you plan of running very hard and fast it will not make any difference whatsoever. Maybe have one or two short runs to keep the legs awake, but in terms of endurance you’ll be totally fine.
What are you experience with training run on the TM for a race?
I have been doing more TM runs lately. Its so damn hot down here in FL that its not healthy.
at 6 am its already upper 70s with humidity in the 90s and a dew point around 75.
It is not fun!
I have been struggling with runs longer than 8 miles lately. Its been horrible. last Saturday i lost probably close to 6 pounds of water on just 11 miles. By the last mile I was doing 10 minutes per miles with a HR of 172+. It took the whole day for me to feel better… and unsurprisingly, the bike ride next day was very bad. Couldn’t finish the 2.5 hr ride.
Since I have been struggling, I have switch to doing TM running workouts at the gym, where temp is usually low 70s and have big fans we can use while on the TM. It has been great and although I dont love it, my body feels significantly better after and the next day.
So this has make me consider switching ALL running longer than 30 minutes to the TM.
I am worried that I am not going to be fully prepared for the NC70.3 and that I am missing out for not running outside…
any thought?!
Anyone signed up or have done Washington 70.3? Signed up last night and will be using it as a test race for 70.3 Worlds. Should be a great test to see how things have been going on and have plenty of time afterwards before Worlds.
I will just start in staying that whatever the doc says would be best.
But if you are hell bent on doing the whole race. I would only run a few times from now until the race. Maybe 2-3 times this week and 2 next week. All short and easy to not make the problem worse. If sounds like you have been running quite a bit before and the fitness you have now is the fitness you’ll have for the race. You won’t lose much running fitness over these last weeks. You can replace some of those missed runs with easy bikes or swims but don’t go crazy. Then I would just follow a normal taper from there and start dropping the volume but keeping some intensity. Your running volume has dropped so cutting out some time in the swim and bike would be next.
Then on Tuesday if the doc still says no to running you can decide whether or not you can just do the swim and bike or nothing at all.
Raced IM Maple Valley 70.3 (Washington) last year
Pro’s
Central transition area in a park
Small lake swim - easy to sight buoys due to the backdrop (surrounding hills and dark trees)
Bike course is beautiful, somewhat hilly, very lush and green
Run is on crushed packed gravel on a old rail line (doesn’t really get better)
Con’s
Parking is painful - you are shuttled to the venue or walk
Same for spectators - parking is even farther away on race day - same shuttles
Not a lot of food options close to the venue
September in Western Washington is odd timing from a weather perspective - it was cool and it poured rain the day before and later on race day. I would prepare for wet weather.
Race feels like its in the middle of nowhere (Maple Valley isn’t big), has small race vibes
Worlds are at St George this year? If yes, this course isn’t nearly as hilly on the bike, and the run is pretty flat (compared to the St G run course monster). A slight incline on the way out, slight decline on the way back. St George will be hot and dry, where Maple Valley is likely cool and damp.
I very much enjoyed the race, the venue and course are beautiful. Race vibe is very mellow compared to other IM branded events I have attended.
It was either Santa Cruz or Washington. I picked Washington because I have done Santa Cruz before and I wanted to try a different race. I have done a bit of racing in the Washington and Idaho areas as that is where my dad is from. And I love the smaller race vides which made me picked Washington.
Yea, I’ve heard parking is definitely a challenge but I feel most races have a challenge with parking. I know last year rained and the course is different this year, how tricky is the bike course? I hope it doesn’t rain again but I also wouldn’t mind it. Be nice to get out of the 100+ heat we get here in Northern Nevada.
This course I know is nothing like the Worlds course. That course is pretty brutal and the run beat my legs a bit. But having a chance to test a few changes and the chance to race closer to worlds I felt is a good idea.
I just looked at the new bike course, I’ve never ridden that new loop they added
I live in Idaho, so last year I pre-road the old bike course and then obviously on race day. I found the old course pretty straight forward. Its a lot of neighborhood type streets and or two lane roads through the forests. I can see why they changed the bike course as we locked up some key roads or highway crossings near Enumclaw. I didn’t find anything “tricky” other than normal left and right hand turns. All the cross traffic was well monitored for being so far out in the trees.
good luck, I think it a good plan on your part.
Thanks! I’m definitely listening to the doctor - he said no running at all until I see him next and I have been adhering and will continue to do so until I see him next week, which is why I wasn’t sure whether to replace the lost runs at this point or just take the additional rest as I’m within 2 weeks out now. I think what I’ll do is in place of my run tomorrow, just an easy ride, like petit or something and likely one extra swim this week. I think I’m finding that might be the happy medium.
You’re right, I was averaging about 30 miles per week leading up to this pretty consistently for about the past 3 months (of course with lower volume weeks included to back off) so I’m not concerned about the overall fitness level - assuming proper nutrition/hydration on what can end up being a very hot Boulder afternoon, all other race factors etc, I have no doubt I could still finish. Whether it will be the run time I would have liked is another story. Just coming to grips with life happens and not all training cycles will ever be perfect. I had the luxury of my first race prep for Oceanside being during late COVID times so plenty of time at home, tons of work flexibility, no injuries, etc. and this one being with a new job and international travel and an injury at an unwelcome time. Life 
I’d love to hear more about this too. I’m planning to do IM CDA next year, but it’s in June so almost all of my training is going to have to be indoors over the winter (I normally can’t run or ride outside until April, or open water swim until June). If there are any big downsides to training on a treadmill, I may need to reconsider.
I agree with @TriJustin, follow your doctor’s advice. I didn’t run at all for 3 weeks leading up to my first 70.3 because of a pulled calf. My doctor said I could keep swimming and running and if I wanted to I could try running the race. Obviously it’s not ideal training, but I was able to finish and mostly run the run leg.
Good luck!
I rode the Ironman Canada course with it, but shortly into the ride it just locked my Kickr at a certain resistance and stayed there until well in to the ride so I lost all the resistance changes of the course. Then it finally “broke free” towards the end of the ride, but got stuck again at an even lower resistance! I thought maybe it would work better with their “recommended” bluetooth connection (I used ANT+ the first time) so I tried another course a few days later and it ended up doing the same thing! Cursed Fulgaz and didn’t continue using the free trial after that.
Absolutely following doctor’s orders! There’s a younger version of myself that wouldn’t have, but I’m definitely taking this one seriously. The doctor was very direct in the potential for long term impact since it’s nerve related so I’m happy to oblige.
Happy to hear that it still overall went well for you! Any bit of external validation and success stories help mentally right now.
Great, petit could be a good replacement. Probably dont have to do the hour one but maybe petit -1 where its 45 mins. And like you said, finding that happy medium can help you move along with having to deal with an injury. The good thing is that this is just 1 race that you do have to come to terms that it’s probably not going to be the race you would like to have. The good thing is there will be more races in the future. Just have to do what is best now to get over it.
Thanks @JoeX and to give a little debrief from the weekend.
This was my second Outlaw (first being Holkham) but first full distance. Training wise was relatively consistent and i tried to follow a mix of the Don Fink Intermediate plan while substituting the planned rides with TR Mid Volume FD plan. I topped out at 18 hours with a two week taper. My overall swim volume was relatively low because I do not enjoy it and I mainly made sure that i could make the distance rather than concentrate on improving my technique, So, i would say the majority of hours were bike and run.
Swim - this was relatively uneventful for me and while it was my first mass start with a good few hundred other competitors, I had no real issue with the washing machine effect and it calmed down considerably within 10 minutes as people found their own groups. I struggle to swim close to other swimmers and am not good enough to latch on to other swimmers as they came past so just concentrated on sighting and keeping my own rhythm. I ended up finishing in 1hr30 which was about right from my training and expectations for the race. I would love to be able to swim better but just do not enjoy it enough to throw money at it.
Bike - I came into this weekend at about 4.2wkg with an FTP of 310. I was aiming to push 220 (around 0.70 IF) for 112 miles but just could not seem to get any power out of my legs. I ride a road bike with clip ons which i probably need to spend more time in and have a bike fit on. The weather was windier than expected with gusts of around 30mph and that seemed to throw me off a little. I kept to my nutrition plan and never really felt weak but have noticed i struggle to put out consistent power outside for long periods while i can do a 4 hour TR ride inside without a problem. Perhaps i am someone whose FTP is higher inside than out? I came in at 5hr53 with a NP of 200 (0.62 IF) which i was disappointed with but cracked on regardless and thought it may be beneficial for the marathon.
Run - I felt great coming off the bike and set off with the first 5 miles at 7:30 a mile pace which i was hoping would be a good consistent target for the run as i know i can go faster in solo runs. However, after having my first gel and some coke at one of the first aid stations, my stomach started to go and the constant cramping and needing to go to the toilet killed my pace. After succumbing to the fact that i would not be able to get any energy and after about three toilet stops. I finished the run in 3hr45 (consuming only two gels) resulting in total finish time of 11hr18.
I think sub 11 was easily achievable for me and I was disappointed with the run considering i had practiced my nutrition and was using the same High 5 products that Outlaw are sponsored by. Perhaps it was a bug i picked up before or from the lake water but it was annoying never the less and something i will need to work on.
I have the London Marathon next in October and does anyone have any ideas for training for that which is in 10 weeks following a FD Tri? Would i be best to just find a marathon plan and follow the last 10 weeks of said plan or does anyone have any other ideas?
IM Ohio 70.3 Race Report
Pre-Race:
Drove up to Sandusky from Indiana Friday afternoon. Stopped halfway and dropped the kids off with my mother-in-law so that my wife and I could both race and have a kid-free date week (going to go get them this upcoming weekend). Did my normal pre-race shakeout (2x 5 min easy, 10 min target power followed by a 2 mile run at race pace. Hit up packet pickup and bike drop off in the middle of a rain storm. Went up Twin Oast Brewing and had a pre-race burger and beer. Considered having more than the 1 beer, but behaved. Didn’t have time to go back after the race, but it was pretty cool spot.
Woke up Sunday morning to thunderstorms and messages that transition was opening 30 minutes late (but race was scheduled to start on time). Ate my normal pre-race breakfast, got in the and headed down to the swim start. Once we got to transition, they announced the race was going to be delayed as well.
Swim:
Water temp was 79F, so no wetsuits (unless you wanted to start in the party wave). Swim start was jumping off the back of ferry which was a pretty cool swim start. I lined up in the roughly 30 minute group, which is where I expected to be if it were wetsuit legal but a bit ahead of where I would be w/o figuring everyone else would going to use their wetsuit times. Once in the water, the swim was mostly uneventful. Some chop (but no swells), some crowds and contact, but nothing too bad. I’m sorry to the one person who I may have punched in the crotch. The had one of the best swim exits I’ve ever seen before too. It was a temporary floating dock that extended well into the water. It had 3 chutes with hand-rails and rubber mats that make getting out super easy. Out of the water in 34:23
Strava Activity - Swim
Bike:
The course here was flat and fast and roughly a big rectangle (but way more than 4 corners) with lots of smooth and fresh asphalt. A decent headwind for the 1st half, but then it became a strong tailwind for the 2nd half. Was cruising along pretty well with 1 other person for the first ~20 miles. Was able to do the legal draft off of him at ~10 yds and hold my target power, an ideal situation. After about ~20 miles, we went around a corner, he slowed down, I passed him and he never came back up. At that point though, it was tailwind time and he wasn’t missed. To this point, I was averaging a little over 23 mph. For the last half, that was 25-26 mph. Final average was a touch over 24mph and a time of 2:18 on 214w AP/224w NP.
Strava Activity - Bike
Run:
The run course was again flat. Coming off the bike, I was feeling a bit bloated from my carb drink and was barping a bit. I was really wanting some water to help flush the system. This race was strange in that there wasn’t an aid station until ~mile 1. When I got there they handed me the smallest cup of water in the world. It probably only had 1 or 2 ounces of water in it. Thankfully they were only small at that 1 aid station. Forced down a Gu with the little bit of water and continued on. Plan was to run 6:50-7:00 per mile. The first mile was a touch fast at 6:45, which was ok and I felt good up through Mile 4. It was at that point I looked at my watch and realized two time goals were still on the table (sub 1:30 run and sub 4:30 overall), but it was starting to get hard. All I needed to do from then on was knock out 9 more 7 min miles which became the mantra for the rest of the run. “Just run 7”. Each aid station it was two cups of ice. One went into the trisuit and other I held in my hands and ate the ice slowly. At miles 6ish and 9ish I took one of the Maurten gels w/ 100 mg caffeine, the first time I’d ever had one. Interesting texture and a slight coffeeish aftertaste, but not too bad. Saw my wife with about 3 miles left (she was on her first of 2 loops) and got a high five. Finish line comes into sight, glance at my watch. Shit, 1:29, time to book it. Get across the finish line and just about collapse. Two catchers walk me to a chair to sit down and one of them graciously dumps a bottle of ice cold water on me which felt glorious. It’s then I remember to stop my watch and it reads 1:30:38. Finial results shows 1:29:56. Sub 1:30 by the skin of my teeth.
Strava Activity - Run
Overall thoughts:
Overall was 4:27:07, a result I didn’t think was possible without wetsuit, so I was thrilled. Ended up 4th in AG and 15th OA. After I recovered enough, I wondered back up to the run course and saw my wife a couple of times and saw two more of my club-mates finish. All-in it was a pretty good venue. Easy to get into and out of and really spectator friendly (something I’ve heard the opposite of when the race was in Delaware, OH). The flat bike and run courses were super fast too. A bit soul-less though without much character (i guess that fits with the IM culture though).
Monday was a recovery day walking around Cedar Point riding roller coasters, for which I’ve decided I’m way to old for. I also wouldn’t recommend roller coasters with lap bars that go across your quads the day after a race. Holy smokes Magnum-XL200 was painful.
Woah, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Anyways here’s how things are going as I work towards IMFL this November.
In May I ran an open marathon and had a pretty miserable time. I was shooting for a 3:05 and hit the halfway point at 1:32, but then the wheels started to fall off. Aerobically I felt great but I had some issues with my hips and the last bit was quite painful. Ended up with an open PR of 3:13 but I was still a bit disappointed.
Resumed training for shorter races I had in the early part of summer and leading into USAT Nationals next weekend. My coach has had me do quite a bit more intensity and less volume than I’ve usually done, maxing out at around 12 hours a week. (Just swim/bike/run, not counting strength, recovery walks, etc.) Main reason he’s not too concerned about jumping up into the Ironman distance is my long term history of absorbing volume really well be shying away from intensity.
With this new program I had some pretty good results there racing in the elite category with all the fast young bucks. Got my doors blown off for an 8th place in one race and then had a good showing for a 2nd overall at another. Both of which I raced without power as I had some issues getting my computer to sync with my pedals and stay on. Still need to work on that but I’ve done it before, I’ll get it to work again. The other good thing with those is that I paced them (even without a power meter) just about perfectly. I was really happy with the run especially and while it’s not a weapon for me like the bike, it’s also no longer a liability.
Now, part of the reason I’m back here is I got COVID a couple weeks ago. I’m mostly back to training but it seems to be hit and miss as to what and when I can do a workout. Pretty sure Nationals are not going to be wonderful for me but we’ll see. Then the plan is to take my speed and extend it out by going longer on the bike and run. Swim I think my coach is going to have me go at least 3x a week to try and hone that just a little bit more.
