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Introducing myself (and an inevitable question)
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Hello all. A bit of background about me. I am a 42 year old woman who has been doing sprint and oly triathlons and duathlons for 3 years. I have my first half ironman on July 12. Swimming is by far my weakest leg, so I have spent the winter working on that and building a base of 6000-7500 meters a week. I also run 25-30 mpw, bike 50-75 mpw, and strength train 2x per week. The bike is my strongest leg, but I have a gran fondo with 12,000' of climbing at the end of June, so I am cutting back the swimming to around 5000 m per week and increasing the bike. So far this spring, my longest bricks have been a 12 mi run followed by a 2500 m swim and a 32 mi bike followed by a 10 mi run. I was tired after both, but not exhausted. I also finished 3/107 in a sprint a couple weeks ago.

Part of me feels ready for the race (goal time is a generous 6:30), but new distances always freak me out, and I feel that I have to be missing something in my training. Are there any key workouts that you would recommend? Is there anything that I should really focus on in the next two months before I taper?

Any advice is appreciated.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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Have you be working your nutrition into your long rides and runs? That 32mi/10mi brick is a really long run OTB in my opinion. How close is that gran fondo to the race? 2 or 3 weeks out?

-Brad Williams
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [@BW_Tri] [ In reply to ]
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Nutrition is a concern for me because my stomach doesn't tolerate much when I run, especially if it is hot. I can handle quite a bit just before a swim or while riding, though, so I plan to front load my nutrition. I have also been experimenting with homemade energy bars (oats, dried fruit, and salted nuts), and so far they are working, letting me get almost 200 cal/hour while I run. I can also handle water while I run, but sports drinks will make me sick. For what it's worth, I have done 3 half marathons over the years, but have never done a full.
The gran fondo is two weeks before the HIM, so after it, the taper will start.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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1. Dial in the nutrition. Practice nutrition in race simulations and at race intensity.

2. Don't decrease your swimming....drop the strength work and keep the swimming progress.

Good luck!

David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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Thats a pretty long OTB brick for HIM training - probably not necessary physiologically unless it provides some mental benefit. Better to ride longer and run shorter - ride 60 miles and run 5 miles or up to 45 minutes. Also drop the strength training and just swim/bike more.

No issues with the grand fondo 2 weeks prior - maybe do a shorter run the next day to cap things off and you should be good to go!
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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Def don't have swim take the hit scrap weights those things are useless
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [david] [ In reply to ]
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Agree with dropping the strength from here to race day. Keep swim fitness strong, get on the bike fresh (more or less). Get some long rides in with maybe some 6 mile runs after not 10. Focus on getting nutrition in while on the bike that way you're not dealing with it during the run. You want your energy tank to be as full as it can before starting the run. Drop strength, add one more swim, one more bike.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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Vineman 70.3?
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [patsullivan6630] [ In reply to ]
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The race is Musselman in NY.
I can see cutting back the weights to once a week, but I know my body, and I need strength training for decent endurance. My upper body, especially my back get tired very easily if I don't strength train.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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OH cool, Vineman is also that day, which I will be doing. To the point though, no one here can say what a reasonable time for you to do an HIM based solely on the distances of your workouts. My wife did a 70.3 in about that time and I don't think that this far out we were doing those distances so it is more than possible. Your run distances seem pretty long, if you can tolerate that, great, but we are still two months out and two months on that schedule is a long time. My concern would be injury/overtraining/burn-out prevention more than anything. Sometimes (shudder at the thought) less is more. Especially if the result of cutting back a little bit are higher quality trainings.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [patsullivan6630] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, I got a bit carried away during the doldrums of winter. After 3 years of trying, I was able to get into a 30k trail race that will be in June. Then there is the gran fondo, then the HIM. That is why I have spent the last 6 months running so much. I have to also train for that race. I am hoping that training for the 30k and the fondo will cover 2 of the 3 legs of the tri.
I don't think that injury will be an issue (although anything can happen during that trail race), but burnout or overtraining could be. I had a swim and strength training planned for last night, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it (I had already run during lunch). I went home and sat on the patio with my dogs and read. It was really refreshing. I wish the race was here. I think that if it were held this weekend, I could do it, but there is part of me that says maybe I didn't train enough.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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I don't anything about how fast you are, but if I were to use some very rough numbers for speed it would seem you're spending a disproportionate amount of time on the run, and not enough on the swim and bike:

-swim 5k at ~2:00/100 = 1.5 hours
-bike 50-75m at 20mph = 2.5 - 4 hours
-run 25-30m at 8min/mile = 3.3 - 4 hours.

The actual times/speeds aren't important but the ratio between them is. This plan would indicate to me that you are strong on the swim and want to improve your run. But if swim is your weakest leg, I'd start with less running and more swimming, and then maybe even add less running and more biking. Don't ignore the swim. Even if its only a small portion of the total race time, coming out of the water not having used a lot of energy is very beneficial, especially as you are transitioning to longer course.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [IronStork] [ In reply to ]
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That is an interesting way to look at it. I definitely spend more time training for the run than the other legs, partially because of the upcoming trail race, and partially because I want to make sure that I have gas in the tank during the run. After spending the winter putting so much focus on the swimming, I have been shifting to the other legs.

One thing that I have noticed is that I started training too early. I started training in November for this race after cutting back for about 2 months at the end of last season. I underestimated how much spending the better part of the year in constant training would wear on me. I was so concerned about being undertrained that I am getting burned out and am having a hard time dragging myself to the pool.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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By your current stats you must be already doing close to 14 hrs of training a week.

Which I have to admit is more than me, even when I was getting ready for IM distance.
You also know that you can already do the distance.
Now it's a matter of time.

Without stats no one here can actually give you advice about what you should be doing.
This is a timed event and how fast you are at each is important for balancing all three.

Having said that.
I have always felt that the swim is the most intimidating, it's the one discipline where you can't take a rest.
It's the only event of the three in which you get jostled about, legally. There's more than a few macho types who do this happily.

So cutting back in the swim training, I believe is a mistake. If you could, I would tell you to go play a few rounds of water polo.
On top of what you are already doing. Get confidence in the water. Coming out of the water strong sets up your whole day.

I also believe that the bike is the one event that can easily break your day.
Lots and lots (me too) overcook the bike, eat badly, drink worse and overheat their core without realising it.
You can be fooled on the bike, especially as the adrenaline (and the wind) works it's magic on your mind.

If you get off the bike in proper shape, then the run is a snap. Even for bad runners.
If you are a natural runner, you will breeze through, if not you will have to grind it out like the rest of us.
But you know you can already run the distance.

I am a believer in weights, you will notice lots aren't.
But there is hardly a training program at any competitive level, Club, High school, University, National or International, that does not include weights.
If you are an adult learner for any of the three disciplines, especially swimming, then you do not have the muscle that childhood involvement would have developed. You haven't time to go back thirty five years and develop it, weights properly used can help. Make sure the weights are sport specific.

There's no point in having aerobic capacity and no muscle, anymore than there is a point to having muscle and no aerobic capacity.

As we will never race against each other (or even be in the same wave)

Good luck.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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How comfortable were you in open water at the sprint?

I know a lot of non-swimmers who panic at all the contact especially as the distance increases. IM is the worst with a mass start, but often HIMs were every physical also. Make sure you keep calm and realize that people are not trying to drown you.

Work on swimming straight. I would get mad at the same person bumping me repeatedly on the swim until I realized after learning how to swim straight that I was probably the one bumping them. Can't over-emphasize this as it can break your day.

You don't have to swim fast, you have to swim calm and in control!

For a HIM bottle handups are something you can't practice, but you have to be prepared for it. Always have a bottle in reserve so if you miss a handup you will be okay until the next aid station. Only if you miss 2 in a row are you screwed and in which case it probably be worth a stop.

I agree with other posters in regards to swimming more and possibly dropping strength training, but it depends on you. I love yoga and I feel it is important for me even if it doesn't help me in triathlon.

I also like the "increase the bike" as ideally doing more like 75-100mpw is more reasonable for a first HIM. For subsequent maybe 125-150mpw is more reasonable.

Best of luck.

Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [linhardt] [ In reply to ]
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Lots and lots (me too) overcook the bike, eat badly, drink worse and overheat their core without realising it.
You can be fooled on the bike, especially as the adrenaline (and the wind) works it's magic on your mind.
I am definitely concerned about that. In Olys, I go hard on the bike and chase down everyone in sight, then I ease up and recover during the last couple hundred yards and do the run at slightly faster than my stand alone HM pace. I need to avoid that urge in a long race. The bike course will be flat, so I have given myself an upper speed that I can't go past to force myself to save energy.

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Work on swimming straight. I would get mad at the same person bumping me repeatedly on the swim until I realized after learning how to swim straight that I was probably the one bumping them. Can't over-emphasize this as it can break your day.
You don't have to swim fast, you have to swim calm and in control!

I am pretty good at sighting and swimming straight, but I do get frustrated if I get stuck behind someone who isn't. During my first race, I was behind someone who was zig-zagging. I decided to swing far left to get around her, and the person behind me swam directly over my back, so I got that out of the way early.

The swim calm was a big thing for me in early races. I would get too much adrenaline and that would mess up my form. Then I would get tired and end up going slower. I have learned that even if I have to get off to the side and tread water for a few seconds to bring things under control, that is better than getting too excited. The weather is getting warmer here, so OWS will start soon, and that will help.

One thing that I have been working on with my swim is to swim while tired. That is why I did the 12 mi run and followed it with a swim. During my last olympic distance race last year, I had a cold. Then while I was waiting for my wave to start, a storm moved in. There I was in the middle of the lake with stuffed up sinuses having a coughing fit in high winds and whitecaps. It was horrible. I had to get help from a kayak, and I wasn't sure that I would be able to finish. I was completely exhausted physically and mentally by the time I got on the bike. I finished the race, but it was a lousy way to end the season. Because of that experience, I have been forcing myself to do harder swim workouts than I had last year. It has paid off. I have gotten much faster and am hoping to be midpack instead of BOP this year.

I hadn't even thought about bottle handups. I figured that I would just have to spend the time to stop at least once.
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Re: Introducing myself (and an inevitable question) [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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In your situation I would actually reduce your swim. The economics just aren't there to justify the time. Do you ever watch races where the pros get out of the water and they get passed in the transition run? Who was the smarter athlete? Understanding your ultimate goal is running centered then I don't see a reason why you shouldn't continue to lopside in favor of the run - as long as your bike fitness is good that will pay you a lot of dividends. I never swim after I run. I did that once last year because the kid swim team was in the pool so I did the brick backwards. I think I said something like "this blows" and I have never done it again.
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