I thought I might fill you guys in with where I am at right now. My short outdoor season is over, just three races. I ran a slight PR in the 5k 14:50.69 and a 9:14 steeplechase. My times weren't as fast as I was hoping for, but I got in a lot of good training and mileage this Spring and I think it will help me out a lot in the Fall.

I still plan on doing the Ventura triathlon at the end of June. I was only able to get in the pool only a couple of times this season and on the road bike once. I have been in the pool the past two days though and day two already felt a lot better (did a set of 4x100m on 2:10 @ 1:45 yesterday and 5x100 on 2:10 @ 1:38 tonight). My plan is to get in the pool as much as possible over the next few weeks... hopefully I will see some improvement each week. Swimming 100s just under 25minute 1500m pace seemed pretty fast, I hope perceptions will change.

Looks like I have a lot of work to do.

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Jason Pedersen
RunPd.com - Running as fast I can since '93
@jasonpedersen

So it is getting into crunch time. The race is less than 2 weeks away. Let me fill you guys in where I am at and I am curious if you think I am ready.

I have been swimming about 5 days/week. Tuesdays and Thursdays I meet with a masters group (it sounds like it is pretty chill compared to most masters groups) and we do a lot of drills and stuff that seem to be helping. I have been doing lots of 100s and 200s and some "fast" 50s (one workout I did last week was 10x200yds in 3:06-3:09 on 3:40). Monday I decided to do a 1650yd time trial at 26:00. I hit 25:55 and I was pretty happy about that. I am still terrible at flip turns so that time trial was with no flip turns. I usually swim between 2400-3500yds in a workout. I rented a wetsuit that should be delivered in a couple more days so I can get some ocean practice in.

On the bike I have been going 20-25 miles per ride on Mon-Wed-Fri and then a longer ride on the weekend (40-50). Most of the rides are somewhat hilly so I am a little concerned about the long flats that I think I will be seeing come race day. I outfitted my Trek 1500 SLR with some aerobars that seem to help. I lowered the stem by a couple spacers... I feel pretty comfortable even after 50 miles rides. I could probably be in a more aero position, but you get what you pay for, right? (I spent $20 on the used aerobars)

Running is going fine. When I returned home from school I did some workouts with my old high school team that were definitely much shorter and faster than necessary (one day was 400s in 63-64s and 250s in like 37-38s). I enjoyed their company so I thought what the hell. I have done a couple 15 minute tempos and yesterday did a 10k tempo in 32:53 (5:18 pace). Otherwise easy runs in the hills mostly and one long run on the weekend (did 16 miles on Saturday) I am thinking 34:00 in the race should be reasonable. After most bike rides I run 1-2 miles easy-moderate just to get used to running after the bike. Mileage has been about 60-65 miles/week.

I am thinking of doing a brick this week that is an altered version of a workout my team does in cross country. The workout consists of 4x400 on 2:30 or 3:00 (can't remember), 10 min LT (so a little easier than tempo), 4x400, 10 min LT, 4x400. For me, 400s would be like 65s down to maybe 62s at the end. I am thinking about warming up, then going for like 10 miles bike ride, then 3x800 on maybe 4:00 or 4:30 starting out at like 2:30, 10 minute bike, 3x800, 10 minute bike, 3x800. If I feel good I might drop the 800s down to 2:20 range. What do you guys think about the brick?

On nutrition, I am thinking about 1 water bottle on the bike and after 10 miles or so taking a gel or some Clif shot blocks and nothing on the run. What do most people do that are racing around 2 hours?

What do you guys think, am I ready to break 2:10?

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Jason Pedersen
RunPd.com - Running as fast I can since '93
@jasonpedersen

On nutrition, I am thinking about 1 water bottle on the bike and after 10 miles or so taking a gel or some Clif shot blocks and nothing on the run. What do most people do that are racing around 2 hours?

For Oly I eat really well the lunch of the day before, eat a reasonable amount (not stuffed) the night before and then nothing but a sugar free soda about an hour before the race. On the bike I have a bottle with about 16 oz and one, 100 cal gel shaken in. IMO, if you can digest food without cramping on the run then you need to run harder. Set a time and drink about every 15 minutes and nothing with 10 min or less to go on the bike.

What do you guys think, am I ready to break 2:10?

Your training indicates it is very possible, but a million things could go wrong. Have you practiced transitions? That is time wasted. Do you have a very clear plan on how to pace the bike? Go to hard and you will learn what it feels like to run 7 min miles in a race. If you don't have open-water, pack swimming practice then you may find the swim start shocking. Plus the water in Ventura is very cold, usually in the 50s when I raced there. That is brain freeze territory there. I know you really want to be competitive, but experience really counts for something and you have none. Having said that, find a local triathlete and have him walk through a typical race day with you. Heck, pay for my race entry and I'll meet you the day before and go over every possible thing I can think off that might help and walk you through race morning. :)

Chad

My head hurts. You'll probably be just under, assuming you are a half-decent cyclist.

I second this, and others may chime in as well.
Allthough for an olympic I eat a larger breakfast than normal with a normal lunch and light dinner. For the last Oly I did (2:01, but the swim and bike were a little short so probably a 2:07 or so....) I had that the day before. Pre-race was a pack of mini fig newtons about 1.5 hrs before with coffee. During the race I had a bottle of watered down gatorade and that is about it, only drank about half on the bike. Run I had a splash of water at about mile 4, nothing else. I don't think I could have eaten anything had I tried.

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Jason

You should be good to go to break 2:10 (that is the goal right). With your background I wouldn't see too many problems. The swim will be the biggie. I was able to do right around 26min for 1650y in the pool with no flips, but come the OWS on race day All I came up with was a 29:30 swim, so you really need to get in your rythym in the water.
I was a runner 15 years ago and I just did my 1st (actually 2nd. I dnf the 1st sprint before I started basically) Tri 2 weekends ago. (Up until this year I had done no activity for 6 years)
With basically very little biking (about 50mi/week since January) I was able to ride 66:45 on a rolling course. I am also 38 not 20/21yrs like you. I ran a total of 43miles in the 7 weeks before the race and could still muster a 38:13 off that bike ride.
My feeling coming from a running background is to go hard on the bike and don't be scared because you have to run, even if you absolutely suck you should be running 37/38min with what run shape you are in. I find my hard on the bike i snot hard enough to destroy the run because I "don't kno whow to hurt on a bike" so it is quite tough to leave it all out on the bike course and have no run.
Ok I am rambling.
Good luck and get a race report up detaiing your debut in sub 2:10.

I am happy to say that I met my goal, and then some.

Morning started at 5 am (start time was 7:20) with a bowl of oatmeal with 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and a tablespoon of brown sugar, a bagel and a banana. After double checking all my gear, I biked off to the course (I stayed just about a mile away.)

I got to the transition area around 6 and to my delight quite empty. I found a space for my stuff and started getting things ready to go. My girlfriend insisted I use a bucket of water to wash the sand off my feet... I was glad to see I wasn't the only one doing it as she doesn't have any tri experience either.

Jogged around for ~10 minutes around the transition area getting familiar with the entrances/exits with a few plyos. About 15 minutes before my race was to start I headed out to the Pacific with the many friends and family that came to watch. I was advised to get in the water before the start to get used to the temp (I think they said 64F) and I am glad I did. The temp hurt my face on the warm up but felt much better after the start.

Swim 20:34 56th (includes run to T1)
Surf was real calm and I didn't have any trouble getting in. Sighting didn't go so well though. I was waaaay off to one side and definitely swam further than I needed to. The swim was definitely short as there was one guy sub-15. I think tacking on 3-4 minutes would be fair. T1 went well too. It was pretty empty so that made it much easier.



Bike 1:06:01 31st (includes T1 and T2)
Coming out of T1 I had a good mount, but then was frustrated to have to ride behind someone going about 15mph for at least a quarter of a mile. Course was flat and very little wind. Just one U-turn. First lap was pretty lonely and went really well. Second lap became quite crowded. Am I supposed to say "on your left" everytime I pass someone? I said it if there was limited room, but otherwise saved my breath. A couple people voiced their opinions. I saw a couple USAT refs several times which was nice. Got stuck behind another guy coming back in. Some people behind my were yelling at the guy to go faster. There was a ref on a motorcycle right next to us so no one passed. My computer said 64:18 for 24.78 miles (39.87km) for 23.12 mph avg. I only drank like 250 ml of very diluted gatorade on the run. In similar conditions (60s, humid, overcast) I think I should drink 500ml with more of a 1:1 or 1:2 water to gatorade ratio next time.





Run 31:46 1st
I think the run was a good 200m or so short. Coming out of T2 my feet felt really weird. Numb on the bottom. I have never experienced that before. After ~1.5 miles I didn't noticed it anymore. Legs felt pretty good. Pretty crowded... I was always passing people. Only splits I remember were 5:11 1 Mile and 20:30 4 Mile (an obvious sign of a mismeasured course). There was a guy in my age group that I used to run against in high school that was ahead of me by about 1:30 starting the run and I kept checking my progress. I was able to make up some time but he had the second fastest run leg so I could only manage 48 seconds. It was cool that the run course was part of my first high school cross country race as a freshman back in 2002 at the Seaside Invitational. I won that race and I remember being so excited for the future.



After the race I was amazed by how sore I was. I have been more exhausted/ready to collapse/nauseated/unaware of where I am before, but never so immediately sore. It seemed like every place on my body... calves, butt, lats, forearms (yeah, forearms), feet... were about to cramp. What an awesome feeling!

Total 1:58:22 8/422 2nd in Division (20-24 M)
I had a great experience and I am looking forward to doing more. I still have a lot of room for improvement on the swim and I will try to continue to swim every now and again once my run volume goes back up to 100+ mpw. I think I could have gone a little harder on the bike without compromising my run leg too much... I guess finding the right balance will come with more experience.

I want to thank all of you guys that gave insight or encouragement and the June Steve Larsen challenge for helping me put in some big volume.

Now time for some R&R and then start the journey to making the top-7 on my cross country team for the Fall.

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Jason Pedersen
RunPd.com - Running as fast I can since '93
@jasonpedersen

Congratulations on a massive effort. Great race.

What a great race and a good RR too! You need to edit the title of your thread to reflect that the goal was achieved (crushed). Congratulations.

First of all, wow. congratulations. you have a real future in this sport.

second, i hate you. I'm 27 and have been racing for 7 years and am just now getting close to that time. I'm half kidding.

hope to see you at the line someday. keep up the good work.

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