Okay, I’m going try something different here. Over the past year or two, I’ve loved reading race reports and have learned lots from them but the other thing I wondered was what kind of training was involved for all these people to write these great reports. What follows is what I did to get to the finish line at IM Lake Placid living in Metro Detroit….and a little sprinkle of how my race went at the end.
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Physical Stats:
29 yrs, 5’9” race weight 155lbs.
Athletic Background:
High School Swimming
Non-triathlon related Commitments:
Wife and house, baby on the way (Weekday training goal: Done training by 8pm)
Career 7am-4pm Monday – Friday
How I picked Lake Placid
Location – 10 hours from Detroit make LP drivable
Course – Tough with all the climbing but it suits my body type.
Race Date – AZ too early(winter training), IMOO too late(burnout)
Ironman Ramp Up
2004 - 1st triathlon(Xterra), 1st ˝ marathon
2005 – Road tris (sprint, oly), ˝ marathon
2006 – Road tris (oly, 1/2IM), 1st marathon
2007 – DeSoto TTT, IMLP
Training
Self-coached. Friel/Byrn and Mark Allen training philosophies.
30 weeks of roughly 6 training cycles consisting of 3 build weeks, followed by a recovery week. 95% of my training hours were spent at Friel Z2 (150bpm). “Speed work is icing on the cake and you don’t have any cake”. I didn’t do any speed work. In 2006, I became a slave to standard running/biking routes and miles. I started fresh in 2007 and always trained by time and HR for effort. I trained 90% of the time alone; with the occasional group ride when I needed a mental break. I had a slow build peaking
[/url][/img]
*Week 15 – foot injury
**Week 20-21 - Vegas Trip/TTT Taper
***WeeK 22 - TTT Recovery
****Week 27-29 - IronTaper
Inside the Numbers
Rough Training Breakdown by Discipline
Swim: 10% (strength – 1x per week)
Bike: 50% (weakness – 3-4x per week)
Run: 30% (mediocre – 3x per week)
Gym: 10% (1x per week, core and swim muscles)
Longest 3 bike rides (Saturdays): 5hr, 6hr, 5hr
Longest 3 runs (Wednesdays): 1:45, 2:00, 2:30
Longest Brick (tied to Saturday rides): 6hrB, 1hrR
The hardest things I’ve done (in order)
Ironman Lake Placid
BQ Marathon Time
DeSoto TTT
[/url][/img]
My Keys to Success
Follow 10% build rule when increasing volume. I’ve really screwed this up in the past and paid the price.
Post-run ice bath any time the mercury was higher than 90.
Improved body composition and serious core strength.
Lots of stretching and proper recover food.
Daily multi vitamin, zine, Vit C and glucosimine.
Adding weight
There’s only so much you can do to make your bike lighter for race day, but there’s lots you can do to make it heavier in training. This must go back to my HS swim days of wearing drag suits but I filled a water bottle with 7lbs. of lag bolts and sand and had it along on every training ride. I felt feather light on race day.
Bike Routes
I used routeslip.com to discover where people ride in the Metro Detroit area. I have several routes mapped and saved now. User name: mitri2.
Taper
I went with a three week taper, reducing volume by 25%, 50%, 75% of max weekly volume. The first week was still a big week at 15hrs, but it felt fine. The second week was terrible. I had a ton of mysterious pains all over, had no energy and got crabby because of it. The last week of taper was better, I started feeling a little more fresh although I think I still had a little residual fatigue. That last couple days leading up to the race were tough. Lots of anxiety and tons of free time with nothing to do but wait.
Race Report
The swim was brutal. I started in the third row, maybe 20 yards off the dock/guide line. Pretty much even split the swim but the first lap was especially congested. Guesstimate 1hr, I came out just under. HR about 5bpm higher than when training.
[/url][/img]
I trained with all course supplied nutrition. I carried minimal extra with me. Gatorade, PowerBars and PowerGels had me getting in just over 400/cal per hour. Fell behind a bit on the run but a couple gels, watermellon and Coke got me to the finish line.
The bike course was gorgeous. The elevation profile didn’t phase me on the first lap. Lots of bikes around, riding legally was very challenging and the draft marshals recognized that and I witness lots of verbal warnings. The bikers had spaced out a bit by the second lap. I was effected by the climbs a little more but just kept spinning away and taking in calories. My guess for a bike spilt was 6hrs or so and I came in around 5:45. I positive split the second lap by about 20 minutes. HR mimicked training except for some spikes on the climb out of LP and again coming back in.
[/url][/img]
Again amazing scenery and crowds on the run course. Ran about 6 miles straight before I started walking aid stations. The run a mile, walk an aid station was a very effective strategy. The last 4 miles of each lap were the most brutal hills I’ve ever run. Long, steep, grinding climbs. No event (even the TTT) or anything I did in training had prepared me for this nasty little feature. My guess here was 4-5 hrs depending on how my day was going. Ended up going around 3:40. I positive split my ˝ by only 5minutes! Again HR mimicked training except for the killer hills!
[/url][/img]
Final Thoughts
My goals were to finish, break 12 and one I never verbalized was under 11. I had an unimaginable day out there, crossing the line at 10:39. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever attempted. Avg HR for the day was 152, so I raced exactly how I trained...but some serious muscle fatigue set in during the marathon. Needless to say I'm still avoiding stairs.
A Thought on KONA:
Sick. I’ve only dreamed of having a Kona qualifying day but as I crossed the line I though…well, maybe that will be fast enough. Not even close! Fast enough for 13th in an AG with only 4 slots. These guys that are racing in Kona are crazy fast!
What’s Next?
My wife is due with our fist in November so lots of things are going to change. I’m gonna work on being the best dad and husband ever…anyone know if there is a “Slowtwitch” for expecting fathers? I do have plans to run Boston in April and if time permits I’m eyeing Steelhead next August.
There is a lot of M-dot and NA Sports trash talk around here but I give them the thumbs up. The organization of the event was top notch and although it was my first, it hopefully won’t be the last. Oh, I won’t be getting an M-Dot tattoo, but I do have some pretty sweet finisher merchandise that I will definitely wear with pride!
Hope to see you at the races!
Corey
[/url][/img] Physical Stats:
29 yrs, 5’9” race weight 155lbs.
Athletic Background:
High School Swimming
Non-triathlon related Commitments:
Wife and house, baby on the way (Weekday training goal: Done training by 8pm)
Career 7am-4pm Monday – Friday
How I picked Lake Placid
Location – 10 hours from Detroit make LP drivable
Course – Tough with all the climbing but it suits my body type.
Race Date – AZ too early(winter training), IMOO too late(burnout)
Ironman Ramp Up
2004 - 1st triathlon(Xterra), 1st ˝ marathon
2005 – Road tris (sprint, oly), ˝ marathon
2006 – Road tris (oly, 1/2IM), 1st marathon
2007 – DeSoto TTT, IMLP
Training
Self-coached. Friel/Byrn and Mark Allen training philosophies.
30 weeks of roughly 6 training cycles consisting of 3 build weeks, followed by a recovery week. 95% of my training hours were spent at Friel Z2 (150bpm). “Speed work is icing on the cake and you don’t have any cake”. I didn’t do any speed work. In 2006, I became a slave to standard running/biking routes and miles. I started fresh in 2007 and always trained by time and HR for effort. I trained 90% of the time alone; with the occasional group ride when I needed a mental break. I had a slow build peaking
[/url][/img] *Week 15 – foot injury
**Week 20-21 - Vegas Trip/TTT Taper
***WeeK 22 - TTT Recovery
****Week 27-29 - IronTaper
Inside the Numbers
Rough Training Breakdown by Discipline
Swim: 10% (strength – 1x per week)
Bike: 50% (weakness – 3-4x per week)
Run: 30% (mediocre – 3x per week)
Gym: 10% (1x per week, core and swim muscles)
Longest 3 bike rides (Saturdays): 5hr, 6hr, 5hr
Longest 3 runs (Wednesdays): 1:45, 2:00, 2:30
Longest Brick (tied to Saturday rides): 6hrB, 1hrR
The hardest things I’ve done (in order)
Ironman Lake Placid
BQ Marathon Time
DeSoto TTT
[/url][/img] My Keys to Success
Follow 10% build rule when increasing volume. I’ve really screwed this up in the past and paid the price.
Post-run ice bath any time the mercury was higher than 90.
Improved body composition and serious core strength.
Lots of stretching and proper recover food.
Daily multi vitamin, zine, Vit C and glucosimine.
Adding weight
There’s only so much you can do to make your bike lighter for race day, but there’s lots you can do to make it heavier in training. This must go back to my HS swim days of wearing drag suits but I filled a water bottle with 7lbs. of lag bolts and sand and had it along on every training ride. I felt feather light on race day.
Bike Routes
I used routeslip.com to discover where people ride in the Metro Detroit area. I have several routes mapped and saved now. User name: mitri2.
Taper
I went with a three week taper, reducing volume by 25%, 50%, 75% of max weekly volume. The first week was still a big week at 15hrs, but it felt fine. The second week was terrible. I had a ton of mysterious pains all over, had no energy and got crabby because of it. The last week of taper was better, I started feeling a little more fresh although I think I still had a little residual fatigue. That last couple days leading up to the race were tough. Lots of anxiety and tons of free time with nothing to do but wait.
Race Report
The swim was brutal. I started in the third row, maybe 20 yards off the dock/guide line. Pretty much even split the swim but the first lap was especially congested. Guesstimate 1hr, I came out just under. HR about 5bpm higher than when training.
[/url][/img] I trained with all course supplied nutrition. I carried minimal extra with me. Gatorade, PowerBars and PowerGels had me getting in just over 400/cal per hour. Fell behind a bit on the run but a couple gels, watermellon and Coke got me to the finish line.
The bike course was gorgeous. The elevation profile didn’t phase me on the first lap. Lots of bikes around, riding legally was very challenging and the draft marshals recognized that and I witness lots of verbal warnings. The bikers had spaced out a bit by the second lap. I was effected by the climbs a little more but just kept spinning away and taking in calories. My guess for a bike spilt was 6hrs or so and I came in around 5:45. I positive split the second lap by about 20 minutes. HR mimicked training except for some spikes on the climb out of LP and again coming back in.
[/url][/img] Again amazing scenery and crowds on the run course. Ran about 6 miles straight before I started walking aid stations. The run a mile, walk an aid station was a very effective strategy. The last 4 miles of each lap were the most brutal hills I’ve ever run. Long, steep, grinding climbs. No event (even the TTT) or anything I did in training had prepared me for this nasty little feature. My guess here was 4-5 hrs depending on how my day was going. Ended up going around 3:40. I positive split my ˝ by only 5minutes! Again HR mimicked training except for the killer hills!
[/url][/img] Final Thoughts
My goals were to finish, break 12 and one I never verbalized was under 11. I had an unimaginable day out there, crossing the line at 10:39. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever attempted. Avg HR for the day was 152, so I raced exactly how I trained...but some serious muscle fatigue set in during the marathon. Needless to say I'm still avoiding stairs.
A Thought on KONA:
Sick. I’ve only dreamed of having a Kona qualifying day but as I crossed the line I though…well, maybe that will be fast enough. Not even close! Fast enough for 13th in an AG with only 4 slots. These guys that are racing in Kona are crazy fast!
What’s Next?
My wife is due with our fist in November so lots of things are going to change. I’m gonna work on being the best dad and husband ever…anyone know if there is a “Slowtwitch” for expecting fathers? I do have plans to run Boston in April and if time permits I’m eyeing Steelhead next August.
There is a lot of M-dot and NA Sports trash talk around here but I give them the thumbs up. The organization of the event was top notch and although it was my first, it hopefully won’t be the last. Oh, I won’t be getting an M-Dot tattoo, but I do have some pretty sweet finisher merchandise that I will definitely wear with pride!
Hope to see you at the races!
Corey