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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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I'm not anywhere close to the cyclist you are at the moment but I run a 56t in the front and a 11-28 or 11-32 in the back on 1x11. I ran the 11-32 for Boulder 70.3 where you raced as well and the gearing was solid for that. Only that one puncher mid way through that had me feeling like I needed something bigger. Just a reminder that running a big ring isn't always just about feeling manly but it almost makes chainlines perfect cruising speeds. Might be worth exploring if you ever head to a dead flat course!

Are you willing to share you power from your Boulder 70.3 bike split? I had what felt like an awful ride that day and I'd love some more data points on whether or not something was more wrong than just my legs.

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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Slowman wrote:
apparently you're new around here. we don't care about the swim, the run, the nutrition, the training or any of that. we only care about your bike equipment. and your watts. and your politics when you're in the lavender room (the other forum). and since you don't know your watts, that leaves your bike equipment. (most of that is pink.) so...

thank you about the gearing explanation. of course you're right. you're right about the gear changes, esp if you're in synchro/sequential, where a high frequency of FD changes is a real pain. if you're on a rolling course then that's when you would hypothetically need a big masher gear (coming down from hawi), but you didn't have a masher gear and you still outrode folks on the descents. it would be nice if more of your compadres understood that. well, for you, probably best if they don't understand that.

speed concept = great bike. P5 disc = great bike. why did you switch? and how do you compare the two?

Hopefully my competitors want to keep smashing a big gear!

The real truth comes in comparing the P5 Disc to the Speed Concept. I switched because of a sponsor change. I was not and am not sponsored directly by either of them (Which is why I am not able to get a tilt kit). The companies have been partner brands for Team Suunto and Team Timex respectively.

Overall I have to say the Cervelo gets the award for the better bike because its stiffer, I believe the frame is a touch more aerodynamic, the disc brakes are a nice (Although usually unnecessary) upgrade, and adjusting the cockpit is far easier.
However where the Trek is better is in long haul training rides. More capacity to store stuff such as multiple tubes, more bottle cages, etc. However, in racing this isn't much of a concern.

Sam Long
AKA The BigUnit
IG: @samgolong
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [realbdeal] [ In reply to ]
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yes, I agree. Chattanooga has 4800 feet of climbing which impacted my decision for the 53. At the full IM and 70.3 in Boulder I used a 55 and would for sure use again.

Note that my power for 70.3 Boulder was on the low side. Boulder was a NP of 307 AP of 297 and TSS of 132. In the 70.3's I won my normalized power was in the 330-335 watt range. (trying to upload the power profile but don't know how to add an image!)

Sam Long
AKA The BigUnit
IG: @samgolong
Last edited by: Sam(go) Long: Sep 30, 19 18:07
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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Sam from one big unit to another (by triathlon standards, hilarious that 6’4” 170ish is considered a “big unit”!), really appreciate your candor here and insights. Two questions from me:

1. The bike is clearly your A weapon at this point. Are you changing your training ratios accordingly or do you still maintain a more traditional split?

2. This isn’t intended as a buzzkill question but it’s always fun to celebrate wins but more instructive to contemplate more disappointing finishes ('disappointing' being used here as a HIGHLY relative term). So any updated thoughts on Nice especially after such a successful race in Chatt? Clearly w/kg was at more of a premium in Nice, but I think you also alluded to potentially overcooking the bike based on the power numbers you posted, and then paying for it on the run. Would you race it any different strategically after reflecting on it? Also, have you thought about any changes in training approach based on any Nice lessons learned?

Thanks again for taking the time to drop in here - awesome thread so far
Last edited by: PedalNowNapL8r: Sep 30, 19 19:00
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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Massive congrats Sam and awesome race report! Following the split with Ryan as your coach what are your plans moving forward on this front?
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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Thoroughly enjoyed your write up! Thanks.
Especially the part about deciding to "bury the competition" the first half of the run.
Congrats on a great race and best wishes on future races!
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [mdtrihard] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Sam,

Your interview at the end of the race was impressive. Nice work on a tough day!
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Awesome job, Sam. I was wondering about what happened at IMLP, and after listening to you on a Podcast talking about training 30+ hours a week, wondered if it had been a bit too much.

I'm doing sauna prep for Kona and actually did pass out in the shower after being in the sauna this past week - guess I went past 90%. Was getting very light headed, and about to sit down, then next thing I know I wake up with the shower right in my face and on the floor. Guess I'll have to tone it back a bit - was 165 degrees in the Sauna, which was pretty high.

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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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huge congratulations on your win!

what sunscreen do you use in your long training and races. Do you reapply during training or does it last the whole session. Thanks in advance
Barry

Great things never come from comfort zones.
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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natethomas wrote:
......... after listening to you on a Podcast talking about training 30+ hours a week, wondered if it had been a bit too much.

Which podcast was that? Thanks.
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [PedalNowNapL8r] [ In reply to ]
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PedalNowNapL8r wrote:
Sam from one big unit to another (by triathlon standards, hilarious that 6’4” 170ish is considered a “big unit”!), really appreciate your candor here and insights. Two questions from me:

1. The bike is clearly your A weapon at this point. Are you changing your training ratios accordingly or do you still maintain a more traditional split?

2. This isn’t intended as a buzzkill question but it’s always fun to celebrate wins but more instructive to contemplate more disappointing finishes ('disappointing' being used here as a HIGHLY relative term). So any updated thoughts on Nice especially after such a successful race in Chatt? Clearly w/kg was at more of a premium in Nice, but I think you also alluded to potentially overcooking the bike based on the power numbers you posted, and then paying for it on the run. Would you race it any different strategically after reflecting on it? Also, have you thought about any changes in training approach based on any Nice lessons learned?

Thanks again for taking the time to drop in here - awesome thread so far

Great questions!

Below I'll answer a number of the questions that I see in the feed I haven't answered yet (In no particular order).

1) Fluid intake on bike: Uh OHH. I may have given a overestimate yesterday. I better be prepared to be eaten alive on here...After further thought my estimate is as follows.
I started with 1 24 oz bottle and 2 20 oz bottles. (68 oz)
At special needs I picked up 2 24 oz bottles (48)
I picked up one Gatorade Endurance and drank most of it (16 oz)
At 7 other aid stations I grabbed a bottle and chugged as much as I could and then got rid of it. Estimating 10 oz at each= 70 oz
Drank one full 20 oz bottle at the last aid station
=68+48+16+70+20=222 oz of fluid


The calories were mostly liquid. 1400 calories of First Endurance EFS in my bottles. Then I had 800 kcals of Cliff Shot blocks in my bento box. Finally 200 calories roughly in the Gatorade Endurance.


Big Unit Debate:
I suppose the secret fun is that I'm called the Big Unit for lots of reasons.Big Physique (Although as you pointed out 6'4" and 175 is hardly massive (I know you'll ask I weighed 173 for this race but am normally closer to 180)) Big Power, Big Appetite, Big Feet...You get the rest.

Sunscreen:
Zealios Sunscreen is the best stuff I have ever used. It is pretty expensive but when I have used it I have never once been burnt. For this race I applied once the morning of the race and no sunburn. In training most days I apply once. I actually wake up and put it on first thing most training days. If I swim first I may put on twice. No joke.

Nice Thoughts and Lessons:
Very thoughtful questions here.

1) Yes my bike is my A weapon and I have absolutely thought about how to modify my training with this. In between Nice and Chatty I even modified my training.
What I have discovered on the bike is that I don't really have to do that much hard structured interval work--especially for IM. Going into Chatty I was actually the least confident about my bike as I have been as I did one interval session in the three weeks between. My bike training seems to be best by riding a few days a week from 4-6 hours at a fairly comfortable pace and then ending with some type of higher intensity work. This kind of training has a small toll on me and allows me to put the intensity and real effort into the pool and on the run. It sounds almost too simple but the longer aerobic work builds my engine for the all three sports, keeps my strength, and then allows for the real specificity to be applied in the other two disciplines.

This off season/winter the plan is to do a lot of high quality swimming. My newish thing however is to not swim one length of the pool with bad form. If I am not focused and swimming poorly, I get out. It's worth less than zero to swim poorly to me. So I will swim as much as I can with high focus, discipline, and making it count.

2) The races where you suck are just as or more important than the races you crush. I'll cover both Nice and IM LP here.
Nice a few things happened.
I simply was still recovering from my overtraining. Digging yourself a hole takes a while to get out of. I lost a lot of my confidence in August as an athlete and this affected me mentally. Yes, I overbiked. This was a result of a terrible swim at Nice. I was so far back I figured why not just push it very hard and try and get in the race.
Unfortunately, when I got to Chatty I discovered that my front brake was rubbing. I know I lost some time because of this. I am honestly surprised I was able to run at all in Nice as the power I pushed was higher than anything I have ever done--peak 10, 20, 60, and 90 minute of all time! Even if the brakes hadn't been rubbing I still would have gotten my booty kicked. It was not a big man's course and watts per kilo was too important (look at how Starky rode--as compared to his usual Fastest Bike Split). I also didn't know the descent well enough. A great lesson learned that you have to race courses that suit your ability.

Lake Placid. What I did in the build up to that race was absolutely mental! You can look at my IG for July and see some of the updates I was giving. For a 4 week period my average running pace was 6:18 per mile (for 100k's a week). Another example is I was doing two rides a week that were over 300 TSS on the bike alone (with a run and swim in addition). Nearly an IM two days a week--then a 20 plus mile long run every week. I simply was going to hard, too long, and at too high of a frequency! I bought into the mentality that more is always better and left everything I had in training. When I got to my taper (Which was still hardly a taper) my body totally shut down. I nearly put myself in a situation that could have ruined my career. I got lucky! Thankfully I pulled out of LP. Then three days later I got in a bike crash that forced me to lie in bed for four days. At the time it sucked. I look back and thank the heavens. If that hadn't happened I would have kept pushing!
As many people have said. What you do in training doesn't matter. All that counts is what you do on race day. I learned in Chattanooga that winning an IM on the day is far harder than I thought but that training for an IM is far easier than I thought. Yes, I still train hard. I still trained about 30 hours a week for Chatty but not 35-40 with well over 25% of that being Z3 or above.

Thanks for all the questions. I'm enjoying this. I will do my best to get answers out at least once a day.

Sam Long
AKA The BigUnit
IG: @samgolong
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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Sam - Great race and even better answers!

Prior to Ryan you were self coached. Do you plan on going back to being self coached or are you going on a search?
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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Was your decision to forego electronics something you embarked upon some time ago, and if so how did you manage it? What’s your advice for building into this level of awareness? And do you train differently now as a result?
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Dr. Seuss] [ In reply to ]
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Dr. Seuss wrote:
Sam - Great race and even better answers!

Prior to Ryan you were self coached. Do you plan on going back to being self coached or are you going on a search?

Thanks Dr. Seuss.

I think I will coach myself at least for awhile. I enjoy writing my own plans and like that it keeps me 100% accountable for myself and any successes or failures that I have. With this being said, I have lots of people I am able to get help and advice from. I have a excellent strength coach (Kevin Purvis), multiple swim coaches (Austin Vinton, Eney Jones), among others. Eventually, I see myself having an advisor I can discuss things with and who can help analyze my data for me, as well as call me out when I'm wrong.

Sam Long
AKA The BigUnit
IG: @samgolong
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [jeremyebrock] [ In reply to ]
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jeremyebrock wrote:
Was your decision to forego electronics something you embarked upon some time ago, and if so how did you manage it? What’s your advice for building into this level of awareness? And do you train differently now as a result?

I train with electronics almost all the time. I think the data is very informative and helpful in making future decisions. I even wish I had a power profile from Chatty but having it would have affected how I rode. What I did and will continue to do to get the data but teach myself to ride, without having to have it, is putting the computer in the back pocket. In the build, up on all my long rides I put the computer in my jersey and would look at it maybe once an hour. In structured training I would press the lap button, put it in my back pocket, ride the interval, and then at the end check out how I did. I thought this was very effective as it forced me to ride on feel for the intervals and taught me both how to measure time without a watch and how Z1-Z5 feel. Doing this allowed for what I call a bottom up approach--finishing your prescribed interval and then checking the power. Based on how you felt, you then know if you are riding well or poorly that day. As opposed to a top down approach where you say I need to hit this power number on this interval and you do it irregardless of how you feel.

I will likely race without a computer in my future IM's and will for sure be doing most of my training with it in my jersey (so that I can get the power data to make coaching decisions, track improvement, and most importantly teach myself what certain wattage zones feel like).

Sam Long
AKA The BigUnit
IG: @samgolong
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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You could also just throw some electrical tape over your bike computer screen and leave it mounted.
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Re: Hey! Sam Long! How about an Ask Me Anything?! [Sam(go) Long] [ In reply to ]
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Sam(go) Long wrote:
Dr. Seuss wrote:
Sam - Great race and even better answers!

Prior to Ryan you were self coached. Do you plan on going back to being self coached or are you going on a search?

Thanks Dr. Seuss.

I think I will coach myself at least for awhile. I enjoy writing my own plans and like that it keeps me 100% accountable for myself and any successes or failures that I have. With this being said, I have lots of people I am able to get help and advice from. I have a excellent strength coach (Kevin Purvis), multiple swim coaches (Austin Vinton, Eney Jones), among others. Eventually, I see myself having an advisor I can discuss things with and who can help analyze my data for me, as well as call me out when I'm wrong.

Eney as swim coach. Wise move.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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