10 weeks to go Sub 10.... (Updated with result)

Triathlon Forum
1

Gents, I come to you with arms open needing help
I have 10 weeks to Challenge Copenhagen (8 weeks if you factor a 2 week taper)

I am thus looking for bang for the buck training tips and sessions to get me to Sub 10 hr shape

This season has been a write off - I run my own business and work has been very busy. My wife and I also had our first child 3 weeks ago and that has taken priority over everything (and also made me focus on work like never before !!)

As of last week I was not even going to do Copenhagen, but the last 2 years we have made a family holiday of the events and my wife told me she really wants to make it a holiday for 3 for the first time…
She is too polite to say that without a target or an endorphin hit I am a nightmare to live with…

I have conceded this event may not result in a great time, but it would be good to do it fit enough to at least enjoy the event
When I entered I had vague aspirations of training hard and trying to go as close to 9 as possible
Now I think it will be really fun (and give me much needed structure) if I can commit to a training plan that will get me fit enough to race at 90% of my previous fitness

I was in really good shape 5 weeks ago and my cycling was going really well (I was doing road racing and the power numbers were all above target). I should explain I am a cyclist who has started to do Triathlons 2 yrs ago
Running with the dog every morning for 45 minutes has also left me a reasonable base
You will notice I have not mentioned swimming - that is because there has been none. At. All
I have not been in the pool since September. It was even amusing at one stage how little I had swam. Not any more!

I have done IM for 2 years now - IMCH in 2008 was 10.12, and then Roth last year was 9.24
Roth splits were 1.03, 4.48 and 3.27

Both were done on my unique training plan (cycling lots and do the other disciplines when you can). But previous years were not quite as unstructured as this , as at least I did 3 HiM before my A event so got a bit of race fitness that way (I did 3 HiM last year in 6 weeks and those 13 mile runs were the longest I ran before Roth)

I am naturally skinny, so dont have too much weight to lose to be race weight, but I just did a 9 mile run in 70 mins at 142 ave HR and can now hardly walk I am so stiff !

Was thinking of doing 1 mile more every Sunday until I am around 17 miles or so…
I run 5-6 days a week at present, but really need to spice things up so appreciate any advice on ‘bang for the buck’ sessions

Cycling should be okay since its my strength (just need to find where I left my TT bike from the last season…)

I will get on it as much as possible, but also want to keep racing on the road selectively (its good training, and life is all about doing as much as you can)

Swimming will suck - only because one does not like doing things they are bad at, and the longer you wait the tougher it is !
I did 67 mins in CH and 63 in Roth, so I am not great but not horrible either
But realistically cannot see myself doing more than 2 sessions a week

So there you have it:
10 weeks to get into Sub 10 hr shape

Not quite sure what I am asking for, or even expecting by way of response, but if nothing else I have now laid down a very public marker for myself and will promise to give an update post Copenhagen to see if I achieved this, or fell flat on my face !

2

You are the envy of many including myself. 99.9% of this board couldn’t do a 4:48 IM ride in a draft legal race let alone solo. That’s fast as balls. 9:24 is screaming fast for a guy who just throws swims/runs in…fast for any triathlete period. Do you have webbed hands and leather lungs…wft!!!

As one of my long, departed pals used to say ‘fuck you ya prick fuck!’. I say that smiling:)

3

Not at all - and i certainly did not post this for bravado sakes
I was actually scared I would get lots of comments about what an idiot I was for not swimming for 9 months…
I guess I really posted this to make me do Copenhagen !
Bear in mind Roth is fast (and I actually had to defend the course as many think it is ‘short’ as well)
I think I am pretty good at the LD stuff - I joke endurance is the last refuge of the untalented !
You need to be gifted to be competitive in Olys and Sprints
If you can suffer like a dog in an IM you have half a chance !

I do think if you can get off the bike very fresh you have half a chance - hence my haphazard training approach
But I am scared it will come back and bite me this time - hence the post

Ps since my last post I have just done an hr on the turbo - past cycling glories seem a long time ago !

4

I opened this thread because I’m on a crash plan as well (28 days out!) – I’m interested but it’s too late to help me! Would love to do the Copenhagen race sometime, as my wife spent some time there in college and always talks about how fun the city was/is.

Anyway, as a barely sub-13hr IM’er, I won’t presume to give you much advice, except to say that if lowering your time is really you goal, it would appear *some *swimming but mostly running ought to be in your near future.

Best of luck to you! And for the public marker, I’m looking forward to race report…

5

Oh dude I was just ball busting. Good on ya. I think it’s great, but 4:48 for an IM split is just plain fast. Methinks you have a big, big engine and you will find a way to stumble home better than 9/10 people who take a full year to get ready.

Let us know how it goes!

6

Thanks - and good luck to you roo
Lets compare war stories !

I will be okay with a 70 min swim given how little I have done - my concern it becomes a 75 min swim and it breaks me for the rest of the day…

Every year we try to pick somewhere nice to go, and my wife and I have never been to Scandinavia so we thought it would be fun to break that duck

7

So I went to a running shop and got some new shoes - Lunarglides
I also got my TT bike set up - thing feels very low (how did I ride it like that last year)
But its exciting to get things in motion…

Can I ask advice on what’s a good tempo work-out?
I was thinking the classic 20 min, or 4 x 6 mins?
I just ned to get some pep in my legs but cannot see myself going to a track and doing intervals

8

Well its been quite a journey

I originally posted this thread as a way to force myself to actually go though with doing the event - as I sated in the original post, this summer has been a disaster training wise with work (I run my own business) and our first baby being born in May

After I posted this, things got far worse as in July my dad passed away very suddenly after a brief illness
It came as a tremendous shock to us all

At his funeral I gave a 15 minute eulogy - I am not a great public speaker but found it therapeutic
I ‘wrote’ the eulogy on the preceding days - I would go out on my bike for 2-3 hrs and just think of things
I love how cycling (and running) is such a release for us

I am in my 30s, and dad was only 63 and was a tremendous support to me - the whole family would travel to support me in my previous 2 IM events and we would make a holiday out of it afterwards

I was determined, more than ever, to do Challenge Copenhagen this year, and in a decent time as a tribute to him

I came back from the funeral mentally exhausted and then jumped straight back into work and training

The lesson for the future will be to ‘enjoy’ an event - I think I put too much pressure on myself this time, so much so that when I finished I felt ‘relieved’ rather than ‘pleased’

This was the first IM I did without the family there, but I did go with a friend who was competing for the first time and his enthusiasm was infectious

The bike was going to be my strength, the run ‘is what it is’ and the swim would be ‘interesting’
I had only re-started swimming 10 weeks before the event, and then even that had been badly affected by everything that happened in the last 5 weeks

It got to the stage where I put my wetsuit on for the first time in a year only 6 days before the event. Madness. Never again !

Copenhagen is great - I love how everyone cycles everywhere !
The Saturday was a disaster weather wise as we had the worst storm Copenhagen has seen in years (we later found out Challenge were considering canceling the event as the roads would be flooded (more of this to come))
The Saturday would also have been my dad’s birthday - so it was a strange day. My sister had gone to be with mum and I felt like I should have been there as well…

Race day itself:

The swim was fine - I did 66 minutes which is not great, but better than I could have asked for given my tardiness in the pool
God bless the wetsuit…

The bike was ‘interesting’. I did 4.48 on the bike in Roth last year and think I am in better shape this year (1 more year of TT’ing vs being on a road bike)
I was determined to break 5 hrs on the bike - the course was billed as fast and flat

This was harder than I thought - the course was fairly technical to start with (leaving the city on wet roads with white paint on road and lots of man-hole covers) and then we had a great section up the coast where you could really motor
But at the top of the course we went inland and this was on very small winding roads and there was standing water, and lots of flint/stones everywhere
I was constantly putting my fingers on my tubs to see if I could remove any debris

I have never seen so many punctures on a ride before, let alone an IM
I was in a constant state of expectation of the inevitable

Coming up to 40 miles and we were on a fast, smooth section again and I thought I was home free
Disaster strikes and I get a puncture…

I start to panic - this cant be happening to me, this is for my dad etc
I put a pit stop in and go again for 10 minutes but its obvious that its not holding so I pull over and swap the tub out

This is where I will learn for the next time - It took an age to even get the tub off
My spare tub is a Veloflex 21mm Servizo Corsa - picked because its small and supple and so packs well
But if a normal tub punctures what will this do?

I was now very worried that this would have to last 70 miles over a course I would have been reluctant to go out on a winter bike on !

I was feeling pretty low starting the second lap as I knew how bad the roads were up north - all I could think was that I was cycling further and further away from “help” and when I got my next puncture it would be DNF and I would be miles from T2

I tried to nurse the bike as much as possible and miraculously (maybe someone was looking out for me !) I had no further mis-haps

Actual time on bike was 5.07, SRM shows 4.58 which seemed about right

AP was 225, NP was 245
Ave HR was 138 - my friend (an excellent cyclist) was surprised how low this was and I did think it would have been more like 145 - maybe I did not push it enough as was scared of mis-haps?
TSS was 270 - supports fact I did not got hard enough?

I am not a great runner, but was really looking forward to this one
Especially so that I was off my bike and made it to T2 !

I needed a 3.40 run to break 10 hrs - it was do-able as I did 3.37 in Switzerland and 3.27 in Roth last yr

I was wanting to really hurt myself on the run, and get all the anger/frustration of the summer out of me

I started the run feeling great - seriously like I had not even ridden. If anything I felt better than for a stand-alone run as I was warmed up !

I started off fairly fast - I always do - and was doing pace for a c 3.10
HR was around 145-150

Despite my best efforts I started to slow, and was trying to think of my dad as inspiration to keep digging
Whereas at the start I was only over-taking people, now I was over-taking slow runners but quicker guys were passing me

Copenhagen is a 3 loop affair and only my last lap I knew I had c 70 mins of effort/pain to go and this journey would be over

I finished in a 3.19 - my best run yet, but it definitely felt the most difficult

Last year I did 9.24 in perfect conditions in Roth
This yr I did 9.39 on a wet Copenhagen

A step back in time, but I think it was a better performance

But whereas Roth felt a huge deal that I had gone quick and broken 10 hrs, here I felt simply relief that it had been accomplished
There was much less joy
Instead of having a beer with my ecstatic family like last yr, this time I hobbled over to get some food and sat down in a quite place and took it all in

My friend - who also had bike woes ended up with a 9.40 - including an immense 3.13 run: an amazing time on his first IM race
Its crazy how two room mates can end up 90 secs apart after all that distance !

He was so happy, and his joy helped me again realize its meant to be fun !

Its been quite the journey - and I am very glad I have had this event to focus my energies on
Now that its over I dont know what I will do for the rest of the year

I have already decided I am going to work harder this winter than I ever have and go back to Roth in 2011 and leave it all on the course
I know I can break a certain time there - but dont want to say what time it is yet in case I jinx it !

9

Reading that update was a journey through the human condition. During that journey, your attitude and approach to life are what set you apart. I think the post shows that you are a good person; it shows you are tough; but most of all, it shows that we all have the capability to persevere through adversity.

So thanks for that :slight_smile: Condolences for your loss, congrats on the awesome race, and even more so on the baby.

10

Your attitude is just awesome…love positive mental attitude at it’s best. As positive as I am, I realize I could never do that if I had a grappling hook on your seatpost for the bike and a skateboard with a leash around your neck for the run. Damn that is sick speed.

Sorry about your dad, I hate to even think about losing mom and dad, but we all will at some point. The circle of life has brought a new munchkin to you already…congrats!

11

Wow, huge props on laying down an awesome race despite the setbacks. When life hands you the sucky year you have had and you can persevere and achieve like that it shows a tremendous amount of character. Congratulations.

12

Sorry for your loss and congrats on the baby. Great race and way to percervere through the hardship. Awesome dude you a fast thats for sure. i once ran over a gu wrapper and popped it. I looked at my front wheel( while riding) waiting for it to deflate for 2-3 minute’s never happened. Funny thing is i felt so much slower that 2-3 minutes. You really must be naturally gifted and have a huge base put in. You can thank your father for the genetics and the base from the support of your family. again sorry for your loss. I would be lost if one of my parents passed away.

13

Thanks for all the nice words

Am now at home with wife and our 14 week old baby boy
He is such a joy
The phrase “circle of life” was never truer…

Looking back I am pleased with how it went given everything

One thing I might change is to go harder on the bike next time, I seem to tire on the run regardless, so might as well have an excuse for it !

14

Congratulations and thank you for the update. Recover well.