Why I love ST: My IMFL RR

Triathlon Forum
1

Greetings,

I really do love this web-site…Why? Because I get so much incredible information off the site. Did my 2nd IM, IMFL, a few days ago and I ran, what I consider, to be a great race

Setup: I am a 40 year old AGer with a family and a career, I do not have a lot of time to train, yet I find the sport of triathlon to be a passion of mine. Because of the lack of time allocated for training, I have, at times, called upon YOU, the St’ers of the world, for guidance.

HUGE, and I mean HUGE, props to Rick Ashburn for all his insight into the bike. Both he and I have, in the past, trained with Michael McCormack. 2/3 of my bike training was done on the computrainer as per M2 philosophy. I only rode once per week on the road starting in April, with my longest ride coming in at 4.5 hrs. However, the CT sessions I had all year were brutal, huge wattages and lots of intervals. I wasn’t sure if this would be enough, but Rick assured me that I had enough “done the work!” Guys like Rick and Roadie answered many of my ?'s about converting wattages/time on the CT to “real time” on the bike and helped me forecast a very accurate bike split.

Other ST’ers helped me a lot in different areas: Reddy with the swim, A Joyce with wheel set-up, Roadie, giving me various sites to access wattage/time calculators, Jetlink huge support on race day - he flew down to watch the race, gave me a ride race morning and helped cheer me on along with another ST’er, his GF, Marisol . You guys ROCK. And once again, HUGE props to Ashburn , you really calmed the nerves and gave me incredible advice for the big day.

So here I was, November 4th, the day before my 12th wedding anniversary, lining up for my 2nd IM. I averaged 6-7 hrs per week all year, bumping that up to about a 10 hr average in the final 10 week IM push. My biggest week was 12.5 hrs…a wife, 2 small kids and a job will do that to you.

So here is my RR-

Swim: In four words, I Suck At Swimming. In 4 years of multi-sport I have gotten better, but I am far from good. Reddy gave me some great advice, " get as far right as possible and stay out of the scrum." I did just that but the currents and waves pushed a boat load of us together. I finished my first loop in 32:30, and ended up coming in at 1:09. Hey, it was 10’ faster than my last IM

Bike: Most of my training was done on the computrainer as per M2’s direction. Ashburn e-mailed me prior the race and told me to hold back the first 70 -80 miles. He also told me I should ABSOLUTELY run my wheel cover. He also instructed me to tape the cover to the flange of my 404’s. I never would have thought of that had it not been for him…did I say “thanks, Rick?!?” It wasn’t too hard to hold back the first 75ish miles due to the wind and the fact that I had to pee 5x’s…swallowing a gallon of salt water will do that to you. At 75 miles I was somewhat pissed off with my time, I was averaging just under 19mph. It was then that I followed M2 and Ashburn’s advice, I put the hammer down. I felt very good, not the least bit tired, and I passed a ton of people in the final 35-40 miles. I eased up a bit at 110 and stretched out for the ensuing mary. Final bike split was 5:43, but my computer read 5:35 as it did not take into account the nature breaks.

Run: My run training was pretty straight forward- improve as best I could on my last IM run split of 3:53. When I did my last IM, I did all of my long runs at a pace of 8.5 - 9’ miles. I am a 3hr stand-alone mary runner and I decided to make a change for this race. I averaged the same miles training for this IM as the last, about 20 miles per week. However, there was one significant caveat vs the last IM - RUN FASTER: I ran all of my long runs at just under a 7.5’ pace. I also did one tempo run per week, building to about 9 miles, at a 6:50 pace. I thought about trying to hold a 7’ pace this race but Ashburn told me I should realistically look to hold an 8’ pace. As I came out of T2, my first mile was 7:10, WHHHHOOOOOAAAA, slow down. It took me about 4-5 miles to settle in at a high 7/low 8 pace. First loop in 1:42, Dave and Sophie were right there cheering me on. Gave me goose-bumps. Dave even ran about 1/4 mile with me - thanks Dave, can’t wait to repay the favor at LP in 2007. Second loop I was slowing, but I felt GREAT. In fact, I felt great the entire race. It sounds crazy, but believe me when I say I never, ever felt overly tired/fatigued or on the verge of the big bonk. Miles 18-23 slowed to about 8:20ish then I kicked it in for the final 5k. My fastest mile of the entire race was my last, just under a 7’ mile.

As I neared the finish, my wife, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and children were waiting. My bro in law had my 4yr old son, Luke, waiting for me. I know, I know - leave the kids outside the ropes. Well, he really wanted me to carry him across the line as he’d seen it on previous IM finsih videos. Soooooo, as I neared the finish chute I let a few people pass, looked behind me to make sure no one was coming, grabbed Luke and we had the entire finish chute to ourselves. It is a memory the two of us will have for the rest of our lives and I made sure I did not interfere with any other athletes finish.

Came in at 10:37 and change- 1:09+ on the swim - 5:43+ on the bike and 3:30 on the run!!!

Again, I felt GREAT the entire day, felt great at the finish, watched some fellow IM’ers finish and then headed to Fred’s to slam a few well deserved adult beverages and grabbed a bite to eat. Was only a tiny bit sore for two days, I am ready to go again…although I promised the better half to concentrate on 70.3 for a few years.

Getting back to my original thought: ALL OF YOU, with special thanks to Rick, Dave, Sophie, Roadie, Rob, Andrew and many others who have been kind enought to take the time to answer my posts throughout the year- Thank you so much, your help has meant more than you can imagine

Best

Mark

2

great race and an interesting approach. What was your weekly schedule?

Thanks for the post!

Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com

3

Thanks Dan

My training was pretty straightforward. From Jan 1 through early Sept, I trained roughly 6-8 hrs per week.

Run: one long run, one tempo and one form . I did a spring mary, so I had some nice early season long runs. Long run pace for mary training and IM training not much different, around 7:25 - 7:35. I think I did around 8 long runs in my 10-12 week build up for IMFL. Average distance between 12-16.5. 16.5 was my longest. Within those 3 runs were 2 HIM’s and a mary relay . I can’t do track stuff due to achilles issues, so on my form run 1x per week I would always neg split and throw in some cpi’s every 1/2 mile on the return.

Bike: 2/3 done on computrainer. Up to and including the IM build, I used Michael McCormack’s plan I used for my last IM in 2004. Averaged 2.5-3 hrs per week, 3 rides per week, 2 interval based rides and one form/drill/efficiency ride. Lots of LT threshold intervals, some big gear low cadence high wattage stuff, the average workout lasted 1 hour. I pushed wattages around 250-275, my goal for IMFL was to carry around 175-180. Once I was around 10-12 weeks out from IM, I did what M2 calls an extended enhanced aerobic ct rides. These lasted closer to 1.5 hrs and they were a bitch, to put it lightly. I was more exhausted from those rides than any long ride. Very focused and very intense, my wife used to joke that I dreaded those rides more than the weekend long ride.

SPeaking of long rides, I put in about 8-10 long rides beginning early August. Distance averaged from 50 to 85, that was my longest. I think I had a total of 4 long rides in the 4hr range. I also used M2 long ride strategy of riding Z1-Z3 for 45’ of each hour and then for 15’ I would ride close to LT repeating the cycle each hour. I did not get in the 2 100 mile rides I had scheduled due to early cold/rain here in Ohio. Subbed those for fixed wattage one hour CT ride.

Swim: I am not a good swimmer, so I concentrated on holding good form and good pace over longer sets. As my form goes to hell once I try to swim faster, the majority of my sets were in the 500yd range. Swam 3x’s per week, a mile each session broken into 3 x 500 with 2x100 and 1 x 50 to finish. During IM build, I would use my 3rd swim as a long swim. Started at 2500 yds and built to 4000 yds continuous. 3 swim workouts averaged .5 hr, my longest swim workout was the 4000 continuos and that came in just over 1hr. Most swim coaches probably shudder at my swim training, but at the end of the day it is what worked for me and it help, somewhat. I lowered my swim splits in every race distance I did this year, sprint through IM, so even though my splits were nothing to brag about, I was happy with the results I achieved.

Well, there you have it. Sorry if this was long-winded. Bottom line: 3 workouts in each discipline, 6-8 hrs per week most of the year with around a 10hr average in the final 10 weeks maxing out at 12.5 hrs

Have a great off-season and good luck in 2007

Best

Mark

4

Nice race report and awesome results. Could you elaborate a little on your race nutrition strategy?

Robert

5

Thanks QRooster

Nutrition pretty simple, I tend to err on the less is more philosophy during training and racing

2 bottles of Champion Nutrition Revenge Pro, plus two more at special needs

2 Hammer Gel Flasks, hit the gell every 30’ on the bike. In HIM/IM races I like to wait until I am 30’ into the bike before I drink/gell

A couple pretzel rods and some Halloween shortbread cookies in special needs. My wife had packed the cookies for the ride down to Fla and I had some in the car. I really liked them so I put them in SNB

I think I took 2 bottles of Gatorade on the bike as well.

On the run I drank Gatorade at every aid station except when I used a gell. I used gell every 4 miles with water, I used whatever they had on the course and I believe it was GU. At mile 22 I started on cola, not sure if I needed it but I used in my last IM. From 22 on in I used cola only at each aid station.

Post race nutrition: 3 Coors Light’s and a fried chicken wrap and fries at Fred’s

6

Nice job!!! GREAT run.

As much as some folks might slag on this place, you really can get a lotta great info and motivation here.

PS - I’d kill for your “sucky” swim time… hopefully I too can knock 10 mins offa my swim split as well.

7

Mark,

Nice job on the race. It sounds like you had a very well thought out strategy and stuck with it. Most impressive.

Bernie

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your efficient use of time during your busy life style is working. with minimal yet effective (with pwr training on the bike) training, your still managing sub 11 in an IM. this to me is admirable. keep up the speeeed and balance

9

Congrats on your race and thanks for posting a great RR - the passion you have for the sport jumps right off the screen.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on the changes you made to your training and how you feel it relates to your solid run execution. Taking over 20min off your run is something you should be really proud of, and 3:30 in an IM with HIM run splits in the low to mid 1:30’s is something few others can boast. What were your open running times this year like? Do you feel that you owe your run mostly to your improved bike fitness, smart bike execution, improved run fitness, smart run execution, or all of the above?

I am most interested to hear if and how you feel the change in the way you trained your run impacted your IM run. It is often advised that the number one mistake distance runners make is doing their long runs too fast, but you made a conscious effort to do so, even though realistically you would not be running that fast in the IM. Do you think that IM pace specificity is overrated?

Again, way to go! Enjoy your off season.

Mike

10

i too got some great info from ST while training for IMFL, it was my first IM. especially during some tough times at the end. there is a lot of knowledge and encouragement on here. some BS too, but that can be overlooked.

here is my RR. i dont mean to hijack, just didnt think mine deserved a seperate thread.

http://www.dctriclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php?forum=10&showtopic=18794

11

Nice report and great job. I wish I was as bad a swimmer as you :wink:

12

Mark - as I said before awesome performance.

We will get your swim under 1hr before your next IM I know it.

I know time is a constraint - but we have to get you to John and my Friday long ride/brick next summer - that will give our bike training that added spice.

Come on IMKY Community Fund slot - we need to grow that IM group!!

13

Fantastic RR and Post.

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Once I was around 10-12 weeks out from IM, I did what M2 calls an extended enhanced aerobic ct rides. These lasted closer to 1.5 hrs and they were a bitch, to put it lightly.

I didn’t really know much about Mark’s training in any detail. He just told me that he followed M2’s bike program. My immediate reaction was, “Then you’re good to go.” I know from experience that the above series of rides is a phenomenal way to get in great bike shape. Topping those off with a few long rides and it’s just a matter of executing on race day. Which Mark did, obviously.

A few words about M2’s program from my POV…this topic of low-volume training comes up a lot, as it should. For the vast majority of us on this board, triathlon is a hobby. It’s a hobby that some take more seriously than others, but for the most part, we just want to get the most out of the limited time that we choose to put into it. I don’t believe that low-volume training is preferable to high-volume training. High volume works, and if you want to compete with Kevin Purcell or Albert Boyce or Donna Smyers, you have to do the time.

A good low volume program involves designing every workout to place a high training load on us. Long steady workouts and short hard ones; nothing in between. Low-volume training is a choice, and it’s one that I respect. I offer this perspective of M2’s training approach out of great respect for the man, and with the knowledge that he checks in on this board and will probably read this thread.

Michael’s training will work for darn near everybody on the bike. It will only work for some people on the run. Mark G is one of the runners for whom it works. Everybody can get more powerful on the bike than they probably realize, and quickly. Running is messier, by far. Remember in junior high when the gym teacher told everybody to take a lap around the big field? At that point in life, nobody had ever trained. Still, some kids ran fluidly and effortlessly around the field, some filled the middle, and some were plodding and huffling off the back. The ones off the front, and many from the middle, can do the lower-volume, high-load run training like Mark did. I’m not suggesting that they are some kind of elite, natural-born runners. I’m just saying that absorbing and benefitting from low-frequency, high-load run training works much better for those who are, for whatever reason, half-decent runners.

My advice to those considering a low-hours, high-load training program is to carefully assess just who you are. Again, I think pretty much everyone can do M2’s bike program (or R. Strauss’). (Perhaps some can’t – Paulo has reminded us here that some people just aren’t mentally wired for it, and that is an important consideration.) If you can get your head into 2-3 times a week doing 1-hour, well-designed trainer workouts, you can get plenty fit for an IM if you top it off with the 1.5 hour “enhanced aerobic” rides and a few long rides.

For the run portion of your training, think about it. Have you done plenty of run training over the years and are still a 3:45+ marathoner? When you look at the Daniels tables, do you put your finger on your 5k time, then run across the page to the marathon column and say, “Whoa! There’s no way I can do that.”? Then you might be like me, and you need a high frequency, high mileage running program. Doing track work and weekly threshold runs is OK, but it won’t cure the main problem for us in an IM – walking and shuffling. Folks like us need to take running guidance from Lydiard and Daniels and Gordo.

If you are a perennial <3 hr marathoner and find that your short-race times and long-race times are on the same line in Daniels’ tables, then you are a better candidate for low-volume, high-load, run training. I still think more is better, but again – it’s a choice.

Anyway, nice job out there Mark. You executed like a veteran.

15

Great race Mark. Very nice improvement on the swim in some TOUGH conditions. Very impressed with your run time as well given the relatively little mileage you were doing. I may have missed it in another post, but do you have a run background?

I seem to be limited in the amount of mileage my body can handle on the run and am curious to know how long it toook to see a marked improvement on the lower mileage. Thanks.

Mark

16

Mike ,

Thanks for the kind words.

As Rick pointed out, the run seems to be the greatest “unknown” in triathlon. What works for me may not work for you or the next person. But I did want to answer your question regarding my thoughts on my run training.

A little background: I am NOT a runner in the sense of a collegiate or even high school track star. Never ran a lick of organized running in HS, let alone, college. I took up running, believe it or not, as a way to get in shape for collegiate ski club’s annual trip out West. I had a buddy who was in the club with me as well as a member of collegiate CC team. One day he asked me to go run with him and the rest is history.

After college I began running about 4-5x’s a week. Nothing crazy, 4-5 miles a day, just a way to stay in shape. So in 2000, after about 10 years of running as a hobby I decided to do my first mary. I bought one of those ‘first timer’ mary books and followed the schedule. Basically ran various mileages all at the same 8.5’ pace. I built up to a max of around 40-45 miles and finished my first mary in 3:44.

Four years later, I was a newbie to triathlon and decided to do my second mary. I was training at the time with M2, he had me running less than I ran in 2000, my log from 2004 shows a max week of 28 miles, averaging around 22 miles. The one thing he had me do, though, was run faster. For a newbie this might not be a good thing, but I had over a decade of recretional LSD miles in the tank, so the speed didn’t hurt. I ended up running my second mary in 3:04 and it was freaking miserable that day as far as conditions go.

Fast forward to my first IM later that year. I did some track and tempo stuff, but my long runs were done at the 8.5 - 9’ pace so it wasn’t much of a surprise that I ran a 3:53. After the race I thought to myself, I can do better. And it was then that I decided if I ever do another IM, I would run train at a much faster pace.

IMO, the IM run is all about overcoming muscle fatigue vs the aerobic engine. So I did all my long runs the day after my long rides. First thing in the morning, on heavy legs, I set out and just forced myself to turn the legs over the first few miles at a 7:20-7:30 clip . After a few miles I felt fine and continued to hold the pace. Is this why I was able shave 23’ off my mary split? I have no idea, but I can tell you one thing: As soon as I came out of T2 in Fla my body instinctively went right to the pace that I had trained at. Coincidence? Again, I am not sure, but I would think it had something to do with it. That pace was my planned race pace but Rick convinced me otherwise. He said each 7:30 would cost me a 9:30 later. As I mentioned earlier, it took me a good 4-5 miles to slow to an 8’ pace. That 8’ pace felt VERY easy, and that was a good thing. So, in my case, I do think that training faster than I planned to race had some significant benefit. I really do mean it when I say I just felt so damn good on that mary. Maybe it was luck or perhaps my run training had something to do with it. Whatever the case, I knew from my own experience with my stand-alone mary’s and IM mary that running faster seemed to lead to faster times.

Best of luck to you

17

Great post.

I am one of those guys who didn’t get anywhere on the 3x a week run at high intensity/focus…for years. Not to speak of all the running injuries I got from this approach.

Took me until this season to realize that the only way I would be making more progress would be to run 6 times a week, keep the intensity down (except for maybe 2 shorter runs) and be patient.

After about a couple of months I saw a huge improvement not only in speed that I was able to hold, but also in endurance and “ease” of the workout. Plus I have stayed injury free (I now attribute those injuries to the high intensity workouts -track- without proper “conditioning”.

Back then in PE, I wasn’t the kid in the back but I remember puking my heart out trying to stay mid pack…

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Back then in PE, I wasn’t the kid in the back but I remember puking my heart out trying to stay mid pack…

Despite playing every sport on offer year-round, I was always the kid off the back. You know how football divides kids into the big, slow ones and the small, quick ones? I was the small, slow one. :slight_smile:

19

Rob

If you can get me under an hour I’ll buy you a new bike!!! Now I know what you mean when you say the 55-1hr swimmers have the change tent all to yourselves. Watching the video Lisa took, I was drooling at all the clean open water the fast swimmers like you get to enjoy.

Don’t think I haven’t considered IMKY, although Lisa would probably kill me. We will get together and do some brick training next summer.

Best to you, keep swimming fast!