Rev 3 Dells
I thought I would veer away from the usual race reports everyone writes, the youtube clips I sometimes use for humor and offer a different race report. I bring to you an analytical view of my race today and open up the for everyone to be the jury and dissect my race.
A little info of what was going on coming in. I came off what could arguably be one of my best training blocks ever for this race. To give you an idea of some numbers (simply to lay a foundation of understanding for everyone, where my fitness levels are currently at) 100 swim times were usually in the 1:20-1:23 range, this showed my swim fitness was behind a bit. Power on my rides was great usually riding well in the 280-330 range for sets of 4-6 minutes, and 250-300 for 15-20 minute intervals. My last power test yielded a 291 avg but I will have to double check that. Then there was running, my best run as a 90 minute run with 3x10 minute intervals in the 650-700 range starting at 45 minutes into my run, with runs off the bike with sub 7 pace in some short distance work. I ran 46:xx at Elkhart Lake on a closely resembling course of terrain difficulty, so I was hoping to be within striking distance of that time today. Some comments from coach Blake after some key sessions of mine were "Your threshold is definitely rising", "Best run of the year for you", etc. I was nailing all my sessions, I was consistent in my work, and recovering very well. All that was left was to execute.
Swim: 24:47
I decided to take the swim real easy this morning, more of a HIM effort or a bit less then olympic effort. Touched each buoy on the course and sighted very well and swam straight. Not much else to report other then I took it a bit easier then usual.
Bike: 1:11:48 269NP
Solid ride for me and I took each corner VERY conservatively with the soaked roads and limited vision. Rode steady for the most part and my watts were consistent through the ride. I still have to download my ride but I am assuming my VI was closer to 1.00
Run: 58:19 (expecting sub 47)
Ran the first 2 miles at 16 flat and felt good but knew I would be challenged by the course. From that point on it became a run/walk back and forth struggle. I couldn't seem to keep my HR or breathing under control after the first 2 miles. I tried every tactic I could on the hills, lean in, shorten stride, elbow swing, high knees, but only walking would let me go anaerobic.
I'll add more to this tomorrow but I am far to exhausted to really ramble on anymore, just thought I would let others have some input into my development.
posted by bcagle @ 8/11/2013 09:23:00 PM
2 Comments:
How often do you do hill running efforts? The reason I ask is because I find very difficult hilly runs to be beneficial. My go to is to add in a series of nasty hills into my long runs. For example, my longest run this year was ~2 hrs. I smashed myself the first hour which was mostly flat, then hit the hilly series for ~10 repeats up hills that are roughly 0.25-0.3 miles long and average 13-18% grade. Probably the hardest run I put myself through but when it comes time to race, hills feel relatively easy. If you ever want to come try it out hit me up!
Ben,
Did you taper? Were you familiar with the bike and run course and do you think you approached them correctly? If this was a low priority event and you "trained through" it, then I wouldn't worry too much about the result not matching your expectations.
Sometimes bad races happen. Try to learn the lesson and move on. Don't be discouraged. Trust your training and trust that you'll get to your important races ready.
amr
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