Its always interesting to look back at my post race thoughts and compare them with the next race see if I am in line with improving my weaknesses. Prior to having a coach, I never really did this. This all began when I began working with my current coach. Marilyn (see blog on side bar) and I started working together as a coach/athlete pair late last year. Prior to, Marilyn and I have been good friends since 2007 when I had the awesome oppurtunity to train in Boulder for a bit. Marilyn (and her husband Chris) were living in Boise last year over the summer and I had had some consistent training over that time and had this crazy idea to do an IM. I looked on the calander and the only one left that was still open was IM Cozumel. We were 10 weeks out from the race and we sat down and created a plan that would address my weakness and get me ready to PR at the IM distance. This would be the beginning of my new found love of Ironman over the last year. For the record, since that time, I have done 3 IM's in 9.5 months and likely one to close the year out. I have changed quite a bit as athlete in this short amount of time and happily to say that I thnk I still have quite a bit of upside...I hope! :)
In any case, the whole purpose of this blog was to look at my debrief sessions with Marilyn, so here they are, nothing fancy, nothing intricate, just basic. Here are a few questions in regards to IM Coz, San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon, and IM Louisville and my basic thoughts.
IM Cozumel
What did we set out to do?
Have a successful IM performance that concentrated on running “well.” CSI – Runs on Nov 3rd and 7th were good indicators I had the fitness and ability to run well.
What were the actual results?
Swim: 52:51 – felt comfortable and steady
Bike: 4:57:34 – very well controlled, wanted to go harder, comfortable ride
Run: 4:20:10 – felt well early on, half way point, fell apart
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
Learned that I probably need to address a few smaller things during race such as electrolytes, starting slower at the beginning of the marathon and use sunscreen during hot races.
What are we going to do?
I would assume increasing my run volume for increased durability early in the season. Cont same swim strategy and maintain what I got on the bike.
San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon
What did we set out to do?
To run the marathon and learn how my body reacts over the distance
1.Run the entire run – completed
2.No mile during the day greater than :30 slower than the first mile - completed
What were the actual results?
Total Time: 3:07:03
Overall Place: 115th out of 8,267
Age Group: 18th out of 740
Splits:
Mile 1 - 7:37
Mile 2 - 7:28
5K - 23:15
5K-mile 5 – 12:56 (avg 6:43pace)
Mile 6 – 6:43
10K - 44:49
Mile 6.2 – 7 - 5:42 (7:26 pace)
Mile 8 – 7:16
Mile 9 – 6:38
Lap 10 – 7:51 (7:07 pace) 48:28
Mile 11 – 6:47
Mile 12 – 7:05
Mile 13 – 6:57
21K – 1:33:17
13.1-14 – 6:05 (6:49 pace)
Mile 15 – 6:54
Mile 16 – 7:07
Lap 18 – 3:32 (7:00 pace)
Lap 19 – 3:17 (6:43 pace)
Mile 18 – 6:59
Mile 19 – 6:43
Mile 20 – 6:39
Mile 21 – 6:45
Mile 22 – 7:00 (Around 21.5, I felt like I began to run with intention, my rhythm slowly began to fade here)
Mile 23 – 7:16
Mile 24 – 7:37
Mile 25 - 7:45
Mile 26 – 7:42
Mile 26-26.2 – 1:42 (7:31 pace)
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
1.The effort in the beginning of a marathon that it takes to run a well split marathon is almost laughable. The pace is way more easy than you think. I had planned to run first mile in 8:00 pace and I couldn’t slow down enough to make it happen and settled with 7:37 for first mile. At mile 26, to run 7:42 took all I had to run that.
2.It is easy to manage the physical fatigue of your legs if you can keep the mind fed well with simple sugars (glucose).Began hitting GU(with caffeine) at Mile 18, first sign of negative thought and continued on for the rest of the run some of which included igloo pops which were being handed out by spectators.
What are we going to do?
Hmmmm good question…..I feel that I have put in quite a few years of good base running I feel solid and strong, but I don’t quite yet have the speed. I felt super comfortable to mile 22 which I was very happy about. On the other hand, I couldn’t have gone any faster if I wanted to from a speed standpoint. I feel like from a cardiovascular standpoint, I am fit enough to go faster, I am now lacking the physical strength/speed to go faster. Prior to the race, I was training almost all run around the 7:00 pace, which is 1 minute faster than I had been training. I think the next step is continue my progressive pace downward and learn to run at a faster pace. I think it has taken me 1.5 years of super aerobic running to get to this point where I can begin to accept some faster paces.
IM Louisville
What did we set out to do? PR in the marathon and break 4 hours
-PR’ed in the open marathon this year earlier running 3:07 untapered (SD Marathon)
-Ran 38:14 in a 10K off the bike in a triathlon (Emmett Oly)
-PR’ed in half IM this year with fastest peronal ½ split off bike (Portland Rev 3)
What were the actual results?
Overall Time: 9:48:56 (43rd OA)
Swim: 53:35 (29th OA) – Didn’t expect to have this result, training good, but not as good as IM Coz
Bike: 5:01:40 (11th OA) – A bit better than expected, avg watts for day 207, on par with IM Coz
Run: 3:47:10 (43rd OA) – Learned a lot this day on management of cramps. I thought realistically could have run 3:35, so a bit disappointed, but happy to get the 4hr monkey off my back and PR in IM.
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
Positive: Amazed that I was able to run 3:47 and walked 3 different times. Never thought I would be able to break 4hrs if I walked. I was able to keep my cramps at bay by slowing when I felt the urge to cramp, really kept them in check as opposed to the old days of just cont to hammer and then wait for them to fully cramp.
Negative: Still don’t think I am “strong” enough to handle the pounding on the pavement for 3:30hrs. I feel fit enough, just not strong enough. Major hamstring weakness.
What are we going to do?
Wt room 2-3 times/week to specifically work on strength.
I am just short of 2 weeks from my last race and still feeling a bit "off." I have began my healthy lifestyle again, but no training yet :) Hopefully things will come around soon, have a sprint race on the schedule in a week back in North Carolina. The last time I raced this race I happen to win it. A lot has changed since then including my race kit choice. I guess this was the "brewing" of the name "Crazy J"
In any case, the whole purpose of this blog was to look at my debrief sessions with Marilyn, so here they are, nothing fancy, nothing intricate, just basic. Here are a few questions in regards to IM Coz, San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon, and IM Louisville and my basic thoughts.
IM Cozumel
What did we set out to do?
Have a successful IM performance that concentrated on running “well.” CSI – Runs on Nov 3rd and 7th were good indicators I had the fitness and ability to run well.
What were the actual results?
Swim: 52:51 – felt comfortable and steady
Bike: 4:57:34 – very well controlled, wanted to go harder, comfortable ride
Run: 4:20:10 – felt well early on, half way point, fell apart
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
Learned that I probably need to address a few smaller things during race such as electrolytes, starting slower at the beginning of the marathon and use sunscreen during hot races.
What are we going to do?
I would assume increasing my run volume for increased durability early in the season. Cont same swim strategy and maintain what I got on the bike.
San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon
What did we set out to do?
To run the marathon and learn how my body reacts over the distance
1.Run the entire run – completed
2.No mile during the day greater than :30 slower than the first mile - completed
What were the actual results?
Total Time: 3:07:03
Overall Place: 115th out of 8,267
Age Group: 18th out of 740
Splits:
Mile 1 - 7:37
Mile 2 - 7:28
5K - 23:15
5K-mile 5 – 12:56 (avg 6:43pace)
Mile 6 – 6:43
10K - 44:49
Mile 6.2 – 7 - 5:42 (7:26 pace)
Mile 8 – 7:16
Mile 9 – 6:38
Lap 10 – 7:51 (7:07 pace) 48:28
Mile 11 – 6:47
Mile 12 – 7:05
Mile 13 – 6:57
21K – 1:33:17
13.1-14 – 6:05 (6:49 pace)
Mile 15 – 6:54
Mile 16 – 7:07
Lap 18 – 3:32 (7:00 pace)
Lap 19 – 3:17 (6:43 pace)
Mile 18 – 6:59
Mile 19 – 6:43
Mile 20 – 6:39
Mile 21 – 6:45
Mile 22 – 7:00 (Around 21.5, I felt like I began to run with intention, my rhythm slowly began to fade here)
Mile 23 – 7:16
Mile 24 – 7:37
Mile 25 - 7:45
Mile 26 – 7:42
Mile 26-26.2 – 1:42 (7:31 pace)
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
1.The effort in the beginning of a marathon that it takes to run a well split marathon is almost laughable. The pace is way more easy than you think. I had planned to run first mile in 8:00 pace and I couldn’t slow down enough to make it happen and settled with 7:37 for first mile. At mile 26, to run 7:42 took all I had to run that.
2.It is easy to manage the physical fatigue of your legs if you can keep the mind fed well with simple sugars (glucose).Began hitting GU(with caffeine) at Mile 18, first sign of negative thought and continued on for the rest of the run some of which included igloo pops which were being handed out by spectators.
What are we going to do?
Hmmmm good question…..I feel that I have put in quite a few years of good base running I feel solid and strong, but I don’t quite yet have the speed. I felt super comfortable to mile 22 which I was very happy about. On the other hand, I couldn’t have gone any faster if I wanted to from a speed standpoint. I feel like from a cardiovascular standpoint, I am fit enough to go faster, I am now lacking the physical strength/speed to go faster. Prior to the race, I was training almost all run around the 7:00 pace, which is 1 minute faster than I had been training. I think the next step is continue my progressive pace downward and learn to run at a faster pace. I think it has taken me 1.5 years of super aerobic running to get to this point where I can begin to accept some faster paces.
IM Louisville
What did we set out to do? PR in the marathon and break 4 hours
-PR’ed in the open marathon this year earlier running 3:07 untapered (SD Marathon)
-Ran 38:14 in a 10K off the bike in a triathlon (Emmett Oly)
-PR’ed in half IM this year with fastest peronal ½ split off bike (Portland Rev 3)
What were the actual results?
Overall Time: 9:48:56 (43rd OA)
Swim: 53:35 (29th OA) – Didn’t expect to have this result, training good, but not as good as IM Coz
Bike: 5:01:40 (11th OA) – A bit better than expected, avg watts for day 207, on par with IM Coz
Run: 3:47:10 (43rd OA) – Learned a lot this day on management of cramps. I thought realistically could have run 3:35, so a bit disappointed, but happy to get the 4hr monkey off my back and PR in IM.
What have we learned (Positive and Negative)?
Positive: Amazed that I was able to run 3:47 and walked 3 different times. Never thought I would be able to break 4hrs if I walked. I was able to keep my cramps at bay by slowing when I felt the urge to cramp, really kept them in check as opposed to the old days of just cont to hammer and then wait for them to fully cramp.
Negative: Still don’t think I am “strong” enough to handle the pounding on the pavement for 3:30hrs. I feel fit enough, just not strong enough. Major hamstring weakness.
What are we going to do?
Wt room 2-3 times/week to specifically work on strength.
I am just short of 2 weeks from my last race and still feeling a bit "off." I have began my healthy lifestyle again, but no training yet :) Hopefully things will come around soon, have a sprint race on the schedule in a week back in North Carolina. The last time I raced this race I happen to win it. A lot has changed since then including my race kit choice. I guess this was the "brewing" of the name "Crazy J"
Until next time!
Crazy J
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