More pre-race prep... Thornbury 10k -setting pacing goals for a run

The Thornbury 10k a great pre-season race to test out the legs and compare my speed from this time last year.

Last year....

23rd overall
42:00 flat
6:45/mile
6th in my age group

I would like to shave a minute off my total time, which is roughly 10 seconds per mile.  So...

I'm going from 6:45 to 6:35/mile

AND because I am neurotic, I want to know what my 1/4 split needs to be in order to maintain the 6:35 pace.

So I plug my goal time into my excel sheet...

and I get 1:39 per 1/4mile

Using my Garmin Forerunner 910xt, I have it pre-set to alert me every time I hit 1/4 mile.

Finally, because I know nothing ever works out the way you plan...especially when it has to do with your body, I need to generate an alternative plan that takes into account feeling crappy at some point during the race.  

I won't spell all these out because they're boring...but essentially I would make assumptions (I feel great from the start, I feel crappy from the start, I feel crappy in the middle etc.) and adjust that 1/4 pace accordingly.

Now, it is time to race.  I'll check back after the event.  Wish me luck!

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Obsessive compulsive analysis? Picking apart the Syracuse race course -the bike

My eyes are set on the Syracuse 70.3 Ironman event on June 22nd

This race favors an athlete such as my self because of the bike profile.  

From Ironman.com: 

The race begins in Jamesville Reservoir, where athletes will complete a 1.2-mile, single-loop swim. The 56-mile bike course winds through the Highland Forest recreational area, taking athletes through the picturesque, rolling countryside of Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties. Athletes will finish their race with a 13.1-mile run in and out of Jamesville Beach County Park, offering plenty of shade to accompany the challenging rolling hills. 

THE BIKE:

This is the official map from the Ironman website.  Below is the profile from the Ironman website.  Nice and hilly...right up my alley.  

I've also studied the course on MapMyRide.  This is important so I can see exactly where the hills fall along the course.  

Along with the photos and maps of the course, I've read some race reports from last years competitors.  One of the most helpful is from the Fueled by Iron blog.  What he wrote about the bike is important.  He had a terrible bike -cramping from mile 33 on because he didn't pay attention to fueling in the early sections of the ride. 

I got so focused on trying to maintain momentum through the hills that I wasn't focusing on hydrating/fueling/taking on salt. It wasn't until I happened to glance down and see my top tube covered in salt/sweat and felt the heat that I knew I was behind the power curve of hydrating/fueling.

 Fueling is something I am paying a lot of attention to and I know, most of it will take place on the bike....but I'll get into fueling later.  

I am lucky enough to have a great coach with CompuTrainers. One of the great thing about the CompuTrainer is that you can program specific bike courses into the device and take a virtual ride on that course.  Needless to say, I've been virtually riding the Syracuse 70.3 bike course for some time.  I realize that isn't the same as riding the actual course, but it is as close as it is going to get during a Pennsylvania winter. 

I've also been studying the top three athletes  in my age category as well as the age category below mine (checking to see if any of those athletes will move up to my age category) from the 2013 and 2012 events to determine what kind of speed I will need to finish on the podium.  

Maintaining speed while conserving energy for the run will be key.

Next up...The Run.

Race Preparation -setting pacing goals for a run

So, I did a 5K last week...

No, this photo has nothing to do with the run...

I know...woo-effing-hoo, right?  It's just a 5K.

Actually, it was good practice for pacing.

Even though I haven't been training for break-neck speeds over short distances, the competitor in me wanted to beat my time from last year.  At the very least, I needed to know my pace from last year and set a pace for this year.

So I looked up my time...

Yep, there I am, 19:51 with a 6:24 pace (19th overall...not to shabby for an old guy who prefers longer distances).

6:24/ mile over 3.1 miles.  Got it. But what good does my pace do if I don't know how fast I'm going?

I'm a triathlete.  We, by our very nature, are obsessed with data...dare you think I wouldn't have some type of toy to tell me how fast I'm going?

I'm lucky enough to have one of these gems.  The Garmin Forerunner 910xt  and I have it set to tell me my 1/4 mile pace...so every 1/4 mile, it beeps and vibrates and the time it took me to cover that distance comes up on the screen.

With a little math, I can figure out how long it should take to cover 1/4 mile at a 6:24 pace.

Here is the math.

6:24/4 = 1:36 (you have to convert the 24s into a decimal because it is 24/60 of a minute)

Long hand that's 24/60=.4 So 6.4/4 for 1/4 mile 1.6 minutes (.6x60seconds =36)
so 1:36 every 1/4 mile

yes, I made an excel sheet because I'm nuts

Anyway, to beat last year's time all I need to do is hit my 1/4 mile splits at 1:36 or faster.  There is an average pace and current pace section on the watch so I can tell if I am on target but to know exactly how on or off I am, I like to know my 1/4 mile splits.  This way, if I lose or gain seconds, I know and can adjust my speed.  I use the average pace for a big picture guide but when the mileage gets high, adjusting my speed off that number becomes difficult....hence the 1/4 mile split time.

Long story short, I was able to beat last year with a 19:34 6:18 pace and slide up into 18th overall...not too shabby for a longer distance runner.

So I wore my GoPro Hero -unfortunately my memory card ran out of space before the finish...but it is still somewhat entertaining.  Check out the video below!

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Obsessive compulsive analysis? Picking apart the Syracuse race course -the swim

My eyes are set on the Syracuse 70.3 Ironman event on June 22nd

This race favors an athlete such as my self because of the bike profile.  

From Ironman.com: 

The race begins in Jamesville Reservoir, where athletes will complete a 1.2-mile, single-loop swim. The 56-mile bike course winds through the Highland Forest recreational area, taking athletes through the picturesque, rolling countryside of Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties. Athletes will finish their race with a 13.1-mile run in and out of Jamesville Beach County Park, offering plenty of shade to accompany the challenging rolling hills. 

THE SWIM:

The swim course takes place in the Jamesville Reservoir just south of Syracuse. It is in a reservoir -that's a good thing.  Water should be calm and flat.  

Satellite image of the reservoir

According to the Fueled by Iron blog,  there is a 150-200m uphill run from the swim out to transition.  I've also read there can be vegetation around the coastline, which can slow the swim.  

The race packet from last year has the swim direction and buoy location laid out like below.  My only question is, it looks like the compass rose on the bottom right of the reservoir diagram doesn't match the satellite /maps image of the reservoir layout, which has the length of the water going south to north rather than east to west.  Not a big deal, I don't think.  

I also gathered from the Tri Banter Blog that the swimmers are released in waves and the bumping, kicking and punching is minimal.  

So, all in all, as far as swims go, this one doesn't look too bad. 

Next time: The Bike...

YTD training summary

Quick catch-up...

Tasty first breakfast. Yum!

Been busy so far this year. A quick overview of the training preparing for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship...

Jan 1: 9 mile trail run -areo base building pace, stretch, core
Jan 2: Swim 3400 yards in the pool, stretch, core
Jan 3: off -woohoo!, stretch
Jan 4: Bike -lactate threshold intervals...ouch (on the indoor trainer) one hour, stretch, core
Jan 5: Run ~ 6 miles, stretch, core
Jan 6: Off (not scheduled)
Jan 7: Swim: 2275, Bike (at my coach's facility -KET) 1:06, resistance training
Jan 8: Run 8 miles, stretch, core
Jan 9: Resistance training
Jan 10: Swim: 2475 yards, Bike 1:00, stretch, core
Jan 11: Bike 2:00 -Threshold intervals + aero base, stretch, core
Jan 12: Run 45:00 intervals, Bike 1:00 aero base (on the indoor trainer), stretch, core

Current!

If you didn't notice, stretching and core work are a staple in virtually all my workouts.  There is a good reason for this...to be explained later.

Videos to watch.

Me taking a FTP test (30 minutes of pure pain to see where I am when it comes to power on the bike)

Hill Repeats...with a tire

There are some other entertaining ones on my channel as well.

More soon.