I'm writing this one a little early since i have a little time here. I haven't done my trainer ride today, but I'll just include it in my numbers.
Taper week #1 - Now remember, this isn't a easy week at all. "Taper" means less training load than my last build. So more like 1150-1200 TSS instead of 1300-1400. I'll actually move my fitness back up from my last 2 weeks, but won't reach a new peak in CTL. I'll still fall short of that mark, mostly because my last build was shortened a little to race Steelhead. This week is further complicated by being on call, so most of my training load was pushed to early in the week and less spread out. I also pushed my long ride and last "bigger" day to Monday. So my real taper starts Tuesday. I think the key to taper is the duration that you TSB remains positive. OR rather the length of time that your average training load (ATL) is sustained at a level lower than you cumulative average (CTL) is lower than your previous cumulative average. The trick in your build is to progressively raise it to the highest point possible, then start a increasing descent. Ending with doing very little the last 3 or so days, but more importantly, doing less about 15 days prior to that.
By the numbers:
Swim: 3h26m, 14,700y
Bike: 7h35m, 163mi
Run: 5h2m, 40.2mi
TOTAL: 16h03m
TSS: 1130
CTL: 157.9
TSB: 13.6 (8/25)
My overall CTL peaked at @ 169.1 on 8/02, 164.2 on 8/11 after Steelhead, 161 on 8/21, will peak again at @ 160 on 8/27 and then it's a steady descent until 9/07. So one could even argue that my taper started on 8/03 and I've spent 5 weeks slowly descending.
IMWI Race Planning:
I'm been soliciting advice from Josh Madsen and Scott Bowe (both better swimmers than I..especially Scott) regarding the swim leg. Scott is probably the best resource as he's done this race I think at least 3 times, maybe 4 and has been very successful. Best plan now looks line lining up a little wide (closer to shore, further form the buoy, at the front and trying to stay ahead and away from the initial surge. You'll see in photos that a few other "fish" do the same and you have smaller groups away from the main race line near the buoys. So you swim a little farther in exchange for cleaner water early on. After that, its' about relaxing and finding a good rhythm and just finding feet if possible and swimming straight. The swim " is what it is". Meaning if I go 58 or 1:03... it's not that important. What maters is that I avoid burning any matches, and make sure I don't hurt the next 8 hour of racing just to go 2 minutes faster. Those 2 minutes could cost me 15-20 later in the day.
Otherwise, I pretty comfortable on my nutrition plan, and my bike and run pacing. I found that at Steelhead, I can still run fairly well even while taking in a lot of fluids. I felt pretty thirsty during most of that run. I probably could have drank more pre-race, and that's something I'll keep in mind.
So just 2 weeks...2 weeks. I've been training since last October with this race in mind with my real training plan starting in December. My taper and execution was excellent at Kansas and given how rested I was, very good at Steelhead as well. I'm hoping for an even better result on Sept 7th. I'm more fit and will be better rested. The next 2 weeks is focusing on mental preparation as much as anything. Reminding myself that my longest 20 mile training run even on a warm humid morning, was at a solid pace, was negative splits and overall wasn't very hard. My long rides got easier and easier as the summer wore on. I'm very aero, so I'm getting good speed on few watts and my pace won't fall off as much if I ride conservative and I'll be faster on descents and on rollers where momentum is important.
Most important, I have a supportive family and friends that will be there on race day. Even if I only see them a few times, I know they are there cheering me on... watching that tracker and hopefully enjoying the overall experience and excitement of the day. You have 2500+ people out there that trained hard and sacrificed all year to get to that race, to test themselves, to prove that they can do this. I plan to head back to the finish in the evening to soak in the atmosphere and the cheer on those finishing.... I'm sure my wife will think I'm crazy! Hell...she already does.
Let me just repeat it one more time...
I'm going to swim 2.4 miles (farther than I've ever swam continuously before by at least 10 minutes)...
Then I'll get on my bike and ride it 112miles at a pace about equal to my 70.3 race at Pigman last year (factoring in the hills)...
AND then I'll get off the bike, put on my Kinvaras and run a marathon. My second 26.2 mile run ever and only I think my 5th time over 20 miles or 3 hours. The last time was I think 1998, over 16 years ago.
... then I'll be an Ironman, and as Scott Bowe told me... "go out, race your own race, execute well and you'll be at Kona in 2015."
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