IM Lake Placid

Yes, there is a screaming 6-mile downhill in each loop, and then you end up having to pay to get that back. Gordo Byrn has some good tips regarding the Lake Placid bike course, you can read them here:

http://www.byrn.org/gtips/imlp.htm

From being a spectator on the back part of the bike loop this year, I watched all the riders come through their 2 loops, positioning myself near the end of the uphill sections. I think from watching everyone, that the key is pacing, pacing, pacing. A LOT of the competitors looked to be in rougher shape at the end of the 2nd time around. Of course this is to be expected, but I think many were surprised at how much those hills can take it out of you. They'ed come by on the first loop, hammering up the grade, and the next time around, they'd be sitting in the saddle, wishing they'd had an extra gear on the cassette.

I have the luxury of living within 4 hours or so of Lake Placid, so I hope to go up a couple times next Spring / early Summer and do a couple reconaisance rides. I'll definitely report back when I do.

The run is tough. The bike is tough. And it's an Ironman! But that is why you signed up right? You wanted to be challenged. There is no easy way. You have to get out and train long and hard for this event. Anything less than your best isn't going to cut at this distance.

The bike course is hilly, but they are long slow hills, easier to train for in my opinion, than up/down, up/down hills - try working on some Big Gear training 1x per week - this will make the hills a bit easier for you. Start out with 1 x 10 minutes at 65 RPMS - keep the HR low (aerobic) the next week, try 2x10 minutes and each week add a rep to your workout. This is how you train for hills in the winter, unless you live somewhere warm and you can ride outside in the hills. Of course I would do this type of training year round anyway. It helps you get stronger.

I hope this helps you and good luck in LP, I'll see you there.

Thanks. It's tough to train for hills in the flatlands of central Indiana but I am training consistantly now and am looking forward to the challenge.

Big Gear 1x per week - those are your hills!

Mike, does it make much difference if you do big gear work seated or standing? I'd done a bit of riding out your way and since I'm more comfortable climbing out of the saddle, I'd done the entire climbs up places like Berthoud Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass, and Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado by standing the entire way. I was always told that this takes more out of you, but I just have a hard time staying seated. Can I do long hill repeats on the CompuTrainer this way, or at least do them by alternately standing and sitting? I'm going to program a hill course into the CT that will allow me to do long climbing intervals with a wattage setting that will keep me in an aerobic zone.

Max

Great question! You are pretty hard core to be climbing out of the saddle up and over 12k in some instances - pretty awesome stuff. I would say you are pretty fit and very strong. That type of climbing is something I add on at the end of my Build weeks in order to bump my fitness a few nothces before a big race.

Now, having said all that, I would go back to what I always tell athlete's and that's to work on your weaknesses. If it's not comfortable for you to sit and climb, then definitely do more of it.

I would start with seated sets first, building up to something like 5x15 minutes or even 3x30 minutes if you can (this is pretty advanced) and after you get through that you can do some alternating sets of seated/standing - just to change the muscle groups up and really fatigue yourself.

The CT is a great tool for this, absolutely. I do this 1x per week where I sit at a pre-determined wattage and pedal at 65 RPMS - and that HR is usually aerobic - until the end of the session then it starts to climb a little.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Mike, it helps a lot! I am going to work on my seated climbing over the Winter, only because it does seem to be the general consensus that you save more energy in the long run by climbing that way versus standing all the time, which tends to fatigue your muscles a lot more. I think I'll just plug in a nice steady grade into the CompuTrainer and work my way up to a long steady-state climbing workout. When the warmer weather gets here, I usually try to schedule a weekly workout up in the mountains of New Hampshire where I can do steady 6 mile climbs on the Kancamagus Highway. I've always done them standing, but next Spring I'm going to try doing them seated at a higher cadence. I think this will pay big benefits at Lake Placid, hopefully getting me onto the run without being too fatigued.



Edited by max 2004-12-10 12:29 PM

Tiger Phil

Did you see this link too which compares all IMNA courses: http://www.ironmannorthamerica.com/comparebike.html

My advice is the same - add in one session a week of Muscular Endurance (ME) on the bike. Strength work on the bike will help you on the hills. I think keeping a steady cadence is good, but you have to be use all different muscles on race day not just the ones that are able to spin quickly. Being well rounded is only going to help, so get started on some weekly ME sessions.

Mike or others,

For those of us who care about our family and friends who have had to live with us through our months of obsessive training, can you make any recommendations as to what they can do as spectators at IMLP?  Best places to watch, things to do, so forth and so on?
Much appreciated.
-Adam
[email protected]

Adam, before Mike might jump in, let me add a few observations from being a spectator in 2004. As far as watching the race, there is no better place than along the lakeshore road. You can see some of the swimming action from there. Don't go down to the beach, it will be WAY too crowded and small children won't be able to see anything. If you get there early, you can stake out a position along the fence to cheer the swimmers on as they exit the water and run down to T-1. But Lakeshore road is definitely the best spot. You can bring along folding lawn or beach chairs and take up a spot along the sidewalk. The kids can purchase packages of chalk and spend the morning writing your name in big letters on the road for you to see. They have a bit of time before the bike riders come around on the first loop...probably up until around 10:00 AM. This position lets you see the bike riders twice, plus the runners 4 times as they do the out and back section in town. Another good spot if you can get there would be on the end of the speed skating oval (transition) where they mount the bikes. Not a lot of room there, but I found it fairly uncrowded along the fence and you get to see some of the transition too. Since it's such a long race and everything is concentrated in town, there is ample time to wander around to different viewing locations. If your family has a close-by motel, you can watch some of the race, like the swim, bring the kids back to the motel for a while, and return a bit later for the latter part of the bike and run.

Best thing is to remain flexible, bring sunscreen, a chair to sit on, and a sense of humor! It's a long day, and there are numerous places in town to eat too, but the crowds are there as well.

For non-race day activities, there's lots of good hikes out of the Adirondack Loj (yes, the spelling is right). Check out http://www.adk.org. Also, I think they do some sort of summer bob-sled ( http://www.orda.org/sumr.bobsled.php) which might be cool, I've never done it.

Edited by JGFTri 2005-01-23 9:12 AM

And you can take a ride to the top of the Olympic ski jump. Some times they have summer jumping practices, by using plastic mats in place of the snow. You can drive to the summit of Mt. Whiteface if hiking is not your preference.

Edited by max 2005-01-23 9:20 AM

Adam

I agree with Max - don't get caught inside the swim area - it's really hard to get around in there. I watched some from the fencing where the swimmers exit but it was tough to see - I actually rode my bike out to the top of the last hill the cyclists come in on to get some pics and then for the run I went out on the course which I don't advise. If you walk down the hill from the run start those hils are a great place to see people coming up and they can really use the encouragement.

Sorry for the slow reply on this - I am currently in NZ - just finished Epic Camp last week and I am just plain old tired. :-)

I hope this helps.