Why do I fall apart during my long runs? (Page 4)

Originally posted by GatorDeb I'll have the Garmin, and Elapsed time and all that. I do know that I need 14:30 per mile (including those pesky last .2) if I hit the bike cutoff to the second and take 5 mins at T2. So I'll have it all set up, last mile pace, average pace, time, elapsed time. I DID think to have two little plastic calculators with me, and probably will Take 30 extra secs at T1 and take it with me at T2, I don't want ANY outside assistance, I'm crossing that finish line on my own. So I can calculate as I go. If it's fitness, nothing to do but keep at it. It'll come. What's funny is that I had a 6.5 mi run today and I barely touched 22 oz in 95-100 degree weather, so I seem to be adjusting to it. One thing is that Vegas is hot, hilly, and windy, and pretty much all my running has been done at elevation gains many times over CDA and the bike also, so I think I'll get there and go, hey, this is FLAT!! lol I know the run is flat other than the hills, depending on the situation I may walk them and run harder on the flats, it's going to be adjusting on the fly. I think just by virtue of living here, the course as a whole itself is definitely easier, it's probably going to be much cooler than 100 degrees and maybe less windy than what I usually do. I LOVE all the non-fitness aspects of triathlon, the nutrition, the transition, the figuring out what to take, the pacing, deciding how hard to go here, how easy to go there. I enjoy the micromanaging throughout the day. And it's very easy for me to zoom in on the next mile, the next step, etc., and shut out the distance at a whole. I can lose myself in the moment and I just love the feeling of feeling the body move, and I imaging bones, ligaments, muscles, etc. moving. And I just love to swim, bike, and run, so this just gives me more of it Whenever there's still a lot left to go I always remember I'm CHOOSING to SBR and feel lucky that I get to do it and I'm in shape to do it.

A note on the calculations.  Always keep moving forward.  Don't stand there in T2 punching numbers in a calculator.  START WALKING and punch numbers in a calculator.  30" in a transition is nearly 1" per mile over a marathon.  It adds up.  Mantra of the day...KEEP MOVING FORWARD.  Keep all stops to a minimum unless absolutely necessary.  Also, make sure one of the displays on your Garmin is CURRENT TIME OF DAY.  Seriously...after 12-15 hours your brain gets a bit mushy and trying to figure out total elapsed time on the Garmin could be hard.  If you have a plain old watch or just time of day posted on the Garmin you will *always* know exactly how much time is left before midnight.  That is a FAR easier calculation than figuring out how long it's been since you started.  Who knows if you accidentally stopped the Garmin at some point or whatever could happen...that time of day on some electronic gadget will be comforting....

BTW, 5' in transition for an IM is a lofty goal.  The transition areas tend to be larger than most tris and you are generally doing more.  I know at IMFL it takes nearly 5' just to walk or run through transition, and that doesn't include stopping to get your bag and such.

Also, do not plan on keeping an even pace on the run.  There are few truths in an IM but almost universally people NEVER run the final miles as fast as the first miles.  There are a super human few that even split or even negative split, but that certainly isn't me and I will go out on a limb and say it probably isn't you either.  You also need to know what your average walking pace is.  I know that about the fastest I can walk a mile is 17-20 minutes.  When I reached the point where run/walk was taking me 16-17 I knew that it was fairly pointless to keep trying to run much more and I definitely switched to a more walk-centric strategy.  But I also kept calculating in my head (using the worst case of 20' per mile to keep the math simple) whether I could make the cutoff if I started walking "now".  Somewhere past 18 or so I realized I could make the cutoff and I was able to walk a lot of the uphills and such (at that point "running" was almost laughable).  I ended up running MOST of the last mile (it was flat, and cheering crowds help) but I walked a LOT of 18-24 because I had the math in my head to back it up.

I guess in the end what I am saying is that you shouldn't try to min pace your day.  A LOT of things can happen in an IM to slow you down.  You NEED to build in a cushion because you WILL use it.

Originally posted by GatorDeb Good tips thanks For the run definitely it's going in my tri suit before I use it, and it's off to running. For the bike I can't steer and calculate at the same time lol I know I need 13.6 MPH with 2 hour swim and 15 min T1, putting me at 9:15 when I start pedaling, so really it's only taking 510 (8.5 hours, bike cutoff is 5:30p) minutes and adding or subtrating mins from 9a, dividing my 112, and rounding down and dividing 60 by that #. I've done that so many times that I can do that within 30 seconds, and those are 30 seconds I don't mind spending so that I have a # to beat for the bike. So if I'm pedaling by 9a, that's 13.19 MPH, which is the goal (to be pedaling by 9a).

Have you thought about creating a table before the bike that you can keep in a ziploc for reference?  Say in 5-10' increments figure out how fast you have to go.  Then all you have to do is look at your watch, know what time you're starting, and reference the table for how fast you have to go.  You'd only need to run 4 or 5 numbers.  I mean, start with best case scenario (what, 1:45 swim 15' T1?) and go up in 5-10' increments to worst case...2:20 swim with 15'T1....Then your math is already done.

My coach had an athlete convince herself that she couldn't make the cutoff...when it was still daylight outside.  IM turns your brain to mush! :D

364 miles of running this year is just not anywhere near enough for a newbie in IM training especially the way you're doing it with the weekly long run accounting for nearly all your running.  The fact you're not injured is amazing in itself.

This is what we have been telling you for the past however number of months.  If this is your coach's plan and you're following it to a T, then your coach has no idea what she's doing.  I wouldn't pay $3 per month for this advice, let alone $300.  As much as I dislike BT's free plans, the BT plans would at least have you way better prepared and trained than what you're doing.

You're going to realize this come June 23rd.  You'll feel cheated when it comes to your race.  You'll feel cheated when it comes to your training.  You'll feel cheated when it comes to your bank account.

I applaud your life change.  Those before and after pics are amazing.  You're just going about your training (for an Ironman) completely wrong.

It's not a coincidence that Vegas and Kona qualifiers tend to do very well at the local short course races.