2007 Season - Looking Back
I put together my 2007 season with an eye to seeing people. For IMAZ, I rendezvoused with my sister and we visited our uncle prior. At Florida 70.3 I saw some bloggy peeps and a bunch of Toronto peeps. At IMMoo I rendezvoused with my sister, we saw many bloggy peeps, and afterward I visited folks in Wisconsin and Illinois.
The resulting structure of the season led to compromised performance at events; nonetheless I did learn some performance lessons:
o low heart rate training below my zone 2 is not my friend;
o my recovery from an IM is on the long side:
o Florida 70.3 done 5 weeks after IMAZ still knocked back my trajectory;
o I could have used another month for IMMoo prep after Florida 70.3
o stomach may be unreliable after 13 hours:
o should cram in more calories - more at breakfast, gel or sportsdrink before swim, and consider transition time/heart rate in starting eating on the bike;
o muscular endurance in zone 2 was OK by IMMoo, but burned carbs and had insufficient aerobic fitness to complete much faster
o even without proper hill training, my build can get me through; and
o on a windy day I give up a lot of time due to my non-fully-aero position on the Poor Little Blue Cannondale (this hurts bridging rollers too).
If I want to Just Keep Running on the marathon of an IM (or go beyond that and Leave It All On The Course) I suppose I had best train and equip to go sub-13. Contrary to that requirement, although I've very much appreciated my iron-distance event days, the training hours (and to a lesser extent season design) required by a performance focus are more than I've looked to dedicate.
So, that makes three iron-distance races I've done, with two being Mdots done this season. I've used the line: "Training for an Ironman is great; actually doing one is stupid." Really, the toll on the body from the day itself *can't* be good for us. But at least it's stupid fun!
The resulting structure of the season led to compromised performance at events; nonetheless I did learn some performance lessons:
o low heart rate training below my zone 2 is not my friend;
o my recovery from an IM is on the long side:
o Florida 70.3 done 5 weeks after IMAZ still knocked back my trajectory;
o I could have used another month for IMMoo prep after Florida 70.3
o stomach may be unreliable after 13 hours:
o should cram in more calories - more at breakfast, gel or sportsdrink before swim, and consider transition time/heart rate in starting eating on the bike;
o muscular endurance in zone 2 was OK by IMMoo, but burned carbs and had insufficient aerobic fitness to complete much faster
o even without proper hill training, my build can get me through; and
o on a windy day I give up a lot of time due to my non-fully-aero position on the Poor Little Blue Cannondale (this hurts bridging rollers too).
If I want to Just Keep Running on the marathon of an IM (or go beyond that and Leave It All On The Course) I suppose I had best train and equip to go sub-13. Contrary to that requirement, although I've very much appreciated my iron-distance event days, the training hours (and to a lesser extent season design) required by a performance focus are more than I've looked to dedicate.
So, that makes three iron-distance races I've done, with two being Mdots done this season. I've used the line: "Training for an Ironman is great; actually doing one is stupid." Really, the toll on the body from the day itself *can't* be good for us. But at least it's stupid fun!
posted by Brent Buckner at 10/03/2007 08:48:00 am
10 Comments:
Cool that you're looking back, Brent, and it does seem like you learned a lot this season. Heck, reading your synopsis, I took a lot away!
I can hardly wait to look back on my season! I still have a half iron and an iron left. It has been a very, very stupid season...but fun!
That was a nice look back. And even if this is not the smartest use of our time, there are certainly a lot worse things that we could be doing.
Nice post-season thoughts. I particularly like your last line about training for an IM vs. doing one. I thought the very same thing last year.
Look forward to seeing what's up for you in 2008.
Good seasonal recap and lessons learned.
(And I enjoyed the rendezdeux immensely.)
Interesting and illuminating. The stomach 13+ issue is surely almost universal among mid-pack athletes?
Brent, you had a crazy year!! I didn't realize how action packed of a year you had! Wow!
You made it through, better for the wear, great job!
Yes it is stupid fun!
But who doesn't love it?????????
at least it's stupid fun!
Now that is funny...and true.
Great perspective.
Those are very intuitive insite's to last season. I would challenge you to ask yourself a question for the next thirty days, write it on your bathroom mirror, "Is my form the best it can be in each event and how do I make it better?"
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