I outlined my training and lead-up to Syracuse in my last post. I chose Joe Friel's half-iron training plan for athletes over 50. I have a couple of his books, so I'm familiar with his training philosophy, and I like the way this plan has two weeks of heavier training and one rest and test week, versus the three weeks heavy/one week light for younger athletes. As I said in the last post, I swam three times a week and tried to follow the plan as best I could. The shorter speed and form workouts weren't a problem. The longer swims were a challenge; a 3400m swim in an hour is not possible for me. I did my best to do the distance whenever possible. I was doing my long rides on Saturday, and my long runs and long swims on Sundays, and sometimes I'd just run out of time. Once spring came and the water was warm enough, I swam in Mirror Lake for my open water swims. I think I swam the cable four times before Syracuse. For the bike, I first used my Kurt Kinetic inRide computer and iPhone app, and then TrainerRoad, so that I could train with power, albeit simulated power. Joe Friel's plan had the option of using heart rate or power targets for most workouts. Even though the power was simulated for both the inRide and TrainerRoad, it was consistent and repeatable, making it a reliable data point to use. And training with power is just more accurate than heart rate. There's no fooling the power meter. I bought a PowerTap and had it installed on my Zipps, so once I was outside and had an FTP for the PowerTap, I was able to adjust my zones and continue using power as the target for my workouts. Keeping my legs healthy continues to be problematic for me. I battled shin splints earlier in the season, and by the Plattsbugh half marathon in April, my right hip was feeling tender and inflamed. I had surgery for a labral tear and impingement in 2011, and I was worried that I maybe had another small tear. An MRI in early June showed no tears, but some fluid in the hip joint. I tried a therapeutic dose of anti-inflammatories for a couple of weeks, then opted for a cortisone injection on the Wednesday before the race. In the two months between the half marathon and the half ironman, I had reduced my run volume considerably. I managed a 6.6 mile run a couple of weeks before the race, my longest since the half marathon, and I knew I was going to have to reassess my race goals. My main goal, always, is to finish and feel good about my performance. I knew if I was healthy and had a good day, I could finish in about six hours. Now, I would like to just be able to run the entire 13.1 miles. The Syracuse run course is no joke; four hills--one of which is very steep--with 1000' of total gain, about the same as the 26.2 mile course in Lake Placid. The bike course has 3000' of gain, about the same as one loop of Lake Placid, but it's a very different profile. The first 12 miles are straight up, followed by another 12 to 13 miles of overall elevation gain, followed by 30 miles of mostly downhill, flat and mild rollers. Not knowing whether I'd be able to run, I secretly considered going out hard for the first 25 miles of the bike and recovering for the last 30, with the goal of going for the fastest bike split possible. Generally speaking, completely against conventional wisdom, but what did I have to lose?
As a backdrop to all of this, I have been training with my friend, Bob Heins, since last fall. Bob and I had done some runs together in the past. He was looking to improve his bike split in order to qualify for Kona, and started riding with me. (I should note that Bob has gone to Kona before.) Bob turned 75 this summer, and signed up for Couer D'Alene, a race with no one else entered in his age group. He just had to finish to qualify, but Couer D'Alene is a tough course (hence, no competition in his age group), and he wanted a decent bike split. We were swimming together in Lake Placid leading up to our races, and for my last swim before Syracuse, Bob invited his nephew to join us. His nephew is an Ironman finisher and a coach, had done and was doing Syracuse this year, as were some of the athletes he was coaching. His advice for Syracuse? Ride the first 25 miles like I'm doing an Olympic, and recover the last 30, since I couldn't push big wattage on the downhills, anyway. Exactly what I wanted to hear! He also warned me to do the first run loop conservatively if I didn't want to be walking the big hill on the second loop. Since I wasn't sure how the hip was going to hold up, I thought this would be a good strategy for me, either way.
I was able to take a half-day off from work on the Friday afternoon before the race. We got to Syracuse in time for me to do the athlete check-in and the mandatory athlete meeting. On Saturday, I did a quick bike and run--enough to get a feel for the first part of each course, a hill in both cases. I checked my bike in and did a swim. There was a short course set up for the athletes. I debated whether I should do it or not. Some of my friends chose not to for fear of having some funky thing happen that would damage their confidence for the next day. I got in the water with the idea that I'd just go for five minutes or so, but I ended up doing the course that was set up. I was feeling good and the water temperature was perfect. We headed back to my brother's for a graduation barbecue and a long night...
My nephews are a good distraction from pre-race nerves.
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