Highway to Hell – Cont’d

calendar Jun 1, 2010 · 2 min read  ·
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So I got a couple of great comments on my last post – that got me to think a little bit.  Rather than reply as another comment, I thought I’d write another post to continue the conversation and post some thoughts.

Thus far Evan and Jeff have provided some great thoughts – here are my stream of thought responses, which I welcome additional feedback on!!!!

In no particular order my thoughts/response to the points raised:

Jeff raises a lot of valid points about developing a crazy swim/bike combination; it’s just hard because I enjoy being a balanced sort of guy.  Attractive thought though…especially since getting down to a 3:10 to 3:15 run is probably an order of magnatude easier than to a 3:05 – and I’ve got this foot to be wary of for probably ever.

I definately think 250 watts is a high number, but based on:

  •  my knowledge of the course I’m targeting (IMWI)
  •  my weight (180 pounds plus or minus)
  •  my equipment (Cervelo Dual + PX 50/50 w/ wheel cover) it seems about right.  216/230 (AP/NP) yielded me a 5:25 in a typical wind day in 2008, and 5:20 on a calm day in 2009. 
  • I was gonna toss out the SRM vs. Powertap drivetrain loss – but it looks like you run an SRM also 🙂

I’m sure if I bought a better bike and/or deeper wheels, I could shave a decent amount off the requirements, but it’s probably not in the cards before IMWI – and FTP is never bad 🙂

Evan is definitely right on run durability – when I hit it right, I don’t have any problems running the entire thing – but important this year especially with so much time off – thus far I am 3 for 7.

My feelings on intensity generally mimic Evan’s thoughts.  I think pure aerobic work will get you very far, my thoughts of tempo/intensity as it applies to Ironman triathlon = Threshold level, but not higher. 

Training for most weeks in the last 16 weeks or so are in the 18-22 range: 4 hrs swim, 4-5.5 run, 11-13 bike, in a perfect world I’d have 30-40 minutes cycling @ FTP, and 15-20 minutes T-pace of running each week.  The remainder of bike/run being Level 2/E-pace speed.  Although this year, I’ve been trying to include an additional 40-60 minutes of FTP/HIM riding to help build FTP.

Swimming – all over the place intensity wise.

Thanks for the feedback thus far guys – it’s sparked more thoughts…