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T-30 weeks for IMW
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Isn't the general consensus that you need to have gills to complete the fink swims in the allocated time anyway?
I plan to full change, I did last year for outlaw, swim shorts under wettie, into cycling shorts and cycling top (with arm warmers, didn't need these at outlaw), into running shorts and monaco.
Worked well so I'm sticking with it. The few mins not changing will save I'm happy to have the extra comfort.
I'm currently on about week 10 of the fink plan, I'm planning to keep at about this level for the next 10 weeks then start the build phase. Good luck all and keep us posted with your progress,
You wouldn't/shouldn't need a jacket as well as a Gabba, they also come in long sleeved version as well but I find the short sleeved a bit more versatile.
I did a full change last year, I plan not to this year due to the modesty area at Tenby being the size of a phone box and open to the elements.
Oh good to know, I'll be mid packing out the swim (i hope) so I'm assuming this phonebox will be rather busy.
Brilliant i will have to get one orderd ASAP. I am still going to get fully changed i think. I am not going to win it so i might just go for the comfort thing since its my 1st one.
If i am doing the fink 2500meter swims now in about 50 min, what would you predict for the ironman? I just dont really know weather to add time on with it beeing in the sea or how i would judge it. cheers
Bear in mind when you're swimming in the pool you're turning around every 25m. And also swimming in a wetsuit is easier because you're more buoyant.
However, I can't comment on the sea swimming aspect because I did IMUK last year, and that's a lake swim
Lots of people at Tenby last year said the swim felt longer because of currents, but apparently with the tides this year it should be easier.
I swam a 1:09 last year, quickest I'd done that distance before, 35 minute lap 1 & a 34 minute lap 2. I was doing the Fink swims in around an hour, sometimes up to 1:15 depending on how busy the pool/lane was for the longer 3500 swims with drills. I also think the swim was over distance, certainly my Garmin reckoned it was and I've seen a few other people comment they thought the swim was over distance,
Re the tides at Tenby, the start last year was pretty much at HW, the first leg out to turn 1 is all into the current, then you turn down current to the lifeboat station, then across the current.
So hopefully i could be out of the water in 1.15 if i am lucky and put the training in.
I cannot wait now like. i just wanna get it done ha.
Do you lot know what the energy drinks/ bars/ gels will be given out around the course and how often?
I ask a lot of questions dont i ha ha a
Last year it was Power Bar products.
Nothing on the swim.
Bike feedstations were at miles 24, 37, 57, 67,78,97,110 Energy bars cut in half, halved bananas, energy drink & water. Note NO gels.
Run there were 4 stations I think? Flat coke, Power Horse, water, gels, energy bars, bananas and ritz crackers.
I think i read somewhere that it is gatorade this year for the drinks
Yeah, they said that this time last year and it was Power Aid.
Final RV, when you did Fink last year did you do all your Z1 100 RPM sessions on the turbo?
No, I only did them on a turbo if it was a: too dark outside b: honking it down After about week 5 or 6 I ditched them and just went out and rode, by the summer I was doing 2 or 3 hour midweek evening rides to get more miles in and to hit the hills, I'll do the same and more this time round.
The 100rpm spin sessions is really all about good peddaling technique and to get used to the higher cadence.
I am always thinking about the bike leg - will i be able to do it all ect? I have only ever done one 60 mile ride in my life and i was tired at the end of it. does it soon come together RV?
Thanks FRV, I tend to pedal at around 90 to 100 anyway and I have no chance of staying in Z1 as I live at the top of a big hill and struggle to keep from Max HR on
Trotter as a warm up to training I completed the first 10 weeks of Fink and by the end I was riding 100km having not ridden a bike since I was a kid.
It all comes together in the end, if I remember rightly the longest ride in Fink is 6 hours, I did at least 3 7+ hour rides last year! my big Saturday rides in Build & Peak never stayed in Z2, I'd be walking most of the time where I live. Hills hills and more hills and then some more hills.
If it helps, I worked out what time of day and elapsed time I needed to be at each and every feed station on the day to beat the cut off. I then rode the course twice in training and both times had way enough time in hand throughout, on the day I swam a 1:09 so mentally I had the added bonus of another hour in hand, puts quite a spring in the step.
FRV out of interests what were your times for bike and run?
Cheers
i am one that thinks unless you are a fast cyclist ,,,fink doies not have enough cycling..
the long rides aren't long enough.....
I wanted at least 3 100 milers in...and last year for wales i must have got at least a dozen in.that is because i am a slow weak cyclist........
and it does depend on the terrain........at outlaw last year i finished the bike in 6:23 feeling that i could still do a good run.( heat got me in the end)......at wales i hammered the bike as i was paranoid about the cutoffs and managed a 8 hr bike split..
I gave it my all on that bike course....
Without checking the Ironman website for results I think it was bike split was 7:15 and run 4:25.
I agree with Seren, more cycling needed in Fink and less swimming And don't even think about doing the Just Finish for Wales.
I am worried now ha ha cheers. better get off my arse and attack some hills then.
Final RV, if you add more biking and do less swimming are you still doing Fink?
Just looking at some of the comments you have made in this thread. That you don't like swimming and that you arrived in Wales tired.
Are these related?
FRV reading back through my comment I can see it could be seen in harsh light that's not my intention but a a beginner its quite confusing being told to alter your plan.
What effect will the alterations have? positive or negative
Is the person asking you to change plan as knowledgeable and experienced as the plan designer?
Just a few of the thoughts that come up when you receive advise like that.
Cheers
I agree with Seren that the biking is a bit light in Fink. You don't need to do a dozen centuries, but booking yourself onto 2 or 3 long sportives makes it more interesting, and you're committed then. I think the programme is written for city dwelling Americans, so if you can get out for a couple of hours inthe bike on a weekday evening when it gets lighter, that puts a bit more work into the legs prior to the weekend.
While I'm on the subject of Fink, the swims are more bearable if you drop the second lot of drills - it's hard to do them well once you're tired, and it makes the sessions shorter which is important if you're slow and can't fit in more than an hour.
Joddly I do have trouble with second sets of drills.
One of the reason I am sceptical if adding more bike is both my experience in weigh lifting and something that Fink wrote that rings true to me.
He says that he increases the volume of training by 10% with each week to stimulate adaptation as this is about the average level of increase that is most effective. For most people increases greater than10% lead to a decrease in adaptation and increase in both fatigue and injure risk.
When weight training we always either increased weight by 10% or when working within the 10 rep max range increase reps by one as a way of increasing volume/intensity. Re-enforcing my belief in the 10% increase.
In the early stages of any training there can be slightly more of an increase, know as newbie gains, this is down to neural adaptation rather than physical adaptation. That is the nervous system gets more efficient at making the muscles work.
i agree that you should always be careful about increasing running too quickly........the other two I think you can ramp up quicker as they do not carry the same injury factor....
and above all go and ride the course as early on as you can.that will help you assess your cycling...you might be great on technical hills and not need to put as many hours in..or you might find that you are having to get off and push near the end.
there is nothing worse that cycling the last 20 miles of an ironman bike leg knowing that the cutoffs are slowly moving out of your grasp..and the last couple of horrendous hills have you in tears..........the feeling of doing the last few miles praying that they would be generous with the cutoffs and discovering that they are not and your chip is removed.....
you need to be doing the bike knowing that you have a bit of margin to play with........
all this advise is only for those weaker cyclist like myself who are aiming to complete
Agree with Seren again. cycling is much more benign than running, so you can make steeper increases, and that's how people get away with sticking in "big" bike weeks during training. Also, more time getting your backside saddle - shaped now can pay dividends later when the rides get longer....
Seren, Joddly, thanks for taking the time to give me such detailed responses. I really appreciate it. Guess it may be more time on the bike for me. I am hoping to get to Tenby either late April or early June as well as spending the two biggest weeks of the plan there putting a few big rides in on the course.
Cheers
I don't enjoy swimming, but I'm an above average swimmer according to my stats and SWOLF scores, after lap 1 of IMW I was 7th in my age group, swimming in a pool bores me to tears, but I do it, I never skimp on the distances and I always try hard to improve on technique.
Arriving in Wales tired wasn't anything to do with swimming, more an age related thing I think, I'm an old bastard, I needed to either race 2 weeks earlier or to have had a slightly longer taper, this year I'm going to taper a bit longer and I won't be doing a Half Ironman this year either So that might help as well.
You should stick to the plan to be honest unless your body is telling you something different.
Cheers FRV, I did take into account what you said and got out on the Bike today rather than a 100 RPM turbo session managed to keep the cadence up on a nice lumpy ride
http://www.strava.com/activities/115115889
A 1/10th of the way there already.
How are your weekly totals looking?
All going good for me, been keeping at about week 10 of the plan as that's where I started. Trying to train to HR properly rather than perceived as I did last year. Although I can see why I dropped it last year I'm getting itchy feet staying in zone 2. All my longer session have been hilly sessions so I'm hoping this is going to help. My average bike MPH has gone from 18 / 19 to 14 / 15.