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| Trend doesn't look good. |
Resting heart rate, measured in the morning, before you get out of bed, don't move a finger, lay flat, don't turn on any brain functions other than what is needed to push the go button on your HR monitor, is a good indicator of how well your body is recovering and whether you are over training. The actual number is genetic, but you can lower it by becoming more fit. If your body is under (training) stress, or you lose fitness, it will go up. The 46 BPM at the left of the graph is after a medium hard ride the day before (54 miles with an elevation gain of 3,025 feet). Now I'm down to three-mile runs and fifteen-mile rides. Almost boring.
My panic about not making it has somewhat subsided. My run training is going well and my longer bike rides have been at the minimum speed required to make it in time, but with more elevation gain than I will encounter at the race. Of course, then those Swiss people decide to throw in some additional obstacles: Due to emergency road repairs there will be a detour which will add two miles to the bike distance and another 215 feet in elevation gain. Thanks a lot.
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| More trouble. |
The first 56-mile bike loop will be crucial. I will feel great from all the resting and be tempted to go fast. But I'll have to discipline myself and stick to a much slower speed than I could do, and fight the urge to make up a little bit of time while I'm still fresh. I need all that energy and strength for the second loop and then the Marathon. Yet, I have to go fast enough to make the bike cut-off, otherwise I wont be allowed to start the run.
If I go my predicted speeds, I will be able to "comfortably" finish the race in time, although I will be using different words than comfortably to describe how my body feels after fourteen hours of torture. Looking at last year's results for men in my age group, I wont be last, but I wont be in the first half of that group either. Which is fine for me, but again, it will be hard to let all these people at the beginning of the race pass me and pull away while I'm feeling fresh enough to chase them.
One of the things I learned over the last few years doing this nonsense is that there is a mental component to it. It's not that you have to be good at algebra or chess to do this, but you have to be able to negotiate with your body on how much speed versus pain, and you do have to figure out a way to pace yourself such that you achieve your goal without going too fast at the beginning and then not reach the finish line.
Should any of the jocks from my high-school days be reading this: I apologize for some of the things I said about your muscle to brain mass ratio; but not all of them.
Rolf - I'm glad you have things in better perspective and are feeling more positive about the event. How do you pace yourself, at least on the bike? What has always worked well for me, on the bike, is trying to maintain a certain pedal cadence, while keeping my heart rate in the target zone. The speed takes are of itself. I second what you said about the mental component, the self-negotiation. Sounds as if you are ready! (That is, only if your grocery delivery service remembers to bring you food in the days before the event!)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck, and have a great time!
Mike
Yeah, for such a long race it's all going to be about pacing. For the swim the idea is to just go with the crowd. There will be 2000 other swimmers, so any effort to get ahead will cost a lot of energy, gain at most a few minutes, and exhaust yourself. So, find people to draft of, and take it easy.
ReplyDeleteThe bike will be crucial (no drafting allowed there). Based on measurements during my training rides, I have a strict upper limit on heart rate for the first and second loop. Again, especially for the first four hours, super easy. For me, on the bike, that's 130 BPM or less. A little more on hills, but average for the first round should be close to 125 BPM. Second indicator is how my legs feel. Any sustained effort that feels medium hard or worse, and I'll have to back off. Third is a time chart of when I expect to go through specific villages along the road. Again based on speed measurements during training. That last is more of an indicator on how I am doing, rather than a goal. If time slips, but I would have to violate the first two indicators, then I'll have to ignore my times.
Hoping I feel nice and refreshed(!) after the bike, heart rate will be again an indicator of how fast I can go during the first three loops of the run. There I should be able to maintain a 135 BPM or a little higher. Depending on how I feel, increase effort for the fourth and final loop.
If previous races are an indication, I will be sooo glad to get off the bike. Then, ten minutes later, wish I was back on it. The goal is to make this less traumatic this time and have enough energy and strength left for a good marathon.
130 BPM is my average heart rate when I bend over to put on my cycling shoes! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI told you I had to take it easy on the bike portion! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe actual number is very individual anyway. It depends on genetics, type of sport, your age, and your level of fitness. But you can't compare them between people like that.
Sitting here, typing this, and eating my Rigatoni I'm at 50 BPM. So, 130 BPM is quite high from there. If you start at around 100 BPM before you put your shoes on, you would expect to be higher during actual physical activity.