How to follow me on race day at Ironman Los Cabos 2014

Time is flying by here in Cabo and race day is almost here. After spending most of Friday checking in, picking up my bike, and getting in a practice swim, Today is much more relaxed. I’ve got all of my gear prepped and just have to drop off the bike and gear bags to transition this afternoon. From there, it’s time to put my feet up, hydrate, and get lots of food and sleep in before the early morning.

I will post an update after the race, but for now, below is everything you need to know to keep up with me tomorrow.

Follow me on race day.

Date – Sunday, March 30, 2014
Time – 7:00am PT (10:00am ET)
My info – Ben Coy, Bib #921, M30-34

Visit IronmanLive.com to check my splits throughout the day. There should be live video feed at the finish as well. I am hoping for another sub-10 hour day, which would be 5:00pm PT (8:00pm ET)

You can also download the app IronTrac if you’re interested in tracking me via iPhone.

Thanks for following. I’ll be thinking of you all as I push through the day!

MANA’O’I’O.

Weekly Recap, Mar 10 – Mar 16

There was still a decent amount of volume during this week and intensity remained. Overall, the weekday workouts were pretty similar to the last 2-3 weeks, while the weekend workouts dropped to what felt like much easier levels (4 hr bike and 2 hour run. 2/3 of last weekend’s versions). I replaced my Friday run with another ride on the trainer to put in a few extra bike miles in this last week before the taper as well. Turned out to be a good decision and I felt good through basically every workout this week!

I also finally picked up a replacement strap for my HR monitor which solved the issues I was having for the last 4-6 weeks with inaccurate HR readings. Now, if my Garmin would start showing accurate elevation numbers again, I’d be set…

Total – 14 hours / 174 Miles: I did 11 total workouts – 3 swims, 4 bikes, and 4 runs.

Swim – 3 hours / 6.2 Miles: It felt good to knock out another week of three full swims of around 3500m each. Tuesday I did a love/hate workout with the main set of 6 x (50-100-150) on RI of 15-20 seconds. The 50s were consistently 1:21-1:22/100m pace, 100s were 1:25-1:26, and 150s averaged 1:27.

Bike – 7 hours, 10 minutes / 137 Miles: As mentioned above, I ended up doing four good bike workouts this week, beginning with an hour during Wednesday’s brick, then 1.5 hours on the trainer Thursday night, and another hour Friday morning. On the trainer rides, I averaged 19.6 mph, 20.2 mph, and 19.5 mph on those rides respectively. I finished up the week with 4 hours on Saturday, getting in about 73 miles. I followed a similar route as last week and included plenty of climbing (as well as plenty of red lights, which slowed me down and threw off my momentum a bit). I ran into some interesting crosswinds going through Santiago Canyon too – glad I wasn’t doing the Canyon Time Trial that was set up out there. Plenty of guys were rolling disc wheels which I’m sure was tough with the wind.

Run – 3 hours, 56 minutes / 31.45 Miles: Dropping off the Friday run in favor of another ride was a good call. I had a decent 8.5 miler on Tuesday and was able to push hard during my two 30 minute brick runs (Wed. and Sat.). I felt fresh on Sunday’s 2 hour long run as a result, knocking out 15 miles in 1:55, a 7:42/mi pace. Having the new HR monitor strap that actually worked was great here as I could see my HR averaged just 137 through this run, only spiking above 145 a couple of times. This means I had plenty of room to push harder and still remain in Z2.

The taper has begun! I’m using the extra time to do all of my final prep and get some extra sleep. We’ll be in Cabo in less than two weeks… I’ll be ready.

MANA’O’I’O.

 

Weekly Recap, Mar 3 – Mar 9

The final big week of training before Ironman Los Cabos went pretty much as planned. I hit the majority of my workouts aside from one trainer ride. The weekend’s long days were a bit of a reality check for me as we had some hot, dry weather that really sucked my energy down. It put me behind on hydration on the 6 hour bike which resulted in struggling through the mid-Saturday brick run. I don’t think I fully recovered for my long Sunday run either. All in all, I’m happy with the week because I got a taste of the heat and I have another solid weekend coming up where I can dial in the hydration a bit more.

Total – 16 hours / 186 Miles: Total volume slightly more (6 miles) than last week and about 20-30 miles total short of what I figured I would have (-20 on the bike and -2 on the run).

Swim – 3 hours / 6.3 Miles: I felt like this week was complete in the pool. Tuesday, I did a main set of 20x100m with each 5 100m set increasing pace. It sounds like a repetitive workout, but I’ve done it a few times and really like it. Good mix of intensity and focus on maintaining a consistent pace and rhythm. Thursday I had 2x500m @ 1:30/100m then 4x250m @ 1:28 / 100m.

Bike – 7 hours, 14 minutes / 133.67 Miles: As I mentioned above, I missed a bike workout this week so ended up only riding twice for the week. I was supposed to have a brick on Wednesday with a 1 hr bike, 30 minute run but I had to run my bike into the shop and get the small chain guard plate removed because it had gotten pulled up on the corner and was rubbing against my chain. To get some of the missed workout back, I got up early and did a brick Thursday with a 1.5 hour bike and 30 minute run. I feel like I put in a better workout because I was frustrated for missing the Wednesday ride. On Saturday, I rode 105 miles on what was a hot, dry, and windy day. I got behind on the hydration, however, I still feel like it was a great day. I got in some good hill work and a learning experience for race day.

Run – 6 hours, 1 minute / 45.67 Miles: Not too much to report on the run. I’m still feeling strong overall. The runs during the week went well, mostly as planned. The Saturday brick run was tough though. It was 1:30 in the afternoon, over 80 degrees and I was dragging after the bike as I said above. Getting out on the run, I actually had to walk quite a bit. I cut it short to about 45 minutes (vs. 1 hour planned) and used it as a practice for race day by walking every 5-8 minutes as I will at aid stations. Sunday’s long run went well until around 15-16 miles. I started dragging at that point and decided to bring it home at 18.3 miles instead of 20+. No issue with this as I feel like I’d rather hit 18 miles and recovery than hit 20 and suffer later.

Coming into the home stretch I am looking forward to crushing it this week then really tapering and planning for race day. It’s almost here!

MANA’O’I’O.

Weekly Recap, Feb 24 – Mar 2

This was the second of three peak weeks before starting to back down the volume. I’ve been lucky to have a dry winter to train in this year as it has allowed me to get outside for all of my workouts without interruption. This week however, Mother Nature decided to give Southern California some much needed rain. Unfortunately for me, it came over the weekend, forcing me to try and run on the treadmill one day and spend 5 hours riding on the trainer the next. While that was brutal, the mental training should help me on race day. And, if nothing else, it’s a great minder of how great I have it here not having to do all of my training inside throughout the entire winter like many others across the country.

Total – 15.5 hours / 180 Miles: This week’s total volume ended up slightly down vs. the week before. I started out hitting everything the first few days, however, I cut the run short Friday (hate the treadmill!), skipped the swim Friday (sales close at work and decided to save up for the long indoor ride Saturday), and did 5 hours vs. 6 planned on the Saturday trainer ride. Despite that, I got in key workouts and feel like my fitness is peaking at the right time.

Swim – 2 hours / 4.3 Miles (7,000 meters): I had two strong swim workouts Tuesday and Thursday. 3500m each. The Thursday workout was a 3,500m straight swim which left me feeling pretty confident. I finished the 3500m (2.2 miles) in 53:29 or a 1:31/100m pace. My pace was consistent from start to finish and the second half (1750m) was actually slightly faster than the first half. I was okay missing the Friday workout because of this.

Bike – 7 hours, 12 minutes / 131.10 Miles: The trainer rides on Wednesday and Thursday both went okay. Felt a little slower getting going on the Wednesday brick ride particularly. The long ride on Saturday was the “highlight” this week. I had never ridden more than about 2 hours on the trainer prior to this one. I ended up setting up in front of the TV with a laptop and music at my side as well. I tried to break things up into shorter segments and got off every two hours for a few minutes. Still, it was tough! By the 5 hour mark (and 90 trainer miles) I had enough and went out for my brick run. While it wasn’t the ideal workout, it was a mental challenge at the least.

Run – 5 hours, 36 minutes / 43.16 Miles: I continue to get better on the run. After a week where I felt a few little issues in my legs, this week went better in general. I had a slow start on the Tuesday run, but was very happy with both of my brick runs. On Sunday morning, I went out for 2:45 in the rain. On that run, I got through 19.90 miles in 2:36, a 7:53/mi pace. While my feet were hurting, I felt like I could have easily pushed through 6 more miles at that pace in a race. With one more big week left, I am confident I will be ready for a strong run in Cabo.

4 weeks to Cabo… MANA’O’I’O.