tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post3328445419330387710..comments2024-03-15T03:34:26.390-07:00Comments on Alan Couzens: Energy Pacing your IronmanAlan Couzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-91784080648071691742009-10-07T08:29:07.000-07:002009-10-07T08:29:07.000-07:00Hey Marian,
In the second post in this series, En...Hey Marian,<br /><br />In the second post in this series, Energy Pacing your Ironman II, I look at some bike speed estimates for different courses based on wattage. Keeping the caveats that I mention in mind, you could use these numbers as a rough 'check in' on appropriate pacing for athletes of different bodyweight.<br /><br />I calculated run 'powers' by looking at equivalent energy expenditures on the bike and transferring across. E.g. if 260W=3.5L/O2 on the bike, I looked at the equivalent run pace and attributed watts accordingly.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-7479879857324440172009-10-06T19:33:11.131-07:002009-10-06T19:33:11.131-07:00Hello Alan,
Really interesting write-up! Is ther...Hello Alan,<br /><br />Really interesting write-up! Is there any rule-of-thumb approach I could use to monitor my IM bike in this fashion if I do not have a powermeter? And... how did you determine relative power output for the run (maybe I missed that part of your write-up).<br /><br />Thanks for your thoughts,<br />mmUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15417999148871812972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-83540577290732450062009-06-03T09:42:56.001-07:002009-06-03T09:42:56.001-07:00quick question in estimating Kyles ~310 marathon t...quick question in estimating Kyles ~310 marathon time after the 220w bike: How did you estimate that?! <br /><br />ThanksMuddyPuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04063502070570446907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-11251636442702262832009-05-05T08:04:00.000-07:002009-05-05T08:04:00.000-07:00Hey Paul,
The two big changes that I would recomm...Hey Paul,<br /><br />The two big changes that I would recommend:<br /><br />- Institute a heart rate cap at LT/VT1 for a good chunk of the season.<br /><br />- Only replace the carbohydrate you use. A 40/30/30 diet is a good starting point. <br /><br />Hope this helps.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-85777289736721323082009-05-02T20:34:00.000-07:002009-05-02T20:34:00.000-07:00"There are a lot of frustrated big guy IMers out t..."There are a lot of frustrated big guy IMers out there who are unable/unwilling to make these changes"<br /><br />Thanks again Alan for your responses, much appreciated<br /><br />Could you offer some suggestions on some of the changes you would recommend?<br /><br />Myself and Eric, who I coach, we have both been working to improve our body compositions. For example, before IM Germany last year we were both aorund the 82-83kg mark and we are both 6ft 2inches tall. At IM Germany we raced right oon 80-81kg and now we are down to 78kg. <br /><br />We are still having trouble trying to figure out how to improve our abilities to metabolise fat? <br /><br />Cheers<br />PaulPaul Fleurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11475494771101660722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-60296923589036272532009-05-01T08:05:00.000-07:002009-05-01T08:05:00.000-07:00Hey Paul,
Great question.
My own (self-protecti...Hey Paul,<br /><br />Great question. <br /><br />My own (self-protective) opinion is that big guys get the raw end of the deal in Ironman racing. <br /><br />As you point out, the power outputs required for a bigger rider are very challenging to fuel. The difference in ability to absorb CHO unfortunately does not scale with body size. <br /><br />Potential fat oxidation on the other hand does seem to scale better with body-size. Our best fat-burners to date have been big guys. However, it takes a lot of work. Both nutritionally and in terms of changing training emphasis. <br /><br />There are a lot of frustrated big guy IMers out there who are unable/unwilling to make these changes. <br /><br />Best,<br /><br />ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-1778218560499049982009-04-29T21:18:00.000-07:002009-04-29T21:18:00.000-07:00Thanks Thorsten.
Good suggestion. I'll see if I ...Thanks Thorsten. <br /><br />Good suggestion. I'll see if I can throw something together with normal CdA's for different bodyweights over the next couple of days. <br /><br />Obviously, as you said, course elevation and wind will come into play but we could get a roundabout # that may make the table more practically applicable.<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-29684512788518690562009-04-29T21:15:00.000-07:002009-04-29T21:15:00.000-07:00I don't think it would be good for your swim times...I don't think it would be good for your swim times. Then again, if you used it for early season work like a drag chute and shaved down, you'd be an animal in the water :-)Alan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-90639932335923993832009-04-29T19:37:00.000-07:002009-04-29T19:37:00.000-07:00Good beard on James. Thanks for the pic AC. It's i...Good beard on James. Thanks for the pic AC. It's inspirational.kevin boucherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10969122793584016313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-50127464848521226672009-04-29T16:30:00.000-07:002009-04-29T16:30:00.000-07:00G’day Alan,
Great timing with this post. Just las...G’day Alan,<br /><br />Great timing with this post. Just last week I have been discussing something similar with a few of my mates. <br />My question to you is it possible to out train your fuel system?<br />For example, I guy came to me with a 13:55 IM under his belt. 1year later and he did a 10:24. He developed is strength and endurance quite rapidly. He was a 80kg guy and a strong rider. At IM Germany he was able to swim around the 1hr mark, ride around 5:15 and run just over 4hrs. <br />He didn’t experience any GI problems in this race. However, move forward 8mths to IMNZ and he experience GI shutdown on the bike. His strengths are his ability to follow the training plan to a tee but more importantly is pacing in a race is exceptionally good. This makes it confusing as to why he experienced a GI shutdown on the bike. <br /><br />That then gets me thinking did he actually develop his strength and endurance too fast for his fuel system? Looking at the fat/carb ratio on your blog that has me thinking along these sorts of lines. At IMNZ he was in a low 5hrs shape and he races the bike leg right at the top of zone 1 (ie 135bpm). His FTHR is 166bpm on the bike. Because he requires a lot of energy to be able to ride a 5hr bike split could it be possible that his fueling system (ie fat/carb ratio) needs more time to be able to fuel effectively a low 5hr bike split???? He is only into his 3rd year now of IM training. <br />Maybe because he might not have a well develop fueling system yet, he needs to consume more calories externally on the bike, which then puts him at a greater risk of GI Shutdown because he can’t get those calories yet from fat stores due to his young athletic age???<br /><br />Cheers<br />PaulPaul Fleurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11475494771101660722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-77167381571892231382009-04-29T10:12:00.000-07:002009-04-29T10:12:00.000-07:00Alan,
very intersting concept, and - as usual - a...Alan,<br /><br />very intersting concept, and - as usual - a very well written post. One more thing (for clarity) can you add a similar table mapping the watts and body weights to IM bike splits (assuming these are the main areas of influence)? I know that this will be a gross simplification as there are quite some differnces in hills, aerodynamics etc. (I've seeen some rought tools that would allow to build such a table, but I'm hoping you've something like that already prepared.) <br />Such a table could be a great tool to provide a comparison between bike and run times - something better than "your run time should be 2 hours faster than your bike split" ..<br />Thanks<br />ThorstenThorstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12093942771404501843noreply@blogger.com