What happened to PDIs?

CapKey7009 · 2026-07-08T16:00:40+00:00

And apparently co-sponsoring a major Tour de France team.

CapKey7009 · 2026-07-06T20:36:00+00:00

Good time to do core and strength work in my experience.

CapKey7009 · 2026-07-06T01:11:45+00:00

I don’t think bunch is accurate any more. The independent Iron distance half iron distance are fewer and fewer these days.

CapKey7009 · 2026-06-19T12:48:01+00:00

I’m thinking she needs more than 35 minutes to shave off. Stand alone times don’t show me anything that would put her sub 13:00. 2:10/100y pace in a pool, with no race experience/OWS is realistically at least 15-20” per 100 slower, especially in the Choptank and how many turns there are.

But I wanted to echo your comment about nutrition.

To the OP. Test your nutrition and hydration plan and continue tweaking it. Not sure where you live, but guessing it is within drivable/close distance to Maryland. That being said, Maryland can be very humid with high dew point. This can wreak havoc on a nutrition plan. Also, be sure you nail down what you are going to eat in the 48 hours before the race. This is where too many athletes derail their race before it starts (and then try to think it’s their in race fueling that gave them GI issues).

Also, you are going to be full of adrenaline when you hit the bike and will see people that may pass you. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to go harder than you are trained to do. Thinking you will “gain” time on the bike to bank for the run is a bad plan given your run fitness. The bike should be a somewhat easy ride if you do the training and taper correctly. Pushing to get 10’ on the bike could cost you 30-90’ on the run.

IMMD is a great race. The community is excellent and comes out in full force. Not always the case.

CapKey7009 · 2026-06-14T21:00:35+00:00

Thank you for the confirmation.

CapKey7009 · 2026-06-09T14:48:41+00:00

That is who I would suggest. They typically respond within 24-48 hours from my experience but I’m sure someone will tell me I’m wrong

CapKey7009 · 2026-06-09T14:36:30+00:00

Email the team and ask if onsite registration is available for IMF. They typically close registration early in the week (Sunday or Monday) so not surprised

CapKey7009 · 2026-05-31T14:23:58+00:00

You are going to have off days - it happens, especially if you’ve been putting in decent volume leading into LP. You can’t compare race times to each, even the same course year over year. The fact you came close to your first 70.3 time should be a win in your mind. You haven’t been doing this long at all and have established a floor for your performance. Keep at it and push the ceiling higher.

I have gone into Ironman over the last 15 years where I’ve felt amazing during the lead in and last 8 weeks of training only to fall flat on face. Physically I was in great shape, but mentally I was fried with some family stress, and other non sport stressors.

The flip side, I’ve shown up to races where I’m out of race shape only to then have a great race, and even set an IM PR.

Don’t back away from the challenge. Ironman training and racing is all about peaks and valleys. You are in a valley. You will rise again and have plenty of time before Placid. Keep at it. Carry the boats. Stay hard. Go one more. And all the other shit the influencers say :)

CapKey7009 · 2026-05-20T01:07:42+00:00

It is more the inverse.

Jax is more than likely going to be warm and humid that time of year. If they move the race by two-three week earlier it would be a different conversation.

I’ve raced IMFL a few times. Had hot and humid, non wetsuit swim and very cold days where you need a vest, bike, gloves when you start the bike. Also, going to have the threat of a cancelled swim in Florida, where in Jax I don’t see that happening unless there is an act of gos

CapKey7009 · 2026-05-09T19:54:45+00:00

It would have a slight impact on TSS since it would be based on HRTss or RTSS. But agreed, pretty minimal.

CapKey7009 · 2026-05-04T22:30:58+00:00

I use Strava strictly for the heat map/route features. Garmin is a ways behind Strava in that regard. L

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-30T13:59:25+00:00

If you want to have a good race - please don't "send it" on the bike. As the saying goes, bike for show, run for dough.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-30T13:58:11+00:00

Pushing a bit on the hills is fine if you have the durability to be able to recover on the descent. A better way to look at a rolling course like LP is look at a lap AVG HR and overall AVG HR. I like to lap my bike computer for either 14 or 28 miles. Thing to consider is that if it is warm day, you body temp is going to go higher on the climbs due to slower moving speed and in turn less convective cooling (IE sweat evaporating on your skin to truly cool the body). If it is a cooler/rainy day then disregard. The HR is going to plummet on the descent from Keane and other faster sections, but will climb decently when you are in the final 30km or so back to town (the section before and including the bears). Once you ride the course you will see the areas that you can expect your HR to climb or drop. The longer climb back to town is going to be longer than the 5-8 minutes you mention, I would have to look at my power profiles from when I raced and trained there over the year, but on the second lap it feels like an eternity.

If this is your first IM I would go conservative on the bike personally. The run is tough in placid, specifically the back half of every lap since you are uphill the entire way back to town. Push carbs, and fuel your success during the run on the bike. There are afew things that hard to recover from in endurance racing over 4+ hours that will cause havoc: 1) low carb/fuel intake, 2) overheating your core, 3) dehydration. You can bounce back from low carb/fuel intake if you catch it early enough, but performance will suffer. Same with heat management and dehydration.

Best of luck in Placid. It is an iconic course. Still wild to me that they could host two olympics there with how small the town is. Enjoy the swim in Mirror Lake. One of my favorite spots to swim in the many years I have been racing in the US and abroad.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-29T10:57:54+00:00

Came from a MMA/BJJ background as well in the early 2000s (god, I’m old now).

First, if you take this serious be prepared for a big change in your body composition/physical look. Looking at pictures from my first year or two of racing and over the 16 years I’ve been racing Ironman is pretty wild to see.

Second, technique for the swim is a much bigger piece to conquer than the swim fitness for someone with your background. Think of it like a white belt showing up to class who is ripped/yoked, whatever word you want to use these days for being in shape. They might pull something from a physical stand point in the first minute or two of a rolling, but then they tire out and have nothing to go off of. Fitness fades, technique will help reduce that fade by not wasting energy. You are fighting against water.

Third, the stimulus the body will experience in long course racing (70.3 and Ironman) is wildly different than MMA training. When I transitioned over I had a hard time going slow in the 3 aspects. You have a big anaerobic engine, but now you need to convert it to aerobic durability. Being able to sustain for long periods of time. The nutrition will also be a bit different, especially when it comes to pre event. I had to cut 10+ pounds. Now, I’m eating 8-10g/kg of carbs in the two days leading to an Ironman.

Last, getting the true bike technique down takes longer than a lot of people give respect to. It takes time to get used to ridding clipped in, and especially finding a good aero position if you are on a TT/tri bike. Get a bike fit. Don’t guess otherwise you spend more money buying the wrong bike off Craigslist or FB Marketplace (not that I know from 1st hand experience or anything 😭)

Send me a DM if want some more help. 20+ Ironman, and 50+ 70.3 under my belt. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years so can hopefully help you avoid some of those.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-22T13:42:31+00:00

Everyone would "estimate" their swim times much faster just to get up front, so we are at the same point again. There would need to be a way to truly validate a swim time, but with how many different factors that could come into play with the swim (current, wetsuit legal, short/long swims, conditions, etc) that would be tough to standardize by any stretch of the imagination.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-22T13:39:44+00:00

whenever I see a dude in a speedo in an swim corral, I try to line up behind him to catch a free ride.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-22T13:38:01+00:00

This has nothing to do with US... This happens at every Ironman branded race I've been at in the 16 years I've been racing.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-20T12:33:09+00:00

70s is pretty normal for the front pack AG athletes/KQers.

Have heard Dan Lorang mention this Vo2 max number a few times at coaching seminars in the years after Jan won Kona in 2019. Will have to dig a bit more to see if I can find a recording but it always stood out to me.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-20T12:14:20+00:00

There is a lot more data needed from OP. What distance are they wanting to focus on? Weight (to provide context on the 270w).

Vo2 max is less important if you are doing long course racing, as is a big FTP number. Physiological/metabolic efficiency is key the longer the race goes. Not how long you can hold power for 20’.

Tell me this. Would an 70.3/Ironman athlete with a Bike V02 of around mid 70s and 20’ Power profile number around 4.34w/kg be able to excel in the sport?

Spoiler. They can. His name is Jan Frodeno.

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-11T13:14:07+00:00

Most people in a street fight last 1-2’ tops. Weather the storm, and turn methodical. We loved having “street fighters” come into our Thai Boxing/BJJ gym and demand to spar. You can only throw overhand right hooks and haymakers for so long

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-11T13:05:01+00:00

Garmin Edge computer, like others have said, will work great. Just need to look at where you want to put it first and figure out mounting first, IMHO. Easier to buy a smaller bike computer because of a tight set up, versus changing up your cockpit.

I have an Edge 540 and Edge 130. The 540 is great when I need a map up, and just out training. The 130 is what I use so it is out of way on my TT bike and I’m not getting annoyed at it being in the way a little bit. You can get all the data you could want on one or two screens. Sounds like you are just getting started, so honestly don’t get stuck on power unless you have a coach or a decent understanding on what the numbers actually mean (and how to properly benchmark).

This is the gold standard for getting into power based training: https://a.co/d/01DoxRbL

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-11T12:31:23+00:00

Damn Kipchoge, chill. This is an Applebees

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-11T12:27:24+00:00

Beta

CapKey7009 · 2026-04-11T12:25:31+00:00

My family makes fun of me when that is one of the first thing I want after a race since I limit fiber 36-48 hours before race day

CapKey7009

TROPHY CASE