Lance Armstrong is getting faster...

dsf45 wrote:

You're telling him not to get upset?

Yup. kinda fun, ain't it?

Citizen Runner wrote:

The discussion at this link suggests that the Kona course as run in 2011 is about a half mile short of the marathon distance:

http://measure.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/69510622/m/4384092708

WHAT? Seriously, how does this work? Do they not have mile markers on the course? Do triathletes just pretend they could plausibly run a 2:30 mile at the end of the race?

When I've run any distance and the race has been short, I've been mad as hell!

edumacator wrote:

You know the Hanson's big peak simulation run is ~16 miles at marathon pace, done even paced? But you think 14 miles with uneven pacing at FASTER than marathon pace should "NOT be difficult?"

Sorry, just doesn't seem so severe. Don't know what to say if you think it is.

That's because you're undertrained, so going out and running 14 miles of fartlek at 7:00 pace then racing a marathon at 7:10 pace seems normal. To people who actually train, it would be tough. Not impossible by any stretch, but tough. For a 2:10 marathoner, you're talking about going out and fartleking your way to a 64:15ish half marathon, then continuing for another mile. Possible? Of course. Easy? Definitely not.

Tell me when he does 10x1 mile immediately after a 120 mile hard bike at altitude. That's Craig Alexander's workout prior to getting 4th at Kona in 2010 (he won in 2008, 2009, 2011). Oh yeah, the repeats were done on average in 5:20s (uphill included) and he rested till he hit the 7:00 mark, so roughly 1:45 of rest. I don't think he is the least bit impressed with LA's workout on an elite level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xHntuC2ucM

TriDude wrote:

Funk It wrote:

Here's a serious question - how fast of open marathon would he need to be capable of to run 2:40ish after the swim and bike in an Ironman? I'm thinking 2:30 at least?

2:45 PR in an open Marathon is plenty fast enough to run a 2:40 Ironman Marathon leg, since the distance is only roughly 40k (24 point something miles). The rest of the run is mostly in T1 and T2 so it ends up being roughly Marathon distance. The point is, however, that the timed run at the end is not 26.2 miles (=42.2km).

Yeah, 'cause dropping 5 minutes off your open marathon PR is extremely likely after 2.4 mile swim and 4:2x bike. And why would the course be short at a World Championships? You'd think they'd get it right...maybe the 10k at the Olympics this year will only be 24.5 laps? Please.

tri it wrote:

Yeah, 'cause dropping 5 minutes off your open marathon PR is extremely likely after 2.4 mile swim and 4:2x bike. And why would the course be short at a World Championships? You'd think they'd get it right...maybe the 10k at the Olympics this year will only be 24.5 laps? Please.

IAAF doesn't have the 10% rule. Also there is no T1 and T2 in Pure running.

TriDude wrote:

tri it wrote:

Yeah, 'cause dropping 5 minutes off your open marathon PR is extremely likely after 2.4 mile swim and 4:2x bike. And why would the course be short at a World Championships? You'd think they'd get it right...maybe the 10k at the Olympics this year will only be 24.5 laps? Please.

IAAF doesn't have the 10% rule. Also there is no T1 and T2 in Pure running.

Pure running? Sounds like a Brooks shoe. So according to your logic of only needing to be a 2:45 guy to run a 2:40 Kona marathon (regardless of if it is really 40k or 42k) in the blistering heat and wind, then that would make Craig Alexander...what? a 2:47 open guy? c'mon. you've got to consider the swim and bike beforehand. it's not like they're out for a 5 hour sunday stroll prior to starting the marathon. Please, Please, Please tell me that you're a troll.

Come on now, he wouldn't be on such pedestrian juice. He has been, and will always be, one up on the testers.

Trollist wrote:

EPO and HGH are amazing drugs.

It's a training run. There's no way I could (or would) do that on a training run. Did you not look at the splits? That workout is brutal.

I have organized several triathlons by the book and have never heard of this 10% rule. Perhaps someone could open their rule book and quote it to me, since it isn't in mine.

We used their standard suggestion of measuring by bike and GPS.

I have read other posts on Letsrun mentioning this "10% rule" and no one can ever show proof. It's urban legend.

I would rather see a picture of him during the workout looking relaxed, than read about it over twitter.

He was in Buffalo racing a local swimmer in a flutter kick race. Do you guys know nothing?

edumacator wrote:

You know the Hanson's big peak simulation run is ~16 miles at marathon pace, done even paced? But you think 14 miles with uneven pacing at FASTER than marathon pace should "NOT be difficult?"

Sorry, just doesn't seem so severe. Don't know what to say if you think it is.[/quote]

If you were actually able to complete this workout comfortably at marathon pace, then there are only two possibilities:

1) You are severely underperforming on race day.

or

2) You are not putting in the miles required to be successful at the marathon distance.

I can't believe that there is any debate about this. I am guessing that Mosop, Korir, Kipsang, Mutai, etc. are not going out and averaging 4:42's on their long fartlek runs.

What kind of drug testing goes on in the triathlon world?

He just was visited by USADA at home for blood and urine for an OOC test a few days ago..

Magic 8 Ball wrote:

According to ITU rules there can be a 10% margin of error when measuring the "marathon" portion of a triathlon. This means the run portion can be short, not necessarily that it is short.

Can someone find a link to verify this fact? I find this hard to believe. 10% short on the marathon section? That's 2.6 miles!

2.6 miles ~ 15+ minutes (conservatively)

Seems like 10% is a bit generous...

Juan ran 12 miles@5:47/M in 1:09:xx, which is roughly 1:15:30 HM pace or 2:31 marathon pace in a 14M workout, and he was doing it fartlek style. So, yes, that workout would be difficult (not as a race) for a 2:40 marathoner and he is probably very close to 2:30 marathon shape and maybe 1:12 or better HM shape. Don't let the hatred cloud your judgment.

My understanding is that the run leg at the Hawaii Ironman is a certified 42.195km and can even be used as a Boston Marathon qualifier.