Tim Cronk IMTX Race Plan
1 week out from IMTX.
My background--- Turned 51 today , racing 50-54AG , going on 3 years with EN and 5th year of triathlon , this will be my 6th IM with 4 consecutive PR's followed by a DNF on the last one @ IMCZ.
Training and Prep--- After IMCZ DNF last Nov , took a couple weeks downtime but included a lot of low intensity swim volume wrapping up the 50 in 50 swim challenge , did about 8 weeks of OS building very slowly (less than called for) , then an 18 week IM build for IMTX. Living in NH almost all of my training has been on the trainer and treadmill , not getting outside until the last month. Boring yes , but forces you to stay very structured /measured in all of your interval/ time goals. Fitness gains are getting smaller and are harder to come by these days. Bottomline improvements over last year.... Swim 3 seconds or more per 100yd pace on all intervals and RR's... Bike a whopping 5 watt gain in FTP from 230 to 235.... w/kg ratio 4.3 ....Run Vdot 51-52 about the same but backed up with recent HM and 5K PR's. Lastly in the prep for IMTX I arrived in the Woodlands 2.5 weeks early to acclimatize and train... This backfired and they had record cold temps , no humidity , while it was actually warmer in NH!
Goal for IMTX--- KQ with a 10:15 or less. Third place IMTX last year was 10:17 and my PR to date is 10:33. This is the same goal I had for IMCZ. With this years focus and fitness gains I have earned the right to go faster and I plan to do so.
What went wrong at IMCZ?---- I never did figure it out... In short I had lower back and lower abdomen issues that I do no believe to be fitness, nutrition, or heat related. I went to the doc and never found anything. I wish I knew but I dont. Here are the links to my IMCZ Race Plan and Race Report. I recommend reading both, not for what I said but for what others said, this is what EN is all about.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/10242/Default.aspx#137072 IMCZ race plan
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/10362/Default.aspx#140369 IMCZ race report
The Swim---Goal wo/wetsuit sub 1:10 , Goal w/wetsuit sub 1:05 . Will line up near the front middle to outside and hopefully get a kayak to hang onto specially if no wetsuit. Swim hard and steady. The unknown's here are the murky water and sighting.
T1--- Goal 4min or less. This number is arbitrary and taken as an average of the top transition times from previous year. If the swim is no wetsuit I will be wearing a tri-suit in the swim and this will expedite T1. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
The Bike---- Goal, after spending some time on the course at planned IM pace, in a perfect world of light wind and lower temps 5:10 , most likely 5:15 , difficult windy or extra hot day 5:20 . Nothing special here I'm going to ride based on power and do not care at all about speed, cadence , HR, RPE is back up... FTP 235 x .75 = NP goal of 176... This is the high end of my target... Setting up the Garmin 500 a bit different this year. Main screen display divided by 3, the top and biggest number will read current 3's power , middle will read lap NP with auto lap at 5 mile intervals, I used to do manual at 30 minutes, the new 5 mile auto reduces the working time for each interval to 12-17 minutes and eliminates the need to do manual intervals , the bottom of the display is time(this time screen is to correlate for feeding , after a while I forget whether this is a drink or drink/eat alert) ... Alerts set at 15min planned drink every 15 and eat every 30.
T2---Goal 3min or less... again not knowing the layout just going for top 5 from last year... socks , shoes , grab flask and visor , slow, smooth, fast.
The Run--- Goal 3:45 or less... The big unknown here is the Texas heat and humidity... Being small and light I tend to place higher in the rankings in the hot humid races like IMLOU or Boston M last year... However living/training in NH and the record cold temps here in The Woodlands since I have been here did not allow for any heat acclimatizing to occur... Been running really well off the bike and the real challenge will be to not go too fast initially... Hope to settle into EP soon and just stay there for the entire run!!! 30 steps per mile/aid station for cooling, drinking, eating, then back to work, constantly assessing how I feel ,thinking about those last 6-8miles.
The Gear--- Blue Seventy tri-suit for entire race, xterra sleeveless wetsuit if wetsuit legal , wearing Garmin 910xt in multisport mode for the entire race to be used as back up for PM on the bike and for the run more than the swim , Garmin 500 on the Bike , Felt Da2 , Di2 , Quarq PM , compact gearing 11-28 rear, 2 bottles 1 between aero bars 1 on frame , flat kit behind seat. Newtons and an EN visor for the run... 310xt in T2 bag for back up to 910xt.
Nutrition-- gel/perform pre swim , 250 cals per hour on the bike perform , cliff bar, shot blocks, the run will be perform every aid station and a sip from the gel flask every 3 miles with powerbar gel.
Thats it. I'm ready. We have a good group racing IMTX and the IMTX forum has been very active and motivating. Good MOJO all around!!! No matter the outcome I will have fun and race to the best of my abilities! It is what it is! Lots of rest, relaxing this week while I taper. Practicing transitions , re- reading some of my favorite EN race rehearsal plans!
Comments
Yes the heat on the run will be the thing.
And if no wetsuit, but at the low end of the range, will be a bit cold for me on the swim.
Let us gettem, mini older me.
Nothing for me to add other than stay the plan until forced to adapt.
Have a fun and enjoy the day. I think you can, and will get your KQ podium slot.
I'm rootin' for ya Tim!
Tim- Looks solid...rereading IMCZ...sounds like the bug got ya..
C'ya in TX.
My reflections:
- You’ve put it out there - KQ! It’s a fantastic goal, and you wouldn’t have written it if you didn’t think it was possible. What I’m getting at is you have a huge amount of fitness that’s giving you a right amount of confidence to make that statement … and your task is to now carry that into the race. When that confidence gets jostled and shoved around over the course of the day or week, keep it on hand. From Gordo: “Be your goal.” For race week, the last 8mi, or any time you need to call on some mental strength and grounding, it’s there. You said it. You wouldn’t have put it out there if you didn’t think you could do it. KQ. Putting that out there is BIG, and congrats on being at a point in this game where this is something that’s within your reach.
- Moving from PB to KQ is a slightly different mental game, but the basics remain. Your execution has to absolutely positively trump any temptation to ‘race,’ so get prepared to draw on it, and keep coming back to that confidence in your abilities BY FOLLOWING THE EN EXECUTION MODEL. When you invariably see another 50-55 on the calf pass you in the first 20 miles of the bike, or the first mile of the run, go back to basics. Your EN execution fundamentals work, but it’s very easy to get caught up in other racey stuff when in the fog of war. Don’t.
- Get prepared to be very very aero for the entire bike. If there have been tough spots in your RRs or previous races – such as hour 3.5, mile 100, or whatever - where you start to mentally or physically drop off, or your position falters, prepare for them, and make sure you have the mental strategies in place to get through them while staying low.
- As for light weight: that’s the stuff that gives you competitive advantage across the whole day. I’m reminded of how amazed I was when Dr. Tommy beat Tjorborn Sinballe in IMFL on the bike, and went on for the overall win. I never imagined anyone could beat Thunderbear on the bike, particularly on that course, but that’s what a great position, smart execution and a high w/kg can do.
- Your mental game has to be as strong as possible for this day. Going through the steps of actually writing your plan was critical: R and P ask us to do that for a reason, and now that you’ve gone through the cognitive process of penning it to paper, you should accompany it by running the race day script over in your mind again and again, forwards, backwards and in 3d. Visualize good stuff. Run it like a film. Visualize yourself as positive, light, fast and clear-headed. Run through a few mental rehearsals of how you would react if you punctured, or cramped in mile 25 of the run, or whatever (calm, I hope, then figuring it out, OODA. You know the drill). Seriously - put yourself in the day in your mind many many times before the race, particularly the hard parts, and visualize the response that is going to let you keep on keeping on. (rituals: I do this mental film exercise daily in the sauna in the two week before a race; then again, as soon as the plane takes off en route to the race; and then every day in the hotel before lunch when I’m at the race and have seen the course in real life).
- Your mental game has to be particularly strong for the last 8. Be prepared to bury yourself. Because you’re very motivated, you’ll be pushing yourself very hard. It will be dark. Make sure you have tangible strategies you can call upon. (crazy self-disclosure: I have recently been trying to develop a specific “Mental Toughness” strategy. When things have been tough in training sessions, I have been mentally flashing the actual words “mental toughness” in my mind, with the words all lit up in lightbulbs. If you’ve seen the movie Boogie Nights, kind of like “Dirk Diggler” lights up when he coins the name. Anyhow, I then tried to pair this image with an immediate reaction and response where I focus on relaxing the muscles in my face, concentrate on form, and keep pace. These little mental fugues take me away from immediate discomfort, and the physical responses are now starting to become more automatic the more I rehearse this. It doesn’t make it suck less, but it makes it easier to live with the suck for just a few more minutes. Your mileage may vary.)
- For the flight over, download and read Rich’s earlier post (blog?) about ‘racing in the moment.’ This is particularly important for someone who is bringing a goal orientation to race day.
- There’s no amount of training that you can do at this point that will make a difference. Except transitions. Aside from the long 200m dash from Beach to Battle that you talk about, you should be trying to achieve the fastest possible transition, and using this as a very deliberate competitive advantage. I would:
o Re-read Al’s transitions compendium in the wiki;
o While you’re killing time in the airport, watch as many “how to transition fast” instructional videos on youtube;
o When you are onsite solo from Tues – Fri, practice your transition skills a few times until they are perfected (up to the point that it does not impact rest, of course). Set up a mini circuit; repeat, repeat, repeat.
o Later in the day of bike drop off, and after you have walked through the transitions (and yes, I mean *actually* walking from the beach through the tent to your bike to bike exit, following the exact paths you would follow on race day, and not just looking at it from when you are racked to get oriented), run through the t1/t2 paths mentally, and run the mental film of you doing the entire ts very fast, calmly, and efficiently.
- You can do this.
Tim,
Swim: This is not a fast swim course and it's murky, narrow and congested. Be prepared for that. The canal section was particularly tough to navigate. It becomes a lowest common denominator swim in the canal. Odds are the water temp will be above the 76.1 limit so 1:10 is going to have you right in the mix.
Bike: Forecasted winds are 10-15mph SSE. That means miles 65-112 will be predominantly into the wind. The second half of the bike will be much slower. Likewise, the first 40 miles will be pretty fast. Burn a match here, save a match there...
Run: It's going to be all about managing the heat and humidity.
Tim,
A solid plan as usual. The only comment I have is about your bike .75. Do you have a plan to work in to the .75 after the swim to get the HR down and start the nutrition? Say 2-4 of your 12-17 minute intervals? You mention a high end target so just wonding about the first 30-60 minutes of the bike.
Enjoy the race I'll be following you on the tracker.
Gordon
Thanks Tim for elicting all the advice.
Thanks to Dave "Obi Wan" "Overcome PortaJohn Breakdown" Tallo.
EN Since 2009
Wicked Smart Member
Posts:3719
Gig Harbor Washington
Al Truscott's comments.... I think he meant to put them here.
12 May 2013 11:54 AM QuoteReplyAlert
Only thing I,d say besides, "Good Luck" is a nutrition thought. Was your nutrition plan @Coz different than your previous successful IMs? If so, should you revert to those plans? If not consider the total amount of calories you may be taking on the run if you guzzle perform 8-10 oz @every aid station. 70 cal/ 8 oz. That plus 100 cal gel/ hour @ 7-8 mph would be over 500 cal per hour.
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2013 Goals: Get ready to RACE and WIN in 2013. StG 70.3 IM Tahoe IM AZ
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@Dave... Thanks for the cut and paste.... I had already re-read that this am along with your most current IMAZ race plan long before you posted it.... I hope everybody else reads it... Thanks for the continued MOJO!
@Robin... {Let us gettem, mini older me.} That is just too funny. I used to work with another Tim who called me mini-me.... Being a rather large man I called him double-me. One day I asked his weight and sure enough he was exactly double and I was off season LOL.... Anyway after that I always said "Tim I'm only half the man you are!"
@Gordon....Yes I admit I have an issue reeling myself in early... But I been working on it... I'm much better at just getting to pace and staying there.. But I will force myself towards the .70 range early in the first interval and as soon as I'm settled I plan to eat and drink immediately this should also slow me down... The good news is in training its been working and I havent overachieved... So will be happy in the .75 range... I dont wear HR when racing and go by RPE , HR will be high from transition run and swim, but early on the bike .70-.75 RPE is way down.... I fight the same issue on the run and usually can establish both at an even pace early without burning a match.
@Bob... Thanks for the course warnings!
@Joe and Steve ... thanks guys gonna be fun!