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IMCdA RR #1 Plan

Race Rehearsal #1- On the CdA Course

 

 Pre- Ride-              4 Cups Applesauce and 1 Scoop Whey Protein and a Banana

 

 

Nutrition- Bike:           Set timer on Bike Computer for 15 minutes

                                Carry 3 bottles of Perform- reload 3 bottles at the 2nd Loop

                                Drink Perform at every alert - 50 cal  x 4 = 200 cal/hr

                                Top of the hour- eat a GU- 5 x 100 cal = 500 cal

                                Have 2 extra GU’s and 2 Bars on board- 600 cal optional

                                Cals/Hour- 300

                                Total Calories on Bike= 1800-2400

 

Nutrition- Run-           Eat 1 GU when leaving bike- 100 cal

                                Carry bottle with Perform- 150 cal

                                Carry 1 extra GU- 100 cal optional

                                Total Calories on Run= 250-350

 

Pace- Bike-         Goal IF- .70-.72

                                Goal NP- 185- with “Auto Lap” set to 5 miles

                                Never Exceed 240 watts, by flattening the hills and powering over the top

 

Pace- Run-          3 miles @ 8:45/mi (z 1)

                          3 miles @ 8:30/mi (goal pace)

Comments

  • Steve--Thanks for starting this thread as we should all be posting our RR plans as we do them in the next 2-3 weeks. My first pass feedback is to inquire about your caloric needs. While your calorie targets look ample for a race rehearsal I wonder if they are ample for what you will need for the full IM. If not, then there is probably value in testing what you'll need on race day to see how your system handles. I'm not one to talk having only done one full IM but I used the EN Nutrition Planner excel workbook and it has me doing 423 cal / hour. Now if that what you did then you are just a smaller guy and not as profuse of sweater as I am. Will you need to supplement with Salt Tabs to get adequate Na & K? Same feedback on your breakfast, is this your race day breakfast and what time will you consume it?

    Really excited to hear how it goes. Still trying to figure out if I'm doing my race rehearsal on Friday or Saturday of this week. (do I want to expend a vacation day to do it?)
  • Jason- Good call on the calories for the bike. I used the numbers that I have used on my training rides. But IM is a longer day. I hadn't seen the Nutrition Planner (something new since I took a 6 month leave). It has me at 465 cals/hr, but thats a lot will probably go with around 300-350cal/hr. Adjustments have been made to the original post to represent the new plan. Perform and GU's will provide the needed salts. Breakfast is something I can choke down early and on a nervous stomach and has proven to work for me.

  • Like Steve, I too am doing the Camp Week / Big Weekend week 15 this week. Here is my short race rehearsal plan. Like all of us, trying to squeeze this in with work, family, etc. I would like some comments and feedback please if you have the time.

    RR#1
    Camp Week #15 (done in week #14 due to intl bus travel in week #15)

    Goals: test out .75 IF for bike, be aero for 112 miles, focus on low VI, evaluate run pace halfway between Z1/Z2, Be mentally tough, build endurance as following 2 days will be big days.

    Thursday AM (ideally swim at night but have Cub Scout pack meeting to lead)
    5:30-6:30AM Masters Swim at KCAC pool. See if there is an open lane so I can do RR swim otherwise push hard with coached masters workout. Goal 4200 yards or as much as possible before 6:30 work conference calls begin

    Friday
    4AM Bfst 3 cup applesauce, 1 scoop whey protein, 1 banana, sports drink. (normally would do 3 hour prior to start time)
    Tires at 110PSI. Race day outfit plus layers as needed + HR strap.
    4:45AM Depart for Foothills Trail head
    5:20AM Start Biking or as soon as light enough
    First 20-30 minutes 190-200 W
    Remainder until 112 miles 207W (IF .75) Aim for VI < 1.03 Cadence 80-90. Aero entire way.
    Watch laps every 9.33 miles (1/12 of 112)
    2 bottles perform/hour. Roctane/45 minutes or 6 total. Refill out of car every 2 hours. (note need to mount extra bottle holder for this rehearsal so I can bike with 4 bottles)
    RR Course is flat (Puyallup to South Prairie and back x 3)
    11:20AM or sooner. Finish 112miles. Lock up bike at car. Transition to run. (no more than 5 minutes)
    Miles 1-3 8:55/mile Out the Foothils Trail (Don't go any faster than this, seriously!, observe HR)
    Miles 4-6 8:15/mile Return on Foothills Trail (Does this pace feel good, it is faster than Z1 by 25 sec)
    Fuel belt: 4oz or ½ of one bottle perform per mile (3 bottles total). Gu at 29:30 into run (race plan) may forego as near end of RR.
    Back to work as you only took ½ day vacation 112 mile bike next day. long run Sunday
  • Are you concerned with the lack of elevation on this RR? The CdA course isn't horribly hilly but it is a far cry from Puyallup to South Prairie (400' over 15 miles). I did that course for my IM Arizona RR. Where are you doing the second 112?
  • Jason, i'm jealous that you get to swim at KCAC and it's long course season to boot!

     The one thing I'm missing in your plan is you're recovery drink/meal. Since you're doing this out of your car are you going to take anything to eat right after you get done with the run? Since you're going back to work are you going to be able to eat properly in the hours afterwards to get ready for the next two days?

  • Steve, I have the same question for you as I did for Jason, are you going to take any post workout nutrition with you since you'll be doing this on the CDA site? I did a prerace rehearsal there and I did take something to drink and eat afterwards but it wasn't near enough since it was hotter there than I was used to. I underestimated the amount of fluids I needed because of the heat. Granted it was a hot day for that time of year but just make sure you check out the weather forecast before you start.
  • Mark- I will have my wife at the park waiting for me to finish. We are staying at the resort so I am 2 minutes from the end of my ride/run. I will have Muscle Milk on ice waiting for me. The weather this weekend is 80 degrees, so it's going to be warm. 

  • Mark--Yes, KCAC is my default and preferred pool. Yes the cold 50m pool is great for us and the Blue Wave Masters is an excellent program. They taught me to swim 2.5 years ago. Good point on the nutrition, I'm good during the rehearsal but don't have a plan afterwards per se. Probably either be a grilled chicken salad or a subway footlong with double veggies.

    Steve--Good consideration. RnP always seem to advocate a flat course for Race Rehearsals even if upcoming race is hilly. Don't recall the exact reasoning. I think for me on Friday since I"m going back to work afterwards this is simplest and easiest to transition out of my car. My normal Sat & Sun rides are variations of the TWBC Daffodil 40 & 60 miles routes and thus there are several good climbs and rollers. Just did wild flower 10 days ago and the hills were fine. Just noticed you are from Puyallup, I've probably seen you out riding. We should ride together sometime if we're similarly matched.

    Keep the feedback coming!

  • Posted By Steve Swanlund on 12 May 2014 06:47 PM


    Are you concerned with the lack of elevation on this RR? The CdA course isn't horribly hilly but it is a far cry from Puyallup to South Prairie (400' over 15 miles). I did that course for my IM Arizona RR. Where are you doing the second 112?

    Coach P in this week's IM podcast/video reviews the reasons for NOT selecting an RR course with a lot of elevation gain. Some of the thoughts: climbing a lot means less time in aero; fewer miles than a flatter course; and less opportunity to practice ideal VI execution. Whether it has been CDA, AZ, Canada, or HI, my go-to RR course has been on a rail trail bike path in CO, with a steady 0-2% grade, nothing steeper - flattest thing I can find, rather than seeking out the many hills and climbs I might be able to do there. Forces six hours in the aero position, and a constant effort level.

  • Exciting Steve!  Looking forward to hearing about it and how it goes.  Saw that you are going to hang a bit with the RTB tribe and glad to see that too - good peeps! 

    I'll be following you over the next (Memorial Day) weekend with a similar plan though I'll be staying with friends in Liberty Lake.  I have a plan "B" for the lake swim with the (overpriced) pool at the Liberty Lake Athletic Club. Are you swimming in the lake regardless of temp or do you have a threshold?  

    PS.  More evidence your wife rocks. Just sayin'.  

  • Al- I saw the recommendations from the coaches regarding a flat RR. I don't remember that from my last RR in 2011. (Didn't RR for Canada 2012 due to injury). Although since I have not ridden the CdA new bike course I still the most ROI is from doing my RR on course in as close to race like conditions as possible.
  • Jenn- I will be nice to have some company on the course for Saturday. They are going to have a SAG wagon at the turn around, so if I need something I won't be completely out of luck. I've only met the main players in RTB so it will be nice to see some others, we are having dinner together on Saturday night.
    Yes I will swim in any temp water, just got a new Helix wetsuit and need to try it out. I have an Olympic next weekend and haven't had the new on yet.
    Have fun on your camp week, ride safe!

    P.s. Your support staff is pretty cool too!
  • I'm looking forward to hearing your RR debrief and how cold the lake feels! Riding the course should be fine for your RR...just keep your head in check on the bike and treat it like race day.
  • All, especially Steve:

    The "new" IMCDA bike course is very, very different from the old, v2.0 bike course. It is very easy to figure out, with a handful of long climbs at nothing more than 6%. Nothing like the old course with sharp hills, false flats, etc. If you have the skill of riding Steady, there's really no need to go out of your way to seek a particularly course, because I wouldn't necessarily call CDA a hilly bike course. It has hills, but they are very easy to identify and figure out. 

  • Not to beat a dead horse, but reading through the Camp Week Protocol I came upon this paragraph:


    How

    Picking the Right Course: We do our training camps on the actual race course; if that is not an option for you then you'll want to pick your own. For beginners, just a safe 112-mile option (2x56, 4x28, staged out of your trunk) is sufficient. The more advanced you get, the more you'll want to find a course that approximates your race (total elevation gain, etc). But for everyone, safety and accessibility rules A 28-mile loop you can ride from your house beats waking up a 4am to drive 4 hours to a strange place where you will ride for the first time. Hypothetically speaking, of course. image

  • Debrief of my RR#1 Big Camp Weekend.


    Did my race rehearsal #1 as part of Big Camp Weekend.  Overall things went well.  Validated some things, learned some things, will make some changes for the next one

    Pre Identified Goals: test out .75 IF for bike, be aero for 112 miles, focus on low VI, evaluate run pace halfway between Z1/Z2, Be mentally tough, build endurance as following 2 days will be big days. 

    Thursday--Failed to get in the race rehearsal swim.  Between 6AM conference calls every morning and little league baseball games every night it just wasn't in the cards this week to swim.  Will have good lake swim in Sunday and will need to do the race rehearsal swim soon and definitely as a part of RR#2.  Ran 5.5 miles to simulate some fatigue prior to Friday's race rehearsal.

    Friday awoke and had my pre-race core diet applesauce breakfast.  Had it at 4AM like I would on race day except in this case it wasn't 3 hours prior to when I was going to start biking (had to be back at work at 1PM).

    Had a flat before I started and noticed a small hole in my rear tire.  Got new tube and made mental note to examine hole in tire after all was done.  Hoping I would not flat again on the race rehearsal but I was prepared for that if it did.

    Spent first 20 minutes warming up at 200NP or 195 avg.
    Rode remainder of ride at planned target .75 IF.  (That is 207W)
    Totals for the ride 112 miles, 208W NP, 202 W avg, 2100 ft elev gain, avg cad 79 and avg HR 130.
    Each of the 9.34 mile laps looked pretty consistent.  NP per lap ranged from 195 to 214.
    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/500677169 
    Narrative:  Very pleased that I could stay aero the entire time and that I rode exactly my targeted 207W (thoug each 9.34 lap did very some).  I can still improve on my VI especially for this fairly flat RR course.  I did alter the course a little by riding out Orville Rd so I got 2100 ft elevation gain total.  Bike rode fine except the darn seat slid down again an inch (I'm afraid of over tightening the carbon fiber seat post--fixed it for Saturday's ride).  Started riding at 0550AM and temp was 52 degrees so was in race kit with very light shell jacket.  Didn't drink as much fluid as planned as I didn't want to stop to pee every 20 minutes, still peed 4 times.

    Transition to run was quick.  Essentially secure the bike and swap the shoes.

    Of course my run started out way too quick.  I always think my GPS watch is broken as it feels like I couldn't run any slower.  So I didn't hit my planned 8:55/mile first 3 miles but I did hit my 8:15 final three miles and the pace felt fine.

    Mile splits 8:12, 8:36, 8:35, 8:14, 8:10, 8:06  Avg HR 150 which is fine.
    http://connect.garmin.com/splits/500677188 

    Nutrition:  I had 5 bottles of perform on the bike versus a planned 10 and had 5 Gu Gels.  I felt more than hydrated given I peed 4 times and I know my stomach handles 2 bottles of perform/hour.  At WF I drank 9 bottles or 3/hour given the hot dry conditions and stomach was fine.  So while I didn't do what planned, I'm not overly concerned by it as I've validated that 2/bottles per hour works well in racing.  The 5 GU were planned and consumed.  On the run I did 4 oz of perform per mile without issue and peed once.  License to eat after RR was done.

    Some soreness around the knees (think it is due to Seat post being an inch too low)

    Lessons Learned:
            I like that I have training tires and race tires as my training tires certainly get a lot of wear.  Will need to use race wheels and race tires for next race rehearsal or at a minimum for a nice long ride prior to race.
            Fresh batteries for the powertap.  It worked fine for RR but on next day long ride I was getting a zero reading on my 910xt which I fixed by switching the watch to the right hand but a sign I think the batteries are due replacement
            Tighten seatpost and behind the seat bottle holder bolts before race
            The planned 75% IF felt fine on the bike and is within the EN Power table acceptable range.  Could improve my VI especially with flattening hills
            HR strap has been causing chafing this year, probably will replace before race as I think there is a small burr on it when I changed battery last time.
            Slow down those first 3-6 miles of the run, walk at aid station or small hills if necessary to hit planned pace
            
    Continuation of Big Camp Weekend

    Saturday I rode 97 miles 3000 ft of climbing.  Rode at 197W (71% IF).  Couldn't find any guidance in the training plan or camp weekend overview so assumed it was to do similar to RR pace.  Felt a little stiff and certainly no snap in the legs when I started out but about 20 minutes in felt pretty good and was out to do some more climbing then I did yesterday.  Positioned car in the middle of my route so that if I needed to cut ride short that I could.  That was both good as it gave me options but bad in that it called out to me when I passed it at mile 97.  I suppose I could have gone the extra miles but I felt like I learned the lesson that coach intended and demonstrated my discipline in riding smart.  Stayed aero whole time, fueled as needed but demonstrated worse VI probably as a result of more climbing but also less intense focus on my computer and more about getting the ride done.

    Tomorrow (Sunday) I'm opting to do a lake swim with my masters group as I'm frustrated that work prevented me from swimming this week other than Monday night.  After which, I'll do the 135 minute long run.  That should be interesting running after two long bike days.  I'll do a short edit to this report once the run is complete.

    Thanks and always I welcome the feedback, questions and advice.  Jealous of Steve who opted to go out to CDA.  My first ride on the course will be June 29th.
  • Excellent results Jason. I had the along seat post problem and my local bike shop had some sort of carbon gripping gel that they put on the seat post and its worked like a charm since.
  • Finished out Big Camp Weekend today with a :50 min open water swim and then a 2:15 16.4 mile run. Zone 1 for me is 8:40 and zone 2 is 7:25. I hit my 60 min of zone 1 and then picked up the pace but didn't log a single mile at zone 2. Splits were
    8:39, 8:33, 8:27, 8:32, 8:34, 8:26, 8:37, then picked it up, 8:03, 7:59, 8:08, 8:10, 8:04, 7:51, 7:57, 7:56, 7:53 and 7:54.
    Best part was that my kids came to the park with me with their bikes while I ran!
    Camp weekend done! Lots of volume if I do anything next 2 days it will probably only be swim.
    Have a work trip to Paris Tues-Sat so it was good I swapped week 15 & 14.
    Good luck to all of you with your Big Camp Weekend coming up!
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