Danielle Santucci-Race Plan Raleigh 70.3
First time writing a race plan for a HIM, so here I go. Raleigh will be HIM #5 for me. My basic stats: Age 40, 135lbs, FTP 183W, Z2 pace 8:30/mile. Took the sweat test (running though rather than biking) and I lost -3lbs, therefore to say I sweat is an understatement. Of my 4 previous 70.3 races, 2 were in heat and humidity and 2 were in pretty much ideal conditions. The 2 in the heat and humidity (Kinetic and Eagleman) yielded subpar performances (5:50) while the other 2 were more successful (5:25ish). The run is where I fell apart on the subpar performances and I feel it had a lot to do with maintaining a cool core temperature to keep my pace in the humidity. That said, my battle will be to execute this race with properly hydrating/fueling on the bike into run.
Saturday:
5am Drive from NOVA to Raleigh (4.5hrs). Breakfast in the car. Arrive around 10am, go to registration and pick up packet. Find out where and when bike needs to be dropped off. Check into hotel. Meet team for lunch? Go to Mandatory meeting. Drink Nuun/water throughout the day along with 2 small cans of V8. Dinner will be grilled chicken, quinoa and broccoli (2 small cc cookies with 8oz milk). Prepare 3 bottles of Perform, stick in freezer. Load Bento with SCaps, cliff blocks. Premix Napalm and refrigerate. Early to bed.
Sunday:
Wake 4am: 280cal Protein shake, coffee. Timing chip secured with safety pin, Garmin 910 on and set to Multisport. Sunscreen. 4:45-5am: leave hotel, on the way eat half sesame bagel w/nut butter and banana. Arrive at transition 2 around 5:30, sipping on a disposable bottle of Perform. Set up run gear (no more than 10 minutes to set this up). Take shuttle to T1. Check tires-borrow pump, load bike with nutrition. Have on hand wetsuit just in case. Once transition is set, get to body marking and swim start.
Swim: 15 min prior to start have one Caramel Gu with water. Seed close to the front in AG wave. Set Garmin. Wave 13, Go time 7:46am. Sprint 200m then settle into a good rhythm. Goal is to be out of the water in less than 35'.
T1: Pack wetsuit(?), goggles and cap in Bike bag. Helmet, sunglasses, socks, bike shoes…go.
Bike: Heartrate will be high, settle down and ride the first 20-30' at 150-155W. Drink perform every 10', 3 Margarita Cliffblocks every 30', 1S!Cap every 60'. Drink at least 1 bottle Perform/hr. Nutrition totals per hour: Calories 355 Carbs 88.5 Sodium 1116. Once situated on bike (after 20') ride an average of 161-165W for a consistent strong bike split. Goal ~2:45
T2: Asics TriNoosa, Red EN Visor, sunglasses, race belt, flask of Napalm…go.
Run: Once again, HR will be high. Must hold back for at least the first 2 miles at 8:45-9:00/pace. I understand there is a gradual incline the first part of the run, so I need to be careful to not overdo it. After mile 2 its time to start running. Goal is to average 8:15-8:30 miles with short walking breaks at each aid station to drop HR a bit and get in the fluids,ice,etc.. If the heat and humidity are a factor, I need to drop my pace and run within a 150-155bpm HR. Nutrition for the run will be perform at miles 1,3,5,7,9,11 and a combo of water and swigs of Napalm at 2,4,6,8,10,12. s!cap at 60'. Coke only if needed for an energy boost. Goal: ~1:50
My overall goal is to beat my best time of 5:27 at Timberman a few years ago. I feel good going into this race and hope that all of the work I have put in over the past 6 months will pay off. Another personal goal, enjoy the day and remember I do this because I love it and I wouldn't be anywhere else than here right now.