IMCDA Race Plan: Jason Brandt
IMCDA Race Plan
Jason Brandt M40 IM#2
Thanks in advance for your feedback, suggestions and critique. I'll try to edit this post as folks share that with me.
I have separate documents not listed here which is my hour by hour itinerary, packing list and projected split times for my family to help them watch for me on the race. Document below is my Race Day Plan.
Wednesday--Pack
Thursday, Jun 26th
Arrive CDA Athlete Check In
Afternoon Ride 18 mile section of bike course (start mile 20)
Athlete Check In and/or Hotel Check in & shower and relax
Depart for EN team dinner Crickets Steakhouse, Coeur d’Alene
Friday, June 27th
8AM Swim Recon 30 minutes
Morning Run 30 Minutes ~0930 AM (maybe on course) park at anthony’s
10:30am. 4 Keys Talk by Coach Rich at Coeur d’Alene
1215 Lunch at F.A.P.
Lunch Carb Loading begins 456g for day
Race Check In if not done Thursday
Hang out hotel or see a movie or go see Spokane
6PM Dinner in Post Falls
Saturday, June 28th
760g carbs today, low fiber, low nutrient density (bagels, sports drink, pretzels)
20 Minute Run
10AM-UTC Bike Check In & Bag drop off
Lunch at Great Harvest Bread Co, CDA
Grocery Shop
Hang out with Bill & Kris or feet up or watch TV or lounge at hotel or Coeur d’Alene
5:30 PM Early Dinner
8PM Early bedtime for Jason
RACE DAY
Goals: Execute my plan like a ninja. Sub 10:45. Stretch Goal: Secret race time goal that I’m not sharing publicly.
Bags:
Morning Clothes: Wetsuit, Goggles x 2, ear plugs, race cap and silicone cap, body glide, headlamp
T1 Bag: Socks, Bike Shoes, Helmet, Sun Glasses, Sunscreen
T2 Bag: Socks, Newton Running Shoes, race number belt, 1 gal Ziploc (hat, salt tabs in bag, sunscreen, 1 gel)
Bike Special Needs: Tube, CO2, Tire
Run Special Needs: Not used
RACE DAY Specifics
0330 Breakfast 3 cups applesauce, 1 scoop whey protein, 1 banana, 1 bottle sports drink. Think about how great you feel and how great of a race I’ll have today.
0430 Race Day Outfit: EN Tri Top, Desoto Bike Shorts, Timing Chip. Sunscreened. Light pants and long sleeves for wear before wetsuit and post race. 3 Gel and 2 Sports Drink to take with.
0450 Leave Hotel w/Family –Park at CDA resort lot or if pressed for time have family drop off and meet up via cell phone.
0530 Body Marking, Check Tires, Fill drink bottle, Put 2 gel on bike. Drop special needs bags. No nervous energy, stay quiet, find a place to be in my own zone.
0600 Don wetsuit, drop morning clothes bag. Visualize the great swim I am about to have. You’ve done this several times and last triathlon you validated this.
0615 Make way to beach and seed in the 1:06-1:08 vicinity
0640 Swim Start Begins expect to be in water NLT 0650
Swim: Plan 1:08-1:10 swim. Plan to seed with athletes around me looking to swim 1:06-1:08. Light jog into water until knee depth and start swimming. Plan to swim harder than race effort for first 200-400 yards. I’ll be a little anxious but know that will subside when I slow down and get into my groove. Yes, I’ll get hit…it is all part of the experience, just keep making strong progress and maintain form. Will be looking for the right set of feet to follow (ones that I can swim my planned effort with and don’t constantly run into their feet) Sight every 6-12 strokes depending on my perception of fellow swimmers swimming the right direction and aiming for shortest line swim distances. End of lap one, expect legs to be a little wobbly but just get right back in and do it again. Don’t look at watch during swim, let the time be what it is and remind yourself this is the only place you are significantly using your arms so you can push a little harder than you think.
T1: Goggles, Cap come off and remain in wetsuit sleeve, find big burly stripper, jog to T1. Look for family along the way. Find volunteer, shout out number, assume I am retrieving my own bag. Find spot outside of tent.
Socks, Shoes, Helmet and Glasses. If volunteer assist have them lather sunscreen. Run with bike past mount line.
Bike: Focus on getting heart rate down, lots of folks will pass me. Think of it as entertainment and just smile knowing I will pass most of these folks because I execute better than they do. Aim for 190-200 watts for first miles. Remainder of race is target 207 watts (an intensity factor of .74/.75 validated in two race rehearsals). Don’t exceed the 207 for any lap or you’ll pay for it in the last 20 miles. No surges, no competing with others, let them pass me, eyes glued to road and watch. Aero the whole way except for turns and aid stations. Follow EN hill guidance, smooth out the hills and keep pushing on crest and downhill until speed hits 35 or my comfort factor for conditions. No sightseeing….you can do this with family …no conversations except short words of encouragement to others …don’t get bored in the second half…Stay on target watts.
Drink and drink often. Drink until I am about burping the perform back up. Goal will be 2 bottles of on course perform per hour and no qualms about peeing while I bike. Watch will beep when it is time for my on course gel (every 45 minutes)
Mantra: Stay on target, Stay on Target, Don’t worry what those around me are doing. I am going to ride my race. No draft except the legal kind when passing, Ride the smooth asphalt of main road not the debris strewn shoulder
Coming back in town prepare for upcoming transition. Feet on top of shoes, easier gear and faster cadence. Don’t make the blooper reel dismounting.
T2 Hand off bike, jog to transition and call out race number to get bag, sit down, fresh socks, shoes on, helmet in bag and grab Bib Number & Ziploc with hat, salt tabs, gel, sunscreen. If there is a sunscreen volunteer stop because its like a 20 second quick massage. Be wicked fast in transition, it is just a footwear change.
Run. 9:00/mile for 6 miles. Put on hat, take 3 salt tabs, and either sunscreen or chuck it. 4-8 ounces of sports drink or coke every aid station. Plan to hit that 9:00 pace in my very first mile even it means some strategic walking. Mantra: I’m light and strong and save the racing until mile 19. Breathe comfortably.
Mile 7-18 8:30/mile. Continue nutrition routine, add 1-2 salt tabs every 5 miles. Don’t refuse sponges or ice when offered. Run my comfortable long run pace…if this turns out to be 8:10 and HR is <160 then go with it. If hot feel free to back it down according to heat factor</span>
Mile 19—Certainly don’t slow down. You worked way too hard to give in to an early celebration or negotiation in your mind that XX time is still a great performance. Rather this is the time to get gutsy and focus on leaving it all out on the course. I will not be passed, I will be doing the passing. Passing folks will give me energy. Plan to run a heat adjusted 8:00 mile. Be grateful that I am able to do this and have the loving support of my family. Revisit the multiple “one things” you’ve thought about which is going to keep you from giving in to race day discomfort or negotiation.
Don’t sprint in the finish chute, enjoy the glory, be emotional, thank the volunteers and most importantly my family! Find what food is appealing, get the massage unless the line is long and Thank the family for they too have had a really long day out in the hot sun.
Comments
Jason: solid, complete plan. Just three comments
Swim: Based on my experience with the start @ IM LT, things will move a lot faster than you expect. I was seeding myself @ 1:16, and I got to the water about 2 minutes after the gun went off! Also, I discovered that you can't sneak under the rope into the line at your seeding spot - you have to start from the rear and move forward to where you want to be. So you are seeding yourself with about 80% of the field behind you, meaning if you show up @ 6:25, there's a good chance you'll be walking through 1500 people to get to your spot. You might want to consider an earlier schedule for putting on your wetsuit and getting into the cattle chutes. Maybe the process will be different @ CDA? But it will probably be a linear thing - get in at the end, walk up to near the front in your case.
Bike: you don't mention your expected bike split, and I forget what you did in the RR's. But a planned IF of 0.74/0.75 means you expect to ride no slower than 5:15 for the 112 miles. The "safe zone" for that effort level - the zone which *assures* you of a good run is if you are able to ride @ that effort level and complete the course in 5 hours. Briefly, here're the recommended IFs for anticipated bike splits:
Counter-intuitively, the *conservative* rider would be someone who demonstrated in the RR that he was able to run well after pushing that IF for the shorter time. The longer one tries to hold the IF, the riskier the plan is.
Finally, and I know you're aware of this, don't get locked into time goals. If race day dawns clear, and expected temps on the run are into the 80s, put those goals out of your mind. They ain't gonna happen, and you'll risk running yourself into dehydration by mile 13-15.
At IMAZ 7 months ago I rode a 5:17 at .70% IF and my FTP at the time was a 256. I ran great and in hindsight felt I should have pushed a little harder.
My FTP for the past 3 months has been 276.
I've done both of the last race rehearsals at the 207W or .75% and most recent race rehearsal was completed in 5:26 counting stop lights, sections thru town, mostly chip seal vs smooth, etc... The runs following the race rehearsal 112 miles have been really good.
So by my calculations I'm on the high end of the "green zone" EN Power guidance table based on previous performance and higher FTP now. With that explanation does that seem to be on the acceptable/high end of the "should" bike plan?
Thanks Al for the notes on run pacing. I fully agree with you and will be monitoring a blend of RPE, HR and known paces from my training runs. The unknown for me is the heat effect as most all of my runs have been in temps <70 degrees based on where we live. I've looked at the heat calculator and it suggests about a minute slower at 80 degrees and another minute slower at 100 degrees. <br />
Mike--thanks for the query on nutrition. My plan is all oncourse nutrition and all liquid at that. My target is 423 calories per hour which I'll achieve thru 2 bottles of perform per hour biking with one gel every 45-60 minutes. The run is 1-2 4oz cup of perform per aid station. I'll have salt tabs with me. I feel like my stomach really tolerates this or anything pretty well. This was the plan I used for IMAZ and in both of my race rehearsals leading up to this race.
Please keep the feedback coming and if you think I'm off track after my explanations above I'd appreciate the challenge so that I can continue to refine my plan.
Otherwise great plan. You're going to kill it!!'
Mark
Looking forward to meeting you at the dinner Thursday.
I want to have the fastest race possible but I hold a very healthy amount of respect for the could vs should bike and what that will do to my run.
It is interesting the difference between a .75 effort and a .74 effort is 3W and a .73 effort another 3W. Speaks to a small difference multipled by a lot of time at that effort does really turn into a big difference
You may as well do your swim practice at ~7am so you can see the light the same way you will when you race. This will help you pick out landmarks, etc.
As you know, the weather and water temp can fluctuate in CDA. I wore arm warmers (technically long socks with the toes cut off) in 2012 for the first 30 mi or so, and tossed them once it got warm. You may want to consider having gear for a cold morning.
For T1 - I had a long run from tent to bike. I mistakenly put my shoes on at the tent, and in retrospect should have waited until I got to my bike.
For your recon, I suggest seeing both the significant hill on the run and the one significant climb on the bike. After that climb, there isn't much to recon on that bike course.
We use math to set the IF target for RR's. From the first RR we get normalized power and IF for the ride. We then use those two data points, Pnorm and IF, to refine it further for the 2nd RR. Do that and extract another set of Pnorm and IF numbers.
Against this, you have your IMAZ numbers as historical data, which you could probably adjust for changes in your FTP since that race.
Sorry, you may have already done this and/or mentioned it above, still kinda early out here for me :-)
My point is that when I was prep'ing for IMWI'11, I had my FTP, math, historical RR's, and historical performances at IMWI that all pointed to a Pnorm on race day of 215-217w. To me, this number held more importance than the IF that produced that number. All that said, if I were you, I'd ride .7 or a tick less for the 30' or so, call it to the first out and back by the lake. Then dial in .73-74. Then pick a landmark on the course, say the bottom of Mica Grade on the 2nd lap, to start seeing .74-75.
IM courses always get harder across the day and it's always a good idea to save a little something for the last ~90-120'. You may not even use it, but always good to have that reserve to apply to late in the day hills, winds, etc. Also a big mental boost to know that you are turning the gas up while those around you are struggling.
On the run, critical to chill the first ~6mi. This course makes it very easy to run too fast in the first 6 miles, until you get out to the hills at the end.
Coach Rich--I went back and confirmed. Both race rehearsals were done at 208W NP which with with my calculated FTP of 276W put me at 1 W over the 207W (.75 IF). I felt great with both RR and ran great (although too fast) in the 6 miles after the bike segments. Perhaps my actual FTP is a few watts higher.
But what I'm hearing from my peers is this maybe a little too high and perhaps a .73 or .74 might be better and if I had any left, I could expend it all during the last 8 miles of the run. I think I'll adopt Rich's suggestion to do the .73 in lap 1 and if the stars are aligned pick it up on second lap.
I'm learning a lot from all of us posting our race reports and I keep updating my copy as I see suggestions I like.
At this point I think I'd roll with what you know works, call it 205-208w, and don't worry about what exactly your FTP is and a super accurate IF. You'll just go in circles, this close to the race.