Phil mills - Race Plan Lake Stevens 70.3 - Advise Please

Phil Mills

Not counting the indoor sprint I did in March, Lake Stevens HIM will be my first triathlon.   I tried, but was unable to fit an olympic distance into my schedule.  I live locally, about 1:15 away, but will stay in town to accommodate the wife, kids (3 & 5) and my dad.  As this is my first race, your feedback and comments are much appreciated. 

FRIDAY

Leave at 10:00 am to arrive at the venue before lunch.  Pack lunch so that family can eat while I scout the swim course.  30 min swim max.

1:00 pm early check in at the hotel.  Drop off the family for nap time then drive to Lake Stevens HS for packet pick up and Ironkids registration. 

Drive to the technical sections of the bike course and bike them.  In looking at the elevation and terrain this would be miles: 6, 18, 24, 35, 39, 43 and 48.  Pay specific attention to the downhill section that ends in a 90 degree turn then back up hill.  I believe this is around mile 35.  I will confirm it this weekend with a friend who raced this course last year.

Drive back to the venue or LSHS and bike the run course.  It is a double loop/out-and-back that is 6.5 miles in length.  This should require about 30-45 minutes.

COURSE SCOUTING DONE!!!

Get back to the hotel by 5:00 pm for dinner and to play with the kids.

SATURDAY

Up at 7:00 am.  Breakfast, herding kiddos out the door by 9:00 am to get to LSHS by 9:30 for the 10:00 am Ironkids run.  Done by 10:20?

Attend the Race Briefing at 11:00 am. Briefly visit the Ironman Village and Store.

Eat packed lunch

Check in bike by 1:00 pm

Get back to the hotel by 2:00 pm for nap time.

Pack gear, set up bottles and nutrition.  A friend suggested using a 5 G bucket and ½ a yoga mat to contain gear/wetsuit and to use as a stool while in transition.  Any thoughts?   I am shooting for simple here.

5:00 pm dinner.  Something safe, carby and bland.

Confirm taxi schedule for 4:15 am pickup.  Family is not onboard with and early am drop off.

8:00 pm bedtime (children dependent).

SUNDAY

3:30 am wake up.  Consume: 2 cups of applesauce, a bagel, powerbar, a banana and a bottle of Perform before leaving hotel.  3:50 am call on taxi status (stress here.)  Attach timing chip and secure with safety pin.

4:15 am taxi pick up for the 7 mile drive to the HS.  A safe bet in case the driver doesn’t know where the venue/North Cove Park is located.  Take shuttle to the venue by 5:00 am when the transition area opens.

5:00 am to set up bike.  Turn off auto shutdown on Garmin 810.  Place battery in Quarq and calibrate PM.  Gloves, sunglasses & powerbar, sunblock in helmet, helmet on TT bars.  Layout towel/pad, shoes on towel, socks on shoes.  Fill torpedo and put bottle in down tube. 

Sip on Perform and eat ½ a powerbar

Place before and after clothes in bag and check it.

5:45 am put on HR arm strap and then wetsuit.  APPLY GLIDE to neck. Cap goggles and second cap. 

6:00 am get into water for 10-15 min warm up.  If I cannot swim complete some light jogging to warm up.  Continue sipping Perform. Consume gel (100 c) 15 min before start.

SWIM

I am a 1:42/100 swimmer. 

6:30 am start.   Seed as best as possible; mid to front of for a 37 min swim time.  (RR2 is today, so I will have a firmer swim time this afternoon.)

T1

Out of the water, unzip and strip off the top half of wetsuit. Strip off wetsuit, goggles and swim caps and place in bucket. Eat powerbar.  Dry feet, put on socks and shoes, apply sunscreen and.  Gloves, sunglasses and helmet on and go.

Guessing at T1 time of 3-4 min.

BIKE

1^st 30 min @ 75% of 223 FTP = 167.  Get comfortable hearing “on you left.” 

30 min on @ 78% of 223 FTP = 174 -+ 10 Watts. Start eating ½ powerbar and consume 2 bottles of Perform per hour; about 400 calories per hour.  At each aid station, fill up torpedo and stow a bottle of perform on the down tube.

 

Stick to 174:  spin up hills and push down them to maintain goal watts.

 

Consume ½ powerbar at mile 50 to preload run nutrition.

 

Anticipate a 3:30:00 bike split.

 

T2

 

Stop Garmin. Remove helmet and gloves.  Change socks, put on run belt, new sunglasses and EN hat.  Reapply sunscreen. Head out. Start Garmin 910.

 

T2 time 2-3 min.  Toed socks (blister mitigation) take longer to put on.

 

RUN

 

Expect 80 degree weather at run start.  May have to adjust pace for heat.

 

Miles

0-3 Pace Z2 +:30 or :45 = 8:30  Will feel too easy – enjoy the “easy” while it lasts. 

4-10 Pace Z2 +:15 = 8:15 – Maintain pace and don’t overcook it.

10-13.1 Pace Z2-Z3 Best possible pace.  Push for Z3-Z4 (7:20) for final .5

 

Eat early and often. 

4-6 oz of Perform at every aid station, pending heat and tolerance.

1 gel every 10 minutes.

1 salt tablet every 30 minutes.

 

Remove hat and sunglasses and SMILE before entering the finish shoot.  Gotta have a good finishing  picture. 

 

Expected run time of 2:00:00

Expected total time of 6:30:00

 

Swanie

I don't like the idea of relying on a taxi pre-race. TOO MUCH STRESS and no control. I would recommend you have your dad drive you there and let the kids and wife sleep. Surely he wouldn't mind to get you off to the best start.

Nutrition on the bike looks OK, but on the run a gel every 10 minutes is way too much. I would think a 1/3 to a 1/4 of that would be more sufficient, especially with the heat we are supposed to have. Fuel up better on the bike and don't try to eat so much on the run. Also I would grab a water AND Perform at every aid station and mix them. Easier on a hot, tired stomach and you are going to need MORE fluids.

Good Luck. That hill at mile 35 is bitch... standing room only!

Phil Mills

Thank you Steve. I was trying to balance calories and sodium on the bike with 3 aid stations on a hilly course. I will plan on 3 bottles per hour, 2 perform and one water at each aid station. Aid stations are every 15 miles, which may take me more than an hour to span. I know EN recommends racong with a two bottle set up, but I would rather not have to worry about running out of fluids. I will add a salt tablet and 1/2 a Powerbar every hour on the bike.

On the run I will alternate between 4-6 oz of water or Perfom at each aid station, walking 30 steps as I drink. I will start the run with a couple of gels/GU's (33 cal ea) and then have a gel every 20 min. I will continue as long as my stomach will tolerate it. One salt tablet every 30 min. In training I managed 1 Shot Blok (33 cal) every 10 min with no issues, however this didn't follow a swim and a bike.

I agree that the taxi ride was stressing me the most here. My wife didn't realize that I switched hotels to one closer, only 7 miles away. She will make the morning drop off. YEAH!!!!!

davidpettigrew

Phil, I am at the Holiday Inn downtown Everett. I could maybe pick you up.

Phil Mills

David - thank yiu for the generous offer. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Marysville, which would be a bit out of the way. I will go over the route with my wife tonight just to be sure she is onboard. When we scouted the hotel situation two months ago, I booked the Comfort Inn in Everett which is twice the distance and time and a lot of turns. Marysville is 3 turns and 7 miles away. She isn't comfortable driving at night in places she is unfamiliar.

Jonathan Brown

I am super excited for ya. You will have a BLAST!!!!

OK, so... i would not recommend changing the Quarq battery and messing with your garmin the day of the race. Do that the day before or before you leave home. No reason to add stress.

Also, your times are off a little on the bike and run. Are you padding your numbers? or is this what you have seen on RR?

Another note, on the bike and run you should have a few key phases and plans on staying in aero and focusing on running form. Remember during the race to have FUN!!! Chat it up with the volunteers on the run. Remember all the signs on the run course, so you can focus on something other than the pain.

Phil Mills

Johathan - Thank you for your critique. Two weeks ago, my Quarq started draining batteries after 3 days of sitting. I have to remove the battery after each ride until I can send it in for service. Unfortunate stress, but better than not having a PM on race day.

As this is my first tri, I padded my numbers based on RR, training results and the hilliness of the course. I just don't know what these times will look like when I put all three disciplines together. I will call this race successful if I hit the following times, while having fun:
Swim - 40:00
T1 - 4:00
Bike - 3:30:00
T2 - 2:00
Run - 2:00:00
Total 6:16:00

If I can hit my training paces and the run temps stay out of the 80's, then I may be able to shave off 25 minutes. Physically, I'm prepared as I've put in the work. Ensuring that I follow my nutrition plan on the bike is what is still on my mind. That and getting a drafting penalty while looking and my PM too much.

I have a few phrases in mind, but I will write them down to make them more solid. For a little inspiration, I will have my girls (3 & 5) draw a little squiggle on my hands. Good point on chatting up the volunteers to keep the run fun.

Jonathan Brown

So what i do for eating and drinking on the bike is setting a timer for 30 minutes. every 30 minutes i take a gel. then every hour i need to have an empty bottle.