Race Plan: first half - REv3 Cedar Point
Nerves at an all time high. Thanks for Coach P for talking me off the ledge.
The plan:
Thurs
Tires and tubes--install 4000s and latex. Check to make sure that spares, Co2s, etc all are in the rear box. Pack bags--one for the swim (wetsuit, goggles, lube), one for the bike (pump, garmin, HR strap, nutrition, helmet, shoes, bibs, shorts, aquaphor, bottles, tools), and one for the run (t shirt, sunglasses, shoes) and one for the miscellany (trigger point toys,flip flops, peanut butter and jelly, etc).
Fri: before leaving: Quick ride to make sure everything on bike is a ok. 10AM: drive to cleveland; have dinner with friends. Do not overeat. Try to relax. Watch the four keys DVD. Foam roller, lacrosse ball, etc. THIS IS THE BIG NIGHT FOR BIG SLEEP. BED EARLY.
Sat.
Up by 6. Gatorade/perform day--at least 4 bottles. More foam rolling - at least 20 min. Attend athlete meeting. Take a quick dip on the swim course to loosen up, and get a feel for the water. No wetsuit--probably won't dry in time. Drive bike course. It's flat; ride up the one hill if it looks technical. Ride or drive the run course (it's flat). Check bike into transition.
Big meal of the day is lunch--rice and fish if you can find it; rice and anything else if you can't. Light dinner no later than 530. Lay out all the stuff you need in order. Bed by 9.
Sun:
Up @ 5. Applesauce, PBJ, coffee. RELAX. Transition by six to 630. Set up transition area. 7am-have a gel or two, and keep sipping perform. Put wetsuit on, and take advantage of warmup swim. Nerves will be very high at this point. Turn on Garmin and calibrate powertap.
8am: Race.
Swim:
RELAX. You should not feel winded till the last three miles. You have six plus hours to catch them. Keep the RPE absurdly low; don't let the adrenaline push you into hyperventilating in the middle of the scrum. After you warm up, see if you can find some feet. Count strokes, rest if you need to. Within a hundred yards of the shallows, kick to get some blood in your legs. Fingertips down: Think smooth, not fast. The time takes care of itself.
T1: jog easy--don't run. Again--smooth. Not sure if there are wetsuit strippers. Put shotbloks in rear pockets. Helmet, socks shoes and gone.
Bike: Easy for the first 15-20 min. Watts @ 170. Get some food, let HR come down. Then: 190 watts. Drill it. Do not exceed 210--ever. The time will take care of itself. Hills don't matter, wind doesn't matter--they're slowing everyone else down too. Nutrition-sip every 10 min minimum (on the garmin beep); 1 sleeve shot bloks every hour. Goal is 3.5 bottles of perform.
T2--sunscreen on nose. 2 gels in rear pockets; shoes, sunglasses and go.
Run:
Game time.
Run tall, run easy. The first three to four miles ought to be really, really easy. Target pace is 10 min. z2 is supposedly 8:30, but I've never really been able to test that because of heat. RPE and HR will be guides; HR should be in the 140s for first four miles. Perform/gatorade at every aid station; one gel after a half hour; one gel 45 min later; the rest is liquid totaling 200 cals per hour. Weather now looks awesome (59 in the AM; high 74), so should not need extra salt. At mile five, pick it up slightly if you feel good. Just hold back if you don't.
Miles 6-10. Tall, Consistent and still easy, but try to pick it up. Try to enjoy it. Use each aid station as a reward. Keep HR in the 150s.
10-13.1
Have some coke if you feel flat. This is it. No rapid accelerations, but you are going to have to push. Whatever's left in the tank gets drained now. A half hour or less is left if you did this right. Run tall, run relaxed, and run hard. HR should be in the 160s--any less and you're dogging it. Remember those 2.5 hour trainer rides in the pain cave. Remember 2 hour runs in 90 degree heat. You did not do those so you could quit now. The pain will pass. the quitting is forever.
The finish: relax. FIND KIDS and bring them over the line.
Comments
chris: Good plan! relax- you will be fine!
Couple of points:
- Try to get a 30-60 minute ride in after you install your tires and tubes BEFORE Saturday to make sure the tubes are seated correctly.
- if you are using a heart rate monitor and bike computer, turn on your watch and bike computer in your hotel room before you leave for transition, make sure the gps is active, and your HR monitor is paired. Sometimes in transition there are so many devices pairing is difficult. I just leave my bike computer (edge 500) on at that point (turn off the auto-off).
- T2- every second standing still is wasted time. put your gels and sunglasses in a baggie. put on your shoes, and race belt if you need one, and grab the other stuff (conveniently in a baggie) and start running to the exit. organize your hat/gels/sunglasses WHILE you are running and tuck the baggie into your shorts to be disposed of at the first opportunity or just keep it. I also put my watch on while I am running- I stopped wearing it for the swim and bike. maybe you could do this with a dollop of sunscreen too (i don't use sunscreen so I don't know).
Good luck!
you were right. Should have mixed gels and water and put in hammer flasks.