IM CHOO RR #2
A little late posting this but RR #2 for IM CHOO is all set for tomrrow -- I'll post plan and feel free to fire away.
Wakeup -- 5am -- Breakfast = english muffin w almond butter and honey, banana, 300 cal of Sustained Energy and Coffee -- This breakfast has worked well for me for awhile and I've never tried the applesauce regimen. Raceday I'll get up early enough to have this down 2.5 hr before or so.
Plan to start riding at sunup around 6:30. It gets Hot in Coastal MS! Planned route is a big loop with water stop at 40 and 78 miles to reload bottles -- Distance planned is 114.9 which is just a mile or so shorter than the 116 CHOO course.
Nutrition -- I plan on 2 bottles (40 oz of Perform) per hour which gets me 340 calories and then supplementing with 2 gels and 1/2 to 1 Powerbar. I also take a Saltstick cap about every 45 minutes. I'm a heavy sweater and end up covered in salt down here. Nutrition totals/goals -- 400 cal/hr and 1200 mg sodium per hour. I have tracked nutrition every week in training and have taken between 380 and 430 per hr successfully with my best rides occuring when I get close to 400. Sodium has ranged between 1100-1400. Hard to tell a difference between the two but most rides have been 1200-1300/hr.
Bike setup -- aero wheels, torpedo bottle, aero helmet -- the works
Pace -- I have averaged high 20.9 to 21.3 at IM watts recently -- With the long bike course and having riddent the Chattanooga course I am anticipating a 5:25-5:30 split or right around 21 mph. Current FTP is 259 -- AFter JRA for 30 min or so at 170-180 watts, Plan to bike 0.73-0.75 which give me a target watts of 189-194. Longer hills 199-204, Short Hills 209-214 MAX. I will test this tomorrow in aero gear aiming for a low end of those ranges and hope to target around 190 NP. Hope to get off the bike in 5:20-5:30 at a TSS 280-290
Run -- plan to run 6 miles -- VDOT is 54.7, E/L pace is 7:56 to 8:01. I plan to pace more by heart rate/RPE and less by actual pace but will use all as a guide to keep from going out too fast. I should come off the bike with a heart rate in the high 130's low 140's. Plan to hold under 145 for the 6 mile run trying to target my E/L pace but will take faster pace if Heart rate stays low. On race day after the 1/2 mile hill out of transition, the next 4.5 miles are flat to down hill and a good opportunity to utilize the faster section of the course before the hills start. I will run 2 mile loops coming by my car every 15-16 minutes to get Perform and gel, targeting about 200 cal/hr and maintaing sodium by taking Saltstick every 30-45 min.
Last big workout before taper starts in earnest -- Looking forward to refining this plan for race day and getting it done on the 28th!
Comments
I really liked these 2 comments!
1. [ I have tracked nutrition every week in training.] You know what and how much works for you! No guessing.
2. [I have averaged high 20.9 to 21.3 at IM watts recently.] A good window of speeds derived from long rides at IM pace , gives you a good time estimate , TSS , etc... Again no guessing.
The Run.... with your vdot I agree not to fight your pace (specially since your backing it with HR) and you know the course.... What I didnt see was a planned walk every 1 mile to simulate aid stations? I would also suggest using fuel belt so that you can drink every mile instead of every 2 miles (again to simulate aid stations) or do 1 mile laps... I use a fuel belt or a track for these brick after a long bike.... If it really is going to be 103 heat index when you do your run , there is no need to do 6 miles IMO. Your entering the less is more part of training and no sense killing yourself in the heat.
I'm sure you already know this, but I attach it being someone more familiar with the term "snow level" than "heat index": (From NOAA)
It surprises many people to learn that the heat index values in the chart ... are for shady locations. If you are exposed to direct sunlight, the heat index value can be increased by up to 15°F. As shown in the table below, heat indices meeting or exceeding 103°F can lead to dangerous heat disorders with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity in the heat.
Heat stroke is no joke. It's life threatening.
@Al. --have learned a lot from you too over the years even though I've been racing halfs recently . I'll check the temp before I run and will be cautious. I realize at this point there is little fitness it be gained and if the heat is really bad I won't push through and will adjust accordingly.
Thanks!
Completed race rehearsal # 2 for IM CHOO last Satruday and I must say it was one of my best race reheasals ever. I hit all my targets -- Nutrition, pace, time and was right on the money on my estimated time/speed. Total climbing on the course I rode was also similar to CHOO (a bonus). Run was spot on -- I will keep this short but details below -
Ride --114.58
Time - 5:24:44 (21.2 avg)
NP Power 191
Avg Power 190
VI 1.01 (actually 1.005)
IF = 0.739
TSS 296
Pacing wise -- The ride was perfect. I rode 180 watts for the first 25 minutes or so -- Then dialed up pacing plan -- Goal range was 190-195 aiming for the low end or an IF of .73 Longer climbs -- 200-205, Short climbs 205-215 MAX. Used my gears and rode very comfortably. It was also a very consistent ride as there was almost no fall off in power in the latter miles -- IF was 0.739 with a TSS of 296. I actually hit 112 miles at 5:16 or so (which would be an IM bike PR) and a TSS of 283 or so. Would like to have a lower TSS but with the longer bike I think it is what it is. If I ride slightly easier, bike time will increase a little and I think it will be a wash. I've also run well several times of 290 TSS.
On another note -- I programmed my race rehearsal bike course into Best Bike Split and generated a power course which I loaded into my Garmin 500 -- You enter a ton of information about your bike, FTP, equipment, and planned IF and it generates an estimated split As well as power targets based on segments of the course broken down by elevation and distance. As you ride the course and approach a hill or grade, the Garmin beeps and displays a power target -- The power targets are not exactly in line with our usual guidance but they are pretty close. And it is an audible and visual reminder of when to switch gears and when you can "save watts" I'll make a post about this in more detail in the power pace forum if anyone is interested. It predicted my RR bike split within about 6 minutes though
Nutrition was spot on - 7 (24 oz) bottles Perform, 3 gels, 1 Powerbar and 10 Saltstick caps = 380 cal/hr, 1273 mg Na, 30.5 oz fluid/hr. Hydration seemed right as I peed 3 times on ride (stops but not stopping on race day). Plan to aim for closer to 40 oz/hr as that is more in line with my tested sweat rate. Rice paper wrapped powerbars worked great -- Thanks Tim Cronk! Although I need more practice wrapping them neatly.
It was not quite as hot as forecast although it was 88 with heat index in the 90's when I started to run.
@Tim and Al -- Thanks for recommending fuel belt and walk breaks -- Don't usually train with it but I took in 32 oz Perform in my 6 mile run walking 20 steps at each mile -- Pacing was mainly by heart rate -- Came off the bike around 140. Kept it under 145 for my run even with the heat and all my splits were 7:49, 8:08, 8:08, 7:52, 8:02, 7:59. The heat didnt really seem to slow me down as heart rate was where I wanted it and those mile times are right on the money for my E/L pace. Maybe I should have signed up for Louisville! Hopefully it will be cooler in Chattanooga which may allow a faster pace at low heart rate but I don't plan to deviate too much from E/L pace as this run will all be decided from mile 16 to the end.
Lessons learned -- Had a little trouble with Torpedo straw -- it was not curved enough or down far enough for me to drain the front bottle -- Need to fix that for race day.
Nutrition -- I actually still got a little hungary at the end and was out of gels/powerbars. The powerbars really help me not to get hungry. Maybe its the chewing of them that seems to suppress hunger more than gels. I will take extra calories on the bike but not go overboard. Ive done a few rides where calories have been 420-430/hr and have not had stomach issues. So I will eat more if hungry and possibly drink some water if I get sick of Perform. Percent grade -- on bike computer -- I highly recommend everyone use this at Chattanooga -- It really helps you know when you are on a false flat or short hill. I used it to give myself permission to up watts by 5 or 10 based on lenght of hills and I think it helped me ride even. I don't think I can do much better than 191 NP, 190 avg -- Will aim for VI of 1.02 or less in Chattanooga. Having ridden the course I think 1.01 is possible with disciplined riding.
Looking forward to racing -- If I can execute on the 28th like this past weekend, it should be a very good day.
That's one steady VI there. Don't try anything stupid between now and race day, just fine tune the machine, and work on your mind set for the last 1.5 hours of the run.
@ Jodi -- I am thinking I will hit about 7 aid stations an hr and get 1 cup perform at most of those stations but Will take water with one power gel an hr to meet calories and also go by what my stomach is doing trying to front load calories early in the run. I am racing in 4 pocket Desoto shorts -- and will have a change purse thing with Salt Stick caps in them to continue my sodium intake -- aiming for 1200-1300/hr. This will probably mean salt stick caps every 30 minutes for a total of 5-6 caps.
@Tim and Al -- Thanks for the encouragement. Holding steady for race day.