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IMCHOO Race Plan

steven cummingssteven cummings
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IMCHOO Race Plan

Steven Cummings- M:36 FTP:233 VDOT:47 Weight: 142 Watt/kg: 3.61

Background: Third IM with EN.   Second IM race in 2014 after IMCDA finish time 11:39.  After CDA, I took about 2 weeks off then did the transition schedule for 2 weeks.  I jumped back into the IM plan approximately 10 weeks out and excluding a week that I was sick averaged around 13 hours per week with a peak week of 19 hours.  Honestly, it’s been tough to keep the momentum going this long but anytime I’ve been on the bike, in a pool, or running it has been a quality workout.  I did take a few more days off this time around to keep those SAU points in balance.  My FTP bumped up slightly (5 watts) but my VDOT remained the same. 

Thursday- Run through my checklist to make sure everything is packed and ready to go for Friday morning.

Friday-   
  • Drive to Chattanooga from Atlanta and arrive around 9:00am                                         
  • 10:30 EN 4 Keys at the Doubletree Hotel                                                                                                 
  • Get checked in to race possibly before or after 4keys
  • Check into hotel
  • Organize bags for special needs
  • 6pm meet group to head to welcome dinner                                                                                           
  • 7pm Athlete welcome ceremony
Saturday- 


  • Sleep in some                                                                                                                                                                              
  • Check in Bike and bags                                                                                                                                                       
  • Walk transitions and memorize paths                                                                                                                 

Bags-  


  • Morning- Wetsuit, Tri top and bottom, HR montitor, chaffing lotion, 2 pair of goggles, 2 swim caps, gel and drink      
  • T1 Bag- Helmet, Sunglasses,  socks, shoes,  bag of salt pills & gels, lotion 
  • T2 Bag-Socks, Shoes, Go bag of (Visor, Race belt, bottle,  4 gels & 5 salt pills)                                                              
  • Bike SN- 3 bottles of infinit, extra tube, 2 CO2, tire 
  • Run SN- probably won't need it but socks, chaffing lotion

Goal: Execute all day long, ride the bike I should, get to mile 18 on run and take it home.  If I execute right then overall time should be around 11:30.   

Breakfast- 4am  3 Cups of applesauce, protein carb mix, 1 banana, Large Gatorade to sip on all morning

Transition-5:30am- Pump up tires, drop off bottles, turn on garmin

Swim- Get to the swim line as soon as possible.  Take gel and drink.  Start fast but get into the box….count strokes and keep cadence high.  Maintain my pace not someone else’s.                       

Goal time: 1:06

T1-  Fast is smooth, socks, shoes,  Helmet, glasses, salt and gels  

Goal Time: 5:00 minutes or less

Bike- First 45 minutes, focus on easy watts aiming for .68 IF 160 watts and remainder at .73 IF 170 watts.  Watch the Grade % on the way out to Hog Jowl road and downshift when needed so I don’t spike watts on rollers.  Stay Aero as much as possible and chill out on the climb out of Chickamauga. 

Nutrition: 1 24 oz bottle of infinit every hour, 1 gel at 45 minutes on the hour chased by 10-15 oz’s of water, salt pill at the top of the hour.  Pee twice! Stop at Special Needs to grab 3 bottles.  Take in water instead of infinit the last 15-20 minutes. 

Goal Time adjusted for 4 extra miles : 6:15  

T2- Hand off bike, grab bag, change shoes and socks, take go bag and run.

Goal time: 2:00 minutes or less

Run- First mile easy out of transition and up the big hill...slow down!.  0-6 miles at 9:28 which includes 15 step walking breaks at aid stations for 4-8 oz’s of water and perform, take gel at 45 minute increments, salt pill at top of the hour.  Miles 7-20 run at 8:58 average with walking breaks at aid stations.  The line is at Mile 18 but the hills begin again around Mile 20.  Depending on how I’m feeling starting increasing pace in small increments over next 3.  If I go to the dark place (I never did in CDA) be smart and quickly recognize the situation and fight it.  Miles 23-26.2 – Time to race if I have anything in the tank.    

Goal Time: 4:00

Overall Time: 11:30 

 

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    Looks good, nothing to add, except for T1, it's "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

  • steven cummingssteven cummings
    Opps, nice call out there Al!
  • Amy FergusonAmy Ferguson
    Looks solid Steven. My only question to you would be since the first loop of the hills starts about the same time you plan to ramp up your pace to 8:58 avg will you be pushing up the hills the first time around or are you planning to let it fly on the downs? Just curious cause I'm thinking that I will try to run steady with maybe just a little uptick in heart rate on the ups then let myself recover running steady on the downs....It will be interesting to see how it affects the second out and back along the Riverwalk and Amnicola Hwy.
  • tim cronktim cronk
    @Steve.... plan looks awesome! Background looks great and I agree about keeping the momentum going but its here now and you did it.... Welcome dinner? ugghhh ,but it sounds like going with others?

    Bike - time goal adjusted for extra miles ... Did you adjust your target watts as well or were they derived from 116 mile 6hr rides ? I only ask as I am writing my own race plan. Normally I calculate my power off 5hrs but for CHOO I upped it to 5.5hrs to account for the distance. Didnt really change anything for me (maybe 1-2watts) but its something I will be keeping in mind on race day!

    Run- this course looks like running by pace will be difficult... Is your back up RPE or HR?

    Look forward to meeting you at CHOO... keep it going almost there!
  • steven cummingssteven cummings
    @ Amy- My plan is to keep my RPE and HR down on the climbs of the hills and make up the seconds on the downhill and flat sections. This worked for me at CDA but I only had on big hill to worry about climbing 4 times. A few miles in the flats will probably be slightly below 8:58 to bank some time.

    @ Tim- I actually just added on time to the bike and didn't recalc my watts with the extra miles. I'll use the calculator to see what revised watts that gives me. I think the run will be challenging especially as the heat peaks mid day. With that said, i'll be watching my HR along with pace so that I don't spike it on the hills.

    What are you both planning for the run? Obviously I want to make sure I don't over do the first lap and save something for miles 20-26.2!
  • Amy FergusonAmy Ferguson
    @Steven, I will be waaaay behind you. Maybe seeing you on my first run loop while you are on your second ;-) But my plan for the run is to keep it in z1 pace for the entire first loop. Where I would normally go to kick it in mile 6, I will just keep it steady through the hills, then at mile 13 take an assessment and let my pace tick up if I have it, for as long as I can maintain it. Going no higher than z2 pace. My goal is to not walk except through the aid stations. So if I get to miles 20-24 and I'm not walking the hills then I have accomplished my goal. I think your plan to implement RPE into your run, at least in the hills, is wise.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    Good luck, Steven!
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