Tim Cronk KONA 2014 Race Plan
On 10/10/14 I will be racing KONA in the M50-54AG. This will be my 11th IM started , 10th finished , 2nd KONA , and 3rd this year.
Heather and I flew to KONA 2 days after doing IMCHOO... 2 days of complete rest consisting of 1 day in Chattanooga and another traveling. Since arriving on the island it's been about trying to find a balance of activity to promote the most recovery and acclimatize to this furnace called KONA... I believe I have found that balance and have started to feel pretty good as the days go on... At the moment I'm still far from 100% and glad we still have another 5 days...
Race week - pickup packet, continue to do short SBR , I will do 1 bike (3 x 5' @ .85) tues and 1 run (3 x 3' Z3)weds , in an attempt to wake my legs back up , since all my work thus far has been Z1-Z2... Short easy swims every day since I did do one hard swim on the entire course (more in the swim section)... Attend the EN dinner and breakfast... Also going to go to the WTC AWA breakfast invitation to see what all that is about.... The day before will be the usual rest day , carbo loading , and bike/bag drop off , feet up , early lights out!
Race Goals- Survive , Have Fun , Beat last years time of 10:47.... This place and this course scare me and it has my respect!
Swim - Goal 1:10 ... Saturday they held a chipped swim practice on the full course which was a 400 person mass start... I swam a 1:12:30 which was 3 minutes faster than my KONA race time and 7 minutes faster than my KONA practice race time from last year.... I still felt fatigued from IMCHOO and wasnt swimming as hard as I know I can.... So 1:10 maybe possible and I would be really happy with that... Last year I lined up far left , Coach P suggested middle in the Webinar and that made sense so that is where I will be lined up maybe a 1/4 of the way back. Try to get in the water around 6:40 for a 6:50 start... I'll swim with no watch and swim as if racing! Even swimming hard you can enjoy yourself here by observing the sea life... I got to swim with a sea turtle on day one! Its an awesome but brutal and very hard swim course....
T1 - Goal 3-4min... last year was mid 3 range...slow is smooth and smooth is fast....last year they made you leave your helmet at your bike but shoes in your bag... so I will take swim skin off , put shoes on , and go with rolled up arm coolers to be slipped on as I move to the bike, at bike helmet/glasses on and go....
Bike- Goal 5:20 this would be 5 min faster than last year and also inline with the work I did on bestbikesplit.com estimating.... However estimating time on this course is a fools game... The winds last year were optimal (so they say) but I still found them rugged and challenging... This year the winds have been even friendlier and my trip up Hawi yesterday was very light winds and untraditional... Forecast for us on Saturday is looking at a pretty rough and windy day... It is what it is but will greatly affect the times.... My real goal is to ride my watts of 165-170... I rode 166 here last year and I have ridden 3 IM's in the last year at 174/176/175 watts and ran well off those .....But I have absolutely no intention of riding that hard in this heat and conditions.... If I have an NP over 170 I want Coach Rich to fly out here and kick me in the nuts! Steady aero riding specially when the going gets tough on the return trip.
T2- Goal 3-4min... again inline with last years would be just fine.... slow is smooth and smooth is fast.... socks and shoes on , go bag in mouth, watch and race belt in hands to be put on while moving , across the line, start watch .
Run- Goal Sub 4hrs... maybe 3:50-3:55 is possible.... I ran 4 hrs here last year and have run 4hrs in hot years of IMLOU and IMTX so 4hrs is my go to IM marathon on a hot day but still proving very difficult enough thank you....On the Course....Open go bag, visor on, glasses on , gel flask in front of top , salt stick extra gel tums sunscreen packet in pockets , then put cool wing on shoulders.... Slowly , gradually , feel out the pace and the temps... Last years run was again optimal conditions for KONA (so they say) being overcast almost the entire run.... If its sunny and exposed I would say add about 10-20 seconds per mile easy vs. a nice overcast day pace... Run aid station to aid station , walk , think heat management with ice water etc.... Find the pace that I can keep moving forward at for the conditions of the day and how I am feeling.... I won't hesitate to push if it feels right but just gonna have to wing it...
Mental Game... To be honest I'm not quite ready to push myself to race to the best of my abilities this soon after Ironman Chattanooga.... But , I know myself and I can count on the "Horns and Fangs" coming out on race day and putting me in that moment... When he show's up I just need to make sure its not too early , control him , and respect the course/conditions of the day!
Nutrition- Swim - gel and perform pre-swim... Bike- perform for fluids, cliff bar, cliff blocks , 1-2 gels , anticipating 24-30oz per hr and 250-300 cal per hour..... Run - sip gel with water every 3rd aid station , drink perform the 2 in between , switch to mountain dew and salt stick at mile 18-20 (picked up at SN) anticipate 24-30oz per hr and 250-300 cal per hr.
Some things I'm gonna do different.... I'm wearing a Custom EN tri-suit made by Andre at Kiwami the Konami , Oomph makes a cool wing in 3 pieces (each arm and the shoulders) , I will be riding with the arm coolers , and then adding the shoulder cover for the run... Wheels will be FLO 30 front with 23c tire and latex tube, FLO 90 rear with 25c tire and latex tube...I will be changing my drinking alert on the bike to 10 min (usually use 15min) but keep the feeding at every 30 min.... On the run I am going to try SN since its a mile 18 and going to put a Mountain Dew with salts ticks already in a bottle instead of the coke , I'll just pour some into a cup of ICE...... I like MD better than coke and I wont have to deal with the salt tabs....But I'll have the salt sticks and an extra gel if I wanna go back to the coke.....
Comments
.....anxiously waiting to watch you and the other EN peeps tear it up. Have fun, be smart, and race your race.
You have given all of us at EN much help, care, and motivation, with an untiring spirit along the way.
May we all send that back to you in your hour of need during this great day........
KMF!
SS
Hey Tim,
So looking forward to following you and the rest of the team this Saturday. This is the prize you earned with all the hard work, so I hope you soak it all in and truly enjoy it. I like your plan, as usual, and I like your more casual approach toward specific race goals, as setting really high expectations 2 weeks post-Choo is pretty crazy, IMO. I suspect you'll perform pretty close to normal on the S & B and that the Choo fatigue will reveal itself on the run, if at all. Just be smart on the run with pace, hydration and cooling those first 10 miles along the ocean, don't do anything stupid up Pay n' Save, then unleash the fangs out on the K and back to town.
Mike
Youve probably got this but Concerning the Ooomp coolers and shoulder covers, they have to be WET to work right -- Remember to add dumping water on them periodically on the bike to manage heat accumulation.
Patrick wrote a great post on the EN blog thats worth a look.
Wishing you good Skill! Can't wait to follow on race day.
Sounds like you're setting yourself up for a great day.