Bruce Thompson Kona Race Plan
My goal for Kona is to enjoy the experience of being here and to have the race as a "Big Training Day" for IMAZ in 5 weeks. I'm not going to race Kona, but just work reasonably hard to finish in good shape and in a respectible time. I don't want to dig too big a hole for IMAZ, where I am going to race an try to re-qualify for Kona 2015.
Monday: Swim at 7 am. Buy swim skin. Go to Iron Gents dinner @ 5:30. Meet Charlie & Cathy @ 7:30.
Tuesday: EZ swim & run 2 miles. Register & go to expo.
Wednesday: EZ swim at 7 am. Go for easy spin. Talk to Patrick about the course. EN team dinner @ Kona Brewing Co.
Thursday: Underpants run @ 7 am. Go on another short ride on the run course to make sure bike is ok. Make up gear bags. Athlete’s banquet with Charlie & Cathy.
Friday: Big breakfast early– pancakes, eggs, OJ, meat. Rack bike and drop off gear bags in first group, pick up JT at airport, back to condo to rest, review training log. Big lunch – chicken or turkey sandwich by noon. Dinner – early meal @ 5 pm, grilled chicken, pasta with marina sauce, bread. Bed by 9.
Race Day:
Wake up at 4 am
Breakfast: 2 bananas, 2 bagels, 2 bowls cheerios, coffee. 1 power bar 1 hour before swim start, sip on 20 oz Infinit
Drive to Transition: Get marked & drop off Special Needs bags, put Infinit bottle into SN bags.
Transition: work from my list: pump tires, check brakes, check garmin, fill torpedo bottle with water, rack Infinit bottle, use toilet, get in/out, find a quite place to rest. Feel blessed that I “get” to race an Ironman.
Swim: swim skin, plastic bag with cap, goggles, body glide. Drop off clothes bag. Warm up swimming a little, then rest last 2-3 minutes, pee. Get in 3rd or 4th row to the left. Go semi hard at start, then settle in, find feet & go steady to end. Site every 15 stokes. Kick harder last 100 yards to loosen up legs. Walk first 5 steps out of water. Goggles up & strip off swim skin, cap and goggles off while running to T1, go thru shower.
T1: Get bag & find a seat. Put on headband, glasses, helmet, arm coolers, put on shoes, go to bike. Steady jog to mount line.
Bike: 175 watts (65%IF) first 30’, then 182’ watts (68% IF) for next 30’, then target 187 watts (70% IF) for rest of the ride. Goal: 182NP (68% IF) for entire ride. Cap watts @ 220 on all climbs. If above 90F, back off by 5-10 watts. Get and stay aero the whole way except when speed falls below 12 mph on climbs. Pour water on arm coolers on hills. Target HR: 130-135. Drink water right away. Drink Infinit after 10’, and sip at each 5 mile lap. Take water bottle at each aid station & refill torpedo, pour extra on back of my head. Take a banana at 2 hours into ride. At BSN, get Infinit bottle, and bagel. Take banana at each aid station. Pee 3 times, including last 5 miles.
T2: feet out of shoes last ¼ mile, unstrap helmet while running & take off helmet and headband. Get bag. Undo race chip & put on calf sleeves & reattach chip outside of calf sleeves. Put body glide on toes, socks & shoes on, grab run go bag (visor,scaps, race belt with Infinit bottles).
Run: Put on stuff in this order while running: visor, race belt, fuel belt, adjust fit of everything while running. Take short, quick strides. Count strides for first 3 miles to get turnover right. Keep HR under 140 thru mile 20 at the end of the Energy Lab, then let it drift up to 150+. Walk up Palani Hill. Run at whatever pace I need to go to keep HR down. If above 80F, adjust pace targets upward by 30” per mile. If above 90F, adjust pace targets up by 60”. Walk all the way thru each aid station to drink water, take sponges at each aid station. Take 3 cup water at each aid station, take a sponge, take cup of ice, and sip Infinit after drinking water. Take a banana as needed. Take 1 Scap at miles 0, 5, 10, 15, 20. At RSN, drop bottles, visor & get go bag with new Infinit bottle, head band, extra Scaps. Count people I pass to keep mind occupied. Focus on keeping turnover at 180/min in last half of race. Enjoy the last 2 miles as I may never be there again. Smile when I cross the finish.
Comments
Enjoy every minute Bruce! Look forward to seeing you there in 2015 after you KQ in Arizona!
Bike... Good plan for managing watt reltive to heat, note that 10 watts is about 0.04 lower IF ... a lot, but its probably the right plan. Drinking ever 5 miles may not be enough. Every 10 - 15 minutes might be a better strategy. Aid station are 7 miles apart, so I try to drink once in between and @ aid station as well.
Stay solid, dont kill yourself
@ Joe...calf sleeves are too tight to get over the chip. Have to take chip off to get them on. Don't want to wear them on the bike as I want them dry for the run so they help to keep the sweat off my feet.
@ Al...thanks for the tips about T1. Ok, I'm going to drink every 3 miles, maybe more often. Basically, I'm going to try to drink a bottle between each aid station.
Bruce,
Great plan and you have done a good job with adjustments for heat. I noticed that you are using Scap's on the run. Will you need any extra electrolytes on the bike given the heat.