Here we go - Vicki Meadows IMAZ race plan!
First IM, first century and first marathon: Wanted to do something to celebrate turning 50 --- 
mantra for the day “slow and steady” : If I have gas at the end of the bike (and I don’t need it to outrun the bike cut-off van), I can use it on the run. If I have gas at the end of the run, I can enjoy finishing those last few miles fast!
Wed night – drive to Tempe, check-into hotel
Thurs – drink lots of water - it will be dry
- Breakfast
- Drive bike course
- Lunch
- Go to registration (open 9-5 –register for 2015?)
- 2 pm race briefing, check-in, ironman store etc
- 6 pm team dinner
Friday (eat 2.7 X body weight in pounds – grams of carbs); drink lots of water or nuun water all day
- Breakfast – easy to digest carbs, protein
- Walk to 9:30 four keys talk (~1 mile)
- Lunch added grains
- Pack gear and last check that I have everything
- Chill – stay off my feet
- Walk to 5:30 opening ceremony at Tempe Town Beach
- Dinner in room added grains - off to bed early
Saturday (4.5 X body weight in pounds – grams of carbs)
- Large Breakfast before 9:00 – no fiber – white stuff, low nutrient density foods all day
- Pancakes, eggs, potatoes
- Snack on carbs all day and drink sports drink (pretzels and nuun water)
- 10:00-3:00 gear checkin (plan to drive and arrive around 11:00)
- Back to room for lunch
- Chill out!; watch a movie, foam roller, think about how cool it is I will be doing an ironman
- Dinner (in room) and bed by 8 - hopefully asleep
Sunday
- Up at 3:00 - Breakfast 600 – 800 calories around 3:30 (1.2 X lean body weight in CHO)
- Steel cut oats, protein powder, raisins, chia seeds; banana; bottle of sports drink, iced tea
- Leave at 4:30 and find a place to park (maybe walk if I have a friend lined up to drive back my stuff)
- 5:00 transition opens
- Sports drink all morning
- Find bike, pump tires, put nutrition on, check brakes (!!), check gear,
- 6:00 0.5-1 powerbar then stop eating and drinking
- 6:45, gel plus 8 oz water on the way down to the swim start
- When to get in line for swim? Line up in the middle towards the back
- Swim (~1:30-1:45 hrs)
- Swim stuff: glide, goggles, 2 silicon caps, race cap, timing chip, wet suit
- 7:00 – start swimming focus on form from beginning, find some open water, long slow strokes until settled in and then settle into race pace
- Stay in the box, count strokes: long reach, body rotation, high elbow, relaxed but steady stroke– no thinking about the rest of the day!
- Swim time 1.5 to 1.75 hrs? no freaking out, just get it done
- Starting thinking about getting out and finding bag as I turn towards the swim finish
- T1
- Find wetsuit stripper, easy jog to bag
- Go to tent and hand swim stuff to volunteer?, shoes, socks and helmet on, butt butter – calm, smooth, uneventful
- Bike (~7-8 hrs) – no dilly dallying at aid stations, or the longer I will be out there!
- 9:00 start?
- On bike:
- § Carry nutrition for entire ride (16 salt sticks, 16 powerbar (1/8 bar) bites)
- § 2 tubes, 3 co2, co2 inflator, tire levers, tire boot, 3 minipacks of butt butter
- § Aero bottle plus 2 bottles of perform premixed
- § Garmin – page 1, power, speed, heartrate, distance, time; page 2 avg power, avg speed, avg HR, time of day – alarm set for every 30 min when I will take a salt stick and eat a powerbar bite
- Nutrition plan
- § 1.5 bottles of perform per hour (maybe more if it gets hot)
- § 2 salt sticks per hour
- § 2 powerbar bites per hour
- § Banana mile 40 and 80
- § Eat as much as I can handle since my stomach was growling at the end of RR2
- Dial in 0.67, just riding along, don’t be rattled by everyone passing me, it will be a long ride. Time to settle down, find my initial pace and start drinking once out of town. Think about my nutrition plan, get focused, settle into aero and easy ride up the beeline
- Bottle exchange at mile 20, ride to end and stop ( really do not want to crash like I did in HIM)
- Enjoy trip down beeline, do not let power slip down
- Circle through town, break from aero for sharp turns, reset brain
- Stop at mile 40, bottle exchange, add butt butter, maybe eat banana unless I’m feeling full (should be ~11:30-11:45)
- Back into aero and head up beeline, increase power to 0.7 stay focused, bottom and neck will probably be hurting - no freaking out, deep breaths to relax muscles in neck. This will eventually end if I just keep pedaling!
- Bottle exchange mile 60 – special needs (no plan to stop)
- Special needs bag
- § 2 tubes
- § 2 co2
- § Salt sticks
- § Powerbars
- § Butt butter
- § Perform powder
- Down beeline – woo hoo enjoy the free speed – don’t let power slip
- First bike cut-off 3PM at mile 76 (should be fine, but I know I can pedal faster if I see the van chasing me)
- Bottle exchange mile 80, butt butter and banana. (2:00-2:30)
- Second bike cut-off at 4:15 at mile 93
- Down beeline Weeeeee (think of the fun my 4 year old would be having)
- Probably won’t be hard to start planning to get off of bike
- Finish ~4:00 - 4:30- 5:00 ?? (cut-off is 5:30) should be OK
- T2
- Grab bag and go to tent
- Cycling stuff off to volunteer
- Shoes, clean socks?, hat, running belt, running bottle with perform if the course perform was too strong (frozen and in mini cooler), race belt
- Running belt has 4 gels, powerbar bites, 12 salt sticks, blistex
- Run (~5:15)
- Nutrition
- § At least one bottle of perform per hour
- § 1 gel every 6 miles
- § Salt stick every 3 miles
- Fill bottle at least every 6 miles with aid station perform (dilute with water if necessary)
- Run based upon pace and monitor heartrate
- Only walking at aid stations but must keep moving
- Easy jog miles 1-6 12 min miles (HR < 140)
- Miles 7-18 11:45-12 mi miles (HR < 145-150)
- Miles 19-23 11:30 min miles (HR < 150)
- Miles 24-26 – 10:30-11 min miles (HR < 160) (but will be happy here if I’m simply not walking!)
- Nutrition
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Comments
Good luck on race day and be sure to enjoy the reward of all your hard work!!!
This will also be my first full ironman. I did my first half-ironman last year as a goal for my 40th birthday. IMAZ is my birthday present to myself for my 41st at the end of November.
Looking forward to meeting you next week!
Solid plan, no changes to suggest, you are now officially ready! Your mental approach is perfect. Enjoy this week and race day, it is incredible acheivment and you have done so many amazing things to get here. It's a great gift to yourself!