Rian's Race Plan -- IMAZ 2014
Rian Bogles Race Plan IMAZ 2014 -- IM #4
Mental Prep:
You love this sport, and this race. Love it for all its difficulty, challenge, and messiness. Be grateful that you can do it, that your body has continues to get stronger and faster. Be grateful for the support of your family and friends. Love that there is always something more to do, someone faster to chase. In the race focus only on what you can control. Embrace and love the suck. When you begin to suffer remember to make it positive, SMILE, focus on loving what you are doing and be grateful that you can! Suffering will be your body’s signal that you are doing it right and you are achieving your goals, dive into it, and own it when it comes. Pay back your training self by digging deep and going for it.
Goals:
Execute perfectly, keep to the box, and repeat 2012 focus. If you do this all the other things (time, place, KQ) will take care of themselves. You are an endurance machine, race like one. Press your limits, leave everything on the course, have to courage to commit to running the red line when the time comes. Embrace the suck. PR the course and each discipline. Race goal: Sub-9:30.
One Thing:
I'm planning to take the next year (or more) off from racing to spend more time doing Dad/Son stuff with my 14yo this coming year (Mtb, climbing, mud-runs, backpacking.) Time is flying by and I will have lots time for racing after Ian leaves home, but we'll never get these years back if I let them go by. My one thing this year is to finish on the high note: executing a perfect race, making the top 5 in my AG and getting a KQ. I want end my 40-44 AG achieving the goals I set out three years ago. I have worked really hard to set an example for Ian of what hard work, focus, and discipline can achieve and now is the time to show him how it all comes together.
Race Week:
Remember to eat thoughtfully, and stay off wheat and alcohol.
Drink lots of water. Double check you take your synthroid and take it early, 30min before anything, lots of time to absorb it. Take your vitamins. Sleep full nights, no short changing. Start salting and carbs Thurs / Fri, tapering through saturday. Rest. See a movie.
Bag Prep:
Morning Bag: Wetsuit, Goggles, cap, ear plugs, A2 bottle of perform, 3 Gel Flasks, 3 shot bloc packs for B&R, 3 PJ flasks for run and t2, Garmin 500, Dry socks and shirt for after race. Sunglasses.
T1: Shoes, aero helmet.
T2: Socks, Asics, number belt. Visor, Fuel belt w/ PJ flasks, Gel flask, shot blocs in ziploc go bag.
Pre-Race Morning:
4am wake up. Meds, sunscreen, dress, then eat. Dress: HR strap, Garmin 910. EN top, Desoto shorts, calf compression socks. Eat: 2 ensure-plus vanilla, small oatmeal, banana, coffee. Wear En Jacket and warm-up pants for post race. Pocket a Gel for swim start. Put pickle juice and gel flasks in T bags, bring pump. Leave for start 5:00am.
Check Bike and tire pressures, setup garmin 500. 2 gel flasks and 2 gel shot blocks in bento. A2 pre filled with perform. Sunglasses in bento. Check T1 bag.
Check T2 bag: Visor, gel flask,pj flasks, shot blocs set in fuelbelt in ziplock go bag. Shoes, socks, number belt.
Swim:
Position same spot as last year, half-way between wall and line, about 5 yd back. Start strong easy strokes, you always swim too fast to start, and it feels much slower than it is, so dont swim too hard. Count your strokes and sight every 10, swim straight! Count on 10-12 minutes of congestion. Find the draft, keep it. Remember the swim will feel tougher in the last 1000, remember your rhythm and roll, grab the rungs, press it, work hard to maintain pace. You’ve done 1:04 in the pool multiple times, you will go sub 1:04. Goal sub-1:04.
T1:
Lap. Smile. Don’t rush, smooth is fast. Strip off top, on the jog. RUN to the T-zone. Grab bag on run, stop before the tent, dump your bag, strip speed tube, on with shoes, start moving, helmet on. Goal: under 3min.
Bike:
Relax, settle in, sip a gel after you get moving. Take 10-15min to wind up to watts. Goal 195NP (.75 IF). Keep to your gears, no more than 210 watts on the climb. Keep after the watts on the downhill. 30oz of perform, 1 gels shot and 3 blocks per hour (~3 bottles per lap). Relax your shoulders and back, stay streamlined. Even splits. Do not get sucked into the passing games and draft packs. Jealously protect your watts, only pass if you have to -- take the full 20s to do it, make them pass you if necessary. Smooth and steady. Goal: sub 4:55.
T2:
Feet out of shoes, dismount barefoot. Hand off bike, take off helmet on run. Get to your bag, dump it, socks, shoes number on. grab go bag & pickle juice. Move. SMILE. Goal under 3min.
Run:
Settle in, hit the first porta potty if necessary. Take the first 3 mi sloooow. No excuses: sub 150bpm pace. Give it some time to get a feel for your legs. Let them start to wind up if they still want to go after this. Drop the pace gradually as HR allows upto 156bpm. Sip your gel flask every 4 miles. Every aid, take a cup of water on the head then 10s walk every aid to drink perform.. This is a just a workout with 26 1-mile repeats at easy pace and short rest. Focus one repeat at a time. Press on the gas for the hill to maintain pace, stretch it out on the downhill and relax, recover. Smile. Half-way mark: switch from gel to coke. Every aid: walk, water on the head, sips of coke and perform. Keep it steady, pick off the runners one at a time. Be the Terminator. Focus on the form cues and cadence, smile, stay tall, smooth, and pick up the knees. Remember if you are doing it right it the pace will feel HARD by the end. Remember to enjoy the finish-line this year, slow down a little...SMILE. Goal sub-3:25.
Mental Prep:
You love this sport, and this race. Love it for all its difficulty, challenge, and messiness. Be grateful that you can do it, that your body has continues to get stronger and faster. Be grateful for the support of your family and friends. Love that there is always something more to do, someone faster to chase. In the race focus only on what you can control. Embrace and love the suck. When you begin to suffer remember to make it positive, SMILE, focus on loving what you are doing and be grateful that you can! Suffering will be your body’s signal that you are doing it right and you are achieving your goals, dive into it, and own it when it comes. Pay back your training self by digging deep and going for it.
Goals:
Execute perfectly, keep to the box, and repeat 2012 focus. If you do this all the other things (time, place, KQ) will take care of themselves. You are an endurance machine, race like one. Press your limits, leave everything on the course, have to courage to commit to running the red line when the time comes. Embrace the suck. PR the course and each discipline. Race goal: Sub-9:30.
One Thing:
I'm planning to take the next year (or more) off from racing to spend more time doing Dad/Son stuff with my 14yo this coming year (Mtb, climbing, mud-runs, backpacking.) Time is flying by and I will have lots time for racing after Ian leaves home, but we'll never get these years back if I let them go by. My one thing this year is to finish on the high note: executing a perfect race, making the top 5 in my AG and getting a KQ. I want end my 40-44 AG achieving the goals I set out three years ago. I have worked really hard to set an example for Ian of what hard work, focus, and discipline can achieve and now is the time to show him how it all comes together.
Race Week:
Remember to eat thoughtfully, and stay off wheat and alcohol.
Drink lots of water. Double check you take your synthroid and take it early, 30min before anything, lots of time to absorb it. Take your vitamins. Sleep full nights, no short changing. Start salting and carbs Thurs / Fri, tapering through saturday. Rest. See a movie.
Bag Prep:
Morning Bag: Wetsuit, Goggles, cap, ear plugs, A2 bottle of perform, 3 Gel Flasks, 3 shot bloc packs for B&R, 3 PJ flasks for run and t2, Garmin 500, Dry socks and shirt for after race. Sunglasses.
T1: Shoes, aero helmet.
T2: Socks, Asics, number belt. Visor, Fuel belt w/ PJ flasks, Gel flask, shot blocs in ziploc go bag.
Pre-Race Morning:
4am wake up. Meds, sunscreen, dress, then eat. Dress: HR strap, Garmin 910. EN top, Desoto shorts, calf compression socks. Eat: 2 ensure-plus vanilla, small oatmeal, banana, coffee. Wear En Jacket and warm-up pants for post race. Pocket a Gel for swim start. Put pickle juice and gel flasks in T bags, bring pump. Leave for start 5:00am.
Check Bike and tire pressures, setup garmin 500. 2 gel flasks and 2 gel shot blocks in bento. A2 pre filled with perform. Sunglasses in bento. Check T1 bag.
Check T2 bag: Visor, gel flask,pj flasks, shot blocs set in fuelbelt in ziplock go bag. Shoes, socks, number belt.
Swim:
Position same spot as last year, half-way between wall and line, about 5 yd back. Start strong easy strokes, you always swim too fast to start, and it feels much slower than it is, so dont swim too hard. Count your strokes and sight every 10, swim straight! Count on 10-12 minutes of congestion. Find the draft, keep it. Remember the swim will feel tougher in the last 1000, remember your rhythm and roll, grab the rungs, press it, work hard to maintain pace. You’ve done 1:04 in the pool multiple times, you will go sub 1:04. Goal sub-1:04.
T1:
Lap. Smile. Don’t rush, smooth is fast. Strip off top, on the jog. RUN to the T-zone. Grab bag on run, stop before the tent, dump your bag, strip speed tube, on with shoes, start moving, helmet on. Goal: under 3min.
Bike:
Relax, settle in, sip a gel after you get moving. Take 10-15min to wind up to watts. Goal 195NP (.75 IF). Keep to your gears, no more than 210 watts on the climb. Keep after the watts on the downhill. 30oz of perform, 1 gels shot and 3 blocks per hour (~3 bottles per lap). Relax your shoulders and back, stay streamlined. Even splits. Do not get sucked into the passing games and draft packs. Jealously protect your watts, only pass if you have to -- take the full 20s to do it, make them pass you if necessary. Smooth and steady. Goal: sub 4:55.
T2:
Feet out of shoes, dismount barefoot. Hand off bike, take off helmet on run. Get to your bag, dump it, socks, shoes number on. grab go bag & pickle juice. Move. SMILE. Goal under 3min.
Run:
Settle in, hit the first porta potty if necessary. Take the first 3 mi sloooow. No excuses: sub 150bpm pace. Give it some time to get a feel for your legs. Let them start to wind up if they still want to go after this. Drop the pace gradually as HR allows upto 156bpm. Sip your gel flask every 4 miles. Every aid, take a cup of water on the head then 10s walk every aid to drink perform.. This is a just a workout with 26 1-mile repeats at easy pace and short rest. Focus one repeat at a time. Press on the gas for the hill to maintain pace, stretch it out on the downhill and relax, recover. Smile. Half-way mark: switch from gel to coke. Every aid: walk, water on the head, sips of coke and perform. Keep it steady, pick off the runners one at a time. Be the Terminator. Focus on the form cues and cadence, smile, stay tall, smooth, and pick up the knees. Remember if you are doing it right it the pace will feel HARD by the end. Remember to enjoy the finish-line this year, slow down a little...SMILE. Goal sub-3:25.
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Comments
Great plan, great attitude, great motivational drivers!
I think the hardest thing for the fast guys can be the effective execution of the patience and discipline principal in being able to balance the effort until its the right time to turn it on with many tempting distractions throughout the course of the day.
You have such a solid foundation and strong mind, I think the race is yours to conquer if you can do that one thing I mention above.
Its gonna be a shootout!
SS
Rian,
Great plan! I enjoyed reading it and will spend much of Sunday glued to the race updates. Best of luck.
Swim: because you've thrown KQ out there, I'm calling BS on the "starting 5 yards back" crap. Front row, with that first 400yds being nothing but separation from the masses and finding the sub-1hr folks who are going to drag you on a quick, very straight line out and back to TA. Your attitude needs to be from the very start, "there are maybe 50 people here who can beat me today, and most of them left 15 minutes ago in search of a payday."
Bike: love the aggressiveness, but I would be very cautious treating the Beeline as a typical "climb," one where you can safely leave your very aggressive 75% (195) and hold 210. That has to be around 80%, which is creating a big risk, especially on the first and second loops. Of course, you may have to take big risks to KQ, but I would be interested in whether RorP (or others far smarter than me) promote the idea of treating that like a climb or simply flattening the whole thing and shoot for a perfectly-steady 195 @VI of 1.000001.
Run: because you're racing this thing to win, you're not stopping at a porta-john. Empty your bladder coming down the last loop on the Beeline at 34mph. If/when you walk the aid stations, count out loud to 10 or 15, then run (my data showed that I walked for 45 seconds in a couple of spots because it's easy to get distracted and it feels good). And only slow down at the finish if there's no one within 50 yards of you. Otherwise, you fend them off (if behind) or hunt them down (if in front). Treat them as if they're what's separating you from Kona. Run the tangents, focus on capturing/saving every single second you can, as KQ often comes down to seconds.
I can only hope that someday I'll be racing for a sub-9:30 and a trip to Kona. Until then, I'll just have to watch you do it. Now go kill it!
I agree with Shaughn's comment..patience/humility and discipline will be a cornerstone of your successful race. As you constantly check the dashboard on all your metrics, make sure one of the questions you are asking yourself is: "Can I hold this pace/effort through to the end of this leg?" By now, you've got enough training hours, and race time on *this* course to intuitively know the answer to that question, at whatever moment you are asking it. It's a very fine razor's edge you;re asking yourself to walk, between "don;t let up" and "don;t overdo it". Find that sweet spot, and keep yourself in it until the last hour, then empty the tank.
I'm constantly reminded of why I love this Team so much. Thank YOU all.
@Shaughn, Al: You are right at this point its all about the mental game. Thank you!
@Mike and Tim: Ok, you're right why not start up front?! I'm a big boy now. Thanks. The ride up does have a few brief 3% sections and those will take 208-210 to keep momentum. Mostly thats a reminder to myself to not break my smooth VI to power up the hill, especially in passing. Actually peeing is my one real concern,
I haven't been able to let'r rip in practice or race since 2012. No question I will try everything to make it happen. Last year I was floating by lap three and couldn't make it happen, ended pulling over for a brief respite. "Scuse me while I whip this out…"
Anyway, looking back I've believe the discomfort of that, and repeated coasting and trying, slowed me down way more than making a 60s stop would have.
Everything is in prep for the run, which thank goodness is my strongest link. I'm running primarily by HR this time, to get a better optimization of my potential pace, especially because I really don't know how the drop in altitude will affect my pace potential.
@Rian - regarding the peeing thing......just let it flow on the bike and don't try to whip it out while riding unless you have successfully practiced this at home.......things can get caught in the chain and wheels and.....well, you can see where all that can lead......lol..
bahwahahahah! Thanks Shaughn I'll be careful!
You are ready! There is some excellent advice in this thread. Keep your head through the day and set yourself up to unleash that wicked run on the backside of the marathon. Soul crushing mode! Accept nothing less. It is there for the taking. Go get it.
Good luck!
@ Rian...great plan. You're gonna rock this race.
In terms of peeing on the bike, what works for me is standing out of the saddle and keep pedaling. Takes pressure off my sit bone and helps get things flowing. By standing, I lose a little speed but get 2 for 1...take a pee and stretch my back. I'll probably hold my pee until the uphill gradual climb on each lap to the turnaround; don't want to have to get out of aero on the downhill or flat sections.
@Bruce. Thank you for your suggestion. At IMCDA, was able to pee twice on the bike during the downhills. But at Challenge Rancho Cordova, which was mostly flat, it wasn't happening. Will try your stand up pedaling idea if needed instead of whipping anything out. Because it's all fun and games until someone......
One thing: scrub the swim and bike "goals" from your mind. Goals are aspirational, and what I have seen happen is people finding themselves a few minutes behind their swim goal, or their "mile 56 of the bike" goal, or their overall bike split goal, and then try to make it up by pushing somewhere. And that's where things go bad, because they get outside of their plan and are irrationally chasing time. Instead, frame these goals as something else ... "expected time;" "guideline / time range;" whatever. If you're in that range, it's neutral information. if you're outside of that range, it's neutral information. You want neutral information, because it doesn't lead to mistakes. It just leads to continuing to follow the plan as set out.
All of this feeds into a overall strategy of trusting the process to get you to mile 18 as dispassionately as possible. It bears repeating ... *that's* when you can start to think about goal time, placing, finishing in XX:yy, and so forth. But until that point, keep the meeting goals noise to a minimum and do what you need to to maintain a quiet mind.
Oh - to Mike's point on the climb on the Beeline, I typically stay at zone 3 watts for laps 1 and 2 (where you can expect a tailwind on the descent). I play lap 3 climbing watts by ear.
Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate it.
@Dave. Great feedback, thanks so much for the input. I agree, I'm always reluctant to put goals in the swim and bike. They both always end up being what they will be. And being 'behind' in time, can have a big negative mental impact at the wrong moment. Thanks for the wise reminder to keep to the plan, keeping neutral to my time/place, until go time.
You'll have a great day, Rian.