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Race Pace for IM?

stevehiattstevehiatt
in Racing Forum 🏎

Hi all:  Hey can you help me out?  What is the ironman race?  Is it 70 or 70% of a person FTP?  I've had a little confusion about the issue in examining a few members Race Simulation data.  Please help me clear the fog as I've only got 11 days before race day. 

Much Thanks!!

Comments

  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Steve, the wiki is your friend:

    Ironman How-To

  • NortonNorton
    Stephen,

    Read all that IM execution stuff. Memorize it. I've been in the IM game for a long time and the EN guidance is by FAR the best out there. You gotta trust us on this.
  • Bill McKinneyBill McKinney
    Stephen - did you find what you need? You're getting awfully close to the race to be asking this question.
  • stevehiattstevehiatt
    Not really, I've read all the items suggested and even downloaded the excel calculation sheet for IM race pace giving all the "gears." But, I was hoping to get an answer about the 70% of FTP. Does my question make sense?
  • stevehiattstevehiatt
    My bad. I just found what I was confused about: IM Pace is .70 or .75 of IF. So yes, thanks a bunch for directing me to the right info!!!
  • manconamancona
    Stephen, be carefull, there is a HUGE difference between .7 and .75 for an IM. Like the difference in running 26.2 miles that afternoon and walking 13 miles of more of them.

    Based on the excel sheet you should have exact IF and TSS target based on your estimated split and race simulations. Then you need to be locked into the 4 gears you are going to use to hit that target.

    Sorry if you already have figured this out, but I would hate to see someone just go out and try to ride between .7 and .75.
  • Bill McKinneyBill McKinney
    Ditto what Matt said. The easy way is to take your RR times and assume that your ride will be similar in the race. Then you look at the table and come up with a target TSS based on the table. For example, if you rode ~6:00 in your practice, my table (it's from 2 years ago, so may have changed some) shows the "green" zone as 67%-69% of FT as your target watts. If your FT is 250, then your target watts should be 168-173. You base the 4 gears Matt mentions off of that number. When I did Louisville, my FT was 260, and I had ridden right around 6:00 for both of my RRs. It was my first IM, though, so I set my target watts at the low end of the range, 175. On race day it was super hot (~93) and humid, though, so I dialed my target down to 165 in order to make sure I had enough legs for the run. By slowing down on the bike I added ~15 minutes to my target bike time, but when we got to the second half of the run, I was still "running" (if you call 10-11:00/mile running), and most everyone else was walking. As Matt said, much, much better to figure this out and aim low than to aim high and end up walking a big chunk of the run.
  • stevehiattstevehiatt
    Matt and Bill Thanks. You guys nailed my question to the T. I had a hysteria breakdown after I bonked big time on my second race simulation all due to being cocky about my nutrition leading to gaps in fueling. I then suffered for the last 2 hours on th bike. Stupido, yes.

    I just needed some reassurance from some EN veterans about the table and options ranging from .68 -.76. You're right there's a lot of variation in intensity in just 5 to 15 watts and it will catch someone in the Ironman. I sincerely appreciate everyone's feedback. I'm trying to mentally get my head back in the game for the race next week. I'm hoping the taper in workouts and some deliberate mental-cognitive exercises will do the trick. I'm 1.5 week away from IMSG and more rested in many ways but still tired as my body has been absorbing everything for the last several weeks including long runs and long bikes. With IMSG I'll definitely go on the conservative end on the bike.
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch

     Stephen- don't by shy about posting your race plan and asking for input!   Let the team help you finalize the plan and work out the kinks.  We want you to have a great day!   Start a thread called "IMSG Race Day Plan" in the Race Execution forum, put in your details- and ask the team to review and comment.   Please!  We want to help!

  • manconamancona
    Hey Stephen, if you are still nervous round down your FTP and/or IF target. I did both at at IMWI last year, I had tested 275w about a month prior to the race but I went with 270 as I felt more comfortable with that FTP. The chart told me I should have went with a .73 (IIRC) and I went with .72.

    At the end of the day you have a 26.2 mile marathon to make up a few minutes if you went too easy on the bike. You can also make up a fair bit of time in the last hour of the bike if you are feeling really strong.

    Also, blowing up in a race rehersal is a good thing. Thats why we do it and work out the bugs before the race. I screwed up one of mine last year as well. We are all human and like Nemo said post as much as you want and people will chime in and help you out.
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