Kim Eagle's IMTX RACE PLAN
Monday:
? Get Run Gear Ready and Packed in Run Bag (shoes, socks, hat, fuel belt, water jars for belt, salt tab pouch, Gu’s 12x, salt tabs 10x); garmin wrist strap, sunscreen, race belt
? Get Bike Gear Ready and Packed in Bike Bag (cycle shoes, socks, helmet, glasses, gloves, 4 water bottles + aero bottle (with straw), HRM strap, sunscreen + SAFETY PINS FOR ankle chip, GLIDE, Flip Flops,
? Food: Toaster and coffee maker and ZIP LOCS
Tuesday
? Food shop – Cheddar Bunnies, pretzels, almonds/walnuts/cashews, case bottled water, bananas, bag of coffee, bagels
Wednesday
· Arrive at Woodlands early
· Bike ride at Woodlands ( 1 hour)
· Market: frozen waffles, cream cheese, bagels
Thursday
? Short Run
? Eat BIG breakfast, lunch and dinner
Friday
? Charge Garmin / Computers
? Big Breakfast by 8am - Get Your Carb On
? Sip Electrolytes all Day
? Smart Lunch + Snacks -- SALT!
? Make Peanut Butter Jelly for T1
? Final Review of Bike / Bags
? Bike Special Needs
¦ Power Bars, Salt, wafers
¦ Bonus GU
? Run Special Needs
¦ Gu
¦ Salt
¦ Spare socks
¦ Spare shorts
? Drop off after Lunch:
? Look for 2x landmarks and markers for bike rack position. Note row/column of t bags. // TAKE PICTURES!
? Get outta there fast
? Back to Hotel to relax
? Light Dinner by 6pm – pasta or bagels
? In Bed by 9pm -- Final review of Race Plan.
Friday (ziplocs for these bags )
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T1 Bag: Peanut Butter Jelly sandwich ? Bike Shoes ? GLIDE ? Socks ? Arm Coolers Rolled ? Gloves ? Helmet ? Sun Glasses ? HRM strap ? 3 wafers + 2 Power Bars ? 10 salt tabs ? 4 Water Bottles with Perform ? Aero Bottle with Straw ? Salt pill pouch ? Bottle water
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T2 Bag: ? Fuelbelt ? 4 bottles(2 water, 2 endurance) ? 8 salt tabs in pouch ? Race number belt + number. ? 12 GU ? Hat ? Running Shoes ? Socks ? Banana
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Special Needs Bike: ? Extra salt pills ? Extra front tube ? Extra rear tube ? 2 x CO2 rubber banded to tubes above. ? Extra ½ powerbars in case (2) ? Extra wafers in case ? Sunscreen ? Glide ? Band aids |
Special Needs Run: ? Bonk Orange Bites ? Xtra salt ? Socks ? Sunscreen ? Band aids |
Morning Bag:
? Swim Cap
? Goggles
? Wetsuit
? Swim Skin
? Flip flops
? Garmin on wrist
? Back up Swim goggles.
? Towel in case bike is wet.
Friday Night
1. Tattoos
2. Band aids
3. Chip on ankle and safety pins
RACE DAY Wake Up
1. Eat Breakfast:
a. 2-3 whole grain waffles + banana + maple syrup
b. Coffee
c. Gatorade
2. Get Dressed:
a. Tri Suit (shorts and EN top)
b. Glide
c. Garmin Watch
d. Sunscreen
e. Have gu, banana, powerbar and water for swim ready + salt
3. Say goodbye and head to transition.
Transition Flight Check
1. Nutrition bottles on the bike
a. 4 bottles of Perform
2. 3 powerbars + 2 wafers in bento box
a. Unwrap bars/wafers
b. Put Salt Pouch in extra bento
3. Pump Tires
4. Sunglasses in helmet
5. NOTE TO MOUNT GARMIN
6. 5:45am powerbar
Final Suit Up
? Body glide
? Take out swim ziplock with: cap, goggles, spit anti-fog.
? Clothes into dry clothes bag.
? Hand off bag / drop it off
? Gu before swim + water + Gatorade + salt tab
The Swim –
· GU with water 10 min to race start
· Start in group for 1:20 Swim Group on Middle/Outside
? Start strong and smooth
? Stay Calm
T1 Into Tent:
a. Grab sandwich, eat and DRINK!
b. TAKE A SALT PILL
c. Socks and Shoes
d. Arm Coolers over wrists
2. Hand skinsuit & T1 bag to nearest volunteer.
3. Find Bike - INSERT LOCATION,
4. Helmet On / Buckled.
5. Garmin on mount
6. Sunglasses on
7. Jog bike to Mount Line
8. GO!
Bike :
? Settle in!
? First 45 min, go easy/ zone 1! DRINKING & EATING WAFER + SALT TAB
? Work up to my top Zone 1 (120 watts); if feeling good…low zone 2 (120-125)
? If I feel tired or legs get heavy, drop back
? Stay relaxed
? HR in 120s, building to mid 130s by end.
? Smooth cadence
? SPECIAL NEEDS STOP, shake out legs and get needed fuel in bag
FUEL with Timer: Eat on the 30 Min Timer; 2 Salt tabs on the 1 hour timer
Fluid: 1 bottle per hour (first hour 1.5-2 bottles)
? TAKE GARMIN OFF BIKE!!!! TAKE GARMIN OFF BIKE!!!! Before going into T2
T2
1. DISMOUNT AND TAKE GARMIN OFF BIKE!
2. Take off Helmet
3. Find bag, head to tent.
4. Race belt with number on, hat, shoes, socks
5. Fuelbelt on with 4 bottles of liquid (2 water, 2 gatorade)
6. get super wet / cold at aid station inside transition.
7. Ice in hat on head.
8. Watch on wrist, turn it on.
9. Spray sunscreen all over.
10. Start eating banana
Run // Lap One –
· Garmin to right screen for HR.
? Keep HR as low as possible for first hour (same as ending bike zone)
? Stay cool by dumping water the first 10 miles of the run.
? Remember that even though there are going to be TOUGH moments, there will also come easier moments. Always power through the tough ones.
? Stop at all aid stations. Walk 30 steps, get hydrated and wet and
? GU every 30 min. + 1 salt per hour
? Save cola for 2nd loop if no stomach issues
NEVER GIVE UP! EVEN THOUGH TOUGH TIMES WILL BE THERE…..
NEVER GIVE UP! BELIEVE! BELIEVE! BELIEVE!
Comments
Kim,
Great detail, well thought-out plan. Like I suggested to Ed, your transitions have a lot of moving parts. Regardless whether your goal is to break 12 hours or 17, I promise you will be mad at yourself if you look at the results and see 17 minutes of combined transitioning. If it can go on your bike, I'd strap, tape or glue it to the bike. Eat a PBJ in T1, chase with a bottle of water? I wouldn't. First, your HR will be very high, your arms and legs will still be battling over who gets the blood, and the last thing your stomach needs is a calorie bomb. I would glue that thing to your stem with peanut butter and think about eating it after 15-20 minutes of riding, after your HR is down and after your legs have won the battle and have stolen the blood from he upper body.
Same for T2. Simpler will be much faster. Feel free to carry a banana, but I wouldn't eat it during T2 when you body is going through another stressful, high-HR transition. Settle in the run for at least a mile before you start eating.
To me, the first 2 hours of the bike are the critical moments in this race. That's when you have to control your watts on a very fast, easy and fun portion of the course, and you have to re-hydrate from the swim in order to set yourself up for a good run. First 40 miles --> watts + fluids. On the run, it's just about controlling pace those first 6 miles, keeping on top of hydration and - if hot - keeping that core temperature down.
Best of luck to you. Hope you have a brilliant day. Enjoy the spoils of all your had work.
note... not sure why you listed things like aero bottle in T1 bag... you'll drop T1/T2 bags the day before when you leave your bike.
Mike's right... no sandwich in T1... just move through steady. Leave the sandwich in bike special needs bag if you're stopping anyway... you might need a PB sandwich at mile 56 a little more!
Hi Kim,
When I read your latest reply, alarm bells went off in my head. I thought a PBJ sandwich in T1 was pretty questionable, but if it was part of a plan that's been verified in race rehearsals, so be it. But the fact that you were easily convinced to move that calorie bomb to Mile 60 on the bike, at a point of the race when you shouldn't even be considering solid foods, screams one of two things to me: 1) You really don't have a nutritional plan, or 2) you're so uncommitted to your plan that you're willing to cheat on it with a PBJ in a field outside of Richards, TX.
I like your race plan overall, but you put way more detail into your special needs bags than your run and bike nutrition plans: "FUEL with Timer: Eat on the 30 Min Timer; 2 Salt tabs on the 1 hour timer. Fluid: 1 bottle per hour (first hour 1.5-2 bottles)"
When will you start drinking? 10 minutes into the bike? At least 80% of it Gatorade (water is pretty useless unless chasing a gel or salt pill)? Do you have your Garmin beeping every 15 minutes to drink, eating and drinking every other beep? What do you plan on eating every 30 minutes? How many calories? When will you start? Will you focus intensely on hydrating those first two hours when the ride is easy, fast and carefree? If you plan on eating any solids, only do so if you have a stomach of iron, you've tested it thoroughly, and only for the first hour or two of the bike, max. If in doubt, go with fluids and gels only (trust me). And I really don't like to eat anything the last 30 minutes to give my stomach time to settle and prepare for the run.
Because this is your first, you're going to put your body through stress it's likely never experienced. And your muscles will be hogging blood that your GI tract would normally use to process nutrition. And a ton of people (i.e., more than a thousand) are going to have some type of GI problem on race day because they either have no plan or have a bad one. You'll see them all walking during the run or loitering near the portos, with looks of despair and discomfort on their faces. And almost all of it is preventable. To me, race nutrition shouldn't be about having yummy reward snacks at various points of the race. Instead, I treat it like surgery and only give the patient exactly what it needs, no more, no less. That said, on the bike I do default to drinking a bit too much (Gatorade) and perhaps peeing a bit too often. And I default to under-eat rather than over-eat. If you're starving as you start the run (extremely unlikely), you can eat up at the first aid station. Go re-read the coaches' simple nutritional plan in the Wiki (http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Ironman+Race+Nutrition+Review). Perhaps read some race plans from folks like Cronk, Tallo or Truscott. They are very surgical about their nutrition and treat it as seriously as they do bike execution. Here's Tim's from last year: "Drink every 15min and eat every 30min. Food is wrapped in rice wafer paper in 60 calorie blocks , 1 toffee peanut buzz cliff bar in 60 cal 1/4's starting at 0 hrs ending at 1:30, then cliff blocks 1 black cherry and 1 margarita (60 cals) starting at 2:00 ending at 3:30, then at 4:00 1 cliff shot espresso gel, the 4:30 feeding usually get skipped as I'm drinking more Perform by this point and the 4hr feeding was 100cal instead of the 60cal... Tums in bento box just in case to consider at 4:30 as well.... Drinking Perform every 15 minutes until thirst really takes over and then its drink whenever I want.... Should end up with 5 bottles of Perform and 250-300 cal per hour total."
The run is far easier. Make sure you're hydrating every AS (again, Gatorade unless chasing a gel) and eat when you're hungry. 2-3 gels is the most I ever get down. Coke on the third lap only, unless you're in distress earlier and looking for any solution.
Not trying to panic you, I just don't want you to accidentally screw up what should otherwise be a great day. I would encourage you to re-post your nutritional plan here. And if I did cause the panic I didn't mean to, I'd schedule a 15-minute call with Coach P. Or you can always PM me.
thanks for getting back on this Mike! But NO need to worry about my nutrition
I guess I have practiced my nutrition SO much that it's almost 2nd nature now.
Hour 1: Pb & J sandwich first half hour+ wafer 2nd half hour + Powerbar Perform= OVER 400 calories/ 640 mg sodium/ 80 carbs + 2 salt pills (total 855 mg sodium)
I have a timer every 15 min. I drink EVERY 15 and EVERY time I think about drinking or see someone drinking.
Hour 2: wafer + Powerbar Perform= 380 cal/ 640 NA/ 80 carbs + 2 salt (total 855 sodium)
Hour 3: Transition to Gatorade on course + wafer= 410 calories/ 940 salt/ 89 carbs + 1 salt tab (total 1000+ mg salt)
Hour 4-6+: Gatorade + Half Power Bars (360 cal/ 970 sodium/ 82.5 carbs) + 1 salt tab (total over 1000+ mg salt)
I have practiced this exact nutrition on all my rides and race rehearsals. The sandwich is usually eaten in a car on the way to bike..so the only change is now eating it on the bike as I get rolling that first hour.
On the run: Gatorade every aid station (and on fuel belt) + GU every 30 min.
Does this seem better and on track?
1. In your Run Special needs bag, maybe put duct tape in lieu of band aids. Band aids tend to fall off too easy if you're working up a blister. Duct tape stays on better.
2. Are you carrying 12 GU's with you on the run? Or are you eating off the course? If you're eating off the course, then no need for them in your T2 bag, unless you REALLY want that Strawberry-Cockroach flavor that coach P mentioned at camp...
3. Make sure to take your Garmin off your bike. Will you do it before getting to transition? Or after? You mention it twice.
4. I'd say keep your helmet on a little longer in transition. Only take it off when you can put it directly into your bag, rather than taking it off, throwing on ground, and then having to pick up again.
5. Do you really need 2 bottles of water and 2 of gatorade on your fuel belt? That's lots of liquid to carry. Can you get that at aid stations instead of lugging it around all day?
6. Any reason not to use the "on course" sunscreen? It might be easier to have one of the volunteer sunscreen people apply it than try spraying it on yourself. I especially have problems getting my high back. And you can probably eat that banana while they're applying it for you.
7. What are you doing on lap 2 and lap 3? HR? Pace?
@Kim, whew! Sorry for the fire drill. See, if you had only included all that detail in your initial RP . . .
I like your goal of front-loading the calories, then decrease intake across the bike. That said, you're going to consume a huge amount of calories, especially that first hour. PBJ is, what, 350-400 calories by itself? Add a wafer and 1.5 bottles of Gatorade (150 cals per bottle), and you could be looking at 700 calories! That's way too much for a 200lb male pro. Your first two hours must be focused on hydration, and it's gonna be hard to drink Gatorade with an over-stuffed stomach.
I used to eat 400-50 calories per hour (@150lbs), and I struggled with stomach issues on the run. Now I consume ~300-50, and it works great. That's 50-60 calories every half hour (3 chews or quarter Clif Bar) in food, the rest Gatorade. A gel at 4:00 (100 cals) to hold me over until the end (unless it looks like the ride will take a lot longer than 5hrs).
The coaches actually advocate even less that what I consume, and about HALF of what you propose:
175-275, maybe 300 cal/hr, depending on body size. Smaller peep = the lower/left side of that scales, bigger folks on the upper/right. Test this during your race sims.Liquid or very easy to digest semi-solids (gels) are best.
500-1000mg of sodium across all sources
So, I would definitely recommend that you scrap the PBJ, look to keep 300 or less per hour, and add a gel or wafer if you really get hungry. I very seriously doubt you will get hungry, but just eat if you do. In my experience, the risk of consuming too many calories far, far outweighs the very slim chance you eat too little. Chance of bonk is pretty close to 0.
Good questions Chris:
I'll grab some duct tape with band aids (rather have what I need)
Good point!
I only eat salted caramel 
But maybe don't need it?
God willing maintain that 10:30. Realistically anything between 10:30 and 12!
2. I will carry my own GU
3. I am afraid I'm going to leave my computer garmin on my bike and not have it for the run. So I need to keep reminding. Not sure I can take it off while riding. But might try at the last aid station on bike.
5.I have run full marathons with my fuel belt full of 4. I just get concerned I might need my GU before I hit a station..and don't want to get behind on calories or fluids.
6. I will let them SUNSCREEN me for sure; keep some in my special needs Just In Case
7. Run Lap 2: race pace (10:30) Run Lap 3: 8 min mile! Just kidding
Go Kim Go!!! You are going to do great. Love salted caramel Gu!