Don Nowak's 2015 IMLP Race Plan
Thank you for reading my first ever Ironman race plan. Please don't hesitate to leave feedback - good or bad.
This will be my first Ironman and this is my third year of any type of endurance activity.
I've completed two 70.3 races and a bunch of sprints and Olympics.
IMLP Race Plan
Don Nowak Stats: 5’8” at 164lbs. FTP = 208. vDot = 35
Thursday: Arrive in Lake Placid around 3pm. Go straight to race site and register. Team drinks/dinner at 5pm.
Friday: Sleep in – get to Mirror Lake with wetsuit (long sleeve or no sleeve?), goggles, ear plugs, backpack and swim up one loop. Head to 4Keys talk followed by lunch. Later in the afternoon, recon ride from town down to Keene. No running due to resting my mildly injured leg.
Prep Bags: Bike Special Needs: 1 tube, 1 CO2, Powerbar, Chamois Cream, Tylenol, gel flask.
Run Special Needs: socks, Tylenol, bandaids, I don’t know what else!
T1 Bag: Tri bike shoes, socks, EN bike jersey, sunglasses, small towel, 2 Powerbars and 1 gel flask in bike jersey
T2 Bag: Hokas, socks, hat, ziplocks for ice, race belt with bib#
Dry Clothes/morning bag: goggles, backup goggles, ear plugs, swim cap, small towel
Rubber band transition bags
Saturday: Sleep in – big breakfast. Subway or similar lunch (no fiber). Light pasta dinner at home. Bag+bike checkin after lunch. Walk from swim exit to T1 and memorize bag locations. Get in and out as fast as possible to get back home to rest with feet up.
Before bed, apply sunscreen, race tattoos if they give them, band aids and race chip strapped on with safety pin. In bed by 9pm.
Sunday: wake up at 3am. Eat breakfast of 4 cups applesauce+1 scoop protein power+1 banana+Gatorade Endurance (GED) + coffee.
Get dressed in Castelli tri-bibs with chamois cream, Garmin HR Strap with electrode gel, EN tri-top, sunscreen. Head to transition. In transition, mount torpedo bottle on bike and fill with GED. One bottle of GED on the downtube. Seat tube open (for water at aid stations). Pump tires. Put seal over disc cover opening. Small chain ring up front, middle in rear. Eat Powerbar at 5:45am - drink GED. Have gel ready for 10 minutes before start. Team picture at 6am (I think) and then make way to water for warmup.
Swim: Stage in the 1:30-1:40 corral. Think easy tempo, “climb the ladder”, count strokes. Only swim as fast as I can maintain form. No gliding…keep arms moving steady. After first loop, debating on taking a gel that I would stash in my wetsuit. Good or bad idea?
T1: Easy jog…don’t get heart rate too high. Grab T1 bag, head to far end of tent, near exit. Towel off quickly, bike jersey on, socks on, shoes on, helmet on, sunglasses on, Garmin on wrist, hand off wetsuit/T1 bag to volunteer. Find bike and hit start button on Joule and Garmin as I proceed to the mount line. Mount and proceed carefully due to the very steep start of the bike and the large number of wobbly riders likely to be present.
Bike: Just ride along (JRA) at easy pace (up to about 120 watts) for first 90 minutes. Special attention to not spiking watts during the climb out of down - easiest gear, lowest watts possible. Ignore/mock all the people standing/grinding up the first climbs. Start eating with ½ powerbar after getting through in-town admin. 1 to 1.5 bottles of GED per hour and either ½ powerbar or 1 gel from flask per 30 minutes. After 90 minutes, bring watts up to target power for the race of .68 IF which is 141 watts. Focus on staying in aero bars when not climbing. Sit up on significant/longer climbs and spin. Take Tylenol at special needs and apply more chamois cream. Use water at aid stations to cool off if temps are getting high. Try to keep heart rate under 140 for the entire bike ride. Focus on spinning up hills, keeping on the gas at top and until spinout of downhill – no spiking watts. Max watts on climbs is 160. Pee at least once per loop. Don’t do anything stupid that will bring the suck closer. Remember, the race doesn’t start until mile 18 of the run.
T2: Dismount and handoff bike to volunteer (I assume they take your bike??). Walk with bike shoes on to T2 bag and get into change tent. Remove bike jersey, helmet, sunglasses, socks. Put on fresh socks, Hokas, hat, race belt with bib#. Stop and save Garmin bike data and switch to run. Toggle heart rate display as that’s the only number I’ll be watching. Grab GED and banana on aid station at exit of T2 (I believe there will be one there). Get ice in ziplock bag.
Run: Heart rate at end of bike hopefully will be around 140. Whatever it is, I will run as slow as necessary for the first six miles as to maintain that heart rate. I will run between the aid stations and walk 30 steps at each aid station to get my fuel in. I will drink one cup of GED per aid station and take one salt cap + 1 PowerGel per hour. After six miles, I will allow my heart rate to increase up to 150, but that will be the ceiling for the entire marathon. I will walk as necessary to keep the heart rate below 151, especially on Ski Jump Hill and Townie Hill. At run special needs, I will assess whether a fresh pair of socks are needed. Take Tylenol if needed at special needs. Remember, mile 18. Remember your one thing – this is a celebration of getting your life back from being 235 pounds for most of your adult life. This is a celebration of taking control of your life and learning discipline and achieving a huge goal that nobody ever thought you could accomplish.
Soak up the finish – do not rush through the chute…high five people…give thanks.
Comments
Swimming 1:30 or greater? with a 2 loop swim , having the opportunity to take a gel at mid point sounds like a great idea to me... drink too they will most likely have GED available....
T2- Yep should have a volunteer to take your bike....
Remember the confidence you built on your run accomplishments at the HIM this year... Keep moving forward.... Enjoy your day....
cya soon!
When in doubt, Trust Your Training. At the start of each leg, your mantra is Patience, Discipline, Humility. The second loop of the run, don't let your One Things be far from your thoughts, as well as the determination to simply keep running. Which will loop you back to my first sentence: your body is ready for this, don't let your mind mess things up.
First a big congrats on your weight loss and journey to first IM! That's awesome!
Nice race plan, just a couple things. You mentioned wearing the EN tri-top but in T1 you'll put on a bike jersey, then in T2 remove bike jersey. Do you plan to wear the bike jersey over the EN Tri-top? With your nutrition, I'm sure you've figured out your cals/hr and sodium/hr across all fuel sources for the bike and run? If you take salt tabs during the bike/run, I recommend having extra in both your special needs bags, just in case. I also put body glide and Vaseline in run special needs for unexpected chaffing.
FWIW, I plan to wear my sleeveless wetsuit. Though it's slightly slower than a full, my shoulders are way more comfortable in a sleeveless.
See you in several days.
@Derrek - yes, I do plan to wear my EN ti-top under my bike jersey. Yes, I've been dialing in that nutrition for months (380 cal/980 sod on bike, 270 cal/995 sod run). I am leaning toward your philosophy regarding the sleeveless wetsuit - the freedom of movement and comfort probably outweigh the potential for overheating.
Don, very smart plan with all the key governing metrics defined.
Remember, in the madness of the day, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing/not doing/saying, etc.....just stay true to your plan and we are going to see a new Ironman come afternoon/evening!
Also, if you drop your chamois cream on the ground in the dirt..............................lol.
Look forward to completing this journey with you!
KMF!
SS
I know how excited you are for this. Lake Placid is incredible. When you get into town, take a big deep breath of all that excitement and then do everything you can to quiet your head!
You've done the training. You have the tools and the support from EN. You have what you need to get this done. It is a long day but stay in the 'now' every step of the way. Before you know it, you'll be rounding the corner onto the track!
Good luck and enjoy the experience!
Don, great plan. It was my first IM too in 2010. I will never forget it. You will enjoy all that this course brings, such a great setting for us triathletes!
The training is done, you are set, be smart, have fun, and take it all in!
Great plan, here are a few notes of mine:
I will also opt for the SS wetsuit. Much more comfortable and less restrictive and less draining for me.
Tylenol at BSN? I really hope you don't have to start pain management that early in the day. I thought prophylactic NSAIDs were not a good thing in endurance sports.
Run special needs : if weather is forecast to be rainy a light shell may be handy. I think I will be doing that but will watch the weather Saturday.
For the Bike Out, Coach P probably spoke about this - it can be a treatruous place. Starting down the right side and going wide can keep you from getting pinched in the tight turn by idiots.
The first run Aid Station I recall isn't until mile 1 by Lisa G's.
See you in a few days!
@Steve I don't think I will *need* Tylenol for pain management that early, but I was following Coach P's lead of doing so. Tylenol is not an NSAID and is safe for endurance sports (unlike Aleve, Advil, ibuprofen). 10-4 on the bike out - I rode it during camp and I can only imagine what it must be like on race day - I will be vigilant there.
The toxic dose of Tylenol (acetaminophen) - the amount that can cause liver damage from a one-time ingestion - is in the range of 7.5-10 grams. The recommended daily dose - the amount you can safely take day-in, day-out without triggering a risk of liver damage - is in the range of 3-4 grams. Of course, this assumes your body metabolizes the drug normally. And remember, acetaminophen can also lurk in other OTC products such as cold remedies.
One more thing on the power application of placid. 1. I think riding .7 is ok vs .68...or rather, don't go .68 just b/c of TSS math. It is what it is, and not all TSS are equal.
Second, I am okay with you riding closer to your .68 or .7 goal, even early on the bike, for the hill sections.....AS LONG AS you get cheesy on the early descents (back off) and ride the flats at your JRA effort. IOW, the downhills give you ample time to recover / drop HR...I know we spoke about total time on race day and this would be a relatively safe way to get 10-15 minutes back in your corner.
We can talk more in LP!