Mark Cardinale's IM Boulder Race Plan
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have big expectations for myself coming into this race. As much as I have tried to put this race out of my mind for much of the year, it was always there as the key event in my 2015 season – the one big event that will most likely define my season. Since the end of October, I have worked tirelessly over the past 10months to improve my run, bike and especially my swim. On paper, I’m faster and stronger in all 3 disciplines, but what you can do on paper is oftentimes disconnected from your results in Ironman racing. I know I will need to bring all my fitness to the table, and I will need to execute near flawlessly to achieve the goals I have set for myself.
Coming into this race I am committed to focusing on executing my best possible process at every moment of the race. I will put outcome out of my mind, stay in the moment and try to make every minute I’m out on the course as successful as possible. I have paid particular attention to my mental game, having practiced focused visualization nearly every day over the past 2 months. I have also filed away a laundry list of challenging and painful workouts that I intend to draw from on race day. I’m prepared to give every ounce of energy I have in body to achieve the goals I have set for myself. And finally, I will always remember that this is all just a game and that if I finish knowing I gave my absolute best, then that’s all I can really control and that makes me successful regardless of what happens around me.
In the weeks leading up to this race I feel I am peaking at the perfect time. My trip to New York from June 29th to July 5th came at a great time and I used this time away from work for a big volume pop. I was able to work in several long rides and logged 52 run miles along with 8200M swimming. Coming back to Colorado, I have felt as strong as can be expected at this point in IM prep. My body comp is about where I want it. I expect to drop slightly below my racing weight of 144-145 because experience has shown me that I will inevitably put on a pound or two during taper. My main goal during the 2 weeks preceding race day is to do whatever necessary to show up at the start line healthy, rested and ready to race.
Mental Outlook
Remember to relax and not stress as much as possible in the days leading up to the race. Focus on how lucky you are to be able to do what you do. Remember to smile and try to find someone you can help every day. Throughout the week, keep focused on race day and race day only and don’t allow yourself to think beyond the S/B/R you will be doing on August 2nd.
Race Week
I plan to arrive in Boulder on Thursday with my 12 year old son, Lucas. I will get registered, checked into the hotel and then get ready for the team dinner Thursday evening. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone, snapping a few picture and ensuring people are feeling good about the next couple days.
Friday I plan to sleep in as late as possible and then do a short swim in the hotel pool followed by a 3-4 mile easy run on the run course with a couple 2-3 minute pickups along the way. From there it will be an easy day relaxing and hanging at the hotel pool with my son. Friday night my wife and daughter will join us for the remainder of the weekend.
Saturday:
- Sleep as late as I can.
- Big AM breakfast – emphasis on simple carbs. salt everything. Stay hydrated
- Bike and bike bag drop @ Res. – familiarize yourself w/ location of your bike – put bike in easy gear
- Run bag drop at BHS – get admin work done early before lunch
- Regular lunch – nothing crazy, salt everything
- Enjoy the day with family – stay hydrated and stay off your feet as much as possible
- Dinner at Carrabba’s at 6pm – Pasta & marinara sauce with grilled chicken – go to bed a little bit hungry
- Home by 7pm – go over everything one more time and then in bed by 8:30
Race Day:
- Up at 3:00am follow morning checklist
- Get dropped off at BHS by 4:15AM. Drop off special needs bags
- Take shuttle to reservoir. Work off morning checklist - Drop off morning clothes bag
- Give yourself at least 20 minutes to put on your wetsuit – need to be in wetsuit by 6:15am
- Beet Juice, Pickle Juice, 1 caffeinated Gel right before the start
Swim:
- Line up about 1/3 of the way from the start of the 1:00-1:15 corral. About the 1:05 group
- Stay on the inside path as close to the buoys as possible.
- Start easier than you think you need to and build to steady
- Focus to the first turn buoy will be remaining long with good rotation.
- Focus to the second turn buoy will be on lifting head minimally to breathe and sight as fatigue starts to set in.
- Focus to the finish will be on maintaining a strong catch and pull despite the fatigue.
- Embrace any contact as the first of many challenges to overcome
- Look for feet and find a draft to minimize effort and sighting
- Keep swimming until your hand touches bottom
- Goggles on head & wetsuit down to waist
- Find big guy wetsuit stripper
T1:
- Wetsuit in bag
- Put on glasses, helmet, and carry bike shoes to the start of T1
- Gel flask in kit pocket (may tape on bike)
- Mount bike past bike mount line
Bike:
- Start drinking
- Once on Jay Rd/10min in - start to eat
- Enjoy the ride while your systems come online
- Take bottle of Gatorade Endurance at all aid stations (Except #1 – depending upon location) just in case.
- Target watts to be at 200 +/- 2 watts. Dial down by 5 watts if HR is higher than 130.
- Hydration – Start with full x-labs BTA with IM perform and then switch to Gatorade endurance from the course. One spare emergency bottle behind the seat just in case I miss a hand-off or run out between aid stations. Roughly 1.5-2 bottles per hour based on temp – error on more vs less
- Will skip aid station #1 and #5 because it is in a fast section of the course and the next aid station is only 5 miles ahead. May make a game time decision to deviate.
- 1oz of gel every 30 min with exception of ½ powerbar at 30min, 120min, 210min and 300min
- Focus on riding steady – no surges and maintain steady power on the downhills – don’t get lazy
- Maximize speed on Neva, 36, 66, 75th, and going out on Diagonal. These are all places to keep on your watts and maximize your speed.
- For the 4 extended climbs (Nelson Rd twice, Mineral, and Lookout) sit up, stretch and keep watts 80-85% of FTP. Don’t be a lazy shifter on the false flats.
- Bike special needs – only stop if you need something
- Keep it steady from Miles 103 to the finish. People who paced poorly or emptied the tank on the climb up Lookout will be mailing it in here, but there are still 9 miles to the finish. The last 30 minutes of this ride will define your bike split.
- Feet out of shoes once you hit Arapahoe
T2:
- Hand bike to volunteer
- Grab bag, volunteer, and dump
- Goop Vaseline on toes, put on socks and shoes and then grab go-bag and get moving (Go-bag = visor, race belt, BASE salt, beet juice)
- Sunscreen on neck on the way out of T2
Run:
- First mile put on visor and race belt. Put base salt container in jersey pocket, drink 2nd bottle of beet juice just before first aid station.
- 4-5 steps per aid station just to drink, then get moving and grab ice/water for cooling on the run
- Drink gatorade and have a salt lick at every aid station – have 2nd salt lick between aid stations
- 1 cliff shot every 3rd aid station – additional calories/nutrition as needed.
- Pacing plan is to run within a much narrower range than in the past
- I will start running between 7:50-8:00 per mile pace for the first 4 miles until I am sufficiently warmed up and will then settle in to a 7:40-7:50 pace per mile.
- Expect to see heart rate in the high teens to mid 120’s and for sure will keep HR under 130 – 135 or above early in the run is red flag. Will adjust based on heat of the day.
- I will hold this pace a best I can, keeping walking breaks to approximately 5-10 seconds per aid station.
- The race starts to get hard as you approach the turnaround to start the second loop.
- I will maintain intense focus over the last 13 miles with the objective of doing whatever it takes to keep moving forward at my best possible pace.
- Where possible I will run on the small trail next to the bike path and I will look for opportunities to run the tangents.
- I will hold off as long as possible before switching to coke and oranges.
The last hour of the marathon is what I have trained and readied myself to be able to endure. I’ve prepared physically and mentally for the pain to come and I’m ready to dig as deep as necessary to not slow down during the last 6-8 miles! SLOWING DOWN IS NOT AN OPTION!
Comments
two... don't waste the seconds putting that wetsuit away... just throw it all at a volunteer with a quick thank you.... You got a front of the pack to catch... you need the extra 10 seconds!
I saw that you're using beet juice. I'm curious if you've noticed an improvement. It works for me, but it doesn't seem to for everyone. I never thought of taking it out on the race course. I might have to borrow this idea from you. Have you experimented with that?
I'm really looking forward to watching you crush this race, after seeing what you can do at St George and Boulder 70.3. I predict another podium in your future!
Mark you have the skills, have done the work , this race will be all execution and mental... Last year I was blown away by your run in KONA , this year I have been blown away by your bike improvement bringing it up to the same level as your run...... You know you can run well in the second half of an IM Marathon.... Sounds like your in search of the edge of your envelope... Are you ready to accept the risk to find/dance that fine line called the edge of your envelope , and the outcomes no matter what? If yes , in your mental preparations start thinking about being slightly uncomfortable from the start and then very uncomfortable for the 2nd half of the Marathon... IOW you must start pushing harder/sooner , trying to find that balance, still preserving your secret weapon "the run"....
I'd go to Carraba's earlier than 6pm the night before an IM... If they are busy , you may not even get your food till 7pm.
T1- Vaseline? hmm never tried it but sounds messy and time consuming. I apply a thin layer of glide to my socks inside and out pre-race and also give a thin spray coat of tri-slide to the inside of my shoes.. Don't know why you couldn't do the same with vaseline? Faster/Cleaner... Sunscreen- take the sample pack of bull frog and throw it in your go bag... you can put it in a pocket while emptying go bag on the run and use it when settled...
I had trouble with the Base Salt tubes yesterday , I had 2 of them and the lids didnt close completely because of the salt crystals around the rim after use , so when I went to use them again they were empty...
Also interested to see how the beet juice plays out mid race? Are you going to beet juice load this week?
Focus on that Mental Game all week....Wishing you Good Skill.... cant wait to watch the show
It looks very good to me, another RP I will file away for my future attempts. I agree with Cronk, there is a definite air of "now or never" in the narrative of your expectations. I have been taught, in part by you, to focus on the process and let the outcome happen. But also, I am learning that folks like yourself, the actual contenders, probably go in with a different mindset than the rest of us should. Coming from a guy who has basically cruised right over the edge of the envelope, blindly, into the depths in 3/4 of my IM attempts, proceed with caution...
Good luck, looking forward to your race.
DS
@Ed - Thanks, man! I know, I know, i'm getting there ridiculously early, but that's what i need to do to feel comfortable. That way if i get to T1 and there's a problem i have time to find a solution. it's funny that you mention the transition bags. I wrote my plan this way based on what happened at this race last year. Last year in both T1 and T2, the volunteers who helped me were sticklers about making me put my gear back in my bag myself. They were willing to carry it, but stuffing in the bag, they were pretty adamant about me doing it.
@Gabe - Thanks! I don't need a race plan to pound post race beers - that's my specialty!
As far as beet juice goes i have used it before and during my last 2 ironman races. See the attached link here. What it states is that the effects of beet juice start to diminish after 6-8 hours. so for a 70.3 i have a can before the race and i'm good to go. But, for IM i drink a second can at the start of the run. The big question is, does it make a difference? To be honest, i don't know. But my last several races have gone very well and i have been able to produce more power/go faster than i planned, so something is working and you know what they say.....If it ain't broke.....
@Tim - Congrats on an awesome race at IMLP. It takes balls and a helluva lotta skill to call your shot and that's exactly what you did! Very, very well done! I have read and reread the first paragraph of your feedback several times while i was at work today. You are exactly right, it's all about the mental game, execution and exploring the many levels of what it means to be uncomfortable. I feel like i'm ready, but Sunday we'll all know one way or the other.
On your other points:
@Doug - The pickle juice takes some getting used to, but i have pretty much have an iron stomach. The idea behind pickle juice is that it is supposed to ward off cramps, off which i have propensity to while swimming. Originally the feeling was the sodium and electrolytes in the juice was what prevented/controlled cramping, but more recent research suggests, it has something to do with blocking/disrupting electrical signals from the brain to certain muscle groups.
Good point on process vs. outcome. Make no mistake i have high expectations, but once that gun goes off, those expectations and thoughts are 100% completely out of my mind and my only thought will be executing the best possible process in that moment. And like you say that may mean seeing how close i can come to the line and maybe even stepping over it.
@Tom - Thanks!! The beet juice is nasty even under the best circumstances. What i'm thinking is opening the can as i approach the first aid station. If i'm able to drink it, great. If not i will either mix it with ice/water or gatorade. As i said in previous reply i have a pretty solid stomach so even if i feel a little sketchy at first, i'm usually good to go after a couple min. For sure it's something you want to practice prior to your race.
Also like all the declarative statements: I WILL maintain, WILL run, WILL hold off...
One last thing, don't forget the sunscreen and fluids while at the pool with Lucas. No need to start the race already dehydrated on sunburnt.
Look forward to following you this weekend. Now go EXECUTE!