Ed Eovino's IM Boulder Race Plan
This is my second Ironman this year. Third overall. I wanted a challenge and I seem to have had it during my build. For the first 4 weeks I dealt with knee pain and a serious lack of motivation. When I started weeks 5-9 I found I had only one gear…race pace.
I was able to hit almost all of my long WO’s… but intervals were scarce. I’ve noticed a drop in bike/run speed. Goal for this race is to have some fun and get to the chute!
I’ll be doing this race with my wife… This is her first IM and the race comes 2 days before our 25th Anniversary and since she is the one who set me off on this journey (when I was 50 lbs heavier… she used to walk me to Dunkin Donuts on Saturday mornings to get me to exercise…true story!)… It’s only fitting we do this race together now.
Only regret is that they won’t let me catch her at the finish… but I guess they can’t make exceptions for everyone…
IM Boulder Race plan:
Wednesday
7am swim at Boulder Reservoir… :60 Bike… :30 Run… relax… get acquainted with Pearl St.
Thursday
Bike :90 on main loop of the course… lunch… athlete briefing 2pm…packet pick up… team dinner 6PM
Friday
Bike :30… run :30… increase salt… stay hydrated.. Make sure to eat a large lunch… opening ceremony 6pm
Saturday
No fiber/ no fat… big breakfast before 9am…drop bikes at reservoir and T2 bags at Boulder High between 10-3… medium lunch… real light dinner… go to bed a little hungry… snack on pretzels and get your feet up as early as possible!
Sunday
3am… Applesauce… honey stinger… banana… scoop of whey protein… back to sleep
4:30.. get up
1 cup of coffee… body glide everywhere… tri slide sprayed on… chamois butter…. That’s right… I’m doing my best to avoid the chafe! Grab special needs and am clothes bag… leave hotel at 5:15… drop SN and get on shuttle to transition.
Bike set up… two bottles of EFS Grape… 10 salt tabs… 6 PB gels… 3 vanilla/3 straw banana with caf and 4 pieces of gum in tube mounted Bento... put bike computer on and calibrate… fill tires
Swim:
Seed with the 1:10-1:15… at start… stay right… don’t swim for the buoy line… DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUSTANCES DO ANYTHING FOR THE FIRST 500 THAT WILL MAKE YOUR HR JUMP…. Ease into it… find your breathing and find your best form
Steady… count strokes… enjoy the nice swim
Transition One… exit water… goggle to forehead…wetsuit down to waist... find stripper….move efficiently to bag…
T1 bag contents… helmet with visor… bike shoes...(opened to maximum width with socks inside rolled up)… rolled up arm coolers…zip lock bag with PB wafer and honey stinger waffle and small bag of chamois butter
Dump bag on ground… helmet on… bag in pocket…coolers on wrists… run with shoes in hand to bike… run bike past mount line and find place to lean bike on fence… shoes on… mount…
Bike:
Take it easy at the start… slow… steady… smooth… don’t get caught up in the chaos… defensive… when I find some clear road… visor down… arm coolers up… start drinking as soon as I can..
Bike nutrition plan…
3 bottles Gatorade Endurance in first hour with Powerbar Vanilla gel and a Salt Stick tablet at :30 and 60 minutes..After first hour 2-3 bottles/ hour depending on temp… looking for 400-450 calories/ hour… so if 3 bottles no gel… if 2 bottles add a gel per hour… salt tabs consistent on the half hour. When I need something solid… Powerbar wafer
First 30 minutes… JRA… … slowly building watts during first :30 to 180-185.. Then… settle into 185-190 watts with emphasis on smooth efficient EN race execution… no surges…consistent power to pedals… working on nailing the VI
Aero… streamlined… focused on my numbers! With 30 miles to go start picking up water at aid stations and get soaked… arm sleeves… jersey…
Primary bike focus… well fed… hydrated… cool…
Bike special needs bag
1 Tube/1 CO2
Transition 2… at about 2 miles out stand on pedals and do a little stretch…pick up the cadence a bit for the rest of the way in… flip visor up… easy dismount.. hand off bike and focus on being smooth and steady… don’t get HR racing in transition...get gear bag… when you have bag unclip helmet
T2 bag contents.. shoes with a sock in each rolled up and ready to put on… race belt with 4 Powerbar gels… ziplock bag with hat… sunglasses and a cooling towel
Helmet off… bike shoes off… shoes on.. water belt on.. race bib on… grab big ziplock bag and go…. Find volunteer on way out for sunscreen
Run:
Run nutrition plan…
Gatorade at aid stations… ice in hat.. douse cooling sleeves and towel around neck… gel before every 3rd aid station… repeat until I can’t drink that anymore and switch to coke or whatever I can get down… base salt at every mile… try to keep shoes dry!
Run special needs bag..Socks and some duct tape
First 6 miles keep HR as close to 135 as possible using short walk breaks to help slow down if necessary… then lock in the low 140’s and hold the line… stay positive… and if I meet up with the wife on the run course… enjoy a few miles running with my best friend
Comments
Looks like a solid plan, for a solid athlete. I'll be tracking you all day, so stick to the plan and have fun. Congratulations on 25 years to both you and your wife!
One question is how you will handle salt on the bike. If you back off to 2 bottles, and supplement with Gels, will you need to up the salt intake as well?
@Ed - Great race plan! Very detailed and specific. On the swim, be careful about being too conservative in terms of where you line up. Last year i ended up swimming an outside line and i feel like i added a lot of extra distance to my swim by doing so. Very cool you are doing this with your wife (Happy Anniversary!) I look forward to meeting you both! And....Team dinner is at 5:30 not 6!
@ Mark... I know you're right about the distance... but I'm not the greatest swimmer in a group. If I get some clean water I can focus on form and I think that'll make up for any extra distance. Can't wait to meet the team as well. See you at 5:30!
Ed, first, job well done at IMTX this year!
A second IM is a tough adjustment but, getting through that second cycle and coming out the other end rested before race day can add up to big dividends. I appreciate and admire the way you worked through that second cycle and are showing up healthy and ready for round 2!
I like your bike plan and goal to put down 3 bottles in the first hour. I made a mistake in LP here which cost me on the run. I was so focused on the technicality of the LP course I did not stay on top of my early bike nutrition as well as I could have and had hamstring cramps over the entire marathon leg. Stay true to your hydration and pacing strategy to reap those dividends on the run.
I also like your HR target focus for the run, especially given the elevation changes. I am assuming you are getting off the bike with an HR no higher than 135 and using that as a ceiling for your first 6 miles of running?
I will be following you all day and rooting for you at every turn. Be smart, execute strong and enjoy your long hard day!
KMF always!
SS
Good luck Ed! Look forward to meeting you. I was at the swim this AM as well! :-)
Congrats to you and your wife! That's awesome!
Erik