Clark Mitchell Steelhead 70.3 Race Plan
General Info
Age: 49
Weight: 176
FTP: 260 ish, best guess based on how I’ve been riding. I need to test soon!
Vdot: 47
Second HIM this season and fourth overall. First this year was Syracuse, where I was somewhat underprepared, at least as compared to today. I was happy with my performance at Syracuse given that it’s a difficult course. I’m hoping that the combination of easier course and better preparation this time around yield a significant improvement in my result. From a fitness standpoint my FTP and VDOT are significantly better than for any or the other HIMs I’ve done.
PLANNING
Pack the house Thursday night so that I can pack the car Friday morning before leaving for work. Meet Cath after work and consolidate to her car leaving mine at her office for the weekend. The goal is to be on the road by 6:00, which get’s us to the hotel around midnight.
Saturday AM, sleep in and then find a healthy breakfast. Drive to the event site. Register but DO NOT check bike. Spend as little time on site as possible.
Saturday afternoon, drive the bike course looking for wind direction, pavement quality and any other details worth noting.
Saturday PM, find a healthy dinner and get to bed early.
Sunday AM, up at 4:30, eat in the room and then get on the road by 5:00. Arrive at the parking lot by 5:30. Pump tires, load nutrition, etc. and then ride my bike from the parking lot to transition, carrying all of my gear for the day. Cath will have her bike if I need help carrying my stuff. Set up transition before the 6:45 AM (?) cutoff.
My swim wave (#10 FL Orange) goes out at 7:36, so I have plenty of time between the close of transition and my start time to eat a gel, drink some water, warm up and pee.
SWIM
This is a beach start which is a new experience for me. Run as far out into the water as is reasonable before starting to swim. The swim route is a clockwise triangle so stay to the left of the buoys and breath and sight to the right. Swim no faster than the pace where I can hold form. My race will be decided during the run not during the swim.
T1
Be decisive. Pick a wetsuit stripper and get out of the wetsuit. Move with a purpose, along the route I sighted on Saturday, to my spot in transition. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Be prepared for a crowd at the mount line. Give myself some room and don’t do anything stupid.
Goal Time - Under 4:00 unless the path through transition is either really long or really short.
BIKE
My race begins on the bike. My bucket o’ chicken wattage is ~190. Depending on how I feel and what’s happening with my heart rate the plan is to get to my goal wattage of 205 somewhere before mile 10. This is a flat course so success will be defined by my ability to maintain an aero position for the duration of the ride. I will take breaks from aero as I need to but the goal is to be strategic about it.
If it’s windy, who gives a fuck. Seriously, everyone will be dealing with the same wind, so just don’t think about it. Ride my numbers and remember that you can’t control the wind. Don’t let it get into my head and don’t dwell on it.
Keep an eye on heart rate but again, don’t dwell on it. My HR on the ride in Syracuse was ~10 BPM higher than I expected and in the end it didn’t matter. Don’t let it skyrocket but don’t use it as an excuse for not hitting my numbers.
My last race rehearsal was 2:50 and change on a similar course, without race wheels and at slightly less than goal power.
Goal Time - 2:45:00 - 2:50:00. I would really like to post an average speed greater than 20mph!
T2
Depending on transition layout and the conditions of the day consider getting out of my shoes prior to the dismount line. Move quickly to my spot, rack my bike, change my shoes, grab the go bag and go. Be sure to save the go-bag to use for ice during the run! Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Goal Time - Under 2:00 unless the layout dictates otherwise.
RUN
As always, my race will be determined by the run. Everything I’ve seen and done in training indicates that I have a 1:45 HM in me and if the conditions are favorable, Steelhead is the course to prove that. My goal paces are:
Miles 1 - 3 @ my plus-30” pace of ~8:40
Miles 4 - 10 @ race pace of ~8:10
Miles 11 - 13.1 @ finish pace of ~7:40
If I’m feeling strong then I’ll try to get below 8:10 somewhere around mile 8. If I’m still feeling strong at mile 11 then I’ll try to push the last two miles even harder.
Goal Time - 1:45:00 - 1:50:00
OVERALL
If all of this comes together, it adds up to 5:16 - 5:26 and I would be thrilled at either end of that range. My previous best HIM was at Cedar Point a couple of years ago where I went 5:35:27 with a 9 minute T1 because we had to swim in the harbor (bad weather) and then run nearly a mile back to transition. I’m in better shape across the board this year so I really believe that going 5:16 is possible if conditions permit and if I execute everything flawlessly.
NUTRITION
I’ve planned my nutrition using the EN calculator, so I just need to follow the plan.
On the bike I need to consume at least 36 oz of liquid per hour and more if the day is hot or dry. I’m carrying enough supplies to cover up to 46 oz per hour so that would be the max. Additional calories will come from course supplied bonk breakers. I’ll be carrying salt tabs which may or may not be required based on how much I’m drinking.
On the run I’m using course supplied nutrition. Liquid intake is 1-2 cups of gatorade at each aid station as necessary. Supplemental calories will be 1-2 gels per hour based on what I can tolerate. As with the bike, I’ll be carrying salt tabs to be taken if necessary based on my liquid intake.
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Comments
Btw there is one steep hill a few miles (maybe about 5) before the bike finish. It's called the "ugh, hill". Don't worry about it. Just hammer up it since you're almost done with the bike. The last couple of miles are actually a gentle downhill and super fast and easy.
On the swim, don't make the mistake of trying to run in the water. Once it's knee-deep, do dolphin-dives. And start swimming quickly. You will swim a lot faster than you'll run and the energy tradeoff is clear. If your hands don't hit the sand, it's deep enough to be swimming.
The run course will keep you honest. It is a "lollipop" with a couple of miles (maybe less) out to a double-loop then back. On the stick there is a big hill just before the loops start. Don't crush yourself up that hill and know you'll get to run down it to the finish. The double loop contains one big hill but the real evil is in the lack of shade and the false flats. It is not the easiest run course but, again, the weather will determine 90% of the difficulty…if it's overcast you're golden. On the run back to the finish you can really push the pace knowing that you do downhill a whole bunch.
BEST OF LUCK…this is a PR course so if the conditions are right you should be able to nail a big success. I look forward to reading the race report.
Hey Clark,
It's gonna be great to race with you again. For better or worse, an extended vacation to Europe and a big move this summer derailed my training, making Steelhead an expensive training day for IMFL for me. But it should still be a fun day.
Matt's advice about the swim is dead-on. As soon as you can swim, do so. Same with exiting the water - don't stand until your hands are in sand. The hardest part will be our starting position - 10th wave. We will undoubdedly encounter a lot of human wreckage from the waves in front of us. When I see a floating pile-up in from, I try to find a line around/through it, then execute it. Sometimes you have to be a little aggressive, but you need to be respectfully selfish at times.
Even though you plan on getting out of the race site quickly on Saturday, make sure you check out TA, note your bike rack position, how much distance you'll have from the swim-in, to the bike- and run-outs, etc. Take photos, mental notes, then go to the hotel and spend some mental time really prepping for transition. You can steal 2-3 minutes here, and those are the easiest 2-3 minutes available at a 70.3.
The bike should be really fast. Key focus points are that first 5 miles - not matching the stupidity going on around you - and the last 20 miles - where you have to be glued to your aero position for an hour into a mild head wind from the SE.
Everyone I know who's done this race says the run course is pretty challenging. Not brutal, but certainly not easy. The hardest part for me is going out too fast. I know not to do it, but I still find myself doing it. Not this time. The first mile is a moderate climb, so I'm committed to just cruising that mile and no racing until at least Mile 3. The somewhat steep climb that Matt referred to is a Mile 5.5 and again at 10.5. It sounds to me a bit like KS70.3, with a short, steep climb each loop that ruined more than one racer's day. Be smart here. And instead of hitting the gas at Mile 10 per typical EN strategy, I'm gonna get up the crest of the final climb with HR still intact, then unleash on the last 2+ downhill/flat miles. Forecast calls for clouds (please!!!) and low-80s and humid, so make sure you have a solid cooling/salt plan as well.
If your swim is good, I think those 270 watts and 47 vDot can get you really close to 5 hours. Not to put pressure on you, but don't be afraid to chase after that magical number if things are going well.
See you this weekend.
- Before the race, you walk from transition to the swim start - a mile down the beach in the sand etc. Tons of people are going to forget this and be leaving late and it will get super crowded. I advise getting to transition as soon as it opens, set your gear up and immediately head to the swim start so that you don't have any added stress before the race. Lots of opportunity to get in the lake and do a warmup swim.
- There is a long shallow beach and waves into/out of the swim. I normally skip through them pretty effectively. Dolphin diving works well. don't walk. Finishing the swim, don't stop when your fingers touch sand... another wave will come and you can keep swimming. Swim all the way to the exit.
- Depending on the wind/waves, the first turn of the swim normally is fully of human wreckage. Something about making the turn, the waves, etc causes people to get disoriented and lose their confidence. If you are going in the 10th wave, you may have to navigate through a lot of unhappy campers at that turn. Probably best to make the turn and get inside the line for a bit until you are past the crowd.
- The bike is fast and, in my experience, a draft fest. You won't get a penalty if you are passing everyone, so just keep passing.
- The Hill in the top of the lollipop is steep but short. A lot of really good runners will walk 8-10 steps in the steepest section to keep the HR down. After you crest the hill, there is a slightly downhill section that you can recoup your time - be patient.
- Don't confuse air temperature and temperature in the sun. You look at weather reports and you will seen low to mid 80s (air temp in the shade). The sun is DAMNED HOT and the course is exposed. People that drop their bikes off in transition early and don't let some air out of their tires will be changing them race morning. Last year Anna raced and the weather temp said 82-83... picking her bike up after the race, her Garmin had registered well over 100 while sitting in the sun during her run.
- The run course is largely exposed to the sun and you will get really hot on a sunny day. Plan on using cooling techniques that you would on a hot run even though the weather says low 80s and you will be fine.
Have fun!