Ian Kurth's 2015 IMMT Race Plan
IMMT 2015 RACE PLAN - August 16, 2015
Age 41, FTP 295, VDOT 53, wt 172
6th IM race, 1st IMMT
Race Pillars
Race Day is about EXECUTION, not fitness
Have the discipline, humility and patience to set up the opportunity for a good run
Best races occur with neg splits in each discipline -- Start slower, and steadily build effort.
Diesel.
Steady Effort Wins the Day
Process focus, and NO Racing Until Mile 18 on run.
No Highs, No Lows.
Pain is temporary, pride is forever
Honor Thy Training Self
Dig deep and go get the prom queen
Race Week
Query: "Is this adding to, or depleting my energy?"
Off feet. Use podium legs frequently
Checklists. Minimize stressors
Smile. I am a lucky SOB.
Thurs – 8/13
Finish drive to Mont Tremblant; plan to arrive around 8p.
Check into hotel, quick unpack
Fri. – 8/14
6:30am breakfast snack
7:00am – Swim (Easy effort, just to get comfortable)
Eat larger Breakfast – eggs and pancakes
Walk down to IM Village, get registered and pick up transition bags
Walk route from water to bags to bike to exit.
Think about places to run fast, run slower, shortcuts.
Look for 2x landmarks and markers for bike rack position.
Note row/column of transition bags.
IM Expo
Get outta there fast
Quick ride out of Mont Tremblant, and onto run course.
Mechanical check and course surveillance.
Possible ride to lac Superior
Lunch pasta and chicken. Salted.
Back to hotel to settle in, start laying out bags and checking all.
Pack Transition Bags
Visualize, and practice transitions
Sat – 8/15
Sleep in!
8:00 am Big Carb - Pancake/Waffle breakfast
Sip Coconut water all day
12:00p Good sized early lunch - pasta, chicken, rice. Salted.
Back to hotel for a nap
Wear podium legs
Get bottles/stuff ready for Sunday morning drop off
Light dinner @ 5:00pm - Bread. Yogurt. Ensure/protein drink.
In Bed by 8:00 pm -- Final review of Race Plan
Smile. I am a lucky SOB to be racing
RACE MORNING (Sun – 8/16):
4:00 am wake-up
I feel like a friggin’ million bucks
Eat Breakfast:
banana, Coconut water and power bar
Coffee
Ensure
Toasted Bagels
Shower.
Get Dressed:
EN Tri top, DeSoto tri shorts, calf sleeves, +/-arm warmers
Chamois Cream, trislide, body glide
Timing Chip (L leg), HR strap, and garmin 910
Dry pull over clothes for staying warm. Throw away sandals
5:15 am leave for race.
Drop off special needs bags
Head to Transition get body-marking done.
Portos
Bike check (5:30)
put 1 concentrated bottle of infinit on bike
Aero BTA filled with H2O
pump tires - 115 PSI
bento box check, with tire tool and tube under seat check
Chain lubed, gearing double check, big ring, mid gear
Garmin 500 mounted and turned on, synced with Quarq and HR, Auto off disabled
Swim Setup.
6:00a get wet suit on (Garmin 910 left arm set to OWS).
Head toward swim start.
Do a gel with water about 15 mins out - keep sipping coconut water.
6:20am ear plugs in, cap over goggles
6:30 in water
6:48 Wave start
1 6:36 AM Pro Hommes / Men Jaune Fluo / Fluo Yellow
2 6:39 AM Pro Femmes / Women Rose Fluo / Fluo Pink
3 6:42 AM Hommes / Men 18-34 Orange / Orange
4 6:45 AM Hommes / Men 35-39 Gris / Grey
5 6:48 AM Hommes / Men 40-44 Vert Fluo / Fluo Green
6 6:51 AM Hommes / Men 45-49 Rouge fluo / Fluo Red
7 6:54 AM Hommes / Men 50+ Bleu / Blue
8 6:57 AM Femmes / Women 18-39 Blanc / White
9 7:00 AM Femmes / Women 40+ Rose pâle / Pale Pink
SWIM:
The Swim
Principles:
Just a cover charge to get to the bike
Just Keep Swimming
Strong, smooth, relaxed stroke
Mechanics:
Only go as fast as form allows. If form fails, slow down.
Swim inside buoys except turns
Draft on hips or feet - Put someone on my left - let that person navigate.
Site q 12 strokes
COUNT strokes. Jeopardy theme song
"Race in my box"
Hold ground when there is contact.
Positive karma
Nutrition:
1 Powergel 20 min. Before
1 coconut water before
Goal time: Irrelevant (prob 1:10-1:20)
T1:
Principles:
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
Eliminate friction points
Mechanics:
Out and jog.
Consider skipping strippers (2 piece deSoto)
Hand off wetsuit to volunteer and ask to place in bag
bike bag- HELMET ON AND BUCKLED BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE
carry shoes while jogging to bike.
Pull bike off rack - jog to start
Shoes on at start line
Start Garmin
Goal time: < 5 min.
BIKE:
Bike
Principles:
“SHOULD” vs could
"STAY AERO"
"Race in my box"
“Set up a good run”
Mechanics:
First 10 miles - admin. JRA. Settle In, confirm everything is good and working.
Watch out for squirrely riders, dropped bottles etc
Pay attention to hills on outbound. Easy spinning.
Unload/Redistribute Ziploc Mega Bag (Secured on bike):
4 x ½ powerbar, 4 x ½ stinger waffle (in ziplock) for right hip pocket.
4 GU’s (in zip lock) in left pocket
Bike is a 5h conversation with powermeter. FOCUS.
Target goal 205w avg for day (.70 IF).
VI <1.04</span>
IF .67-.72
TSS<290</span>
Flats: Real time power at 200-210
HR 125-135
HR in 120s, building to mid 130s by end.
Smooth, steady cadence around 92 rpm
Shitty swimmer, and wave start mean lots of wind shadows.
Capitalize and sling shot
Super aero all day;
Visuals: "I get small and punch through the wind" ... "Momentum is Speed"
Bike // Early:
Start Garmin 500
Note early HR and work to get it down.
185 first 10 miles. Then build goal target by 5 watts per 5 miles to 205
190, 195, 200, 205 at mile 30.
Bike // Mid:
Goal 205 watts miles 30-110
Ride super aero / turtle style when able.
Keep box expanded, constantly review systems check
Pee by mile 50.
Bike // End:
Pay attention on Lac Superior 2nd trip.
Consistent on ascent. Stay on gas on descent.
Stretch as needed.
At last roundabout in town: unstrap shoes, drop watts, easy light spinning, mentally review T2 steps
Stop Garmin 500, flying dismount, hand off to volunteer.
Risk Management and Contingencies
Minor (ie blown tire, penalty etc):
come to a stop, 2 deep breaths, and execute a smooth fix.
Major (broken chain, spoke etc):
Fortunate to be racing. Use it to learn something on race day: Try a neg split run PR HM.
Goal time: Irrelevant (expect around 5:30)
Bike Nutrition:
Plan to drink 1 medium concentrated intinit bottle (600 cal).
Supplement with water.
Auto lap on Garmin every 5 miles signals drink (q15&rsquo
Plan to drink 1-2 H20 and GE off course per hr.
Gatorade 4 bottles () = 600cal
Auto lap on Garmin every 5 miles signals drink (approx q15&rsquo
Powerbar, then gel every other lap (approx q30&rsquo
2 gels 220 cal as reserve
8 - ½ bars = 1000 cal
Salt tab every 4th lap (q1 hr.)
Goal is to pee min of once per lap
Target: 400 cal/hour (2300 total)
T2:
Principles:
Smooth, efficient - “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”
Eliminate friction points
Mechanics:
Flying dismount, shoes attached.
Hand off bike
Take off Helmet on the move.
Find bag, head to tent.
Bag down & Open.
Shoes (on top), single rolled sock in each.
Start walking out with Mega Ziploc Bag.
Everything is in a ziplock bag (hat, sunglasses, nutrition, tylenol, gum, lomotil) and do all admin stuff in run/walk out of T2 — toss on shoes, grab “go” bag, and get it done while running.
Hat/Visor on head.
Sunglasses on.
Turn 910 to run and start
Goal Time: <4 min, aiming for 'best in class' t2 time based on past races</span>
RUN:
Principles:
<li
0
Comments
Hah! A lot of this looks *pretty* familiar
I;m sure you're aware your bike pacing a somewhat conservative. Be prepared to maintain/pick up the pace the last hour on the bike and last hour of the run, cause you might be surprised how good you feel. Just maintain patience and discipline until the miles 90/18.
"THIS gut check opportunity late in the race IS one reason WHY I choose to do IM’s......"
I do not do IMs because I am fast or going to win anything, I do them primarily for the reason you laid out in your plan Ian. Love that comment........suppose it evolves somewhat into your One Thing(s).
You on the other hand are very talented as I have watched you over the past couple of years and your talent stems from what is between your ears.
I think Al is right, as you race that race with EN ninja execution skills and veteran experience, don't leave those bad ass bike powers on the table during that last hour and unleash that run weapon on the back half after Mile 18 my friend.
Sending best wishes and solid execution vibes your way as you let that race come to you and realize your potential come show time.
SS
Hey Ian,
Solid plan, with tons of detail as expected. Best of luck. I think you're ready for a breakthrough IM race. You put so much hard work into your training and maintain such a positive attitude. I tend to race beyond my Training Self in HIMs and shorter, but I still don't think I've come close to matching my Training Self power/speed at the IM distance. My thought on the subject (nothing more than speculation) is that in races HIM and shorter, I really don't care if I DNF, I never think about all the people who sacrificed to get me there, I never think that I dedicated XX months to get there. Instead, I let the big, dumb, competitive racer in me take over and race. And I love to just race. But at IM, I do think about all those things. I think I respect the IM distance too much and let the fear of failure take up too much headspace, consciously or not. And the result is, the big dumb guy never makes an appearance on race day. The only reason I mention this is because, when I see your regimented plan, talk of family and mention of how lucky you are to do this, it reminds me of the approach I've taken to these races 7x. Not that I want you to push the envelope and potentially wreck a race, but am curious about what you really want your mindset to be in the latter half of the mary and whether you're willing to pass that killer run speed baton to your big dumb racer? Either way, I can't wait to follow your success. But if you do plan to unleash your killer run, I really can't wait to watch that.
Mike
Ian,
Great plan! My notes:
Is Jenn still racing IMWI? If so, will be great to see you out there, especially since I know you're on the dime to bring some major spectator costume game as payback
I am very confident that I can bike to a higher wattage than I outlined, and I can run faster paces than I outlined as well. At this point, I hold those bombs in my reserve arsenal to be dropped if I am feeling it on race day. However, I guess I might just be too all in on the teaching persepective of potential lost time from a late race blow up. At this point I would still much rather be running late in the day by being conservative early, than pushing beyond my limits early and punching a return ticket on the suffer bus. Tim is right, though - I have several days to contemplate these comments and decide how much I want to risk...
Jeremy - thanks for the props. We have similar current work/life balance complexities, and I am very impressed with your current build and fitness level. You are going to rip IMWI.
Rich - Thanks for your comments and HR reminders. I use HR daily in training, but unfortunately have had a streak of HR monitor failures in races. Crossing my fingers I will break the streak and be able to use this metric as a race chain and whip.
Jen has had a great build towards IMWI, and we both were very excited to join in the race festivities. Unfortunately, about 4 weeks ago we had some bad news in that she was diagnosed with breast CA. Needless to say, she lost her steam as we began the care journey. She is now facing the Angelina route, and decided to bail from the race wanting to race it on her terms... I know you are intimately familiar with this journey, and I'll probably reach out to you at some point after the races. My headspace has been a bit congested from this as well - probably another byproduct of my conservative race plan. I am still hoping I can come down to the race and cheer everyone - but that will be a near game day call.
Thanks again to everyone who took the time to comment. I appreciate the support, and I'll take this advice and incorporate the mojo on race day.
I don't have anything to add. Just wanted to say good luck and have fun out there. You've put in a ton of solid work, it's been great seeing it all on Strava. Execute your plan and you will have a great day!