Race Plan - Matt Aaronson IMWI
Age 39 (M4044 due to November birthday). Probably ~140 lb
before the pre-race carbs and hydration. FTP and VDOT are irrelevant to my plan
but recent results are 4:28 half-iron last year, open marathons of 2:53 last
year (Chicago) and 3:00 this spring (Boston), and an Olympic-distance bike
split of ~59:00 this June. I am showing up to the start with outstanding fitness
but unfortunately injured. The injury should only impact the run and the
psychological game.
This will be my first Ironman race. Similar to when I ran my
first-ever marathon, my goal is simply to perform to the limits of my fitness
and ability. In other words, execute well and end up with the best result
possible. I want to be able to look back and have no regrets. I also want to
learn as much as I can from the experience, although there is a
not-insignificant chance I'll be a "one and done" at the IM distance,
or at least done for a long time until I age up or have a midlife crisis or
whatever. To be honest I didn't love the training volume required and felt it
was just slightly further than my personal level of acceptability in terms of
impinging on my family time. Certainly I could have trained less, but my
ingoing commitment to myself was that if I was going to do an Ironman I
wouldn't half-ass the training.
My race plan is as follows:
Week 19 (this week) – a bit complicated due to traveling to
Boston for my sister's wedding Friday-Monday
- Swim workouts as prescribed, targeting 14k yd
- Front-load bike workouts due to no bike available on Labor
Day weekend…bike Monday/Wednesday/Thursday
- Run Tues/Thurs/Sat – no back-to-back run days due to
injury and limit to 45'
- Control calories.
Overall workout volume is WAY DOWN so need to align eating to that fact. High
quality diet. Good hydration.
- Initial packing for the race on Thursday since I won't be
at home from then until right before I leave for the race a week later
Week 20 (race week) – another complicated week due to
business travel Monday night through Wednesday evening
- Overall attitude that nothing I do between now and race
day will have any positive effect on the form I bring to the race. That train
has left the station. I cannot make the sword bigger now, I can only make it
sharper. All workouts are risky at this point.
- Get whatever workouts I can on Tues/Wed. Might be just a
30' run. Try to get to the pool in DC once.
- Have nanny pick up bike from LBS on Wednesday where disc
wheel is being installed, derailleur adjusted, low-friction chain installed,
carbon-compatible brake pads installed and adjusted
- Fly home Wednesday night, first time at home since leaving
for my sister's wedding on the prior Thursday…complete packing. Verify bike
setup AND CHANGE QUARQ BATTERY.
- Diet: normal calories, normal food, good hydration.
THURSDAY
- Sleep in on Thursday to the extent possible. Go to the
pool for final pool workout. If no run was possible on Wednesday then run 16'
to the pool, swim and run 16' home (this is a classic taper-week workout I've
done many times)
- Drive to Madison leaving Chicago in the 10am range
- Drive straight to Verona and/or meet with EN folks to do a
short ~40' ride (either Cross Plains to Verona or Verona out-and-back to
Messerschmid). Focus is solely on bike setup and identification of any
mechanical issues. Use all gears from 11 to 28t and ensure shifting between 52
and 36 chainrings is flawless under all loads and situations and that
derailleur is trimmed correctly. Ride will verify that tires are seated
correctly and no flats shortly out of t1 due to bad installation. Mechanical
soundness will increase my confidence and lower my stress. A bike mechanical is
a big psychological stressor for me during races.
- Check into hotel, shower
- Race checkin
- EN dinner, chill
- Diet: normal calories, fiber-restricted, elevated
hydration
FRIDAY
- Diet: normal calories, carbohydrate-skewed,
fiber-restricted, elevated hydration
- Sleep in
- Prep bags and chill
- Check into room at the Hilton and into second room at
HotelRED where family will stay
- No real plans for this day so play a bit by ear
SATURDAY
- Sleep in (different hotel from family to ensure good rest)
- 2mi run followed by large breakfast
- Low activity and stay off of feet for the day. Bike
checkin: make it quick
- Large late lunch heavy on rice
- Light dinner and PowerBar before bed
RACE MORNING
- Wake up 5am. Bagel and PB/Nutella combination as before
all morning workouts. Coffee.
- Transition setup working from the checklists I always use.
2 cages on bike, both pre-loaded with disposable bottles…one water, one
Gatorade (not GE!)
- Sip water and Gatorade until the start, Gu Roctane before
entering the water
SWIM
- Goal: Just make it through. Warmup for a long day. Slower
than 1:20 would be disappointing. Faster than 1:12 and I probably hurt my
downstream race. I realize I'm giving my AG a 10-15 minute headstart. Whatever.
The key is to have all my gas still in the tank so that on the bike it will
take all of my patience and discipline to keep the dog on the chain.
- Line up to the left of the ski jump per recommendations
from Jenks and others. Not in the first row but not too far back.
- At the gun, just relax, take it easy and breathe. Do not
panic…the crowd will eventually sort itself out.
- Swim easy with focus on form
- Draft but "on my terms", i.e. do not swim hard
to stay on faster feet…rather if there is someone beside me and we're going the
same pace, drop back and follow (I did this in Vegas 2012 with excellent
results)
- Less sighting for the part until the crowd spreads
out…just follow others…sight every 10 strokes to begin, then as necessary go to
every 6
T1
- Westuit off. Jog up helix while removing goggles, swim cap
and 920xt (I do this in every race)
- Actual transition very simple with shoes on the bike and
sunglasses taped to the right aerobar: put on helmet and GO
BIKE
- I am very confident heading into this ride. I am strong on
the bike, know the course inside and out and have multiple 5+ hour rides behind
me in many different conditions and none of them being a failed workout. I have
ridden the full course 3x this year plus some "loop-only" riding. I
have ridden the full course on back-to-back days and ridden 3 consecutive days
on the course during the camp week. So I know how I ought to feel at every
point of the ride. If I have a good day I think I am capable of biking a
"should split" at my target watts of ~5:20. My goal is to implement
PATIENCE AND DISCIPLINE, i.e. execute a conservative pacing strategy that
allows me to run a marathon afterwards………….
- The race context for my ride will unfortunately be harder
than needed because of my expected swim split. Getting out of the water in the
scrum of the 1:15-1:20 swimmers requires me to bike through the field on a
course that gets pretty technical after about mile 15 and by mile 30 is not a
place I want to be riding close to other a crapton of people who don't know
what they're doing. So all the 1:05-1:15 swimmers who have no business biking
20mph on that course will clutter things up a lot. By the top of the Garfoot
downhill at mile ~35 I really hope to be clear of a lot of the masses. If I
swim 1:15 I'm getting out of the water after about 800-900 people. About 400 of
those have less than a 5 minute headstart. Most of them will bike too hard at
the beginning so maybe I only go 1mph faster instead of 2mph on average. In 30
miles I have passed most of them, plus some of the 1:05-1:10 swimmers who
really go slow on the bike. At this point the majority of the people ahead are
good cyclists who know how to ride properly and we can get down to business.
But getting through 400+ people in the first 90 minutes of the bike is going to
be nuts…it'll be like Steelhead last year where I passed something like 1000
people. I'm hoping for a really strong headwind from the west. It'll make the
miles to Mt Horeb on Hwy G and 92 utterly brutal but take the weaker riders really
out of the game quickly. Plus it would make the last 15 miles riding back on
the stick a lot more tolerable…
- Get out onto the road, put on sunglasses, start Garmin
Edge 800 (already on with satellites locked pre-race…note, I have decided to
race with the 800 for the first time – usually I train with it but race with
the 500, but this year I have really got used to my screen setup on the 800 and
like to have the course loaded into the unit so I can monitor "distance to
next" on my screen as something to keep my mind occupied)
- Take a gel immediately
- Priority #1, GET HR DOWN…need to get into the 130's before
starting to "work". This will be really hard because I'll almost
certainly be on the left the whole time riding by people. No problem, just take
it easy, let it come down. Start hydrating and finish the Gatorade quickly.
- Start targeting 200-205 watts for the stick. By Whalen I
should be settled into the low end of my race target range. The pacing targets
are:
…under 140 bpm I'm riding almost all by power, starting in
the low 200's up to 205
…for hills I may see small HR spikes into 145-150 range,
that is ok assuming quick recovery
…for the second loop I go to 210 if HR is still <140 and
feeling good…if not, or if increasing wattage requires "hard work",
then stick with 205. That will still yield a great performance and I still have
to run a marathon…</span>
…I AM NOT PERMITTED
TO RIDE >210 WATTS UNLESS IT IS ON THE STICK HOME. I CAN EASILY "SETTLE
INTO" 215-220 WATTS IN TRAINING FOR 3-4 HOURS…THIS IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE
RACE…NO 5-MILE SPLITS ARE ALLOWED TO BE >210 WATTS
…if HR goes into the ~145 range power must be carefully
monitored and adjusted downward
…if HR goes into the 150s it becomes the primary metric (not
power anymore), work to keep it <150…sustained over 150 is bad news</span>
…notwithstanding the above point, HR permitted in the
150-155 range for the last 15 miles of the bike if and only if no material
decoupling…i.e. if I can push …>210 watts at 150 bpm for the last 15 miles
of the bike I will allow myself to do that…but if I need that HR to get 200 I
will obviously be already on "plan B"…
- Execute supurb bike handling. Conservation of momentum is
critical. I can do this course in my sleep. I know every corner and what I will
do. I can ride Garfoot downhill without tapping the brakes (unless it's packed
with shitheads). Same with the left turn at the bottom of Timber Lane. I even
know when I plan to SHIFT in many places.
- Stay aero. All the time except when climbing or aid stations.
Aero while cornering. If there are people around and I want hands on the brakes
I should still be low and aero. Head low. Climbing out of the saddle allowed
but only for position change and not for spiking watts.
- You will all disagree with this, but I am taking manual
splits at pre-determined points on the course. This keeps my mind occupied and
gives me something to look forward to doing. It also keeps me from
"keeping score" by knowing how much cumulative time I am under or
over 20mph (when I do 5-mile autolaps I spend an inordinate amount of time keeping
track of the time over/under 15' per autolap). All of my "custom
laps" are roughly 5 miles in length…the longest is 5.6 miles I think.
- If the wind is from the east, save some physical and
mental energy for those last 16 miles back on the stick
- Mental game: from the foot of Old Sauk, it's <40' to
the end of the loop. Of that, ~21' is Old Sauk, Timber Lane and Midtown…the
rest is "easy street": Shady Oak to Verona.</span>
BIKE NUTRITION
- My plan seems to be controversial in terms of the calorie
sources (all from gels and bars), but (a) I have used these calorie sources
exclusively on all of my rides this year, and (b) I have executed this nutrition
strategy IN FULL on 2 race rehearsals and 2 rides with bricks (essentially race
rehearsals since my 5+ hour rides are almost as long as my IM ride will be). So
far this has yielded no stomach issues on the brick runs up to 6 miles. Beyond
6 miles and we're in uncharted territory, but such would be the case no matter
what the nutrition plan.
- Target is 290-320 calories/hour:
…up to 20oz Gatorade in the early part of the ride (<140
cal)</span>
…3 caffeinated Clif Bars (Toffee Peanut Buzz), halved and
foil-wrapped, eaten at 0:20, 1:00, 1:20, 2:00, 2:40, 3:20 (750 cal)
…8-9 gels, eaten at 0:00, 0:40, 1:40, 2:20, 3:00, 4:00, 4:30,
5:00 and MAYBE 5:20 (800-900 cal)
Gel flavors are Roctane Cherry Line x3, Roctane Chocolate
Sea Salt x3, Salted Carmel x2. I will eat them in random order except that the
first one will be Cherry Lime and the first 2 and last 2 will be Roctane.
Total sodium will be ~2000-2100mg from the above sources
- Note that the solid food is front-loaded and totally
finished by the 3:20 mark, a full 2 hours before any running. Note eating
intervals space out from 20' to 30' later in the ride and that there is a gap
from 3:20 to 4:00. That is intentional.
- Aid station plan is water only. I will drink to my thirst
which had worked in the past but need to be aware I cannot get behind on
hydration or it will impact the run. HR decoupling and late-bike fatigue will
be indicative of falling too far behind…it's a lagging indicator unfortunately.
At a minimum I will drink every ~15' based on laps and also with all food. I
will leave every aid station with 2 full bottles. I contemplated doing some
segments of the course with 1 bottle for weight conservation but honestly I'd
rather have the water in case I need it or in case some of the bottles launch.
I will skip the Verona school aid station unless I'm out of fluids and need to
reload.
- Do not plan to stop at special needs unless I have a
"special need". Likely that need would involve tools, or tire-related
items like CO2 and tubes. I really hope I do not have a "special
need" in that regard, but you never know. If I have to change a tire, it's
not the end of the world although it would be disappointing.
T2
- Feet out of shoes
- Garmin stop as approaching dismount
- Hand over bike and slow jog to T2
- Dump transition bag onto floor
- Shoes on and grab go-bag and start jogging for the
transition exit
- Hope Garmin 620 gets satellites quickly based and do not
hit "Start" until satellites confirmed…even if this takes a mile or
whatever into the run.
- While running, put on race number, watch, hat or visor or
neither depending on weather, spray on sunscreen (I bring my own…if one of my
family is near the run exit I'll toss it in their direction, otherwise a random
spectator gets a used-once can of $15+ sunscreen)
RUN
- Given it's my first ironman, I really have no idea of what
to expect. I have never done more than a 6-mile brick after a >100 mile
ride, so all I can do is execute the pacing plan and hope for the best. I have
no time goal although I think that over 4 hours would imply something pretty
bad and unexpected happened. My watch will not be set to show any time
metrics or pace. Just cadence and HR. That's it. I'm sure I'll check the time a
few times but what benefit does that give? I don't think I will be able to
increase pace on command so feeling "behind target" won't help me. My
goal is to execute well enough to maximize the potential provided by my
fitness. If that is 3:2x as some EN folks have suggested is possible then
great, I will be ecstatic. If
it's 3:45, fine. The overall point is that I want to execute well and then the
cards will fall as they may.
- As I noted at the beginning, I'm coming into this run with
a pretty bad injury. There is a chance of disaster and if that happens it would
cause a DNF. But it doesn't impact my strategy for the run so frankly it's irrelevant
to discuss here. Quite some detail on that situation is in the medical forums. The
real impact of the injury has been to have massively reduced run mileage since
late July including an almost 2 week period of zero mileage. I actually think
that if the injury doesn't DNF me then the impact of the reduced volume
following a very strong base may actually to set me up for a strong run. We’ll just
have to wait and see how it goes…
- My pacing strategy is solely HR-based. Even before the codification
of the most recent EN state-of-the-art in this respect I learned from my bricks
that if I don't let HR be the governor I'll run too fast and would surely blow
up. My approach in the race will be "when in doubt, ease up". If I do
that I will be ok and my time will be what it is. The general numbers:
…starting HR target will be 150 which is the high end of AHR
from the last hour of my highest power training rides (i.e. those well in
excess of IM watts)
…I can go to 155 after 4-6 miles
…after mile 16 can go to 160 if able, although I suspect
that will not happen.
To put the above numbers in context, my open marathon HR is
~170 and my open half-marathon HR is ~180 (for the whole race). So 150 is
really very low for me.
- My strategy is to run the marathon with the exception of Observatory
Hill which I will walk to keep my HR in check (and take Bruce Thompson's advice
to make up time by running the back side of it aggressively).
- I plan to take a few walking steps at aid stations to ensure
I get what I need but not treat them as "walking breaks"
- Mentally I break the course down as:
…~4 miles from the Capitol to the lakefront
…~2 miles from the lakefront to State St turnaround
…~3 miles from the turnaround to leaving the lakefront
…~4 miles from the lakefront to the Capitol
- I will take manual laps at the points at which I mentally
break up the course, as well as at the beginning and end of Observatory Hill
(so that the walking segment is segregated in the data)
- I do not intend to stop at "special needs" but I
will have a fresh pair of shoes and socks in my bag in case my feet get really
wet on the first loop. Also I'll have some tape in case I feel a blister.
Finally, I'll have a backup Garmin and HR strap in case I have an electronics
failure. Oh, and a Mexican coke will be in there too, in case the run goes to
shit on the first loop.
- Run nutrition…a big question mark. I don't usually take a
lot of gels on ruins, and have never done so following a gigantic bike ride
that involved almost 2000 calories. My default strategy will be 5 gels:
…mile 6 (State St aid station)
…mile 9 (aid station before leaving the lakefront, or just
before mile 10 at the aid station on Walnut)
…mile 13 (aid station after the turnaround)
…mile 17 (aid station getting onto the lakefront path
…mile 20 (aid station on the path)
All Roctane but maybe one Chocolate Outrage. Also I will
probably start on the Coke after mile 16 or so.
- As to "racing"…I really have no idea how I'll
feel and if I will be able to "race" in the post-mile 18 part of the
run. It is my nature to race and I'll certainly keep track of who passes me and
who I'm passing. Yes I will look at the ages on folks' calves. I can't avoid
it. I will also request my family to tell me my position off the bike. But
honestly I'm going to just execute my HR-based strategy. The final lakefront turnaround
is at mile ~22 and leading up to that I'll be able to see everyone who's up to
~8-10 minutes ahead of me (although some will be on loop #1 so I'm not sure
I'll really know who I'm close to in my AG). I sure won't be getting 8 minutes
on anyone in the last ~5.5 miles but if there are a couple of people 1-2
minutes ahead then maybe I'll go for it. Who knows. This is new territory for
me.
Overall the experience is going to be totally new and
totally epic. I'm psyched for a huge day!!!!!!
Comments
1. I dont know if you did any full IM swims before your RR's? But even if you did , plan on a race day swim taking just a tiny bit out of your bike....
2. Plan on the Congestion on the bike lasting longer than 90min , even if you swim a 1:05 it's usually congested till around the halfway point... I usually reach really clean riding by 50-60miles on any course, there are just that many good swimmers and that many bad bikers.....
3. All this time at EN and you havent tried wrapping your cliff bars in wafer rice paper? Simply pull piece out and eat ( NO WRAPPER) http://www.amazon.com/Bakery-Crafts-BC-WFS-0811-100/dp/B00024WNVI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441275739&sr=8-1&keywords=rice+wafer+paper
4. T2- Garmin? As long as T2 bag is outside with clear view of the sky my 910xt gets turned on pre-swim... Never had a problem of battery not lasting for the full race....
5. Gels on the Run- Love running with a small 4oz flask(3-4gels) , sip 1/2 gel every 3 miles , makes for a more steady(smaller) calorie consumption, NO Wrappers , your ready to chuck it at mile 16-20 and go to coke!
So bummed about your injury , but I'm really thinking in the end it won't effect your day as you even seem to mention in your plan... It may even help.... Enjoy your first Ironman !
Don’t worry about swim time. Do your best to ignore it…doesn’t matter at all. What matters is a smooth T1 and really good first 10 miles of the bike!
Given early bike crowding and pace goals, do your best to remain zen and ride smoothly. Get your HR down “as best as you can” given the aforementioned. It will be your call…personally I opt for the ride but Do Not Hammer Around A Group, etc, strategy here…tempting, but they will all fade before your W/KG.
Your water only at aid stations is suspect, but I trust you. My only thought would be to have some salt pills in case food isn’t an option and you need to get water down, OR more likely, you need to put in extra fluid to dilute all that food in your gut.
Finally on run nutrition…you really can’t “plan” calories like you do in a marathon. Since you won’t have eaten for the last 2 hours of the bike, odds are you’ll be friggin HANGRY. Our guidance is if you feel good on the run, don’t run faster — EAT. So my goals are 3 gels before halfway..whenever I can. Then I switch to clif bloks for some different carbs. Gels caffeinated, blox too. I can’t really eat past mile 15…usually alternating coke at one aid station with GE at the next. So, just be ready to adapt!
Good luck!
On the plan itself, I think it's great. What I see reflects the level of detail and planning that are precursors of success. Not only have you done the miles, but you've done the thinking and planning required to excel. Of course, I would never expect less from you!
Here are the points that stood out for me, and you have to recognize just how minor they are.
-Thursday night depart / packing: I want you to do this from a list. Although you have more frequent flyer miles than anyone on the planet, there are so many moving parts in the weeks leading up to your event, and it's so close, that I would prefer to just see all that go on to following a recipe instead of causing one iota of stress.
-the bike mechanical = big stressor. I hear you. I know it's hokey, but if you can do some visualizations of these worst-case, or near-worst-case scenarios of something happening, and then how you'll deal with it (calm and cool, aware of mental and emotional state, etc), this will go a long way to (a) address and neutralize the stress, and (b) script out what to do if it actually does happen. I usually note "think Chrissie" in my race plans, referring to Chrissie Wellington's mental prep for mechanicals, and how she actually deployed that when it counted the most in Kona.
-"the race context for my ride." It is what it is, and the fact that you devoted a big enough paragraph tells me it's occupying enough mental real estate to matter. You know this, but I'm going to say it anyways with the hope that it'll be stamped into your brain for those first miles ... no matter what, don't let this affect your watts or take you off your plan. If that happens, it marks the moment you go from playing offence to playing defence. None of the latter, please.
-I think you can pre-locate sats with your 620 based on your location, and turn off the watch, and it will find them faster the next time you turn them on.
-if you crash, get a flat, drop a gel, whatever, remember the words of Rocky: it's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. You're a pretty resilient and resourceful fellow, so make sure whatever conditions are there to draw on that when things get tough!
Regarding your Run S/N bag. They always say to not expect to get that bag back after the race (but you might)... So unless you have someone to get it for you shortly after you pass S/N the last time, you might not want to have an extra Garmin/HRM strap in there. And if you insist on having an extra pair of shoes, make it a throw away pair. It is nice to be prepared, but I don't think I have ever used anything out of a BSN bag other than a little nutrition treat twice out of 7 races. Seriously think about it, you are actually racing this thing. Are you going to stop for 5 mins to put on nice dry socks and a fresh pair of shoes only to have them be soaked again in 1 mile...? Put some tape in there and a BandAid or 2 and your Mexican coke... Leave the rest at home. If you want to let a family member hold your extra Garmin and strap all day, do that and grab it when you them if you really need it, then do that. Let's be honest though, if your HRM goes out, you still know how to run. just go by feel... (FWIW, I'm not even going to have a RSN bag this yr). And given that I'm totally f'd if I get a flat on my fat bike, I don't think I'll have a BSN bag either...
One final thing, use the first 2 hrs of bike congestion to get as many "Legal Drafts" as you can. Bike congestion is annoying, but also helpful in it's own way if you are careful and deliberate how you pass people. It's hard to pass draft packs, but each "individual rider" you pas on a one by one basis, could be a net benefit of 1-3 seconds of race time. Doesn't sound like much until you realize that you get to multiply that by the ~500 or so people you get to pass. Even if it's only 1s saved per pass, that's ~8 mins off your bike split. Aim directly for their back tire and don't pass until you are a few inches away. Then the second you clear their front wheel, get back immediately to the right in the line and aim for the next wheel. Even if there's only a handful of bike lengths between people you are passing, get back into the line every time instead of riding on the left for 5 mins at a clip.
Excited to finally meet you! Remember, it raises $50 for ReserveAid if you slap my ass as you pass me on the bike... I'm ready if you are...
If all goes as hoped for me I can snag a Kona spot, and then Kona '16 would be my last IM for a while and I'd focus more on 70.3 and shorter races. I know you are being conservative given it's your first race but I know that you know a KQ is a real possibility for you if the race comes together for you so this 'one and done' talk is nonsense.
A few thoughts based on your comments:
@ Tim
No, never swam 2.4 before a 5-hour ride. I am well aware however of the metabolic cost of a big swim esp for a week swimmer like me. I'm more worried about the impact of that swim much later in my day but I'll need to square the RPE of my post-swim early bike miles with the power and HR and ajust my pacing accordingly.
As to the congestion point, for sure you are right. Even if the bike unfolds as I laid it out, I'd still have 400-500 people in front of me after 35 miles. The key thing is to have it be 400 not 800-1000………….
The rice paper was purchased within 25 seconds of reading the post. Amazon Prime to the rescue!
@ Coach P
When you say "really good first 10 miles of the bike"…what do you mean exactly?
I like the "ride around but do not hammer" although having ridden from the back and through 1000+ competitors in many races I also know how hard it is to hold back when you're rocketing past everyone. Combined with my likely-misplaced desire to get the weakest of the cyclists behind me in the first 35 miles I will need to exercise outstanding discipline and really focus on my own race. Between your comment and Tim's I realize I need to tone down my expectations for riding through the field quickly. I really can't risk being at the top end of my goal watts early in the race.
If the food isn't going down the GE is the backup plan for sure
And for the run, that is helpful advice, i.e. that you need to be very flexible, front-load with target of 3 gels in the first half and the fact that an AG champ like you is saying they can't eat after mile 15 gives me some comfort in case the same is true for me. I am no stranger to using coke on the run and plan to do that for sure
@ Dave T
Yes, I have a well-developed set of checklists for the trip as well as the race. Very important so as not to have the stress. I am already quite relaxed about what seems like a very short turn-time to get packed for the trip…since there is no flight involved I can always leave an hour later.
I love your visualization points and know you are a big user of that. So am I although I rarely discuss it. A lot of the visualization I do is when running. I have visualized a LOT of this race. I have pictured the finish many, many times. Not all of my pictures are realistic…in some cases I picture myself winning the whole race!!! I have a good picture of what it would be like to change both of my tires on the course, and the need to not overcompensate by then riding too far in excess of my goal watts when I get back on the road. A broken chain would be one of the worst for me (and unlike Chrissie I don't think I'd have the same support to get it fixed on the course!), but I'll roll with whatever happens.
Regarding "no matter what, don't let this affect your watts or take you off your plan. If that happens, it marks the moment you go from playing offence to playing defence."…point well-taken, I totally get it, see my notes above. But easier said than done because at the time you're rockin' by everyone you feel like you're on offence bigtime. This is where I need to think PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE.
@ John
I'm actually pretty flexible about eating on the run. If the shit hits the fan I'll eat whatever. And I'm no stranger to the Coke.
Thanks for the heads up on maybe not getting the bag back. I will stash an extra watch and HR strap in there in there but your comments just downgraded the watch to an old 405 I haven't used in a year and an old-school strap that will need a battery change to work for sure. As I said, I don't expect to stop at SN but I do want to be prepared. For you, just the number of CO2 needed to inflate your spare will require a heavy BSN bag!!
Regarding passing people, don't worry…I've gotten really good at that over the years starting with M3539 in the later waves of the half-iron races and having to ride through 1000+ cyclists in ~2 hours…
@ Jeremy
One and done is more for real than you probably imagine. Sure if I was lucky enough to get Kona I would go, but the training for this hasn't been as fun as I'd have liked and the late-stage injury and associated disappointment reinforces that the whole model of "train for one huge A race at the end of the season" isn't really what I want – too much pressure to convert that training to results. I have a lot of fun doing the races and this summer I have done essentially no racing. I plan to really rest and recover and think hard about the next challenge in 2016. I am very seriously considering entering the lottery for Norseman as I think that would be an epic adventure that I could do with friends and the goal "to finish with the black t-shirt" not to shoot for time goals or trying to be top-10 AG or whatever. Depending on how this running injury recovers I am also considering making my A race for next year a marathon, perhaps Berlin. Given my age if I want to take a run at sub-2:50 I need to do it now.