Lindsay B's IMWI Race Plan

Lindsay Blumenshein

Background:

This is going to be my first Ironman. My main goal is to focus on execution within each segment of the race and hope that brings me to the finish line, on my feet, sometime before the 17 hour mark. I’m an MOP swimmer, and BOP cyclist & runner. Really, I'm just so pumped that I am about to make it to the start of this thing healthy (despite the attempt of every person on the Chicago lake front path while I was biking to my swim last night to injure me...or maybe that's just the taper crazies talking) and with the conviction that "hey, I could actually finish!"

Pre-Race Things:

Thursday

·         Pick up rental car, pack it up, and hit the road for Madison by 9:30a

·         Arrive in Madison around noon

·         Registration & attend 2pm athlete race briefing

·         Grocery shopping

·         EN team dinner

Friday

·         Swim for no more than 30 mins @ Monona

·         4 Keys talk

·         Pack bags, get bike ready for drop off tomorrow (follow EN checklist with my own notes added)

·         Welcome banquet

·         Friends & family arrive Friday evening – grab a beer with them & catch up but in bed early

Saturday

·         Sleep-in

·         Big breakfast (all the pancakes!) by 9am

·         Bike & gear check in

·         Drive bike course with sherpas (no need for riding, done it several times)

·         Sub for lunch

·         Spend some time alone Saturday afternoon, feet up, watch a movie, visualize execution

·         Early dinner with family – pasta & chicken

Race day:

AM:

·         Awake at 4:15

·         Coffee, English muffin with PB & 1 C apple sauce

·         Osmo to drink throughout the morning

·         Shower, braids, butt’r all over & tri kit on

·         Out the door by 5:15, dropped off at Monona terrace (parents will drop off special needs bags)

·         Add 2x bottle of Osmo to bike & 4x Gu & pill canister w/ salt to bento, check tires

·         Banana @ 6am

·         Team pic at some point?

·         Gu & water at 6:45

·         After Gu, make way to water & find space in middle/next to ski ramp near 1:20 folks

Swim:

·         Swim only as fast as I can maintain good technique

·         Breath! Focus! Long arms, high elbows, pointy toes

·         Any time I feel anxious, start counting strokes

·         Remember during that long back stretch that in this moment I am living out one of my biggest dreams and just keep swimming it will be over soon!

·         Pee before end of swim

T1:

·         Once out of the water, pull down top of wetsuit, find stripper & let them do their thing

·         Goggles & cap off & in hand

·         Jog to the helix and then slowly jog up (permission to walk here to control HR & take in the moment)

·         Find volunteer & T1 bag

·         Ask volunteer to take care of swim stuff – thank them!

·         Helmet on, sunglasses on, nutrition in hand (4x shot bloks to stuff in jersey on run out, 1 Gu to eat on the way to bike), shoes in hand

·         Stop for sunscreen

·         Grab bike, get to mount line, put shoes on & go

Bike:

·         Take it easy until Valley Rd, dropping HR & focusing on taking in fluids. Think: just ride along, bucket of chicken

·         A notch above easy after Valley Rd. all the way through Midtown on the 2^nd loop

o    Smart shifting

o    Aero & confident in bike handling ability

o    We don’t coast on the downhills!

·         After 2^nd time past midtown don’t ease up! Finish strong!

I’m an awfully slow cyclist – big girl, riding up lots of hills. So my main focus is to not blow up by pushing too hard (out of fear of not making the cut off), and take advantage of any free speed I can get by getting aero & pushing through the pedals on the downhill.

Bike Nutrition:

·         2x Osmo by aid station after Valley Rd, then GE for remainder of bike

·         Goal is 1.25 – 1.5 bottles/hour

·         1x mini clif bar cut in half finish within first 1.5 hours

·         1x shot blok every ~15 mins & use as reminder to drink after each feeding

·         Will plan to swap out blok for Gu on 2^nd half of bike at ~45 min between each

·         Stay on GE as long as possible, if switch to water (I notice I start to crave plain water after 5 hours or so), supplement with salt

T2:

·         Try not to cry because OMG! You just made it to the run portion of an Ironman!

·         Hand off bike, helmet & sunglasses come off

·         Grab T2 bag

·         Shoes off. sock, sock, shoe, shoe, visor, go bag (race belt, shot bloks, Vaseline) & go

Run:

·         Focus on HR & going slooooowww for the first 6 miles, walk for 30 seconds each mile (through aid stations)

·         I honestly have no clue what to expect after the first 6 miles so… my plan is to run whenever I feel good, give myself a 6:1 run/walk rule for as long as I can manage and then do whatever I can to keep moving forward

·         Will walk Observatory Hill

·         Smile & enjoy the energy because this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done

·         Try not to hyperventilate at the finish line

Run Nutrition:

·         GE at every aid station

·         Gu at every other aid station for as long as I can handle

·         1x pack of shot bloks in top to switch to after I can’t get Gu down

·         Try to hold off from coke until mile 16 unless needed

rlh2000

Very excited for you girl! It's been fun watching your progress and your love for the sport this year. In terms of the run, true, you don't know what to expect, but you can still plan. If you don't have a "rule", walking will sound oh so good. And walking leads to more walking. So you start with a 6:1. If that gets too hard, change to 5:1, and so forth, even if you have to go to a 2:1 or something, always know when you start walking when you need to start running again, or you will just keep walking.

Bruce Thompson

Lindsay...for your first IM, you've written a very veteran-like plan.  Well done.  The attention to detail will serve you well on race day.

Since this is your first IM, there ain't nothing wrong with crying anytime you feel like.  It is an amazing feeling to be doing your first IM and finishing it.  Just keep moving constantly, and pay attention to your hydration and nutrition.   I agree with Rachel's advice about making  sure you start running again every time you walk, even if is 2:1 or something, even if it running slowly.  It is better for you spirit to be running.

Good luck.  I'll be on course cheering you on.

 

John Withrow

Great Plan Lindsay, Will be nice to finally meet you. Agree with the others on having the plan for the run and always know when you are going to start running again. If you are on a 4:1 or a 3:1 you will be passing a lot of people in the later stages of the race. You need to add something to your race plan. Take the last 1/2 a mile of the run to look around and really take it all in. Zip up your kit and look all pretty for your first Ironman Finish!

Lindsay Blumenshein

Thanks for the feedback, guys! Excited to see you all in Madison. I will definitely plan to give myself run/walk ratios to stick to while I'm out there.