Jimmy's IMFL Race Plan
IMFL 2016 race plan
So far so good. Best build up I've ever had in terms of pace / power and volume. Best body comp I've ever taken to a starting line. TSB +16 today and climbing. I have done good work and had good luck to put me on the starting line healthy and ready to go. The machine is built. Now it is time to drive it.
Bike Special Needs – Tube and CO2
Run Special Needs – Pickle Juice flask
Swim – I'd expect 1:07 +- 5min so I will seed in the 1:05 to 1:10 area. My RR's have been 1:06 and 1:07. I like the middle towards the front.
T1 – Wetsuit to waist, sleeves from kit on and zip as I run to my bag. Grab bag head to tent. Step out of wetsuit put on helmet. If I can get help to bag up stuff great if not, that’s fine too.
Bike – Get HR down to 120 is goal #1. RRs show that 163w is a happy number for me. If I go much higher I start to drift. My HR cap for this bike is 139. Given the temps I will look at a bottle every 45min. 275cal per hr and 750mk NA. Cal and NA come from a feed bottle of concentrated Skratch mix in an aero bottle on my down tube and 2 bags of Skratch bites in my bento box. I like the solids about 1/3 of the way into the ride for variety.
The time will be what it will be. Tss, Cal, fluid are based on a 5:2x ride. 2 year ago I was 5:30 with 10 fewer watts to work with. So 5:2x seems reasonable from a planning standpoint. But really, the time is going to be what the time is going to be. Up till a few days ago I was wrapped up in goal times. As race day approaches that tends to fade in importance. Weather and other variables outside my control will dictate time. I'm just going to stack up 163w boxes till it is time to get off the bike. Unless my HR gets to 140. At that point it will be time to do damage assessment. Most likely if I see myself drifting it will be dehydration. I won't chase watts past 139bpm.
T2 – leave shoes on bike grab bag head to tent. Dump bag. Race number belt, Socks, Shoes, remove helmet and glasses. If I can get help great, if not, not. Grab Go Bag and go.
Run – Going by HR. 140bpm for first 3 mi. This is the time to walk a bit and front load cal and fluid. Seriously. For me the first 3 miles are crucial to the success of the day. This race for me will all come down do being able to hold my run intensity up in the late miles. In order to have a chance to run to potential late I need to be hydrated and fed. In order to be hydrated and fed I need to keep my heart rate down early. I actually did this right once and the impact towards the end of the race felt huge.
145bpm cap from mile 3 till the line. If I have paced the first 132.4mi correctly, I should be able to lift my hr to 150 from mile 18 on. As Tim Cronk said to someone else, if things are going well late in the race, "don’t settle". This really resonates with me and will be my One Thing.
In my Go Bag I have a fanny pack with gels and salt sticks. 1 gel per hour. 1 cup sports drink or cola plus 1 water per aid station. At Coz I started the cola at mile 1 because it sounded good at the time. Had a great run so I will allow myself that again if it sounds good. Whatever my body is asking for but at least 1 water and 2 waters if it is gel time.
I WILL grab my pickle juice at run special needs. They are super fast with RSN at IMFL and I don’t expect it to cost me any time. But I have a history as a cramper and for whatever reason, pickle juice is a magic potion for my cramps. So much so that I will carry it the last 13.1mi just in case.
Run times will be what they are. I will have time of day on my garmin and if things are going well I will go to it from time to time for a lift. My running stats are all meaningfully better than they ever have been at the moment so good things could happen. But my focus will be on HR, form, and the aid station routine.
The Mrs. is volunteering at station #4 on the run so I will see her twice. LAstly, I really hope that I have the energy to come to the finish line towards the end of the night. I have never done it and I imagine that it would be extreemly rewarding.
Lookingforward to connectingwith friends in a few days!
Comments
Smart race plan.
Shows how much you have learned and grown in a very short time period. Bike plan stacking up the 163W boxes with an HR ceiling is perfect and your plan to run by HR with the proven targets is solid as well. Given your nutrition stays on par, you are prepared mentally for the LINE and your One Thing is solid, I predict a HUGE PR.
Looking forward to celebrating that with you on Saturday night.
Thanks for posting and supporting the team so well during this cycle.
KMF!
SS
@Jimmy,
Great plan, as expected. You've clearly learned a ton from EN and your own experiences. You've trained a ton for this one, like you always do, so fitness won't be an issue. Your plan has some well-tested HR caps, and your stubbornness will come in handy b/c I know there's no way you'll let yourself exceed those caps, regardless of speed or pace. That will serve you well. Absent some strange change in weather, I expect you to breeze through the swim and bike. I know you've lost some time in TA in the past, but the simplicity of your transition plan this year should allow you to get in and get out in a combined 6 minutes or so (not sure what you did last time at IMFL, but probably a lot more than 6). I think a lot of people subconsciously view IM as a three-act play with two intermissions. Quite the contrary, I view TA as the two times during the day where I can get free speed/time, and when I enter a tent, my mindset when looking at all my competitors is, "I'm about to pass every one of you." I only encourage this point because I think in the park around Mile 20 you're going to find yourself positioned to finish off a breakthrough, sub-11 race and, at that point, every extra second of free time will come in handy.
Can't wait to catch up with you in a day or two. Travel safely.
MR