Gordon's (1st Time) IMFL Race Plan
This will be my first IM. I feel very fit and believe the EN way to race execution will get me through it. Only issue right now is a battle with IT band syndrome that I'm hoping won't flare up and stop my run to a walk (that would be tough considering the work to get here). Everyone's Race Plans are amazing and show how much experience you get from past IMs. I've tried to keep mine simple based on what I learned in my RRs. I feel so much further along than my Baton Rouge friends that don't know all the EN secrets.
Before Race: Bike tuned; new batteries; cleats tight; watch charged
Pre-Race:
• Big Breakfast Friday, simple pasta for dinner.
• hydrate with sports drink Friday (moderate).
• Early dinner + early bed.
Race Day
Wake up about 2am, eat banana (100), apple sauce (150), slice of bread & honey (150), protein shake (200) (Total 600). Go back to sleep, 2nd wakeup about 4-4:30; cup of coffee and bathroom
Transition, Pre-Race
• Work from my checklist. Get in, get it done, get out.
• Sip sports drink until 1 hour to go, then have 1 Honey Stinger
• Minimal food/drink until 15' before start, then have a gel + water
Swim:
Line up 5’ closer to the front than expected time (1:20)
• Swim only fast as my ability to bilateral breath. This was useful market in RR.
• Count my strokes if mind starts to panic in ocean. Counting strokes helped my think about form in RR.
• Draft if able by try to stay smooth and with good technique
T1:
• helmet and glasses; sunscreen and apply extra chamois cream; wipe feet and roll on socks; nutrition (honey stinger; powerbar gels on bike); arm coolers around wrists
Bike:
First 60', ride at .65 IF or 123 watts. Eat and drink once HR has settled down to 135 bpm, drop into feeding and hydration schedule. For next 4 hours up to 130 watts; for remaining 1.5 hours ride at .68 IF or up to 130 watts. Goal VI= 1.03 based on RR
Bike Nutrition:
2 bottles of PowerBar Perform (on bike) in first hour
Honey Stinger waffle at 30 to 45 minutes
Base salt every 15 minutes
Slow to 1.5 bottles of Gatorade Endurance every hour
Gel (no caffeine) every 45 minutes (2:15; 3; 3:45; 4:30; 5:15; 6)
Continue Base Salt every 15 minutes
2 bottles of Perform at Special Needs for change of carb mix; PBJ in case feel good
T2:
Prepare to remove shoes in last .2; peddle on top of shoes
Hand off Bike; helmet off; Shoes on; Grab EN Run baggie (race belt; hat with light; base salt tubes; Shot Blocks for change of pace; PowerBar Gel with Caffeine but will also use GU on course). Change of carbs helped in RR.
Run:
First 10k at avg bike heart rate (expected at 126 bpm)
Next 10k at up to 136 bpm
Run Special Needs – Tylenol for ITBS, long sleeve shirt; change of socks; notes from family; V8 for anti-cramp
Next 10k at up to 141 bpm
Last 10k up to 148 bpm
Final 1.4 miles – enjoy crowd and finish
Run Nutrition:
4 oz GE every aid station (walk through stations)
Base Salt when aid station getting close
Gel or shot blocks every 10k
Comments
Gordon,
This does not look like a First Timer plan to me, well written with key points identified for pacing and nutrition.
FWIW, I take one shot block every 2 miles on the run after about mile 8 or so......
Stay AERO as much as possible on this course and stretch often.
Simplicity is your friend here. Keep it that way. If things don't go exactly as planned, shake it off and adapt.
Getting to the finish line is the primary objective. Look forward to meeting you and fighting that battle together come Saturday.
Great WORK this training cycle!
SS
You can probably simplify T1 a little. There should be a tent to put on your sunscreen for you. You shouldn't have to worry about that in either transition. You may want to check but that is typically the norm for IM races. Also, you mention socks in T1 but no mention of shoes. Are they going to be on your bike? I left my helmet on bike (if allowed) and taped my sunglasses to my bike and just put them on once I was underway. Not sure about you but my glasses would fog if I put them on right away. The less moving parts the better. Get in and get out. Lot's of time while you are JRA to take care of those little things.
Base salt every 15 minutes on bike seems excessive if you are using Perform/GEnd/Gels. I'm assuming that you have tested this, though, so do what works for you. Salt if always variable from person to person. I'd at least make sure you punched that into the EN calculator if you haven't already. For what is likely not going to be a hot race, you are going to be on the high end of sodium intake.
Someone else may be able to comment on whether you need a headlight for IMFL. I know that IMChoo was very well lit and a headlight was unnecessary. Also, you can pick up base salt at nearly any aid station but if carrying it out of t2 feels better, than go for it.
Run fluid intake looks a little low to me. 4oz per aid station does not sound like enough fluid. Also, if you are taking gels/base you will want some water to mix with it otherwise digestion could be a problem.
Great race plan and Good luck! Keep the day simple, stay in your box, and you will do great! I can't wait to follow along.
Hey Gordon,
Looking forward to meeting and racing with you. Good plan. I think you'll love this course and have a great experience. The first IM start and finish is really cool.
Don't start hydrating and salt-loading the day before. Start that tomorrow, at the earliest. Even though you're from BR, it'll be a humid day out there in PCB, and cramping will be a big issue for much of the field.
If you think there's a real chance you'll panic in the swim, get out there in the days before the race and mess around in the surf and swells, if any. The gulf is really salty and, with a wetsuit, you will float on top of the water like on a raft. Keep that mental note on race day - you can always swim away from the crowd, float peacefully for a few seconds to re-gain composure. Even when there's been current and chop, I've always enjoyed this swim.
I can't tell if I like your bike nutrition plan or not. How much do you weigh? Have you calculated the number of grams of carbs per hour in your plan? 2 bottles of Perform, plus a waffle, will be a lot the first hour, but that's when you should be loading up on the carbs. 1.5 to 2 bottles of Perform or GE will give you more than enough sodium, so hitting the (powerful) Base salt every 15 minutes could be too much. If things start feeling strange or your fingers blow up like balloons, that heavy salt dosage would be the first thing I'd cut back. Your calorie intake really should cut back the last 2 hours or so, with very little calories the last 30 minutes - IMO. A PBJ at SN? Terrible idea. You don't need solids at that point, let alone the fat and protein. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the 3,000+ competitors this Saturday are going to be walking much of the run, many of them with GI issues. The primary culprits are stupid pacing on the bike and eating too much the second half of the bike. Again, IMO. If you drink 1.5-2 bottles of GE or Perform every hour, plus a handful of gels, there's no chance you will bonk. None. Get off the bike with a settled, non-bloated, non-sloshing stomach, then you can start eating if you're hungry (you'll likely be so sick of gels and sports drink by then, you'll instead be ready to fast for days).
Again, once on the run, if you've accomplished ^^ and start with a calm stomach, start eating. Not at 10k like your plan, but right out of the gates. I probably do 75-80% of my eating during the first half of the marathon when I feel somewhat "normal." After that, food just doesn't go down. It's pretty much that way for everyone. We all finish IMs somewhat dehydrated and with a calorie deficit. I'll try to down a gel at 1, 5, 10 and 15, knowing that it probably won't go down at 20. That's when I turn to Coke or, if you're running in the dark, chicken broth. Finally, I would not hit that Base Salt right before downing GE at every aid station. I would rather you hit the Base along with a gel right before you hit AS 5, 10 and 15 and chase the food/salt with water.
Out of T2, keep your go-bag and use to gather and carry ice. If it's really gonna be 80 and humid, you're gonna get hot and ice will become a very good friend.
Safe travels. See you in a couple of days.
You guys are awesome. Thanks for the great feedback!
Sounds like I'll be down to my helmet, socks and arm coolers in T1. I do typically clip and rubberband my shoes to the bike for my races (but I don't normally wear socks, which I feel I need for this distance and have practiced that way). My food will already be on the bike in my Bento or electrical taped, and good idea with the sunglasses. Could also put my arm coolers on the aero bars. But, need to think about that. I could put them on while walking to the bike.
On the salt intake, the base salt has worked awesome for me. It's only a lick or two every five miles but has made a huge difference over saltstick capsules as far as cramping. My EN nutrition calculator has me a little over the standard 1000 milligrams. But it works for me. If I feel like my salt is too high I go to one lick. But I've used as much as three licks on hot days with good success. Saltstick was as if I never took anything.
The two bottles of perform with the waffle is to get a jump on things. I slow down if I begin burping it. On "less hot" days I move to 1.5 bottles per hour - per my sweat tests and weigh-ins (although I do pee more than twice when its cooler- which I'm fine putting up with for my first race because the alternative of cramping is no alternative). And I use only half the waffle actually. If it sits fine, the other half is a treat - depends on how I'm feeling and frankly my intensity. Funny thing is that other solids like powerbar have not worked for me at all.
On the gels, my plan has me at "every 45 minutes" really after that first hour " and that is what I'll carry. But later in the RRs, I've spaced them out a bit more and skipped the last one. Also have used a bottle of water toward the end of the bike. Certainly most of my calories and salt have come from the GE and Base. And the PB&J was kind of a joke - although I did experiment with one in the RR#1 (not sure how good that would be after hours in SN).
And then there is "the run". The eat early on the run if feel good strategy sounds like good advice. 4 ounces every mile (after getting off the bike fully hydrated) has worked. But that has been for an hour run in RR. I can usually tolerate more fluids with decreased intensity and sometimes thirst gets the better of me and I'll drink more like 6-8 ounces at once. But the longer things go the less I can stomach, which did prove true in my IM 70.3 although that was at much higher intensity.
I do use the "take a block" every two mile approach rather than trying to eat three at once, which didn't work well during training. It's the gu on the run that just is not appetizing. Powergels went down easier as they are thinner.
The salt lick every run mile is the Base recommendation, although I try to leave some space between application and drinking to allow it to sit on my tongue and absorb. Water my not be possible. Since I will probably not be able to stomach the gels, I'll get most of my calories from GE until I switch to coke.
Looking forward to visiting with you guys in person.