Tim Cronk 2015 IMAZ Race Plan
On 11/15/15 I'll be racing IMAZ as my 3rd IM this year , 14th IM started , and if all goes well the 13th IM finished.... Racing at age 53 in the M50-54AG...Race Weight 119-120 , estimated Vdot 50 , estimated FTP 222... Heather will be racing IMAZ as her 5th IM ...
2015 has had some of my best racing ever with three 1st place finishes @ Quassy HIM, Patriot HIM, and IMLP... And then I followed that up with my WORST race ever (besides IMCOZ DNF) in KONA setting new records for the slowest IM and slowest IM run...While I fully accept that not every day can be "that" day, we have to take the bad with the good , its still a little hard to snap back ...With that in mind I tried to find a balance in preparing for IMAZ between ,not doing too much while searching for some kind of revenge, but taking this serious , showing up physically/mentally fit , with the fire needed to RACE again... My ONE thing (besides the junk food list I have compiled) during this prep to RACE yet again this year and so soon after a bad race is the REST that awaits on the other side...Sure I have lots of crazy , maybe stupid stuff planned for next year but there will only be ONE IM next year....
Training/Taper - for IMAZ- Since KONA ended up being a low power bike and a run/walk marathon , damage was minimal and recovery was quick... Comparing the first 2 weeks after racing IMLP to the 2 weeks after completing KONA, was night and day in the quality of the wko's and how I was feeling.... Having 5 weeks between KONA to IMAZ , I recovered for 1 week, and then went to work (balanced work) ...Thinking was, I have plenty of endurance this year and went back to focussing on shorter higher intensity work... Swim -was 3 wko's a week as 1 recovery, 1 intervals 100's-200's hard , and 1 endurance day....Bike was 4 wko's a week as 1 recovery , 1 FTP day, 1 short v02 then ABP day, 1 endurance long ride @ RPP, weekly long bike progression was 60, 85, 112miles....Run was 5 wko's a week, 2 were short tempo-ish pre-ride runs , 1 -Z4 mile repeats, 1 short brick after long ride usually progressive and hard, and 1 long run @ RPP , weekly long run progression was 10, 13, 15 miles... weekly hrs were 11, 16, and 16....TSS was 730, 1150 , 1175... Next is the TWO week taper, 1st week dropping hrs to around 11, keeping intensity up but shorter, and capping long ride at 2.5hrs and long run at 70min.... The last week- Party because the race is on a Sunday giving me an extra day and partly because I want to taper a bit harder I am changing things up a little bit from my normal MO...I plan to take 2 complete ZERO rest days.... MON - 30min RPP swim / 30min bike brick RPP.... TUES - OFF....WEDS- 60min bike 3 x 6' RPP/ 3 mile brick run....Thurs- 30 min swim w/5 x 100 RPP....Fri- 30min bike 3 x 3' RPP/ 2 mile brick run....SAT- OFF......SUN- RACE....
Race Week - Very Low Key... Staying in Tucson until mid friday morning , drive to Tempe , pick up packet, check in hotel, go out to eat early with Heather, show up at the EN dinner to say hi to all.... Saturday AM early breakfast out , maybe check out the water temps at the practice swim, check in bike/bags , lunch and dinner in room...
Goals- Have the best race that I can, on that day ,and learn something....Execute like I know I can on the very edge of being uncomfortable all day and let the times take care of themselves... I'm prepared to race for a top 5 slot.... Having said that I do have time goals that have been researched/validated thru training.... My optimistic time goals are for Swim - 1:04 , T1- 4min, Bike- 5:04, T2- 2 min, Run- 3:38.... Total 9:52...Under perfect conditions and the race of my life , my dream goal would be sub 9:40ish for an IM PR.... Tough condition day low 10's.... It will be a rolling start , I do not wear a watch on the swim, so I will not know my swim, transitions, or total time until I cross the finish line....
RaceDay- Up at 4am, breakfast, coffee, dress into LG M2 suit, relax, drive to find parking... Stay warm in the car as long as I can... head to body marking, transition to prep bike, bring enough clothes to stay warm as possible...
Swim- Goal 1:04 or less.... I am so happy they changed this to a rolling start... I'm a freeze baby and plan to stay warm and dry as long as possible...Line up near the 1hr time group... 20 min before start ,take gel and finish bottle of GE... swim hard steady race pace from the beginning to the end...
T1-Goal 4 min or less.... T1 is based off research in my AG on previous years and should be top 5.... Smooth and deliberate, with no wasted movement, with effort.... However this will be temperature dependent... If the forecasted temp exiting the water around 8am is above 55 I will just suck it up and go like hell , knowing I will be cold the first hr on the bike ,... If its below 55 I may take the time to put on vest/arm warmers .... If I cant decide I may go with one bottle on my bike and have the vest/arm warmers in the other bottle holder for emergency purposes... Hoping for those warmer options to have helmet,glasses, shoes as my only moving parts...
Bike- Goal 5:04 or less... Goal Watts 172-174 , IF .77-.79 , TSS 300 , w/kg 3.1-3.2.....Mount bike, sit up spin thru traffic, take a few easy breathes, drink , get aero , continue easy breathing for a few more minutes , then gradually bring up the effort be at race watts within 5-10 minutes...I will push 5% more on the steeper part of the beeline (specially if we have a head wind) and I will allow 5%lower watts if tailwind coming down.... Sit up at turn arounds , otherwise stay AERO.... Figure out the wind and try to pee when going on a downwind leg...Drink every 15 min , eat every 30 min....Nutrition will be 2 bottles of perform(start on bike) , 3 bottles of GE from course, 4 x 2cliff blocks for 8 total, and a gel flask with 4 gels in it... Total cals 1564 or 312 per hour....20 oz fluid per hour... No salt since plenty in everything else for me... half the clif blocks and gels will be caffeinated... One concern I have is going a bit too hard the first hour while trying to stay warm... If the wind is forecast to be coming down the Beeline this maybe a pretty good tactic anyway... Either way I will keep things in check with early effort while thinking about the current winds and the forecast for the second half of the bike... Flying dismount leaving shoes on the bike....
T2- Goal 2 min or less... again based of previous years within my AG... Gonna try and beat Clark! Socks/Shoes on , go bag in mouth, watch and race belt in hands , start moving, put watch and belt on while moving thru T2... Start watch...
Run- Goal 3:38 or less.... Take gel flask out of go bag put down top , put hat and glasses on, get rid of go bag, hand hold gel flask....Run by pace but RPE always prevails... Work easy and correlate the two... Have early conversation with myself to see if I think I can hold whatever pace I am at... It will settle in.... Then I will stay there and become uncomfortable....Not looking for a negative split but a nice very steady run through out with minimal fade the last few miles... I will run aid station to aid station , walk only long enough to drink/eat which is usually slow to a walk, take 1-2 breathes , drink/eat, another 1-2 breathes then get moving.... Should not require any heat management and hope to keep my feet pretty dry until I have to pee on them again :-) Did I mention being uncomfortable? That is part of it...I will take small sips off the gel flask every 2-3 miles with water and drink GE at all others... When gel flask is gone around mile 18 I will switch to coke... Expecting 1000 calories for the run or around 285 per hour...
Heather- Hoping to literally run into her at some point on the course... Yes I will stop :-)
Feed off the EN MOJO ON and OFF the course!
Comments
Tim - tell you the truth, I just skimmed your plan (mostly cause I'm 10 hours post anesthesia now and not really into heavy thought). But I wanted to write and say I've found myself in exactly your position (under[ performance @ Kona followed by IM AZ) twice before and ended up with two pretty good races (my lifetime PR in 09 and another first place last year). I have every confidence that if you just start the engine and keep the foot steady on the accelerator, all will be well.
Noting the thread throughout your plan of your intention to RACE. Seeing that, I know all you need now is GOOD LUCK!
I am pretty bummed that I won't be down there to pay back the support you gave me last year, but I've got this surgery to recover from and I want to do it right. Say hello to Heather and everyone else for me, and pretend I'm there under the bridge reminding you what to do on the run.
Taper well and good luck. I'll be watching from the great PNW.
Hey Al,
Bummed I won't see you there, but you're in my prayers for more than a full recovery. If you don't mind I'll imagine you at mile 20 on the run.
Kevin
Hey Al,
Bummed I won't see you there, but you're in my prayers for more than a full recovery. If you don't mind I'll imagine you at mile 20 on the run.
Kevin
Hey Al,
Bummed I won't see you there, but you're in my prayers for more than a full recovery. If you don't mind I'll imagine you at mile 20 on the run.
Kevin
@Tim,
Sorry so slow to chime in. Wishing you and Heather both great races. I too am relieved to hear that they're time-trialing that swim. It'll be cold, but there won't be current or chop. The big issue is line. May you find the right line and a fast pair of feet to follow. You'll bike like Cronk, and I doubt you'll see residual fatigue there from Kona. If the wind blows debris on the course like last year, remember that debris contains thorns. Avoid if possible. The biggest challenge will be the run, especially if you bike at a high-70s% IF. I haven't raced AZ since they changed the run from 3 to 2 loops, but I do recall all the sharp admin turns taking a toll on me. After each one, I recall feeling my quads burn and fatigue a bit, as I was subconsciously surging a bit on each turn. If I were racing alongside you, I would focus on keeping even effort through the admin, saving all matches for 20+ when I need them. But that's just me.
Looking forward to watching yours and Heather's success from my recliner.
MR
looking forward to grab pop-corn and follow you on the IMTRACK app and learn. Can't believe how well you recovered from Kona and ready to nuke another one.
Nice plan, very detailed ! good luck and be safe with all the crowd on the bike!
Great Plan Tim-look forward to seeing you Friday!
Given how you describe Kona and your quick recovery, I see how you can race and race well so soon after. I bet you make your goals and more! Its gonna be cold-get the warmers