Paul C’s Muncie 70.3 Race Plan
The Muncie 70.3 triathlon will be held on Saturday, July 9. I’m used to only Sunday races – did not realize how sideways things get just by moving it up one day!
I’ll head out sometime Friday morning. The drive is a bit less than 100 miles so it shouldn’t be too taxing. If I time things right, I’ll do athlete check in, scope out the swim and transition areas, then sit through the athlete race briefing – all without having to stand around too much.
After that I’ll drive the bike course to the turn-around point, and then drive along the return leg of the run course. And that’s about it for Friday – hopefully I can stay off my feet for big chunks of time.
Race Morning
I’m in the first swim wave at 7:00 a.m. There are 18 waves, with the last one at 8:15 a.m. After some initial trepidation I now like the idea of getting out there early. It’s a lot less time standing around waiting with nervous energy. And it’s going to be a hot day, so the early start means less time in the noon-day heat.
My swimming has not been going particularly well – it’s been very frustrating. Some days I have good form (dolphin days), other days not-so-good form (Rottweiler days). I’m just not comfortable in the open water yet so this will be a huge test. If wetsuits are allowed I’ll use my full, but I expect the water will be too warm so I’ll have my speed skin.
My plan is to start as far left as possible, and stay way left until the first turn buoy. I want to start slowly, turning right to breathe and using the other swimmers as a sighting guide, and use a six-beat kick for the first few minutes. Hopefully I’ll settle in to a rhythm and switch to bi-lateral breathing and a two-beat kick.
Here’s the swim course map: http://www.ironman.com/~/media/665a...202016.pdf
I do not have a swim time goal. My objectives are to get relaxed, keep moving forward, and focus on my swim mantra: “I am a dolphin; mackerel is very tasty.”
T1 and Bike Leg
I’ve improved my transitions, but T1 still needs some work. I’ve got it pretty simplified now: remove speed suit, put on helmet, put on socks/shoes, go. I cannot do the shoes pre-clipped yet – still too much time fumbling to get my foot in the shoe when the bike is rolling.
Once on the bike, I know all about taking the first 20 minutes easy. But actually doing that on race day? Well, hopefully. Based on two races this year, my starting bike HR is middle zone 3. I plan to sip Gatorade and just monitor time and HR for the initial miles.
From the race rehearsals I believe my target power should be around 235. I completed one full-distance rehearsal at 230 watts and only used 160 TSS points: http://tpks.ws/DSkIQ
And last week I raced a shorter distance (34 miles) but with much higher intensity: http://tpks.ws/n5Ffg My goal is to push as much power as possible with HR in the middle of zone 3.
As for bike nutrition, I have to be very careful. I tend to make the bike a rolling buffet and take in a lot of calories. I’ll start with Gatorade in the TorHans, and a single bottle with Infinit Speed. I’ll have a Clif Shot Blok in the CalPac. I expect that I’ll need five (5) bottles total so I have to pick up three along the way. My strategy is to feed early for the first 1.5 hours (600 calories), then cut it back for the last hour (275 calories).
T2 and Run Leg
My T2 has improved, thanks to all the EN tips. I’ve learned the flying bike dismount – that saves several seconds. I’ll rack the bike, put on shoes and sunnies, grab my go bag, and head out.
It’s going to be a hot run. My run mantra is “cool core”. I’ll have the new EN race saver bag, and will use as much ice as possible. Keeping my core temperature down should help tremendously. I’ll have two Shot Bloks in my race belt and hopefully remember to take one every mile, along with plenty of fluids (and salt).
Experience tells me my HR will trend upwards with no increase in pace, and I expect about the same for this run. Here’s the file from the run leg of last week’s race: http://tpks.ws/By2Sv I’ll go as fast as my HR limits will let me: first few miles at high zone 2, next several miles to build through zone 3, then hopefully I can push the last few miles in zone 4.
Summary
I’m trying to avoid having an overall time goal for this race. There’s too much variability for me on the swim and run legs. (I’m not even wearing a watch for the swim) I’ll just stick to my HR and power metrics, and see where the time is at the finish line. I can’t wait to see what the day brings!
I look forward to the team’s questions and feedback. Thanks!
Comments
Forgot to include planned cadences ... for the swim I'll try to keep a faster stroke rate. I measured it once a few weeks back and it was very slow (42 spm). Trying for something closer to 60, but that all depends on whether I can get into a groove. On the bike my ideal cadence seems to be 93. I've used the 88-95 range as a guide to shift gears -- I shift a lot more now that I have Di2. For the run, my best cadence is 90. When my run cadence slows my pace tends to slow, so I'll count strides often on the run -- shooting for 15 strides per 10 seconds.
good luck and enjoy the day !
Good plan. Wave 1? How lucky can you get! I'll be way behind you as my swim wave is one of the last ones on Saturday. A couple quick notes. Since you're going to be one of the first riders on the course, be careful not to get caught up chasing the rabbits on the bike course, especially during the first 30 minutes. Remember the 'Just Ride Along' philosophy to start.
With all of the rains we've been getting this week, be sure to check out the entrance into T2 to see if it has carpeting or is just grass. I love doing the flying dismount into T2, but learned the hard way what running with a bike in muddy grass sucks. It's much easier to run in bike shoes that give you some traction and changing into your running shoes is a lot easier when they're not full of mud & grass.
Good luck this weekend. See you Saturday.