Joe Garrison IM Vineman Race Plan
2016 Vineman Race Plan
Thur Arrival / Admin Day
Check in/expo
Grab any last minute gear (CO2’s?)
Bike Course Recon
Early evening - bike & bag drop.
Hang with family, take it easy.
Friday
Early AM – 6:45 swim 1500 on course, same time / conditions as race day
AM – 9 am Iron Kids Race / Expo
Afternoon – Early Lunch with EN / Folsom Tri team.
PM- Dinner 5:45, in bed by 8:45.
Sat - Race Morning
If I wake up after 2:00AM – take in 500 liquid calories – “Naked Protein Zone” or
4 AM Wake up - drink some coffee (as usual). Drink my shake, maybe a banana.
5:00 Head to T1.
5:30 Body Marking & Special Needs bags drop
6:00 Bike Prep: bta & 3rd bottle full. GRMN 510 on, SAT & HR connections confirmed. 1 empty slot, spare tube & levers in aero bottle. 3 Shot Energy Gels & salt/ aleeve in Bento (in case). Gearing set to Big Ring /16 out back.
6:15 wash down 100 calories of blocks with water. Final natural break, then sleeveless suit on. Reminder: bring own TP.
6:30 get in the water, do a light warm up. Self-seed with the 1:02 pack - position near the middle of the river – breathing to my right.
6:45 Swim Start
Swim - Estimate 1:05 - go out hard first 400, try to get a good draft. Then settle into steady pace, no surging. Perfect smooth form! Be prepared to walk around the far turn and any surprise spots where water is shallowest. The river bottom is rough rock. I've prepared by doing lost of barefoot walking/ running on rough terrain but expect some slipping and sliding. The last 400, implement good medium kicking to wake up the legs.
7:50 ish. Exit/ T1 Smooth, deliberate, economic motion. Don’t rush, get my land legs back, slow down to get wetsuit off. Assume there are no wetsuit strippers, bonus if I'm wrong.. Jog through T1 and all the way up the first small/ steep hill. It's a very tight space and many athletes will be flailing around. Best to wait and mount at the crest. Then, get moving.
Hourly Bike Nutrition
Start drinking Gatorade Endurance, sipping every 15 min. Consume at least 1 bottle, increasing up to 1.5 to 2 based on rise in temps.
Add .08 – 1.25 Cliff Shots depending on fluid consumed. Plus full bag of Cliff blocks in first 3 hrs. Front- loading for an average of 390 Cal/ 900 mg sodium.
Bring 2 salt tabs in bento in case of heat.
Drink, eat & stretch every 30 min.
|
Item |
Quantity Per Hour |
Schedule |
Calories |
Carbs |
Sodium |
Potassium |
|
Gatorade Endurance, 20oz bottle |
1.5 |
|
263 |
64 |
713 |
38 |
|
Shots w/ Caffeine |
0.8 |
|
88 |
22 |
160 |
16 |
|
Blocks (4) w/ Caffeine |
0.4 |
|
36 |
9 |
20 |
16 |
Bike
This is a rolling course with close to 5k feet of climbing so I expect to see lots of heroes racing up meaningless hills. My strategy will be to stick to a disciplined plan of flattening the terrain with steady effort no matter how great I feel. I will use 5 “gears” since there are two steeper hills on course:
|
156 |
|
|
2nd |
165 |
|
3rd |
173 |
|
4th |
181 |
|
5th |
190 |
Take the first 30 min to relax, gradually bring down HR stay at 65-68 IF - easy does it. Then settle in to 165 NP staying under 181 on all but the steepest hills. Use down hills to bank energy & cruise in “first”. Also monitor HR for consistency.
DO NOT EXCEED 190 Watts
Lay down two identical power profile laps.
Pay it forward for the last 6 run miles by staying patient & aero. Be the metronome.
Lots of rollers. Use that terrain to change positions frequently & keep the body loose.
Be sure to douse myself with a full water bottle from the last aid station. It will dry by run start, and it's crucial to stay in front of the heat.
T2 ditch the bike, get my ziplock with checklist items out, shoes on and get moving. Be in motion while donning visor, fuel belt, etc.
Fill ice bag at first run aid station.More water on the head, watch the socks!
Hourly Run Nutrition
Drink 4oz at every station, snack more if so desired.
Water over the head, ice in coach P race bag.
Refill Ice bag as often as needed. Move ice bag from hand to hand, shoulder to shoulder, femoral artery and top of the head.
Gel at miles 6, 12, 18.
Salt tabs at mile 3 & 13 ish.
Drink coke or Red Bull after mile 15.
|
Item |
Quantity Per Hour |
Schedule |
Calories |
Carbs |
Sodium |
Potassium |
Sugar |
|
Endurance 4oz Cup |
6 |
|
210 |
51 |
570 |
30 |
30 |
|
Shots |
1 |
|
110 |
27 |
200 |
20 |
10 |
|
Saltstick Cap |
0.5 |
|
0 |
0 |
108 |
32 |
0 |
Run Pacing
Miles 0-6 Z1 easy plus 30 sec. Should be 8:45 pace but my primary guide is HR. Keep it below 135 here.
Miles 6-20 HR 140 –148. 8:30 ish pace if possible. HR/ Heat dependent. Flatten any rolling hills by adjusting turnover and pace with steady effort level. Focus on the process, not on the time.
Miles 20-23 HR up to 150 ok Stay strong. Mentally, this is a 6 mile warm up, a 17 mile steady effort where I focus on process, strategy, pace, nutrition and staying in the zone, ignoring the mileage.
23-26.2 All–in commitment line. I will push to the finish! Keep my s%*t together, it’s an Iron Man, everyone suffers.
My one thing is setting an example for my children of how to persevere and give everything to reach a goal.
Mental Playlist
Thunderstruck
Lovely Day
Mary J/ U2 – One
Eminem- Lose yourself
Comments
Hi Joe, the plan looks pretty complete except you didn't mention your "one thing". It will come in handy on the last loop of the run so think of it now if you haven't yet.
Stick close to the middle of the river, it's deepest there and you shouldn't have any problems with shallow water except at the upper end.
Why the "big ring/16" for the starting gear on your bike? I know the course is flat when you get up to the top where you plan on starting, but it just seems like having it in the small chain ring would be better since you've just swam 2.4 miles and ran up the hill. Watch the turn onto sunset and do slow down. It's sharp and it drops down pretty quickly. They usually have people out there to remind you so heed their warning. After you go under the highway you'll turn right and almost immediately start climbing the first steep hill. Get into a low gear before that! I've seen a lot of people struggling to get up that hill because they are in too high a gear. Also watch it because people will probably be weaving because of improper gear selection.
Good skill and good luck. It's a beautiful course.
Remember early run HR is carrying your BIKE HR for the first six miles....
More here: http://bit.ly/1MmKPJS
Have a blast out there!
~ Coach P