Brad M's IMMT Race Plan 2016
Brad Marcus’ 2016 IMMT Race Plan
Age: 45 (45-50 AG)
FTP: 240 (as
estimated between indoor tests and recent rides)
VDOT: 48
HEIGHT: 6’2”
WEIGHT: 164LBS (3.24w/kg)
2nd IM
distance race (IMLP 2014)
I trained for this
same race last year(2015). Great build and felt ready. Crashed bike 1 week
before race-day. After surgery and rehab, started fitness rebuild and body comp
management. Training this year hit some early obstacles - Never got my VDOT
back to where it was previously, but bike FTP slightly higher than last year. Overall
health was good throughout build. Stayed relatively injury-free. Felt pretty good
in all 3 disciplines – Most of my swims in the last month were in open water.
Very good long runs in all kinds of weather conditions. Four bikes 100+ miles –
although opted to do these with my wife and ended up riding them at an inconsistent
pace.
Goals:
Solid, smooth swim. Minimal fading on the bike. Not
slowing down on the run. Perform to best of my fitness/training ability (leave
it all out on the course). Marked improvement over my last Ironman. Make my kids,
who will be there watching, proud of their dad.
BIKE – Felt B2 w/ Zipp 404 clinchers / Quarq powermeter / Compact rings and 11-28 cassette
Front: Garmin 500 / BTA Xlab torpedo (straw) with gatorade
– 20oz
Frame: Bento box w/ 1 honey stinger waffle, 1 rice Krispy treat, 3
powergels. 5 salt sticks caps, Cage w/ 1
bottle of Gatorade on downtube – 20oz
Behind Saddle: 2 tubes, 2 tire levers, 2 CO2 cartridges,
inflator
T1 BAG:
Helmet
Bike shoes
Sunglasses or helmet visor
Gloves (if needed)
Arm warmers (if needed)
Chamois Buttr
BIKE SPECIAL
NEEDS BAG:
Salt Sticks (xtra)
1 extra tube
2 extra CO2
Gels (xtra)
Chamois Buttr (xtra)
T2 BAG:
Shoes
Socks
Body Glide
Go Bag with:
Coach P’s runsaver bag
visor
race belt (w/ salt stick caps and 3 powergels)
Second Mio HRM
RUN SPECIAL
NEEDS:
Socks
Extra salt sticks
Extra powergels
Blister band aide
Aquafor
bodyglide
WEDNESDAY
BEFORE RACE:
Leave home early AM (Connecticut) for drive to MT
Arrive late afternoon and get settled – supermarket if time
permits
THURSDAY BEFORE
RACE:
Recon on bike course – Lac Superior area
Check in / Packet pickup
FRIDAY BEFORE
RACE:
Early morning swim
Possible short run w/ strides
Charge Di2 battery
Prep T1/T2 Bags, stickers on helmet and bike, number on
race belt, prep bike
Team dinner?
Attend Athlete Briefing 7pm
SATURDAY BEFORE
RACE:
Sleep in (or attempt to do so!)
Big breakfast
Look over bike (PM, setup, etc)
Bike & T1/T2 Bag check in
Big Lunch (with salt) – get a dinner to go
After lunch -- Stay in hotel with legs up as much as
possible and CHILL
Sip sports drink throughout day
Prepare special needs bike/run bags, bottles, lay out
clothing, etc (tri shorts, tri top, sweat shirt, sweat pants, flip flops)
Early light dinner –DON’T eat until full
In bed by 9pm
RACE DAY:
Wake up 3:30am and have breakfast: Applesauce, bagel with
jelly, Coffee x2
Apply sunscreen, body glide
Leave hotel with Tri bag :Garmin 500, Garmin 910 watch, HR monitor, Road ID, goggles, wetsuit, swim cap, flip flops, gatorade,
cliff bar, power gels , timing chip,
swim cap, bike/run special needs bags, phone
4:30am - Arrive at transistion, body marking, set up,
inflate tires, double check bike and calibrate Quarq to Garmin 910 and 500
Drop special needs bags drop off
5:30 eat part of Clif Bar and sip perform / find
porto-potty
6:00 go to swim area
6:15 eat one gel and possible warmup in water
6:51 line up front and left for swim
SWIM(TARGET 01:15-01:20)
Line up front and left at swim start
Do my best to ignore contact and stay in my box
especially at the start
Focus on form and get into a good rhythm
Count strokes and breathe
Find feet if possible
Don’t try to “race” swimmers who are passing me
FORM FORM FORM (focus on good turnover, high elbows,
reach and catch)
As I near swim finish, begin thinking about what I will
do when I get out of water
T1: SLOW IS
SMOOTH>>SMOOTH IS FAST
Immediately start working on wetsuit – zipper down and
pull suit to waist
Leave goggles and cap on head
Find wet suit strippers
When I get “stripped”, ball up suit and jog/walk fast
along turf path to T1 – path is long so don’t jack HR
Get T1 Bag and enter tent
Look towards back of tent for space
Sit, dump bag, apply
chamois buttr, shoes on, helmet
on, glasses on, (arm warmers, gloves if needed)
Goggles and cap in bag
Grab wetsuit and bag and hand to volunteer and ask them
to them to stuff it for me. Thanks to volunteer!
Exit tent and yell my # if necessary and locate bike and
take to mount line
BIKE(TARGET 06:15):
STICK TO MY GAMEPLAN and FOCUS THROUGHOUT!
Garmin displaying: 3s avg power, NP Lap, Cadence, Time,
Heart Rate – set to lap every 5 Miles
Be careful leaving transistion on bike
Begin ride super slow with power b/t 156-165watts (.65-.69)
“JRA pace”…I will ride at this pace for 60min.
Expect to be passed by EVERYONE. Stay in my box!
After 60 min, get to work! Dial in pace at 168 watts (.70)
- Allow watts to spike some on hills w/o burning matches (even if required to
stand on some hills)
Flatten hills and ride smart!
BIKE NUTITION:
Begin drinking 15’ in – Goal is 1.5 bottles (30oz) Gatorade per hour –
fill torpedo as needed – plan is to transition from solids to liquids by 2nd
loop on course
Begin eating on the :20 starting with ½ waffle and other
½ at 1:00
Then move to Rice Krispy Treat halves at 1:40 and 2:20
Banana halves at aid stations if feeling hungry
Then go to 1 Powergel / hour for remainder of ride
1 salt stick cap per hr on the :00’s
Drink water in last hour if I need to
Plan to pee 2-3x on bike as needed
Note HR throughout bike – target is 120-125. OK to drift
to 130. No higher than 135 in last hour.
Maintain focus!
Use caution at aide stations. Just before each of the aid
stations top off myself with Gatorade from cage bottle. Discard empty cage
bottle first. At the aid stations, point and communicate with volunteer for Gatorade,
water, etc
T2: SLOW IS
SMOOTH>>SMOOTH IS FAST
Hand off bike to volunteer
Grab bag and go to back of tent
Dump bag on ground
OFF: helmet, glasses, bike shoes, HRM off wrist
ON: socks, running shoes
Stuff bag and hand to volunteer
Grab “go bag” with race belt, visor, new HRM, runsaver
bag
Exit tent and put on HRM, visor, race belt while and
secure runsaver bag while moving. Start watch.
RUN(TARGET 04:15)
Miles 1 – 6 @ HR 125-135 BPM - absolutely NO FASTER –
take stock of my HR and how I feel. If I feel good, DON’T speed up but use this
time to take in extra nutrition (Gatorade, gels). Don’t get carried away
leaving town with the crowds – run EASY!
Run Nutrition: 4oz perform/mile, 1 powergel/hour,
1 salt stick tab/hour, coke as needed (hopefully not until later in the run!)
Walk 20 steps all the stations
After 6 miles – evaluate how I feel. If feel good its ok cautiously
increase HR to 140 BPM (TRP) – NO HIGHS,
NO LOWS – how I feel can change quickly
Miles 6-18 – do NOT use pace as a whip and be mindful of
my HR ! Reign in pace if HR is too high. Use ice and water/ice to cool body as
needed. As I approach 18, it may be the last time I can manage nutrition. Don’t
bring the suck sooner than it needs to be.
At mile 18, Make effort NOT to slow down – this is where
I expect to make or break…HANG TOUGH. Ask
myself how I feel again? Where is heart rate? Is it too low (need more
nutrition)? Is it too high (don’t increase pace)? Use my one things as needed
at this point. Things will get tougher….expect that to happen. Embrace the
pain.
Finish Chute – Look for Heidi and kids, realize what I am
about to accomplish, soak it up and take it all in….SMILE!
Thank you for
reading – ALL comments welcome! 
Comments
strong well thought out plan. Not really much to add here, for race prep, if you haven't seen the course, go out and drive it 1x. It will be helpful on race day.
started writing a few things and then looked back and see that you have them...
I know after the crash last year how much this race means to you. Stay focused and in your box and you will have an amazing #revengerace
Looking forward to seeing the results
Now for the reality, Like JW picked apart my plan, I will do yours
.
things to bring with you - EVERYTHING for all weather.. In '14 i was running around buying tons of shizz as predictions were for warm, cold, rain, no rain, etc.. ended up being fine with arm warmers, singlet, bibs... You are in tri suit, warmer arms than a singlet. Think about cutting the ends off an old pair of socks for arm warmers you can chuck at an aid station. Think about a pair of work gloves from a hardware store that you can also chuck.
FTP? is that right? I've ridden with you, hard and on hard hills.. you're leaner than me and must be at least my watts (you're a bigger guy so w/Kg would be lower at same watts as me) That said, I think you are pretty close to me on all, and faster on the run.
, I'd really wager that you ride a 5:4x. On the hills, especially the Lac superior section, it's ok to spike watts by 5-10%. Btw, those out of the saddle without spiking watts skills are going to help you on the "bumps" in this section. You're going to find it difficult taking the first long hill out to the highway at .67. While on THAT hill, get a bottle ahead on your nutrition. Speaking of bottles, you've got that nice new aero argon18.. ditch the cage on the downtube. I thought I needed it and did great at LP with the one behind my seat.
What does that mean? I rode this course as a fatter, slower, me, two years ago at 5:4X. (Read my '14 RR) I am willing to bet dinnner at Fish & the farmer that you go sub 5:5X even riding conservatively(that's being nice to win me a dinner
The run - I've drooled over your Strava runs watching you put up faster long runs than me on the same mornings where the humidity was sucking the life out of me. I sit there with my post run coffee shaking my head as to how you do it
I ran a 4:21 after slowing down tremendously due to extreme chafe in '14(didn't realize they had goop at aid stations). I've run your favorite run course around your lake(slower than you of course), not only do you have the speed to do well on this course, you have the experience of always running hills very similiar to the two hills you run in and out of town. Those two hills are really going to hurt on the final run in. Remember that a slow, slow run is faster than a fast walk on those.
Sharpen your pencil & keep the laser like focus you bring to everything, you will be amazed about what is possible for you to do, now go get yours!
One little thing since it happens at the 70.3 2 huge accidents on the downhills.
Go ride the Duplessis and keep in mind where are the bumps, city is suppose to have identified where it is... but just to be sure.
Also be prepared to climb that bitch at mile 25
On the run, if your feet are sensitive to blisters when wet, pay attention alot of people are throwing water on athletes to refresh us.. (remember last year !!!)
Looking fwd to meet you, are you wearing EN tri top ?
@Scott thanks for sharing RR, we never read enuff of those !!
FP - Thank you for the tips. I know you've been on this course several times. I plan to ride that section of the course on Thurs morning so I can see the up AND down sections of those hills. I can't escape the hills where I live and train, so they so not bother me. I'll throw some blister band aides and a fresh pair of socks in my Run SN bag, just in case a problem pops up, but I'm usually ok with this. Yes, I'll be wearing the EN skin suit. I hope to swap some mojo with you on the course!! Thanks and see you there!
TC - Thank you sir. Maybe a good thing to go out with a little chip on my shoulder - pardon the pun! I, in fact, read your MT course info last night. Super helpful stuff in there which is no doubt spot on! Thanks again.
Very complete and well thought out plan Brad. Now the only thing to do is carry it out! Execute like a ninja and don't leave anything out on the course.
what SD said x2
I remember the great work you put in last year and the pain/disappointment you had with the bike crash. Revenge is sweet, stay in your box! Go get'em Brad!
You’ve had a great build and are looking really strong. Good luck and have fun out there!
We will have to watch the weather next week. I see a lot of rain in the forecast and if so, those downhills will be dangerous. If, as Francis mentions there are a lot of crashes...this is one to just be careful on.
I look forward to meeting next week and will be looking for your mojo on course as you get that revenge!
What exactly do you mean regarding "bumps" and are you suggesting we do get out of the saddle at this point? Appreciate thoughts!
@Dawn - When Scott was referring to "bumps", I think he meant the stair climb hills going to Lac Superior - not bumps in the road as in poor conditions. I haven't ridden the course yet, but plan to check out this section later this week, possibly on Thursday to see it myself. The hills in this section are known to be short and steep (10-15% grade). Since it may be tough for me to spin up those steep sections, Scott suggested that I can get out of the saddle, but NOT to hammer up them like we may see others do! The technique is more of a slow and balanced cadence out of the saddle only spiking watts 5-10%. Depending on your watts/kg, you may not need to do this, but for me it may be necessary. I suggest that if you plan to do this, try it out ahead of time since the last thing you want to do is spike watts and burn matches. Hope this helps.