Satish 2016 IMMT Race Plan
I have done a bunch of 70.3s. This is my first 140.6 I haven't written a race plan from scratch in a looooong time.
Comments and criticism welcomed.
THURSDAY-
race check in at 1000am. bring 20$ cash, photo ID and medicare card
FRIDAY-
charge devices
computer
watch
Di2
new battery in HR monitor
organize screens on computer
set watch triathlon mode for bike and run
T1 Bag:
Bike shoes in bottom
helmet
watch
extra contacts just in case
bottle filled with water
T2 Bag:
running shoes
long socks
in large ziplock bag:
hat
gel flask with concentrated sport drink (700mg Na)
salt stick tabs ( 10 ) in tic tac box
race number belt with number
race saver bag
Special needs bike:
extra salt pills in tic tac box
extra gels
2 Co2
spare tube
spare valve extender
?spare tire
?extra chamois cream
special needs run:
extra salt pills
gel flask with concentrated sport drink
pickle aide bottle
SATURDAY
sleep in
big breakfast
eat again late morning second biggish meal but lighter
feet up and relax
lay out clothing- race suit, warm clothes, flip flops, toque, headlamp
tighten everything on bike that needs tightening. apply stickers and check bike in.
SUNDAY
wake at 3:30
3 cups applesauce, scoop of whey, 24oz bottle of perform, banana
Head to transition at 0430
install bottles
install bento bag with nutrition
pump tires
? turn on bike computer
calibrate PM
back to hotel around 0500- wetsuit on
head to swim start for 0600
warm up
1 non caffeine gel at 0600-0615
SWIM
swim start at 0650
not wearing watch
start at front of wave- hard for 200-300m then settle in
keep cadence up, remember technique cues
BIKE
pacing:
aiming for .7
HR try to keep HR 12-125 first hour, then <130 next 3.5</p>
ok to go to 135 last 30
keep pedalling light, cadence up
stay low and fast as much as possible- stay relaxed
don’t get caught up in packs- use as opportunity to change position, eat/drink
hit lap on bike computer every flat sectiont, hill, etc (auto lap is set for every 5k)
stay positive. feeling low?- take a cliff blok
nutrition:
drink every 10’ aiming for at least 2 bottles of fluid/hr. sit up to drink 3-4 large swigs
don’t get back in aero until it goes down
take my time drinking
pee 3 times
3 bottles on bike at start, 2 full nutrition ( 300 cal + 1000mg salt), 1 light ( about half the above)
plus 2 packets of cliff bloks cut in half, 4 gels (no caffeine), tic tac box with salt stick in bento and jersey
First 3 hrs: 1 bottle nutrition/hr + 1 bottle water + 1-2 cliff blok with the water if desired
Next 2.5-3 hrs: 2 bottles gatorade + 1 gel/hr. 1 salt stick for each gatorade bottle
If burping hold off the nutrition, keep drinking water + salt stick tabs
drink first bottle (light) by B1 (km 15) discard and pick up water. drink water + cliff books
drink 1 water by B2 ( km 34) discard bottle, pick up a 2 waters, chug one and discard, keep one
skip B3 (km 52)
drink 1 bottle of nutrition and 1 bottle of water by B4 (km 75). discard both and pick up 1 water.
skip B5 (km 88)
drink 1 nutrition and 1 water by B1 (105km). discard and pick up gatorade
drink 1 gatorade + 1/2 gel + saltstick by B2, (124km), B3 (142 km), B4 (165km), gatorade only by B5 (178km)
check bike average HR at km 170-178.
RUN:
pacing:honestly don’t know what to expect hoping around 5:25/km
stupid easy first 5k
easy next 30k
hold on last 7k
by HR - hoping to keep it under 130 mostly
125 first 10k
under 135 next 25 k
135-140 last 7k
cadence high, light steps, shoulders and arms relaxed
stay positive! high fives and encourage every one I know
Nutrition:
sip flask/sports drink as necessary, discard at 20km
walk all aid stations: 1-2 cups gatorade, 1-2 cups water. expect it will be coke, gatorade and water after 30k
1 salt stick tab every 1/2 hour
take some gel at 45, 1:30, 2:15, 3hr etc
feeling low- coke and continue with coke after that
belly problems: slow down, take a salt stick cap
Comments
So psyched to see you tackle your first one. You're stong and fast in all three disciplines, but IM is all about execution. Unlike a 70.3, IM can brutally punish even the smallest of mistakes. Pacing, hydration and food on the bike, controlled HR the first 6 on the run, are the critical points. You will almost certainly experience some dark patches unlike low points in 70.3. Prepare some mental answers in advance.
I'd put bike shoes on the bike if you can. One less thing to do in T1. A bottle of water in T1? Why not a full tea service?
BSN: If you are concerned about re-using a valve extender if you flat that tire, I'd prepare one of your spare tubes in BSN bag with the extender pre-installed. If you flat a disc or another wheel that doesn't need it, just unscrew it.
Do NOT tighten anything on your bike on Saturday. Don't touch it, other than applying stickers. Do all the maintenance stuff many days before race day. Trust me, been there.
Eat light dinner no later than 6pm. You want a full 10 hours to fully process that meal.
The race will really start around Mile 80 on the bike. It could be stomach, low back, a bit of cramping, or just no more desire to sit on a bike. It's just where your body starts to object. I've done a number of things in the past to combat it, including stopping to stretch, laying down for a while, throwing up. Now I prefer using a 2x caffeinne gel, my first bit of caffeine since 3am. It really wakes me up.
Your nutrition plan looks substantively about right, but it's complicated. Make sure you have at least one back-up plan, knowing exactly how many calories and/or grams of carbs you're consuming if you have to go to to the back-up. Bottles get launched, SN bags get lost, etc.
Best of luck. Make sure to enjoy it. It'll be a day you'll never forget.
MR
A couple of things, I noticed that you don't have bike check in on Saturday. Is that correct? If this is an Ironman branded race you will have to check your bike in on Saturday.
You say you have a power meter but you're going by heart rate. How come? The power meter is a much better way of judging your output on the bike.
Your bike nutrition plan looks pretty complicated. I would have a hard time remembering all of that, but if you've been training with it, it is probably easier than it is just reading it.
Do salt stick tabs come out of Tic-tac boxes easily? If so that's awesome. Thanks for the tip. If not you may want to try something else since little things can get really annoying later on in the race and you'll want to stop doing them.
Otherwise it looks like a solid plan.
OK thanks guys!
Bike nutrition: I made it look complicated. I'm starting with 3 bottles. its basically 2 bottles per hour - first 3 hrs: 1 of my bottles and a hand up bottle of water. Then: 2 bottles of gatorade hand ups/hr after that. I really wanted to avoid the first aid station but I don't see how to do that. This is what I did on my long rides. I found that chewing on a cliff blok was a nice pick me up on those rides. What I found more important than all that was a minimum of two bottles of liquid per hour if I want to feel good. I'm carrying extra calories in the form of gels and cliff bloks in case something gets launched. I don't plan on stopping in special needs.
Salt stick tabs come out of tic tac boxes and mentos boxes pretty easily. just have to practice a bit.
Shoes on the bike is my standard procedure (even though I don't do a flying mount) , but I'm unsure if they allow it.
I won't undertake surgery on the bike on Saturday. Just make sure everything that should be snug is. I always do this, but then I usually roll into a race 1 or two days before rather than 5 days so maybe this won't be necessary.
Pacing on the bike is by power unless HR is totally out of whack, in which case my body is telling me something that I need to listen to. Even in 70.3 I don't chase the power numbers so much in a race however.
Pacing on the run is going to be by HR and feel.
Hope everything goes as plan on your 1st im !