Dawn Cass's IMMT Race Plan
Please have a look and let me know thoughts....suggestions...changes, all more than welcome!
- 3rd IM, 1st at IMMT…other two were WI. I love the WI course so feeling a bit anxious how I do on a different one
- Last year was comeback year from hamstring injury
- This year, I have been able to train consistently however a few smaller injury concerns have held me back recently, including taking a week off due to the hamstring.
- Power Meter concerns – this year I have been able to get FTP back to pre-injury levels 2 years ago and stayed pretty consistent at 228. About a month ago my quarq died so have been training without! I sent it in and they repaired it stating all good to go. I have only had it for a week now and readings were crazy (ie, average of 100w over 6 hours with altitude gain.) Anyway, have a couple rides under my belt with it now and the numbers have changed, offset appears stable. Did FTP test this weekend (212) and it’s reading 15 watts lower then I would expect. I was very tired that day…or is it the “real” new reading? Biggest question I have is what figure to use for race day? I believe if FTP is 228, I should target 155-165 average, or 212 a 145-155. I think I will aim for ~150ish and see how I feel. Comments welcome.
Pre-race:
- Wake at 3:30 – wake up, shower, breakfast. Normally have porridge, applesauce, Gatorade.
- Head to transition for 4.30-4.50, check bike, pump tires. Will be using latex tubes and disc. Nervous about pumping tire with the need to ask for someone’s help with crack pipe. I have not used the disc with latex before and know it needs to be inflated on race morning. Any suggestions let me know.
- Drink can of beet juice.
- One gel before start and a bit of water.
- Head back to swim start. My heat starts at 7am. Will be my first wave start for a full so not sure if there will be less of a scrum than a mass start.
Swim:
- Goggles under cap
- Try to calm myself – At last year’s IM, I was calm and cool and started good form from the beginning (at least it felt that way.) This year has been a lot LESS time in open water and the half I did, I “freaked out” for the first half of the swim. Need to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The quicker I can calm…the better I will be.
- Focus on form. When I “really” think about form in the pool….it works and my pace follows.
- I tend to try to stay close to the buoys when swimming so I don’t get to off course. Start to wonder if that area is more conjested and perhaps stay a bit more on the outside?
T1:
- I understand it’s a long run so don’t go to quick to spike HR.
- Collect helmet, nutrition, salt tabs, glasses, shoes, heart rate bracelet head to the bike.
- I am pretty bad at transition times….need to push myself to be quick and not waste unnecessary time here.
Bike:
- Get heart rate down after excitement of T1…JRA for first part.
- In general keep head in the box...think about what you can control "at that moment"
- Get a gel down immediately and GE
- Plan to have one gel every 30 minutes.
- ½ powerbar at 2 hours. Will keep the other half on me just in case but normally don’t eat it. Take cliff blocks, eat around 4 hours in.
- Salt tablet every hour.
- Usually drinking a 16-24 oz GE / hour depending on the heat. May try to bump that up at the beginning. I need to take water as well…I have now proven that if I take in ONLY GE, I have serious GI issues. At the half IM this year, I tried to grab water and GE at aid stations and it felt clumsy. Perhaps this year I take GE at first one, then water at second, etc etc….thoughts??
- Try to flatten the hills as we are taught.
- Maximize the downhills as much as possible. Be careful on fast downhills and be safe as well.
- Keep watts to around 150 (?)…see note at beginning on FTP
- Riding a compact crank and 11-28.
T2:
- Change, collect zip lock with run bits….hat, nutrition, belt, salt, HR bracelet change. Maybe have a banana.
- Again, challenge myself not to spend a lot of time…notoriously bad at transition.
Run:
- My biggest concern here is heat. I actually hate running in it. My two IM’s have been mid 70’s and beautiful (I know, I got lucky). Maryland 70.3 was mid 90’s hot, no sun….and I didn’t manage it well. I have Coach P’s race saver bag so plan to use that. In the heat, I spent A LOT of time in aid stations..drank water, GE, got ice…slowed me a lot. I need to speed this up and perhaps take only one long drink, quick ice in race saver and go.
- Secondly, I love spectators...considering much of this run is on a bike path...need to make sure I keep my head busy and not focus on the lack of people cheering us on.
- Get heart rate down again and settle into a pace. Looking to start at 10:30 to begin but will be dictated by how the HR is performing. HR has been averaging 140-150bpm on long runs in training.
- In practice I have been having a gel every 45 minutes and will keep to that as long as I can hold things down. I recall at a certain point, my body just says no.
- Good drink of GE at every mile. Once I cannot handle it, switch to water.
- Will pack Beet juice in SNB but not sure if I will use it. Extra socks in SNB as well in case things get wet.
- Keep my head in the box and enjoy the race....look forward to seeing my husband and two little girls at the finish line to celebrate!
Comments / recommendations welcome. Thanks for reading.
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Comments
We had a wave start when I raced in 14. It was quite nice. I think you'll be fine along the buoys if you do as you intend and focus on form, but I can't recall my wave...don't think we were first.
Only other advise I have is don't hit the fence at the "hot corner" 56 mile turnaround. I lost focus for a second and boom! Dislocated finger! DOH!
Dawn,
I am looking forward to following you this Sunday! Your plan looks great!
From what I remember (2014) on the swim, the wave start was really nice. I am a relatively slower swimmer, so I stay away from the buoys until it becomes less crowded. Also, on the return, use the clock tower as a sighting point. You will know what I mean when you see it. I believe the water is pretty calm unless the wind is out of the North (from memory). You also have a long run from swim exit to the T1 tent, so that will be in your T1 time. If you have your kit on underneath your wet-suit, then you should be all set to take your stuff out of the bag and then hand the bag, wet-suit and goggles to a volunteer and go. Try to have as much as possible at your bike.
That really stinks that you've had those issues with your Quarq. I did IMMT 2014, and I know you rode it a few weeks ago, so you are pretty familiar with the course. I think the EN guidance for climbing and descending will be as (or more) valuable than a targeted power number. Make sure you cross check your heart rate numbers and RPE with what your power meter is telling you. Also,I would maybe use heart rate a little more in the beginning, since the power numbers may not be as helpful.
Your nutrition plan looks good (I am no expert). If your going to take water instead of GE, you may want to bring some salt tablets. I like the EN nutrition calculator to figure out how much. For the run, I am with you, at some point nothing looks good. Coach P. suggested front loading gels on the run.
Have fun!