Stanbaugh IMWI Race Plan
2016 IMWI Race Plan
IMWI will be my 8th IM and my first race of the 2016 season. My last race was IMFL in November 2015.
I finished the 2015 IM season with a torn labrum and a seriously damaged core (torn abdominals and adductors). The winter months were spent recovering and going through a lot of diagnosis that culminated in a hip artroscopy February 5th and bilateral core surgery March 10th of this year. February and March were full of PT and training for IMWI began in ernest the first week in April.
My training was primarily bike focused during the early weeks while slowly ramping the run training. I was fairly consistent, hitting TSS near to or greater than 1,000 15 of the last 18 weeks. CTL (bike and run) is hovering near 155.
Running is pain free for the first time in several years (this could be my first healthy IM run if I survive another couple weeks!). Runny really started in the basement, but I have build a solid base, with volume eclipsing 40 miles 9 of the last 12 weeks. I have embraced the heat this year, trying to do all of my runs in the hottest part of the day.
Biking benefitted from the early focus along with Blue Ridge and Camp Al, and is stronger than ever with FTP 270 and weighing 153 lbs.
Swimming is… what it is. I consciously ignored it until August because of the high time investment and the need to focus on running & biking. As I write this, swim endurance and pacing is similar to what it was last year at this time.
GOALS:
- No LOGISTICAL errors
- EXECUTE a smart bike
- RUN my best IM run
CURRENT STATS:
- FTP = 270
- VDOT = 46/47
- Running HR: LT1=144, LT2=164
- Weight = 153
WEATHER:
· Forecast: TBD. First Light 6:33 / Sunset 7:13 (13:37 visible light)
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Average |
Record |
Forecast |
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High Temp |
74º |
93º |
xxº |
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Low Temp |
52º |
34º |
xxº |
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|
|
|
|
|
Average |
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Forecast |
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Dewpoint (2:00pm) |
xx% |
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xxº |
- Prepare for a hot run in direct sunlight
- TBD Forecast
PRE-TRAVEL:
- Packing:
- Organize all gear as it will go in the race bags
- Wet gear in its own bag
- Cold gear in its own bag
- Bike (prior to RR):
- Disc cover on
- New tires
- Latex tubes in
- Bike (after RR):
- Old stickers off
- Degrease and lube drivetrain
- Put on optimized chain
WEDNESDAY:
- Travel day – arrive early evening
- Unpack & organize gear.
THURSDAY:
- Bike course recon
- Drive the course
- Make note of low-speed turns, obstacles, pot holes, etc
- Pick up race pack at Expo
- 3x Beet Juice
- Hydrate
- Extra carbs
- Team Dinner – 5:30PM
FRIDAY:
- Morning Swim
- Short swim / technique focused
- Identify swim exit sight targets
- Bike
- Race Numbers
- Last spin up to make sure it is locked in
- Charge Di2
- Run – 45’ – EN Plan
- Pack race bags
- 3x Beet Juice
- Hydrate
- Extra carbs
SATURDAY:
- Big breakfast (early)
- 3x Beet juice
- Salt Loading
- Stay off feet
- Drop off bike and bags
- Light dinner
- Back to hotel & relax
- Race Number tats
- Batteries
- Garmin 920XT
- Garmin 520
- Prepare Skratch bottles
- Bike – 20 oz
- Bike – Feeder Bottle @ 6x 2oz/20oz water
- Run bottle @ 1x 16oz
Morning Clothes Bag:
- Long list below
Swim-to-Bike Bag:
- Helmut w/ visor
Bike-to-Run Bag:
- Running shoes
- Socks
- Ziplock
- Banana to eat out of transition
- Headband
- Belt with number
- 4x gel on belt
- Salt tablets in plastic bag belt pouch
- 2x GatorLytes in plastic bag belt pouch
- Tylenol in plastic bag belt pouch
- Running bottle
- 6x Skratch mixes in plastic bag in running bottle pouch
- Sun glasses
- Sweat band
- Just in case: Wet hand towel (sweat/salt in eyes)
- Just in case: Vaseline tube (blisters)
- Just in case: Glide (chafing)
- Just in case: Sunscreen (sun burn)
Bike-Special-Needs
- Tube
- CO2
- Skratch
- Chamois Buttr
Run-Special-Needs
- Skratch
- Tlyenol
- GatorLytes
- Glide
- Extra ziplock bag
RACEDAY:
- Wake up at 3:45 am
- Morning constitutional
- Breakfast
- Skratch Drink
- 2x Banana
- 2x Rice cakes
- Imodium & Salt tablets
- Beet juice
- Get dressed
- Sunscreen
- Glide and Chamois Butt’r everywhere
- Timing chip w Safety pin (left ankle)
- Road ID
- HR Monitor strap
- EN racing kit
- Flip flops
- Garmin 920
- Final pack Morning Swim bag
- Drinks
- 4x Cliff / Bonk Bars
- Banana
- Transition open 5:00 AM
- Bike-to-Run setup
- Add banana to run bag
- Fill run bottle with Skratch drink
- Swim-to-Bike setup
- Bike setup
- Pump tires (85# rear, 85# front)
- HR Monitor chip taped to bike
- Garmin on bike and turned on (auto power down disabled)
- Rolled up arm coolers on aero bars ** Game Day Decision **
- Salt tablets loaded into dispensers
- Verify CO2 in cartridge holder
- Verify Nozzle & tube in Shiv storage
- Shoes rubber banded to bike
- Nutrition
- Cliff bars in Shiv storage
- Fill Shiv bladder with Skratch
- Feeder Bottle on bike
- Wrist sweat band on aero bar
- Hand towel in case needed (plan to leave in T1)
- Pre-race
- 45-minutes pre-race: eat a bar and continue to drink
- 15-mintues pre-race: eat a gel
RACE EXECUTION:
- Swim
- Good balance / high-elbow catches / Just like the Vasa
- Find feet
- Straight to targets
- Just stay balanced and get it done.
- T1 – fast but smooth
- Wetsuit strippers
- Run! No Standing still!
- Helmut on & strap fastened (still debating leaving at bike)
- Run with bike to exit
- Mount safely and get moving
- Bike
- Chain rings: 50/34
Cassette: 11 speed, 12-28 - First 10 miles
- Heart rate chip in
- Arm warmers & wrist sweat band on
- Heart rate down – should be around 130
- Eat and drink
** Very focused on establishing nutrition / hydration during hour 1 of the ride **
** Will front-load calories on the bike **
- Two loops – Target watts / low VI
- Last 10 miles – get home safely!
- Hydrate and fuel for run
- Beware crappy roads
- NP Target = 185 (IF 0.685)
- Target Power Adjustments
- Best Bike Split Estimates
- 5:31
- Speed: 20.3
- NP: 184
- Pavg: 178
- VI: 1.04 (rode 1.05 on open course)
- TSS: 256 (≈47 TSS/hr)
- Based on Course recon – these are realistic NP / VI numbers
- If there is a strong south wind, consider dropping to NP 180
- If the ride is not as planned (Speed, VI, NP, or super hot or super windy) due to weather, health or the Ironman Gods, I will make mid-course adjustments to my targets in order to protect the run.
- TSS planning Max = 280
- Reduce NP target to 180w anytime > halfway point if:
- Avg speed < 19.5 mph
- Super hot or windy (hidden TSS points)
- Nutrition
- Drink & eat on auto lap
- Optional 1 Saltstick w caffeine each hour
- If hot, increase total fluids to 30+ oz per hour
- The Ride
- Super conservative until through hills on second loop
- Eliminate the slow spots… don’t slow because everyone else does (i.e. – ignore false external feedback)
- Pee a minimum of 2x
- Take advantage of the legal draft on the pass
- Patience – gradually build throughout the ride. Let the ride develop!!
- Finishing the bike
- Hydration and calories during admin back to town.
- Make sure to refuel at the last aid station
- Feet out of shoes heading into Transition
- Choose a side (prefer the left) for the dismount. Use the fence and the bike to protect from other riders
- T2 – fast but smooth
- Dismount – run bike to volunteer / rack
- Grab Garmin and save ride (so you don’t lose it like IMCoz)
- Shoes & Socks
- Run out with Ziploc bag & drink bottle
- Eat Banana
- Run
- I will be running with a hydration bottle & Skratch drink. Plan to run through the aid stations with 3 short stops to reload liquids.
- Pacing / Run Strategy
- Establish HR @ ≤ LT1 – 5bps (≤139bps) for 30 minutes
- Allow HR to slowly climb to LT1 ≈142-144
- This is the steady pace number from my long runs
- Could be slightly higher on a hot day
- Maintain LT1 until mile 20
- Re-establish HR at LT1 after climbs
- Best effort to finish – Don’t be a sissy!
- Coke only to finish – visualizing a cold beer reward!
- Run Nutrition
- Hydrate and get calories early
- Minimum of 16 oz liquid/hour
- 1 SaltStick / hour first two hours if hot
- Prepare bottle with Skratch powder before getting to aid station (have practiced this)
- Run to the person with the big water bottle, not the little cups.
- Save the coke until second loop
- Tylenol: 500 mg at hours 1 & 3
- Run Issues:
- HR too high – Control breathing, if that doesn’t work, slow, if that doesn’t work walk
- Sometimes HR just runs high… if it is one of those days, deal with “that day’s numbers”
- Lose all nutrition: Dilute GE with Water – 250 cal/hour
Final Thoughts
- STAY IN THE BOX!
- No excuses
- Don’t be stupid
- Get it done!
Morning Clothes Bag:
- Flash light
- Electrical tape & park Tool wrench
- Goggles
- Anti-fog spray
- Extra goggles
- Glide
- Wetsuit lube
- Wetsuit
- Speed Suit
- Extra sunscreen
- Hand towel
- Pre-race nutrition
- Red Bull
- Power Bar
- Gel
- Bike nutrition (put on bike)
- Skratch Bottle
- Skratch Feeder Bottle
- Skratch for Shiv bladder
- HR monitor chip (put on bike)
- Run Nutrition (add to run bag)
- 2x Fule Belt bottles w/ Skratch
- Rice cake
- Garmin 520 (put on bike)
- Shoes – rubber band trick on bike
- Arm coolers rolled into donuts (aero bars)
- Wrist sweat band (aero bar)
- 2x CO2 & nozzle (put on bike)
- Spare tube (put on bike)
- Tire tool (put on bike)
- Multi tool (put on bike)
- Hand towel (put on bike – leave in T1)
Comments
OK, time to prove skipping IM LP was a good decision...
I notice a time goal for the bike, but not for the run. Good. But once you do start running, use the first 2-4 miles to determine what your goal *should* be for the run on that day;s conditions: weather, how you are performing after the bike. I know you are helped by dealing with firm numbers, and have a extremely strong drive. Figure out that run time which you know is possible within the first 30 minutes, then don;t let yourself give up on the target; ad it to your one things for the last hour.
Oh, and if it's really hot - like, really, really record setting midwestern hot - be prepared to negative split the marathon. RPE will become more and more important the hotter it is.
(PS: I wear a Road ID during races. I slip my timing chip - just the chip - onto the ID band. Don;t know if your version is the same as mine, a velcro ankle strap.)
Its not mentionned, but dont forget spare tube on the bike, you mentionned the co2 but not the tube
Good luck and have fun !
I heard mariah was scouting out moto rentals to have R drive her around the course and periscope on the epic battle with the 3 of us & SS in the mix... Issue is what's gonna be more entertaining, the race? or R & M riding a moto together?
They may have to borrow Dino's selfie stick...
It has been inspiring to see your progression since the surgeries last winter. I know you have the bike fitness and run fitness needed to set up a great IM. Your plan looks very solid! I can only think of a few things to add.
Don’t forget your nutrition on the bike. I know you learned your lesson during the race rehearsal, so this should not be an issue.
You gave me great advice to add tums and socks to my RSN bag in Texas. I used both, and appreciate the advice. You don’t show these items in your RSN bag list.
It’s been great riding with you all summer, and I look forward to seeing the results of all the hard work!Good Luck and have fun!
Rich! You are gonna crush it! Looking forward to sharing the course with you and your lady. I think I will use your cue on the run too...Don't be a sissy!
Rich,
So happy to see you back racing healthy. That ramp-up since April is a thing of beauty and has left me with a severe case of PMC Envy. You race IM more frequently than I go to the dentist, so you know what you're doing. Avoid the big mistakes (especially nutrition and pacing on the first half of the bike), and go enjoy racing injury-free. Having watched you, SS and Ed C all finish within 15 minutes of each other last November has me anxious for a great battle. Throw Scott, Ed E and a few others in the mix, and this has the makings for some epic virtual viewing. It may be tough to beat the spectacle of last year (Rich and Jeremy KQing, Rachel running down the field, Withrow tricking me out of $250, etc.), but this is going to be fun.
MR
@Tim - Thank you! Before making the decision, skipping IMLP was tough to get arms around. From the moment I made the decision to skip, it felt like the right thing to do. Regardless of the outcome of IMWI, it was the right move for me. WRT running through aide stations... I struggle starting to run again after I stop moving (like a shark). Being fully aware that I will end up walking a few steps as the race goes on, I thought that I might just have a try at staying in motion.
@MQ - Ditto! We have the whole crew (minus the madman) together for this race!
@Scott - Don't even start with the sandbagging... after top 10 at IMLP, this is like a victory lap for you! You know what - I would loan MB my selfie stick if I owned one!
@Al - I really want to get under 4 hours for the run. I think 4:25ish is the best I've managed. The run, more than anything, will be impacted by the weather. I am not committed to the BBS bike time - it has historically been fairly close, but I'm not sure this time. I am committed to riding the first 80 miles of this course in a manner that does not destroy the run. If the wind is from the anywhere north of west, BBS may be close. The more the wind is from the south, the more conservative I will need to be to protect the run. I really like the idea of settling on a run goal within the first 30 minutes of the run. I am also 100% in line with negative splitting on a really hot day. That would mean that I made good decisions.
@Francis - Thank you - good catch. The tubes are already setup on my bike, but I should update my list to reflect that.
@Ed - Thank you - it felt a lot more like the course tore me up!
@Edwin - Ditto! This is going to be a fun race!
@Brian - We've had a lot of fun rides this spring/summer! Good catch, I need to update the plan. I have Tums, Imodium and Tylenol in a little ziplock bag in my run belt. Agree 100% on the nutrition - Last Saturday was a disaster. I was down 7# when I got home, and that was after a drinking a bottle on the ride. The weather was a little freaky and I was just stupid - hopefully have that worked out of my system.
@Trish - Thanks, but I don't think this course is at risk of me 'crushing it.' I am pretty stoked for all of us to race together.
@Mike - Thank you! Nutrition is the key. Feels like Blue Ridge was a long time ago... and I haven't raced since Florida last year. I think I am coming into this one as the underdog!
@ Rich - let's get a few things straight.
1-I've ridden, er been dropped by you
2-you've been running more miles a week than i've clocked in the last month
3-your PMC chart is a work of Michelangelo
i am fully expecting a podium finish from you!!! no Sandbagging here... I'm just beat up!