TrishM's IMWI race plan
Trish Marshall: 7th IM, 52, FTP 200-203, Vdot 37-38? Goal: Run aid to aid-process focused all day long!
Wednesday: Bob’s house by 4:30, Arrive Madison late evening, unload car, bed
Thursday:
Sleep in
Big breakfast (buckwheat pancakes with Laura?)
Bike course recon-drive course with possible riding of Barlow, Garfoot
Lunch
Packet pick up post 12:45 so can meet Suzy face to face!
Expo/race meeting at 2pm
Team dinner 5:30
Begin to gather t1/t2 bags
recovery pump boots/visualize race plan/transitions
early bed
Friday:
RoKa swim 7:00-8:30…go to swim
venue and do shorty swim in full suit.
breakfast post swim
10:30 4Keys talk
12:30 -Team Fraser lunch? Time? Venue?
if not, eat close to hotel and finish bike prep/clean,
t1/2 bags, sn bags,
5:00 leave for athlete dinner with gang
Recovery pump boots/visualize race plan/transitions
Early Bed
Saturday:
Big breakfast
finish any gear selections for t1/2 bags based on weather
Bike check in middle of day
prepare bottles for am and put in fridge.
off feet till dinner at 5
post dinner in boots, visualize race plan, go through blue book, cry. 
lights out 9:00
SNBike:
tube, butt butter, flat coke co2,3 hour infinite powder
SNRun: 2toms for blisters, dry socks
Sunday: RACE MORNING
Up at 4:30 GRATITUDE for the day and support of my family!!!
Eat immediately: protein drink, banana, almond butter,coffee
dress in kit with lube layering system, lots of sunblock, hr strap, chip pinned, hat, warm clothes if cold
take morning clothes bag which will have nutrition, wetsuit, goggles, swim cap, ear plugs, 2 Toms, gel for start, bar to nosh and perform to drink.
Leave for t1 at 5:20
Pump tires to 100, start garmin (auto off disabled), shoes on bike, infinite in cages, water in xlab, tylenol, tums,cifbloks in bento, glasses rubber banded to aerobar, sleeves if cold on aerobars.
Swim: 1:12-1:17
Pre swim notice wind and where I will need to correct my stroke (I get pushed off course a lot in windy conditions) do hip looseners, arm swings before getting in
start left of ski jump looking for less crowded water…go hard for first 200y. Find my rhythm and calm breathing, settle into stroke focusing on high elbow catch on the left, finishing. Sight a lot to correct if needed (no over swimming!) On long stretch, focus hard on left stroke, tight buoy line.
T1: 6-10’ get wetsuit stripped, football the suit (GO LIONS!) jog/trot the INSIDE of the helix as Al suggests. Grab bag, put on any required extra layers (jersey, fed ex envelope, gloves, socks…make sure you are comfortable in cool weather!), grab helmet and go. Trot Fiona out to the mount line and get feet in shoes (rubber banded to bike) then start helix. If anyone has any recommendations…this is the most stressful bit to me…I crashed earlier this year, and hit a fence at the “hot corner” 56 mile turnaround in 14 at Mont Tremblant…I do NOT want to have an incident!!!! I know to be slow and cautious, but obviously I don’t ride a helix regularly. Hints appreciated!
Bike: 6:15-6:35 FTP 200-203 (have not tested in a LONG while) Weight 147-149
IF I ride smart, focused, low VI AND have no gut issues I should be closer to the 6:15. If not, hoping for the latter number.
First 13-15 miles: get HR down (125-135), goal watts 128-130. Start infinite concentrate on the 20’ mark (watch is set to beep at 20’, garmin 520 at 10’ for water and reminder if climbing or descending during watch beep) I will be watching my hr, rpe, how the legs “feel” aka heavy, snappy, and being very smart regarding traffic, the first early miles (that I did not ride and will be very congested with strong biker dudes who don’t swim fast) and stay in my box. Once past the highway in Verona it is time to step up effort to goal watts of 138-140. I have noticed on all my longer rides while I try to “nail” a certain wattage, I always fall short when analyzing the data. This course should have my np close to goal due to the terrain. While I will attempt this wattage, I know I will be spiking over quite a bit on the larger hills (both rides on course were 8% of the ride time at or over ftp!) so I will have to be very steady and behave (aka not over ride the flatter sections) to ensure a decent run! For Barlow, I skied up it both days during our training camp and had decent runs off later in the day. BUT, I am a 3w/kg girl, not 4w/kg dude, and will most likely unclip and walk. IF it is very clear to ride it via skiing, I will. But considering my swim and speed on the bike it will most likely be very congested and I will BE SMART and hoof it. After that I will continue to make Mile 18 smart choices all damn day! I will keep on the gas on Shady Oak Lane into Verona both loops as Coach R advises. Last but not least, I expect to be in good shape (not chasing a time!) and ride the stick well back into transition. My second bottle of infinite has caffeine in it to help me with second half ride focus which worked quite well (in a raining cool environment) on RR2. All through the ride I will be checking in with myself re: rpe, hr, watts, gut, heat, focus. I plan to leave feet in shoes until reaching top of the helix, then unclip. Some are unclipping before that. Thoughts???
T2: 3:-4:00 flying dismount, hand of Fiona and trot to bags, in change room put socks, shoes on, grab go bag (visor, race belt with salt clifblock, caff gel, tylenol, biofreeze,tums racesaver bag, sunblock spray mini, face wipe) and out.
Run: 4:45-4:55 Last year I was not well prepared for IMCHOO (long story lots of crazy life sh*t!) and I had gut issues a bit on the bike, then walked the back half of the marathon. Not fun. At all. This year I have had a few things interrupt training, the most significant being a concussion in Early June punching a 2 week hole in my training. Coach P worked with me post Muncie on a steady eddy run plan, and while I am not running anywhere near as well as I have, I am running pretty steady and happy with where I’m at. SO, this run is really about being smart and steady for the long haul, running aid to aid. I run by HR and know I should be in the low 140’s progressing to mid-high 140’s at about 1 hour in. (my bike hr is usually 128-136 off bike, but always is and I can’t run at those hrs!) I walk every aid station, and will take gels at miles 3,6,9,12,15,18 if possible. Salt on 4,7,11 etc, Water and Gatorade as needed, then coke or chicken broth as race progresses. If I am hungry I will start gels earlier, but still every 3 miles. I have the clifblock if it is warm and I get dry mouth. I will use the race saver bag for cooling if it’s hot. I will run up Observatory till hr gets to 150 then walk the rest. I have no specific goals for the back half other than to get up all rollers with in my hr range (150 max) and if there is anything left post mile 23 let it out! I’ve only had one really long run of 17 miles this build, so I don’t expect to neg split, just keep running aid to aid. I have my arsenal of one thing’s. I am counting on good juju from racing with so many friends and teammates from MI, our HUGE contingency from EN who will be out there taking care of business, having Coach on course, and the legendary crowds at IMOO. Last but not least, I will address ANY issues head on. Blisters? fix asap, toilet…use it!, losing focus? caffeine or eat. Pain…biofreeze/tylenol. Gut? slow down/coke. Smile wide at the finish!!!!
I have had gut issues off and on over the years. I’ve taken Immordium prior to races and still had gas/gut pain. I usually eat a higher fiber diet and going all white stuff race week has helped but sometimes I get bloated! I tried Al’s liquid dinner aka Jamba juice before my race rehearsal and still had some cramping early on the bike. Does anyone have a solution other than tums/slow down/coke? I’ve tried all of these with some but not consistent success. I’m all ears!
Thanks for reading/any input!
Comments
Do what you've trained in regard to unclipping... you're talking seconds in a long day.
See you at the team dinner!
I do a couple things on bike mount / dismount to protect myself from the crazies...
Bike - I am going to pay particular attention to HR on this course. During the training rides here, my HR really spiked on a couple of the hills. If HR goes above target, it is going to be important to get it back in the zone regardless of watts. This course is technical enough that I think keeping HR in the zone will be more important to me than hitting certain wattage targets. The key to this course is getting to mile 75-80 feeling fresh enough to take advantage of the sped back to T2 and exploiting a run course that is easier than the bike.
I have also had GI issues - My last meat or fiber will be Friday. No (or almost no) meat, zero salad etc Saturday. I will take Imodium and carry tums/more Imodium while running. Also, I only eat thing while running that I know sit well with me (banana at the start example).
Good luck - I hope you have a fantastic race!
I do a couple things on bike mount / dismount to protect myself from the crazies...
Bike - I am going to pay particular attention to HR on this course. During the training rides here, my HR really spiked on a couple of the hills. If HR goes above target, it is going to be important to get it back in the zone regardless of watts. This course is technical enough that I think keeping HR in the zone will be more important to me than hitting certain wattage targets. The key to this course is getting to mile 75-80 feeling fresh enough to take advantage of the sped back to T2 and exploiting a run course that is easier than the bike.
I have also had GI issues - My last meat or fiber will be Friday. No (or almost no) meat, zero salad etc Saturday. I will take Imodium and carry tums/more Imodium while running. Also, I only eat thing while running that I know sit well with me (banana at the start example).
Good luck - I hope you have a fantastic race!
Tummy stuff- I would not do Immodium before preemptively, but maybe use on course if needed and you have experience with it. I like the "salty crackers and ginger candy in Run Special Needs" approach. Just some salted rice crackers and Trader Joe's candied ginger. Calms the tummy and is a nice break from everything else you eat all day.
Can't wait to see you next weekend!
I would not worry about unclipping before going up the helix. The helix ain't no thang. It's different, which causes people anxiety but honestly I doubt you'll even notice that it's different come race day. I feel I'm in more control while clipped in and like to have that control going up the helix.
Trish, such a strong one here....
Enjoyed meeting you over CAMP.
You plan reflects experience and wisdom in my view.
Rich gives good guidance on Saturday diet with no fiber/salad, etc....... I agree with Rachel that would not try the Immodium thing for the first time.
Take your time on both the T1 bike mount and dismount. Move across the line walking and over to the side when mounting, then put the shoes on out of the way of the oncoming congestion. Here slow is smooth and smooth is fast gets you off safely and without incident.
Great plan with HR for bike and run in my opinion, just solid there.
You may be a little like me in that I am high strung. I tend to be my own worst enemy on race day at times because of this. I am focusing on keeping things simple, making patient choices, making my BOX big for as long as I can, not freaking out when things go off plan, and maintaining self confidence at all times regardless of how dark things get. I will find other EN team mates out there during this race to help re-focus me on this very goal.
Can't wait to see you perform!
SS
Trust your training. It's OK to talk things over with yourself, but don't overthink the day. Keep the rubber side down.
Trish, the helix is nothing big. worst case you get off at the mount line and then take your shoes off.
Ed: HAHA! I should be ok with leaving shoes on the bike at dismount...I do that most days in training and my nutrition bottles should be gone, so no worries with that.
Rich: Gold as usual! I will do as you do with mounting ...smart stuff. I'll figure out my dismount before race day and visualize it. No thinking in transition! I will defiantly review the climbs for hr spikes, and be mindful of that metric too. I'm going to need every heartbeat I can get on the run. I'll limit fiber and meat as well to help with the gut and carry Immodium as well on the run, just in case.
Rachel: I've done the Immodium pre race before. I took it before IMCHOO and still had issues, so I am going to just have it on the run in case. I like the crackers and ginger idea. I think I'll stash some of those snacks in the SNR bag!
Shaughn: Keep it simple and patient choices! LOVE. Excited to see you do your thing come Sunday!
Al: Rubber on the road is the plan! I over plan to review so I don't have to do much thinking on the day.
Todd: got it...walk it before the race and no worries on the day!