Lindsay Blumenshein's IMWI Race Plan
The stats:
28, F, 5’7”, 180 lbs. DNF at IMOO in 2015 (missed bike cutoff by ~3-5 mins). 2 completed 70.3’s: 2015 in 7:47 (with perfect weather) & 2016 in 7:30 (was in 90+ degree heat after training in mild San Francisco all spring)
The back story:
A few years ago I happened to be in Madison the day of IMOO and ended up being an accidental spectator. I stayed at the finish line until midnight and then drove back to Minneapolis (~4 hour drive) to be at work by 7a. I was hooked. My eyes were big and in my heart I just knew that *someday* I would cross that finish line. I started doing sprint and Olympic tris, I ran a couple 13.1s and for some reason after volunteering at IMOO 2014 I was convinced 2015 was the year. I found EN. I learned A LOT about training for a long distance race. Almost each workout I was reaching some new first. First 15 mile run. First 50 mile bike ride. First 70, 80, 90, 100. I thought I was ready.
The canon went off and I counted my way 100 at a time through the 2.4 mile swim in Lake Monona, coming out of the water around 1:26. Then I rode my bike for 9 hours and my day was over by 5:35pm.
I spent a good week or two after the race allowing myself the time before jumping into the decision but I knew from the second I hopped off my bike that I’d be back in 2016. I wanted revenge.
And thus began part 2 of my two year journey to cross the finish line at Ironman Wisconsin.
This year has been different. The novelty isn’t quite there. It’s been more about putting my head down and getting the work done than oooing and ahhing over completing an 80 mile bike ride. It’s been more challenging. The visions while running don’t only appear in the form of crossing the finish line, but also in the form of being told that my day is over. There’s been more fear, but I think I’ve turned that fear into fuel more often than not.
The wrench thrown in:
On Friday of week 18 I got a call from my dad letting me know that my grandpa passed away. Family is in Minnesota and I’m in CA. So, I got in my Saturday & Sunday workouts and then started the logistical nightmare of packing for a funeral and an Ironman (a week and a half before planned) as it didn’t make much sense to head to MN for a week and then back to CA for a day and then back to WI. The last week has been distracting, but I have spent a lot of great time with family and maybe being distracted isn’t the worst thing during taper.
On to the plan…
Pre-Race Things:
Thursday
Drive from MN to Madison
Pick up bike from TBT (by 2p)
Quick spin to make sure bike is good to go
Grocery shopping
EN team dinner
Friday
Team swim @ Monona
4 Keys talk
Lunch downtown
Athlete check in
Pack bags, get bike ready for drop off tomorrow (follow EN checklist with my own notes added)
Dinner with parents
Saturday
Big breakfast (all the pancakes!) by 9am
Bike & gear check in
Drive bike course with sherpas – paying extra close attention to the course changes
Sub for lunch
Spend some time alone Saturday afternoon, feet up, watch a movie, visualize execution
Early dinner with family – pasta & chicken
Race Day!
AM:
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Awake at 4:00
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Coffee, English muffin with PB & 1.5 C apple sauce
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Gatorade to drink throughout the morning
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Shower, braids, butt’r all over & tri kit on
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Out the door by 5:15, dropped off at Monona terrace
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Add 2x bottle of GE to bike & 4x Gu & salt to bento, check tires
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Banana @ 6am
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Team pic at some point?
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Gu & water at 6:45
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After Gu, make way to water & find space in middle/next to ski ramp near 1:20 folks
Swim (Goal time – 1:20-1:26):
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Swim only as fast as I can maintain good technique
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Breathe! Focus! Long arms, high elbows, pointy toes
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Any time I feel anxious, start counting strokes
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Pee before end of swim
T1 (Goal time <10 minutes):</span>
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Once out of the water, pull down top of wetsuit, find stripper & let them do their thing
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Goggles & cap off & in hand
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Jog to the helix and then slowly jog up (permission to walk here to control HR & take in the moment)
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Find volunteer & T1 bag
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Ask volunteer to take care of swim stuff – thank them!
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Helmet on, sunglasses on, nutrition in hand (4x shot bloks to stuff in jersey on run out, 1 Gu to eat on the way to bike), shoes in hand
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Stop for sunscreen
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Grab bike, get to mount line, put shoes on & go
Bike (Goal time 7:45 – 8:15):
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Easy riding until Valley Rd, dropping HR & focusing on taking in fluids. Think: just ride along, bucket of chicken
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A notch above easy after Valley Road. Chuck the ego and walk up 2nd half of Barlow – only going to cost a min or two & will save me later on.
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Focus on the free speed after Midtown – don’t sit up or let up. Push through the pedals.
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Smart shifting
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Aero & confident in bike handling ability
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Don’t coast on the downhills!
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Pee on the bike. Only stop/get off if absolutely necessary (Barlow is exception)
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·
Bike Nutrition:
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2x GE by aid station after Valley R
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Goal is 1.25 – 1.5 bottles/hour
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1x mini honey stinger waffle finish within first 1.5 hours
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1x shot blok every ~15 mins & use as reminder to drink after each feeding
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Will plan to swap out blok for Gu on 2nd half of bike at ~45 min between each
T2 (Goal time: < 5 minutes):
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Try not to cry because OMG! You just made it to the run portion of an Ironman!
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Hand off bike, helmet & sunglasses come off
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Grab T2 bag
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Shoes off. sock, sock, shoe, shoe, go bag (race belt, visor, shot bloks, Vaseline) & go
Run (Goal time: 5:30 – 6:15):
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Focus on HR & going slooooowww for the first 6 miles, walk for 30 seconds each mile (through aid stations)
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Between mile 6-13. 1 mile at a time. Running between aid stations and trying to keep walking to a minimum near the aid stations.
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I don’t know what to expect after mile 13, but I imagine I’ll be making a lot of deals with myself
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Run for 6 minutes. Then you can walk for 1
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Run for 5 minutes. Then you can walk for 1
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Stop doing math.
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Thank the volunteers. Thank the spectators.
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Find a way
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The athlete guide says you can crawl. You’re gonna crawl before you give up.
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The pain will go away
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You know if you don’t cross the finish line we’re just going to make you do this all over again next year, right?
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Run for 1 minute. Then you can walk for 1
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Find a way
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Try not to hyperventilate at the finish line
Run Nutrition:
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GE at every aid station
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Gu at every other aid station for as long as I can handle
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1x pack of shot bloks in top (sometimes easier for me to get down than Gu)
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Find whatever is going to keep me moving forward
It’s going to be a long day and I’m going to cross that finish line sometime between the 16 and 17 hour mark.
One things/Mantras:
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Find a way
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3x (Think you’re at your limit? Research says we can handle 3x more than we think)
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That feeling last year at the end of the bike
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All the friends/family who came out to cheer last year, and are back again this year, believing in me
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Proving wrong any inch of doubt that has ever creeped into my mind during training and any time people have asked me “what’s different this year?”
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This is one day of pain. You can do anything for one day.
Comments
Lindsay - I'm very sorry for your loss.
I re-read your 2015 report. You are truly a rock star and I am looking forward to meeting you!
It sounds like you are coming into this race with another year of training and fitness that is going to help you tremendously, but I think that keeping a good awareness of the situations and not giving away minutes could help you tremendously. Here are a couple thoughts for you:
If I were you, I would have a screen setup that kept me aware of my average speed. I would not try to ride towards your 14mph target with that number - but I would use it to make certain that I was safely above the 12.5 mph floor.
Best of luck - looking forward to meeting you!
I will give you advice directly from my IM experience last year at IMLP.
I had never run over 13 miles leading up to IMLP. Then I went the full 26.2 on race day.
I "attempted" to run aid station to aid station and succeeded for about 13 miles. Then the wheels began to come off.
I started inserting walk breaks just like you describe. And it worked out for me and I finished with a smile on my face - very happy.
Now, let me tell you what I SHOULD have done, based on my fitness going into the race - start walking sooner and more often.
If I could give advice to myself before that marathon in IMLP I would have run 3 minutes and walked a minute (or some variation of that like 4/1 or 5/1) the whole way instead of waiting until I couldn't run and was wiped out. This is basically the Jeff Galloway method of marathon running and it can be adapted to any pace - even sub-4 hour marathons.
Just my 2 cents...defer to Coach P if you're uncertain.
Good Luck!
One thing Ive learned through all this is that the mind is INSANELY powerful. Use your loss and your family time to fuel you, your family loves you! Use what happened in 2015 as fuel, it is NOT failure. You are much more prepared here. I just know you are going to hear those words you want to hear when you cross the finish line. I have already packed tissues.
Remember that every single thing you do that day takes TIME - waving, smiling, transition times, aid station times etc - those seconds add to minutes etc. ENJOY your day, soak up every single moment of it, but remember you are there to do a job, to accomplish a goal. Take everyone on the course cheering for you as fuel, as energy not a distraction.
You know this course, you know what to do. Your mind, body and soul are ready!
You are so impressive, so determined and I am in awe of you. Regardless of what happens, you are inspiring.
Lindsay, I look forward to meeting you at the team dinner on Thursday.
I think Rich is giving really smart advice regarding the avg mph on the bike for you. I am not sure what that means to you in terms of HR and your fitness level, but, if you know your 6-7 hour avg bike HR and it fits within that range, I would really consider Rich's advice here.
My other thought is nutrition/calories. You are going to be out there for a while. You and I weigh close to the same weight. I am concerned you are not getting in enough calories/hour during the first 5 hours of your ~7 hour bike ride to be followed by long run.... Being out there that long requires more calories to get it done. What is your avg calories / hour for the first 5 hours of the bike based on what you are planning to take in? How many calories / hour do you normally take in on your long rides? Not having any data to go by, have you been out there for a 7+ hour ride and experimented with running afterwards?
SS