Josh Church's IMChoo Race Plan
My First RacePlan, all critiques welcome.
2016 IM CHOO Race Plan
Ironman number two of the year. Gained experience at IMTexas and trying to improve race day execution and nutrition. Took about 6-7 days off after Texas and started back easy with riding. Started IMChatt build with Intermediate GetFaster Plan for 4 weeks then started Imt. Full Im Plan on 7-11-16.
GOALS:
Use what I learned from IMTexas
Easy, Ninja, then strong on Bike
Run slow first, it will payoff
LEARN things that make me faster next time
CURRENT STATS:
LTHR= 169
VDOT = 45
RR1 Bike HR (last two hours): 139, Max Overall HR: 158
Running HR: Race Rehearsal #1 Run= 142 avg, Pace: 939 6miles
Weight = 153 Height= 5'10"
WEATHER:
Expected Morning Temp: 66ish, Rising to 80-85 by run start
I am bringing kit for a race that is wet, hotter or colder than planned and will adjust accordingly
WEDNESDAY:
Workout- EN Plan: 30' Run
Pack last minute gear and Load car
THURSDAY:
Drive to Condo
Bike: 90' -Depends on travel/traffic
Pick up race pack at Expo
Hydrate
Team Dinner – 6:00PM
FRIDAY:
Morning Swim (Probably not possible)
Bike- EN Plan: 30' last spin up to make sure it is locked in
Run – EN Plan: 30' Run
Pack race bags
Hydrate
SATURDAY:
Big breakfast (early)
Salt Loading
Stay off feet, Stretch
Drop off bike and bags
Light dinner at Condo (Movie Time)
Race Numbers
Prep Infinit 3- 2hour bottles
Morning Clothes Bag:
Water
PickyBar
2 cliff shot gels- 1-15min pre swim, 1 in bike transition
extra grocery bag incase rain
Extra Goggles
T1 Bag:
bike shoes on pedals rubber bands
Helmet
sunglasses with helmet
salt conister for pocket
T2 Bag:
Running shoes
Socks
Banana to eat out of transition
Ziplock GoBag:
-Race belt with number
-Salt tablets in caister in shorts pocket
-Just in case: CamiosCream
-Just in case: Glide (chafing)
Bike-Special-Needs
Plastic water bottle with extra 1 hr Infinit
Extra tube and CO2
Run-Special-Needs
CamiosCream in ziplock
Extra Socks
RACEDAY:
Wake up at 3:45 am
Breakfast- applesauce, honey, banana, Gatorade,
Glide and Chamois Butt’r everywhere
Timing chip w Safety pin (left ankle)
HR Monitor strap
EN racing kit
Garmin 910
Final pack Morning Swim bag
Drinks- 3 bottles Infinite concentrate, 24 oz GE to sip on
Banana
Transition open 4:30 AM
Bike-to-Run setup
Add banana to run bag
Shoes rubber banded to bike
Bottles on bike
Pump up tires
water in BTA bottle
Pre-race
15-mintues pre-race: eat a gel/some water
RACE EXECUTION:
Swim 1:10
Get towards the front
Find position in river
Count strokes, Lite kick, Long reach/Strong pull, Breathing to the beat
Sight clean and Fast
Get out of water quick
T1 – fast but smooth (4:00)
Goggles up and Cap off
Run to tent – pulling swim skin to waist as I run (if no wet suit)
Helmet on & strap fastened
Run with bike to exit
Mount safely and get moving
Bike (6:00-6:05)
Heart rate down – should be around 130-140, Cap 145
Sip water for first 10 min then Infinit Concentrate
JRA- to Dollar General mile 20ish
Ninja- False Flat to Cove road crappy hills, net down hill from Hog Jowl to Chicka stay on Gas, Loop 2 Same as First
Strong- Mile 90- focused confident about run- Out of Chicka staying strong
Hydrate and fuel for run
Beware crappy roads
T2 (4:00)
Grab bag- yell out number
Run to last Chair- Dump Bag
Socks on/Shoes on
helmet in T2 bag
Grab Go bag and out
Run (4:03-4:08)
Banana out of transition
Gatorade every AidStation and Gel every 3 miles, Walking 30 steps at aid stations
Know Bike avg HR
Set up for good effort mile 21-24.5 at Barton
JRA: 0-6miles: at Bike Avg HR140-143 (9:45) go with option that allows to slowdown. Hydration and Cals now get ahead
Waiting for it: 6-18: move HR to long run 145-150 if posible. Cap 150 on hills. Watch HR steadily rise through the day
Get it done: 18- Finish: mile 21-24.5 last time on Hills. Keep it steady on hills
Comments
Otherwise, looks really good Josh!
Best of luck out there. Hope you have a great race. You've covered most of the key topics. I think bike pacing, nutrition and salting are extremely critical. Other than mentioning water and Infinit, not much detail to (possibly) critique. Have you calculated how many calories and grams of carbs per hr your plan will create? Compared to your race weight? Critical calculations, IMO. Same with watts, but maybe you're an HR-only guy?
I personally hate the Picky Bar idea one hour before the cannon. And I try not to do a lot of hating. I don't even like the idea at 3:30 am. There's a very important reason we eat a low-fiber, low-protein, low-fat meal 3-4 hours before race time. Here you are going to consume 11% of your daily fat needs, 40% of daily protein, and 52% of daily fiber. Right before a 12-hr race. My small intestine hurts just thinking about that fiber bomb. You may get away with it. But it's not a bet I would take.
On the run, I question the 158 HR spike on the hills when your expected bike HR tops out at 140 and your RR run HR was 142. If you've tested with HR, what's the very top of your Z2? I like your opening-miles plan, upping it to 145-50 thereafter. But if you have any sort of sustained 158 spike in the first half, you will likely pay for it. Personally, I would stick to that 150 cap regardless of terrain. After Mile 18 or 20, fine. But the earlier it is on the run, the smarter and more disciplined you need to be. Just my $0.02.
MR
I used picky bars on my first race rehearsal but i will leave them out and fill with 2 more cups of unsweetened applesauce this weekend for RR#2
Yes i only use HR on bike
Ill cut the HR to 150, thanks for noticing that.
@Bruce- will do thanks for the advice.
Hi Josh,
Overall the plan looks good but I have a couple of questions/comments. (Underlined below)
That's about it. (OK maybe it was more than a few comments) Good skill and good luck.Here is my nutrition plan, i couldnt get the excel page to format on here.
BIKE:per en calculator and my information it calls for 383 calories an hour, my infinit actually gives me 449 at 1.5 bottles an hour. Im at 785mg sodium which worked for me in Texas and a 100 degree day in chattanooga. Also, this includes 1 saltstock cap and hr.
RUN
: EN calculator calls for 245 cals an hour and my plan comes to 380 cals an hour. Sodium is at 780 mg an hour. Im taking 4oz Gatorade endurance every aid station which is roughly 6 an hour, so 24 oz an hour. I plan on taking 2 cliff gels an hour also. I will have saltstick as needed also.
-I think this might be a little heavy, even though i have tolerated it well during long runs and race rehearsals. i could drop it to 1 gel an hour
MORNING MEAL
4 cups unsweetened applesauce, 2 tbls honey, banana, 16 oz Gatorade
= 755 cals, 190 carbs, 571 sodium
PRE-RACE
Cliff Gel- 15 mins before swim
-Would you all suggest anything between my morning meal and pre-race gel?
I would have something to sip on before the race. I usually drink a bottle of OSMO Pre-load Hydration while I'm getting set up and then eat a half to full powerbar 30 minutes before the swim, but no gel. So the gel would replace that. Make sure you drink some water with the gel though.
-I did cut the fuel belt, ill fix that on my plan
- sunglasses with the helmet, no first out of the water for me.
- On the "stronger than first loop"- this was based off the bike race course video by coach rich, im not planning killing it the last 90, just that my effort will probably seem harder. HR and pedal pressure will still be my governing bodies. I changed it to stay strong instead of stronger.
- i didnt list walking (sorry) because it is automatic for me, 30 steps and running again.
Josh,
Your pre-race nutrition looks good to me. 700-800 calories first thing, sip some Gatorade (or similar carb/salt drink) until close to the start, then gel + water 15 minutes before. Good to go.
I would strongly recommend going with the calculated calories on the bike, and not the 449 you are planning. A lot of that 449 is in the form of carbs, and our bodies can only absorb 60-80 grams per hour. If you're consuming 90 or 100 or more every hour, your stomach may not object because it's mostly horizontal, stationary and not jostling around. But it's just masking a big problem that will manifest on the run once vertical and bouncing. I would much rather you consume 17% too little calories per hour than 17% too many. You will not bonk. And definitely go very light that last 30-45 minutes, perhaps just sipping some water and a salt cap. If you're hungry exiting T2 with an empty stomach, you're 100x better off than the guy exiting T2 with a bloated gut bomb ready to explode.
On the run, the goal should be about half of that 60-80 grams/hour, but I find that my stomach takes care of itself and will let me know whether it's interested in food, regardless what I have "planned." If you're hungry, eat. If you feel good, eat. But if your stomach says "no mas" at Mile 14 and you have to finish on nothing more than Gatorade and Coke, you'll be fine.
Hope you have a great race.
Expert advice above...and its helped with my race plan. Looking forward to meeting and racing with you!
Excellent feedback from everyone, not much at all to add. Good luck and I'll see you next week!