Laura Becker's 2017 IMMT Race Plan- Any input welcome!!!
Laura Becker – IMMT PLAN
2017 started had an uncertain start as I struggled to find out what was going on with my body. In March, I was diagnosed with IAE (illiac arterial endofibrosis) which impacts the circulation in my legs. I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to race this year. At this point- I wasn’t sure if I was going to have the surgery or not- the vascular doc said I cannot make it worse and I could continue to train (but that I would most likely continue to become frustrated with symptoms.) Husband and I talked and decided to try this and see if it was manageable. I would only truly become symptomatic when I tried to run fast or fast uphills and ride with high power, ride up hills. So I had to pull back on power and pace….a lot. It was difficult to start, but I learned to listen to my body- follow a plan and have been able to train and work relatively symptomatic free!! And in the meantime, through this training, have gotten stronger. My body feels different this year. I have leaned down, had more energy, and overall just LOVE training again. Of course…..I have a bump in the road now with a calf issue I am trying to control. But just by letting it rest last week, ITS SOOOO MUCH BETTER!!! No matter what, I am at this point and ready to go. I gave it everything I had and did all that I could and for that I am proud. So here it is my plan. PLEASE let me know any of your thoughts, questions, concerns, comments….anything!
TRAVEL AND PRE-RACE WEEK:
Stay well hydrated all week! Water with me at all times
Wednesday night- Home from work- pack car so it is ready to go.
Thursday: Leave Connecticut- Early- Arrive to MT by 4:00/5:00. Check in to hotel. Eat at hotel but go to EN team dinner to say hello! (I BYOF because its just easier for me)
Friday: Wake up and be to swim venue by 7:00 am. 30 minute swim. Eat breakfast-Check in and attend 4 Keys Talk (course overview) 10-12. Home for lunch. Go ride part of course/brick. Go to Athlete Briefing at 3? Dinner- white rice with small salad, protein shake and pear. Prepare gear and bags as described below. Check functionality of all gear, equipment, and electronics. RELAX for the night.
Saturday: Sleep in. 8- Buckwheat with sunflower butter, banana, and protein shake for breakfast. Head over to mandatory bike and gear check in (T1/T2)- Rice cakes with coconut oil /ucan bar/ fruit for snacks. After bag drop off we will walk transition, study terrain from bike position to mount area. Visualize race day and where I need to go. Next, return to the house. Legs up as much as possible. Lunch- Sweet potato, protein shake, and a apple. Prepare nutrition for race, lay out morning clothes race kit, morning bags. Dinner 6:30- Dinner of Quinoa, squash, protein and pear for dessert. Bed by 9:00 the latest. TATTOOS ON (night before or race am??).
NUTRITION:
I will be using UCAN, UCAN bars, SaltStick, GU roctane
GEAR:
Morning Clothes: |
TIMING CHIP, sports bra, Tri Top, tri shorts, TYR wetsuit, Aquasphere Goggles, Speedo Cap, Earplugs, bottle of UCAN, sunscreen Extra goggles/ear plugs & swim cap Trislide on calf, neck and under arms. Garmin 920 fully charged - turn on 20 minutes prior to start Throw away flip flops (or hand off to husband) Bring Bike Pump Wear HR strap |
BIKE |
Front: GARMIN 920 (will put on after swim), Aero HC system filled with water. Aero frame box with with extra contact lenses, Salt Stick, and bar 1 aero bottle of water w/salt stick 2 bottle concentrated UCAN on frame. Clear bottle with Sharpie marks for every 8 oz on the side.
2 x C02 cartridges + 1 mini-tool kit + inflate valve extension, 1 spare tubes |
T1 BAG (WITH VISIBLE COLORED MARK AND NUMBER |
Helmet Rudy Wingspan or Road Helmet. Bike shoes/socks Towel Gloves if its going to be cold Rain Jacket- If needed Arm Warmers/knee warmers- If needed Vest GUs to put in tri top UCAN drink on the go |
Sunglasses (clean) Sunscreen? Spare contacts |
BIKE SPECIAL NEEDS (IF NEEDED) |
2 extra tube + 2 extra co2 cartridge Chamois Butter Small towel or baby wipes Band aids socks |
T2 BAG (WITH VISIBLE COLORED MARK AND NUMBER ): |
Shoes w/ Orthotics – Balega socks (inside shoes) 10 oz bottle with extra concentrated UCAN GO BAG: Race belt with number, 4 Gu’s, Salt Stick in ziplock bag to go in tri top pocket, visor OR hat UCAN drink on the go |
Small tube of sunscreen Spare contacts Vaseline for potential hot spots? |
RUN SPECIAL NEEDS (IF NEEDED) |
10 oz bottle with extra concentrated UCAN (if needed) Dry socks Long Sleeve Tech shirt if it might be cold |
Band aids Small towel or baby wipes |
RACE DAY:
- Wake up 3:45am and have breakfast: 3 Large Rice cakes with sunflower butter and banana, coffee. Start sipping some electrolytes. Stay calm and in my box. Work of a list.
- Leave house at 4:45.
- Arrive T1 at 5:00 am, , set up, and check wheel pressure, food into bento box, bottles on bike ready to go. Exit T1 ASAP and relax. Give pump to Steve to hold.
- Drop of special needs bags.
- 6:00 put on wetsuit, get rid of morning clothes, head to lake. Hop in for a few minutes if it is warm enough. (If it’s too cold I will have some circulation issues if I get in the water and then get out and have to stand around thoughts???).
- 6:15 take a serving of UCAN and seed myself----end of 1:05
- 6:40- Age groups begin!
THE SWIM (TARGET 1:05-1:10):
- Picking up pace for the first 300 m and settle into my groove
- Only swimming as fast as I can maintain form. Line up when 100% ready.
- ONE LAP. Think rhythm and feet. Find my happy place, pick a spot and swim. Final 200 m- review transition plan. Swim until my hand hits the bottom.
- Unzip wetsuit to my waist and go to a OPEN stripper.
- Wetsuit into a ball, goggles cap off/ run/jog to transition and focus on next steps.
T1 : THINK SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST
- Find my row, grab my bag and head towards the exit of tent.
- Ground up-socks? shoes, helmet, sunglasses, if sunny- sunscreen on face and shoulders, drink UCAN, Gu’s in tri top back pockets, give volunteer suit and bag.
- Grab my bike and go to mount line.
THE BIKE (TARGET 6:30-6:50): THINK EXECUTE SMART- Stay in my box.
- Drink and eat according to plan. Drink H20 every 10, UCAN every 60. If I start to feel low I will switch to GU. Focus on getting fluids in and peeing twice….on the bike if I can. SALT STICK EVERY HOUR.
- Aid station- Drink anything that's left in the bottle as I get close to the aid station and then put a new bottle of water in. I'll grab a bottle of water and rack it and grab another if it's hot or if I need a shower. Empty the water and discard the bottle, fill the torpedo with water from the racked bottle and get back to work.
- Ride first 30 minutes easy. Spin. Focus on bringing HR back down after transition. Settle in.
- Lap 1- think conservative. Spin up easy and PUSH DOWN.
- IF NEEDED- QUICK stop at bike special needs- don’t take the bag or your volunteer will walk away.
- Lap 2 - be prepared. Think PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE.
- If need to stretch. Do it immediately before or after an aid station (or on any hills) then get back down.
T2 : THINK SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST
- Take Garmin OFF BIKE!
- Put helmet, sunglasses, and shoes in bag.
- Grab bag, dump it out, Ground up- socks on, running shoes, sunglasses still on, take GO BAG, out running, put on race belt as I head out…..
THE RUN (TARGET ???):
- SLOW IT DOWN. Watch HR-
0-6 mile=140-145
6-18 mile= 150
18+= 153
- Remember proper execution. Plan to jog all the stations and use them to stay with nutrition plan. If feeling good in the beginning, EAT! Squirt of ultra concentrated UCAN. If I start to feel low….SWITH TO GU-----GU every hour or as needed. Salt stick tab EVERY HOUR.
- Find rhythm and run the tangents.
- On hills think baby steps, chin up THINK GREAT FORM! 30 steps to get HR down if needed.
- Think PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE!
- At ½ way point, do a gut check. Remember that hitting ½ way is tough stuff. Take 5-10 seconds while running and mentally assess state of being. Do I need nutrition? Salt? Fluids? Am I hot? How is my HR? Can I see straight?
- Focus on form each time it gets hard!!! Remember one thing when it gets harder.
- Run aid station to aid station. Treating each stretch as its own event.
- Enjoy the last quarter mile. ENJOY THIS MOMENT. And cross SMILING!
Comments
I hate the Tattoos. They stick to everything. Your clothes, the sheets, and the inside of your wetsuit. If you have to use them put them on in the AM. Unless some one has some trick to put something like a lotion over top.
Good skill, go fast, and have a great race.
Also, double check your transitions bags on race morning as they might have moved.
In case you didnt know, volunteers grab bike in T2, so its a a fast run to the changing tent since the changing tent is on the bike in/out side.
They are 2 no passing zones on the bike, one which is almost at the beginning (km #5-6 the small bridges, and one in the the duplessis downhills section) both section are about 100-200meters
see you next week !
Great plan. You're probably the most positive, relentlessly optimistic person on this team, and I hope all that good mojo helps you have an amazing day next week. If swim warm-up could be problematic, a half-mile jog will help you loosen up before putting on the WS. Spend some time in the wiki and/or forums this week to make sure that your plan doesn't have holes. On the bike, I would rather see you eating every 30 min than 60 to keep the intake more steady and less concentrated. Other than that, my mantras on the bike are steady/proper watts, drink/salt to 100-110% of needs, eat up to 90% of needs, and stop eating with 30 min to go. On the run, fuel up and steady effort to 18, then increase the effort to keep HR up.
Can'twait to follow your success next week. Have fun, smile a lot.
MR
On the bike, several things...taking UCAN only every sixty minutes seems to risk sudden inflow of calories, with possible downstream problems from insufficient absorption. Consider taking smaller amounts of calories this way every 20 minutes, alternating with the water every other 10 minutes. Also, you present no targets for any cycling metrics: RPE, HR, watts, etc. - do you have them and just forgot? Or are you riding by feel? Also, no mention of key course characteristics, and how you will approach them (I don't know this course, but I'm sure there are some unique issues there.)
Run - here, you mention HR targets. Is that early target of 140 consistent with what you are planning for your HR on the last 60-90 minutes of the bike? Also, something to consider is front loading the GU - instead of every hour, take two the first hour, as usually, trying to absorb that stuff late in the run gets problematic.
When I saw you in LP, you certainly looked ready to roll - I hope the day keeps the smile on your face.
from what we all saw in LP, body comp kicked ass, Sea 2 Summit was a great trial run for the bike, hopefully some lessons learned there to carry forward.
nothing to add as the smart people ^^up there^^ have already given you great advice.
Good luck, and smile every mile, it will carry you through the dark parts!
@Robert SaboI will channel your good skill and those wheels will certainly help me go fast! Will def put tattoos on in the AM.
@Francis Picard thanks for the info and I look forward to seeing you!
@Mike RobertsI think I will do the jog warm up if it is cold outside. I REALLLLLY want to wear my sleeveless wetsuit- its what I am most comfortable in. So if I get in and then stand there- I'll get cold. I think I will do the UCAN every half hour- although they say not to do that- I think it would be fine. and I would rather front load. THANKS for all your mojo- I will keep my positivity going up there!!
@Al TruscottI so appreciate your feedback!! Always awesome to hear from a WSM like yourself
@Scott- Thank you for your kind, supportive and super encouraging words- it means a lot to me! I will absolutely keep smiling and trust in the fitness that I have built. It will get me there! Thanks again
"A slow slow run (jog) is faster than a fast walk." Remember THAT on the 2nd loop!