Dawn Cass's MT Race Plan
Basic info:
- 4th IM, 2nd at IMMT…other two were WI
- Last year after MT, decided to put as much as I could into training this year with a specific focus on running which is my limiter to date.
- November of last year, tore my calf muscle which took me out of the run plan for a while. Training this spring/summer has been good until 2 weeks ago it started to hurt. Missed run volume recently and didn’t do the last 3 hour run in an attempt to “save” the leg for race day. Will be a test this weekend to see how the overall season volume build can carry me through.
- FTP 215 - raw power down from previous year however have been working on holding sustained power over longer periods of time this season
- vDOT…haven’t actually tested however have been hitting average 8:40 or better pace on long runs after a warm up and have been feeling good
Pre-race:
- Wake at 2:00 – load with calories. 2 protein shakes or oatmeal. I have not done this method before so still need to decide what kind of calories are best. Go back to sleep.
- Wake for race at 4:00 – breakfast oatmeal (if not earlier), sip Gatorade, beet juice
- Head to transition for 4.30-4.50, check bike, pump tires. Will be using latex tubes and disc.
- Head back to swim start. Rolling start this year which is new. My PR is 1:07…last year at this event I did 1:12 with A LOT of chop/contact on course. I hate trying to swim past/over people so thinking to seed in the 1:05-1:10 group….or maybe back of the group ahead. Faster group is simply <1:05 which means all the sub 1hr swimmers there too which I could get trampled!
Swim:
- Goggles under cap
- Bring water bottle to wash goggles out before starting
- Try to calm myself – think about taking deep breaths. I tend to have a lot of problems at the start and cannot get my breath. Being calm will give me minutes back if I can manage this.
- Focus on form.
- I tend to try to stay close to the buoys when swimming so I don’t get to off course. Last year a lot of contact but hoping the wave start solves that.
T1:
- Don’t spike HR on the run..long-ish transition
- Collect helmet, nutrition, salt tabs, glasses, shoes, heart rate bracelet head to the bike
- Put on Castelli speed top if cooler temps - do whilst running to bike
- Nutrition/salt will be in jersey…limit moving parts
Bike:
- Get heart rate down after excitement of T1…JRA for first 30 minutes
- In general keep head in the box...think about what you can control "at that moment"
- BTA filled with water..start with that and refill with GE at 1st aid station
- Nutrition Plan =
- One gel every 30 minutes – apart from when taking blocks
- Cliff blocks after hour 2 and hour 4
- Salt tabs every hour – unless very cool push to 1.5 hours
- Mix GE and water from aid stations – continuous drink…1 bottle an hour
- Get all solid food/nutrition in before last 30 minutes of bike
- Flatten the hills – I rode a 1.07 VI last year…will work that down. Last year it was pouring so I was aware that I was not pushing it on the downhills
- Keep NP to around 160
- Riding a compact crank and 11-28
T2:
- Dump all bike gear, run shoes on, collect zip lock with bits….hat, nutrition/salt/race saver bag on belt. Eat ½ banana on the go
- Challenge to get in and out quick
Run:
- Run can go one of 2 ways..(1) calf doesn’t hold out = do everything to at least crawl across the finish, or (2) calf holds out and we go with the below =
- Get heart rate close to bike average of 130, run should start around 130ish – max 140. Last year I went out to quick…look to go stupid slow to start
- Gel every 45 minutes, salt every hour
- ½ Banana half way through
- I will carry my own gels this time – last year not a good selection on course and plan to stick to gel with caffeine which is what I have been training with
- Small drink at every mile of GE, switch to water when I cannot handle it anymore
- Miles 1-6 – get HR down and don’t
worry about the hills.
Miles 7+ let HR drift up to average 150 BPM and stick there - Mile 18 allowed to “race”….fight through the wall and push the pace if possible
Overall enjoy the day and the fantastic venue I know it to be! Any comments/suggestions more than welcome.
Thanks.
Tagged:
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Comments
About your castelli speed top- did you put on while running to the bike last year? I find that mine is incredibly hard to put on if I am wet so I just wear it under my wetsuit, unzipped a bit.
since you've race that course last year did you went back to your RR and look at all what went wrong and think about it ? (except the small showers of course
Other than that, I hope your calf will hold out, you put alot of work on the bike this year based on how the strava's server were heating up!
See you there !
So looking forward to following your race. Following the entire team will wreck my Sunday, but in a good way.
You cannot plan for the things you cannot control, so your race can only go one way - according to plan. Eliminate all references to, mentions of and thoughts about your stupid calf. It will be fine. If something happens, you can address it on the fly. 100% positive thoughts.
Speaking of, for many, many years I was that guy who showed up at IM fit and confident, then saw all the 12-pack abs and 12k bikes and - over a course of three or four days - lost most of my confidence. And I was always a wreck right before the start and the opening minutes of the swim. Remind yourself that you've gone 1:07, that you can out-bike 99% of the women and 75% of the men out there and you went top-10 in all of your IM-branded races last year. Another trick is to count your first 60 exhales in the opening minutes of the swim. If you're exhaling smoothly, you'll be breathing perfectly and will relax quickly. After that, you'll realize that this is just a swim.
I glanced at Strava, and it looks like most of your 1.07 VI last year was on the down side of watts (coasting downhill) without a lot of 300 w bursts on the uphills. Which is good. Do that again. Your HR really trailed off after Mile 80, which isn't atypical because that's when the race first starts to get old and it takes more RPE to push your 160 watts. You have the fitness to keep those watts and heartbeats up over the closing 30 miles. I also skip caffeine until Mile 80, at which point I have a series of 3x caffed gels to help me re-focus and push to T2.
Nutrition looks pretty good for the bike, right at or close to the standard 0.6 g of carbs per lb of body weight per hour. Calculate to make sure you get in 1,000 mg of sodium and don't cut back if it's cool or rainy. I've heard of and witnessed far more instances of hyponatremia at cooler races because racers just assume salt isn't an issue.
I'm hesitant to say anything about the run because I don't know your true fitness level. I've gone into two IMs with sub-par run fitness (skipped last 4 long runs in one, last 3 in the other). Yes, the last 6 miles hurt a little more than normal and I was 5 minutes slower than a "good" run split for me in both, but I finished. You're way tougher than me, so I'm fully confident you'll run well this weekend. Just make it happen.
You had a few early HR spikes last year on the run, with a big one at Mile 7, but you didn't crash at the end. Avg HR was 137 last year. If you really think you can hold 150 this year, then you can probably start the run a bit higher than 130, especially if you're able to hold pace/watts/HR over the last 30 of the bike (maybe the last hour of the bike will be 136 or 138 HR this year?), but I wouldn't start over 140 or so. It also looks like you didn't walk the aid stations last year until Mile 9. Might consider flipping that strategy this year. Get up the opening 2 miles of hills with low HR even if you have to walk the climbs, settle in over the next 3.5 miles of downhill while fueling up for the work ahead, then settle in and slowly build the RPE as the run gets more difficult. Walk 10 steps at the aid stations until 18 or 19, and then go race, running through the aid stations to the line. If it gets tough (there's 100% chance of it in the forecast), mind over matter.
Most of all, enjoy the experience.
MR
Have confidence... IM experience and cumulative fitness over the years will carry the day for you. Agree with just relaxing on the swim, keep pushing in the last 30 miles of the bike, and trust your cumulative fitness on the run. Assume your calf will be fine and race accordingly. Only worry about it if you happen to find yourself in triage mode.
You got this!!!
@Al Truscott
Agree and will be working off the volume of training I did this year and maximize what I can do with it! As you said, Dana had a great result even with having bumps in the road so you never know what can surprise you on race day.
@Satish Punna
Thanks. Yes, I put it on while running and after the swim last year. It's a bit of a fight however only concern I have at this point is that I have not actually tried swimming with it on. I should have tried it under the wetsuit as I know many people do this however this late in the game, I don't think I want to chance it in case it's restrictive. Do you have experience with wearing it on the swim?
@Francis Picard
Thanks for the feedback...and yes, I did look back at last year which is always a fantastic way to make sure you improve on things when you race the same course. Looking forward to seeing you and the family again as it looks like you have had a strong season of training this year.
@Mike Roberts
Huge amount of feedback and always appreciate it! Swim advise...focused breathing should help. I did it in WI a few years back so no reason I cannot replicate. Thinking to seed myself in the 1:05-1:10 group...good idea? Faster group is simply < 1:05 so not sure I can race with the fast cats. Agree with you on the VI...will deal with rain if it happens to come. Run advise...excellent! Gives me lots to think about and your point about walking aid stations early on is not something I have thought about. The run is where I plan to be more strategic this year. May start mid 130's but agree..nothing over or near 140 otherwise I will be in trouble. May give myself some time to bring it to the 150 mark to not overcook to soon. Overall as you said....only positive thoughts and after this, I have forgotten I even have a calf issue.
@John Withrow
Thanks as always John. I re-read your advice after last year's event as well so lots of good points that I can improve on racing same course. It's always a new year with new conditions however I love this venue and looking forward to an excellent day.
Thanks again!
Hey there....daddy's jeans stayed home this time....but better news daddy is here himself! Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.
@Turby Wright
thanks for the note Turby...and many congrats on yours and Carols finish in Steelhead, excellent job. Great advise about the run...makes all the sense in the world.
@Robert Sabo
thanks for the note....also fantastic advise! Attitude and the mind is everything!