Tallo IM Louisville 2017 Race Plan
Race Strategy
1. No drama. This is a business trip.
2. Don't make mistakes.
3. Remember every standout result has come after mile 18: don't give up when there are early setbacks.
Race Week
Damage Control
-safety first
-No sandals - closed-toe shoes (see above)
-OCD handwashing and purel; if someone sneezes, run the other way.
-it’s okay to be in hibernation mode, and stay in control of all situations (meaning: have an exit plan to get out if you find yourself with 200 tweaked athletes in a confined space)
-all situations during the week, you should ask "Is this adding to, or depleting my energy?"
-approx 2300 cals/day plus replacement of training cals - green, lean and clean - and have food on hand to cover cravings and avoid snacking
-Don’t pig out at the airports en route
Mindset and Priorities
-if there’s a scale at hotel, daily weigh-in: part monitoring, part information gathering
-lots of sitting, avoid walking anywhere if you can drive, keep off feet. Don’t be ashamed to take a taxi.
-Wed or Thurs: drive bike course and ride terrain features; write cue sheet with wind direction, etc; look for rollers, apexes, places to carry speed, and pinch points for congestion
-Wed or Thurs: swim with teammate, get a sense of how hard spotting / drafting on feet will be in murky water
-full-on cleaning of cassette and chain on Friday after bike shakeout – simplegreen and alcohol
-Yoga daily – get that parasympathetic system working
Day Before Race - Tasks
-in advance, write your itinerary: where to be and when, menus and venues for meals, follow schedule using 30min blocks
-big smile all day
-food is “salted everything”
-Pancake breakfast – McDonalds if nothing else is readily available
-sip electrolyte drink
-Lunch as small 'clean' pasta or burritos w flour tortilla, chicken, mild salsa, rice
-dinner as white pasta, red sauce, chicken, white bread
-arrive at check-in, work from a list.
-physically walk the route from water to bags to bike to exit. Think about places to run fast, run slower, and find shortcuts
-Look for 2x landmarks and markers for bike rack position. Note row/column of t bags
-lube chain per Squirt protocol
-Once this is done, get out fast with no lollygagging
-afternoon: stretch and light yoga, movie from itunes in room and relax
-put on timing chip left ankle strap before bed (safety pin aero chip band).
-Sleep by 9-10PM - "I'm grateful to be racing and damn lucky"
Race Day – Tasks
-wake at ~2:00 / 3:00am for 4 x (ntd: cut to 3x?) Ensure
-wake 4:00
-“I feel great”
-LG Race suit, Aquaphor, sunscreen
-Get to race time TBD
-heavy throwaway sweatshirt to stay warm and throwaway shoes for walk to start
-quick list of Admin: BTA water, salted gatorade on saddle cage, Garmin secured, paired and calibrated, tires inflated to 95psi, chain lubed in easy gear, 3 x clifs, gel flask, caffeinated gel, and salt tabs secured onboard, sunglasses attached to bars with an elastic
-find somewhere quiet to sit, chill, and get a stretch done. Really ensure the lower back and glutes get a full treatment
-Sunscreen again
-continue sipping water all morning
-wetsuit on, make way to lineup
-Absent in-water warmup: think about key three swim skills during lineup and activate muscles
-caffeinated gel at 10 mins to start
Swim
Goal of 1:00 - 1:02
-line up at corresponding corral
-Let the paces get worked out for 5-10 minutes, and as early as available, latch onto a pair of feet
-you'll get hit; hold your ground and keep making forward progress
-hard for first 400, and still hard until turning around the ‘island’ as you swim upstream. Quicker strokes, hard pull, natural kick. Be in control, and pace based on the work coming from your muscles, form and fitness ... NOT adrenaline.
-muscle fatigue: first 400 will be over soon, just keep hard pace
-settle into race pace with longer pulls, lift heels to kick and maintain body position, count strokes
-keep key 3 in mind: tall catch, around the barrel, strong pull using lats/pecs muscles
-find a hip or feet and enjoy the ride wherever possible
-REALLY stay on feet once at you’re at the halfway point – this is where you will probably have bridged to comparable swimmers
-ensure you continue to work in the last ¾ of the swim; this is where others start to fade
-If necessary, just leapfrog from draft to draft
-throughout, effort should be “remember ... it's a race”
T1
-aim for 'best in race’ T2 time based on past racers’ results
-run to end of (or just past exit) of change tent for changing
-helmet on immediately
-roll up trisuit top en route from the tent to the bike
-grab bike and go, run with bike holding saddle instead of bars, carry shoes
-near mount line, lean bike against fence and put on shoes
Bike
Execution
-Planned gears as 190 / 200 / 210 / 220, Goal time irrelevant
-11-25 with compact crank. Disk and flo 90 front (EN: would a H3 be better?)
-1 /2 Clif every half hour with water. Gatorade on the :15 and :45. Switch from Clifs to gels at about 3.5h
-Minimum 2 full bottles water plus Powerdrink ever hour
-lava salt every .5 hour
-at least hourly peeing
-Bike is a 5h conversation with your powermeter, not siteseeing
-think “range of watts:” 190 to 193; 200 to 203; 210 to 213, etc
-set bike alarm at 240 watt cap
-Stay low all day with head tucked down and turtled, and helmet high on forehead when down. Tilt pelvis to enable this. Visuals through ride: "I get small and punch through the wind." Head down is worth as much as 25 watts savings.
-If you’re going fast, but not working at Zone 3, ride or coast with rolled shoulders and turtled head. Think of the ideal position as ‘the Airport at Kona.’
-if there’s glute strain or back pain, inch up on nose of saddle, ‘scrape mud” on pedal stroke, engage upper legs (quads and hamstrings)
-Safety first … for the first 2 hours or so
-First 10mile as 190, easy spinning, take your time putting on glasses, avoiding curbs and speedbumps, working out little aspects of fit
Tactics
-In the ‘multiple loop” section, be really careful at aid stations, but also maximize loop 1 “wind shadows” when you pass in loop 2
-Seize opportunities to ride tangents wherever possible and legal. Look for the shorter line on curves, and pass other riders to coincide with apex (where this is feasible)
-‘not making mistakes’ in the bike will put you much further ahead in the day overall than trying to make things happen
-It doesn’t look like there’s any real flat (and therefore there’s frequent decision making all day) on this course … tactically, do what you can to keep your head clear (caffeine, mental queues at specific points, keep nutrition going)
–seems like there are some chances to carry speed into and out of rollers and corners; look for a lot of ‘wind shadows’ for legal drafts all day (particularly in first 30 mins and in the second loop of bike, when there are maximum bodies on the course) … even when moving slowly uphills
-pedal until spinning out on descents. On sustained descents, maximize the increased speed that comes from dropping into draft zone of rider in front of you: this “slingshot” that comes from about 5 – 10 seconds in the zone is really pronounced at 30mph or more.
-be prepared to remove plug in helmet for periods where speeds will be greater than 37kph / 23 mph
-general strategy point: if feeling **great** after 4h, make decision to bump to higher end of range (ie from 200 to 203). Easy spin on downhills while staying low.
-make sure you're still peeing hourly at 3+ hour mark
-pick a landmark around the 3/4 point that will coincide with your normal point of losing focus / drifting mentally: this is the cue to get your head back into it, and you should have a caffeinated gel around this time
-Mile 110: unstrap shoes, drop to 190ish, easy light spinning, get your mind into the t2 game ahead, and remove Garmin from mount
-don’t remove feet from shoes until you’re ~200m from dismount line (ntd – figure out exactly where that is at bike check-in)
-t2 flying dismount, drop bike, helmet off and run
T2
-aim for 'best in race’ T2 time based on past racers’ results
-helmet unstrapped once past dismount line, take off while running, roll off top of M-2 suit
-get a chair near the exit door, flag a volunteer to bring water
-sit down, dump bag, socks and shoes on, man-bra on, grab hat / baggie of sunscreen bundle, step into race belt, get movin'
-just carry hat bundle until everything is settled, then put 'em both on when you're underway. If this is difficult, you're going too fast … doesn't even need to occur in the first mile
-bring along a sturdy ziplock to provide on-the-go ice pack for lower back / glutes
Run
Mindset and Priorities
-Rule #1: Do not look at calves of other racers. Go out of your way to not watch who is in what AG and make sure nobody gets in your head until mile 18.
-GPS might be useful on this particular course but be prepared to run by HR and perceived effort
-even if run is flat, be ready to be making micro decisions about pacing all day
-remember “focus” mental cue
-“I am light and strong”
-in particular, remember to smile as you roll up on aid stations.
-run entire race, keeping consistent miles
-don't break stride for pee breaks – just keep moving
-run smart: take tangents, follow shortest paths anywhere, if you’re running into a headwind you should draft
Execution
-alternate gatorade and gel between every aid station
-Grab 2 gels every time: one for next aid station and toss in pocket to eat as you roll up to station IOW, always have an 'emergency' gel pack in your pocket.
-start run as shuffle with key technique look-fors: tall, efficient, engaging glutes
-acknowledge that the first 10 minutes will feel cruddy, but this always passes.
-opening pace w HR cap of (average of last 2 hours of bike?)
-back down by 5 bmp if your RPE too hot, and adjust slower every few minutes until RPE is very easy
-mile 6: if on pace, drop pace to HR cap of ??
-If first 6 at too easy pace, just adjust ... gradually and later
-mile 12: how do I feel? If it's an HONEST "great," and running at higher bpms, keep on. If running with HR higher than ???s, drop pace and walk the aid stations. If feeling anything else, figure it out.
-by mid-point, be prepared for the entire field to be on the race course and congested aid stations: get what you need early in the scrum
-mile 18: keeping moving, and take stock for a minute. Breathe; control. Figure out what will be needed to get to the line. One last reminder of running with perfect form, then go and run with heart. Move from "reserved, internal focus“ to ”gutsy, external focus." Pass people and steal their energy. Get pace to STRONG. Keep turnover, keep form, don't walk anywhere.
No matter what, do not back off.
After Mile 18, employ the One Thing trick, bring up mental images of Peter Reid 1999, Andreas Raelert 2015, Luc Van Leirdre 2000 run styles, and Craig Alexander / Rinny –like focus. Find anything that gives you energy. BIG FRICKEN SMILE.
-Remember that these miles go very very quickly.
Other
-No Special Food Bags
Risk Management and Contingencies
-blown tire or minor: come to a stop, close your eyes and breathe deep for 5 seconds, and get on with a calm fix. Think Chrissie, not Normann.
-major: you're lucky to be doing Ironman. Use it to learn something on race day: maybe try a run PB using McGee 8/1
Heat Management (assuming average temperature of 25 race day; rewrite plan if hot)
Bike: continued jersey soaking, hydration and pee schedule as written
Run: -HR is the first thing to monitor
-bare core, “man-bra” to have minimal fabric coverage
-sponge, cold water dousing at every aid station -grab two cups of ice at each aid station, consolidate them into one cup while on the move, and either (a) put ice in hat and let it melt, (b) put ice in man-bra and let it melt, (c) carry ice in bare hands and let it melt, (d) all of the above.
Cold /Rain Management
-Staying warm on the bike is job 1. Aerodynamic clothes are secondary to making sure you can ride at power and follow it up with a solid run.
-take in about 25% more calories for the first few hours, and if it’s sustainable, maintain to hour 4 on the bike.
Avoiding mistakes
(know
where the top mistakes would likely come, note them, and then don't make them)
-climbing at above 210-220 watts
-overlooking any basic hygiene (food, drink, pace) that would impair decision making
-feeling defeated at 4h in bike, during first miles in run, or miles 15-16 in run
-going fast (or any pace other than “very easy”) in first 6 miles of run
-giving up before the end
-chasing a split time at any point earlier than mile 18
Comments
- Scale at the hotel, remember all scales are not equal. Hopefully it's consistent and use this as a guide especially if you should see say +5 lbs at the hotel scale.
- H3 versus flo 90 - Some of the reading I've seen in the past is the H3 is better at low yaw rates but you lose this advantage as you move further out. In addition if I recall you need to run a narrow wheel 19 or 20 mm. Depending on your handling skills you can get blow around more in the cross winds as well.
Aerowenies has the following and it appears that the H3 is better (~.0179 versus .185 CDA m^2) in a very tight yaw band maybe between -1 and 1 degree. in the all wheel alone. Otherwise the flow is better. With tires this band widens out a bit.
- Further reading a CdA of ~.005 (.00454) will cost/save 3.81watts at 25MPH.
http://bikeblather.blogspot.ca/2015/10/win-tunnel-playtime-part-1.html
- I noted you are pedaling until spinning out. Are you being more aggressive on the down hills versus coasting in the past?
I'm copying this for my race plan. Except for the man-bra part
where can we have pancakes on Saturday!?
Comments -
first 10 miles of bike course are flat with exception of a "hill" at mile 8ish
I would also add to your comment of "feeling defeated at mile 15-16" to not feel victorious either... Always anticipate the guy who could have a late charge on the course... happened to me 200 yards from an OLY finish yesterday
look under the race resources page for the past screencast webinars of the course by RnP, remember that the course has changed in the removal of the out n back on the initial lollipop stick, but addition of a section mid loop on both loops.. you are correct that this is a constant thinking course on the 2 loops, LOTS of opportunity to gain by riding smart and steady.
also note somewhere in the 1st couple of miles there is a harsh RR crossing, you have it on the way out and back, on the way out it can be a bottle launcher unless it was fixed since '11.
Awesome plan in here & like @Paul Curtin - i'll be taking some literary license with this.
looking forward to racing with you in a few weeks.
Reference swim - I think the only time you can swim in the river is the day before, there is a local YMCA downtown , lanes are few and very narrow , but I have always been able to swim 3-4 days out from race day.... Good Skill my friend will be watching from the island :-)
Great plan (as always). Good luck!
him I accumulated 39 minutes of zero watts/coasting at IMC.
And thanks for the feedback on the wheels. I'll run the Flo, if only because the bearings on the h3 need replacing (and I can't get my hands on a 20mm conti supersonic without a lot of legwork). I really like the h3 as well, and I'm intrigued by the 'watts to spin' argument that puts it forth as the superior wheel. But the Flo isn't going to harm me, so I'll use that (plus, I have fresh conti supersonics in 23mm).
I can't help myself ... the following are the ingredients in Ensure! Is your gut made of steel?
Your muscle's will be saturated with glycogen. The morning of the race is really to top off liver glycogen and hydrate with electrolytes. Big eating is over 12-15 hours before the gun goes off.
Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Blend of Vegetable Oils (Canola, Corn), Milk Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali). Less than 0.5% of: Nonfat Milk, Magnesium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Soy Lecithin, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Cellulose Gum, Potassium Citrate, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Cellulose Gel, Carrageenan, Salt, Ferric Phosphate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Chromium Chloride, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin B12, Phylloquinone, and Vitamin D3.
*Are you really planning on peeing every hour on the bike? If your blood volume is elevated with adequate electrolytes then I would think that is excessive.
* I loved that race. Just note, the line to start the swim is crazy long.
Overall great plan Dave and am you mention a lot that we should all think about on the day. You have thought about multiple scenarios which I think will make sure you are prepared for race day!
Look forward to meeting next week.
Dawn