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Scott Imlay's IM Boulder Race Plan
Bio
I’m 59 y/o (5’7” and 150 lbs) and this will be my second IM start. The first, 2016 IM CdA, ended in a DNF after I badly messed up my nutrition on the bike. I knew I was in bad shape when I stopped at the last aid station to try to cool down. I woke up some time later covered in ice bags with EMT’s hovering over me. This is an experience I want to avoid at all costs!
I have successfully completed five half IM’s in the last three years.
Goals
- Finish the race!
- Follow the nutrition plan – especially on the bike!
- Maintain a steady pace/power
- Stay in my box!
Race Morning
- I’m staying with my sister in Denver – a 40 minute to Boulder High School. I’d like to be there at 4:15 so get up at 2:45am.
- Eat my standard breakfast of overnight oats (steel-cut oats, raisins, tart cherries, almond milk)
- Sip on a bottle of sports drink on the drive to Boulder.
Warm-up
- Continue sipping on sports drink
- Use restroom (usually more than once)
- Short run to warm up the body
- Get in wet-suit and do a short warm-up swim)
Swim
- Seed myself in the 1:35 group
- Remain calm and avoid the craziness at the start
- Use complete strokes – all the way to my thigh
- Sight ever 10th stroke
- Breath to my off-side occasionally to avoid neck strain
- Swim buoy to buoy
T1
- Googles on forehead
- Unzip wetsuit and peel down to waist
- Find peeler to remove wetsuit
- Jog to tent
- Put on heart rate monitor
- Apply Chamois Butt’r
- Apply sunscreen
Bike
My FTP at sea level is 195 Watts.
For nutrition I have an aero bottle between the bars and two bottles behind my seat.
Pacing
- Go easy (125W to 130W) for the first 10 miles to get my heart-rate down.
- Ride at 70% FTP (135W) for the remainder of the ride.
- Don’t spike the power on the climbs.
Nutrition
- Start with 3 bottles of Nuun Hydration (570mg sodium and 90 calories per bottle) and switch to Gatorade endurance (580mg sodium and 160 calories per bottle) from aid stations when those are empty. Drink one bottle per hour.
- Start with 3 packages of Cliff Blocks (opened) in my bento box and/or pocket of my jersey. Consume one package (100mg sodium and 200 calories) per hour
- Take it one lap at a time
- Pee twice
- Remember what happened last time! Don’t let it happen again!
T2
- Put on fresh socks
- Put on shoes and hat
- Apply chamois butt’r
- More sunscreen
- Grab go-bag and walk out
Run
I’ve been fighting a periodic runners-knee issue for the last 2 months, so I’ve adopted a run-walk strategy to keep the stress on my legs lower.
Pacing
- Go easy for the first mile to get my legs stretched out and moving.
- Miles 2-18: use a 9-to-1 run/walk strategy. I’ll shoot for 9’ of run (roughly a mile) and 1’ of walk. If I start hurting I’ll probably drop to 3’ of running/20” of walking. This strategy worked well on the 3-hour run day.
- After mile 18, go faster if I’m feeling good.
Nutrition
- Alternate Gatorade and water. If hot, most of the water is poured on my head.
- Slowly consume gels obtained at aid stations.
- If my stomach starts complaining switch to Coke
Other
- This will be my first IM run. Enjoy the experience as long as you can!
- If the knee pain starts, adjust the run/walk strategy as I practiced (first go to 3’/20”, then reduce the run component if necessary). Don’t stop – this isn’t going to kill you!
- Remember all the work you've put into getting here!
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Comments
I see you're planning on pouring water on your head during the run. What about using ice? Do you have a race saver bag (Coach Patrick's invention)? If so, take it and use it. If not, stick a small sandwich bag in your go bag and use it for ice on the run. You can put the bag under your jersey to cool your core or hold it in your hands or sip cold water out of it as the ice melts.
On of the things that I have done on the run if my stomach shuts down is take one cliff block per mile and just let it dissolve slowly in my mouth.
Enjoy the day and remember to smile and thank the volunteers.
I have used plastic bags full of ice in the past. I forgot to put that in my plan but I'll be doing that. I don't have a race saver bag. I think @Mariah Bridges may be bringing extras to Boulder, so maybe I can snag one there!
Good idea about letting the Cliff blocks dissolve in your mouth!
I always smile during the race, even when it hurts!
Assuming that's the case, your nutrition plan looks reasonable. However, I think you'll be better off with more calories during the first few hours during the bike. There just aren't enough calories in Nunn to fuel a 150-pound athlete on that bike course. So consider starting with two bottles, with the third bottle stashed in your bike special-needs bag. Or perhaps add one more Clif Bloks in your bike jersey
Tonight's evening news said the high temperature in Boulder is going to be 97 on Sunday, so I know I'm going to have to increase my fluid consumptions substantially. Based on your feedback, the obvious answer would be to do two bottles of calorie-based fluids per hour (mostly Gatorade Endurance obtained from aid stations) but this has me a worried because I haven't had a chance to practice it. I probably start that way and, if my stomach starts giving me trouble, I can switch to water with added electrolytes for the second bottle.
I have room for a third bottle (aero bottle and two in back) so I suppose I could have a concentrated solution of the Nuun hydration (more confident my stomach can handle Nuun than GE) that I mix with water on the fly, but again I haven't practiced this.
I really wish I could have practiced in hot weather before IM Boulder! But, there is no time to worry about that now. I just need to stay in my box and adjust what I can.
Thanks for the complement on the run plan. As an Old Fart, I've become pretty good at optimizing my run in spite of whatever hip, knee, Achilles, foot, or other leg problems arise!
up a concentrate that has the equivalent of 6 bottles in 24 ounces. I use a
translucent bottle and put marks at 4 oz increments. As I go into an aid
station I squirt 4 oz of concentrate into the aero bottle and grab a bottle
of water and fill it up.
Since it will be hotter than expected, consider starting with regular-strength NUUN in the areo bottle, a concentrated NUUN bottle in the back, and a water bottle in the back. Given one variable is already out of whack (temperature), stick with what you're used to and hold off on the GE for as long as possible
When you get to the aid station, drop your empty water bottle and grab another one. If you're going to mix on the fly, wait until way after you've cleared the station. If you want to mix in the aid station then pull over at the end of the station to stop and mix them
Stash another NUUN concentrate in your bike special needs bag