Todd Glass's Ironman Wisconsin Race Plan
IM Wisconsin Plan
This is my 9th ironman and 6th time doing Wisconsin. I have had really bad events here and some pretty good ones. This time I am going to have a great one. My fitness is at near all-time highs. I am in the middle of the 45-49 age group. (47) My practice swims in a 25 yd pool are around 1:25’s /100, FTP 290 with W/kg right at 4.04. My run is solid with a dot of 56. I have put some attention towards nutrition and have a good plan with some work arounds if things change. What I NEED to do is put it all together. I told Patrick many months ago that I wanted to finally race an ironman. So that is my goal. Sure, I have time and place goals, but weather, wind and competition take some of them out of my control. I will focus on what I can control throughout the day and push hard to end leaving nothing on the table.
The last time I did this race, I finished with a 10:33(1:04/5:33/3:48) There was a lot I could have done better and some free speed I could have found if I had been looking. The admin in the days before the race are pretty much part of my normal routine at this point. So, my race plan is really just the meat and potatoes of the day. I really do appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and comment on my plan. I am amazed at all the people who find the time to help out and participate in making this team such a great place. I am in awe. Thanks for reading.
Swim <1:02
- Gu Roctane 30 min before with water in disposable bottle
- Never done rolling start. Try to get with the group targeting 1:00
- Start smooth
- Expect pain at 300 yards as adrenaline leaves
- Focus on cadence and remember it takes 800 yards for me to warm up
- Try to swim shortest line
- After last turn, wake up legs a little bit and focus on finishing strong
T1
- Carry wetsuit up helix
- Stay smooth
- In change room Helmet on, grab shoes, out the door
Bike: Target 200 With AVG HR as low as I can get it <130
- Nutrition is concentrated Infinit along with GE from course
- Easy out the stick keep power in the 175-185
- Find free speed every place I can get it.
- Slowly increase power but don’t start racing until after the right onto Sugar River
- Steady as you can
- Low VI
- Keep power under 230 for the short hills and as low as you can on the steep hills.
- Focus on a strong second loop
- Remember 2016, strong second half
- Spin up helix, feet out at top
T2
- Socks and shoes on
- Grab bag and go
Run: Goal 3:30 keep HR in 120’s as long as I can and never above 140 (Until the last few miles)
Of all the 3 disciplines, the run is my strongest. This time I need to use it.
- Realize 1st mile will be quick due to terrain, people etc. Stay focused
- HR takes priority over pace in the early going
- Start with 8:15’s until the top of the hill
- Do what ever it takes to stay at that pace
- GE/Water at aid stations. GU in transition and at 2 miles then every 4
- Use downhill and crowds on state street to slowly increase to race pace
- If HR and legs feel good get onto pace and stay steady
- SN grab magic GU relax on down hill
- Start to use coke by now
- I always find a dark place between the football stadium and the hill on the second loop
- Remember your cues to keep the lights on.
- Resist the urge to increase pace, if possible on state street. soak it in and prepare for the path
- After the path It is on to the finish
After
- Try not to go to med tent
They know me there - Find family and teammates
- Coppers Tavern for at least 1 beer
After this weekend’s last long ride I will make the final draft. Please feel free comment on anything good or bad. I am looking forward to seeing everyone racing in Madison.
TG
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Comments
WIS is new as a "Rolling Start", but if other rolling start races are any indication, I think you should try to seed yourself near the back of the 0:55-1:00 group. This might have a bit more contact, but there are a bunch of guys like me (~1:12 swimmers) who are gonna be seeded in the middle of the 1:00-1:10 group trying to get a nice draft off the fast guys for a while. It would suck for you to have to swim past/through all of them(us). I also plan to "attempt" a couple hundred yard easy w/u swim before cramming myself into line. This will help burn off some of that adrenaline and more importantly allow you to settle into your rhythm much quicker after the gun goes off.
You must know the bike course like the back of your hand at this point, so not much to add here.
Setup the run smartly and that vDot should carry the day. But remember that even fast runners walk/limp at ~20min/mi, so I like your plan of starting under control and finding the dark place much later!
See you in ~2 weeks!
Todd, I'm glad to hear you are ready to race. *Racing* an Ironman is primarily a mental attitude, rather than a simple physical exercise. It's a frame of mind that your body knows better than your mind what you are capable of. You have enough years of both training for and participating in long-distance triathlon that your body and your brain have internalized what you are capable of in terms of how long you can stay at various RPEs. The trick is to use that "intuition" to your advantage.
Here's the way I think about it as the day progresses. On the swim, racing means I am always pushing at the limits of what i can do, constantly checking on whether my stroke is about to break down. If its not, I keep pushing. On the bike, with the longer time frame, the increase in effort is measured by the turnover in aid stations - working a little harder after each one. At Wisconsin, as you know, there is the added task of remaining in control up the hills, and using the turns to your advantage.
It's on the run, of course, where the racing really becomes apparent. The simple question I ask myself on a continual basis is, "Can I hold this effort level from now to the end of the race?" Often what happens is my body wants to step things up a little sooner than my mind is prepared for. More often than not, my body is right. Training and peaking have produced a higher end than I was aware I had during those days of misery 2-6 weeks prior to the race.
Using numbers as a secondary checks on RPE is useful, of course, but in the end, listen to your body...it knows itself far better than your conscious mind does. The big job of your mind, IMO, is to ignore the effort your body is willing to take itself to...
@Todd Glass : love your draft race report. Very succinct and to the point!
You've done Ironman distance racing and IMMOO in particular more times than I have, so not much I can add that you don't already know.
So very impressed by the 4+ w/kg and 56 vdot; with those kind of numbers, no need for the fancy pants Vaporfly 4% and all the other space age techno mumbo jumbo gear that is advertised out there, like the shiny apple in the Garden. Kudos on the super high performance engine you've built. Nevertheless, will still need to race smart; as you mention, who knows what the weather will be like and the competition that shows up.
Couple of thoughts:
As @Jeremy Behler has been noting, there is a lot of free speed people leave on the table in transitions. I would encourage you to take an aggressive inside line up the helix and not be afraid to "squeeze" between spectators and participants. Last year we could leave shoes on the bike, not sure if they will allow this year. At IMMT this year, shoes on the bike were not allowed but I saw many with shoes on the bike. It is my understanding that officials are not allowed to touch the bikes in transition, so I believe those racers were able to take advantage of the extra seconds that bought. In past years I would set aside junk shoes by the eye glass table at the swim exit and slip those on before running the path to and up the helix. Not sure I would recommend that anymore due to the congestion at the swim exit and the fact that the eye glass people lost track of them last year and I spent at least 15 seconds looking for them before finally just jogging to T1.
Not sure what your calorie, Na and hydration goals will be on the bike, but if you can time the hydration and calorie intake such that you don't have to lug bottles up the "three bitches" that may help conserve some heart beats for the run.
Will be cheering you on!
Hey Todd - this reads as a great plan, and your fitness and execution are setting you up for a fantastic day. I'll be excited to watch you put it together.
My only thought would be the "racing" part ... from experience (and not good), I can say the only difference a "racing" day and an "executing" day have is your mindset and one thing at Mile 18. I actually think it's a dangerous state of mind to be racing at any other time of the day, because you let lots of little things into your head (omg ... i'm 2mins off my swim ... omg ... the pack of guys with 46 on their calves just passed me ... omg ... I need to make time in the first 5 miles of the run) that lead to Bad Choices, and those bad choices, as we know, express themselves at exactly the point in the race where you will be moving through the pack. So, Race by all means, but put that in your back pocket and don't think about it until super late in the race.
Now ... that doesn't mean you can't execute an agressive model - the comment in JWs plan about using Rich's bike course notes, for example, is something where the racer would up their IF from, say, .73 to .74 ... similarly, maybe run the first 4 mi instead of the first 6 mi super easy ... but make these calculated and modelled risks, instead of being on the edge all day, and making reactive instead of deliberate moves.
**last piece - and it's important - between today and race day, do at least 15 mins of full-on mental prep and visualization of exactly how those last 8 miles are going to unfold (successfully and spectacularly, natch). Run it over like a movie/script. You're going to be calling on your mind and body to do something excelptional here, about 60% of which is mental, and this visualization stuff works.
To all who replied. Thank you for taking the time and offering advice. it was all good and everything I needed to hear. In no order.....
@Dave Tallo - Funny thing, I have been practicing the the visualization for some time and i am hoping it helps. Your thoughts on "racing" are much appreciated.
@Tony Ledden - I love the free speed in transition. I will try to beat my 2016 times. And yes, I would throw just about everything off my bike to make it lighter up those hills.
@Al Truscott - It can be so hard to listen to your body when it wants to go. Of course, you are right, the need to sustain is far more important then the need to go fast.
@John Withrow - Yes, the dark place will come. He is hoping we both push right through and end up fresh as can be on the other side.