Mark S. Wisconsin Plan
Background:
This will be my seventh full Ironman & fifth time at Wisconsin. My best finish in Madison is a 12:12:xx. Still looking for that sub 12 hour day.
Finishing the day with a quality run has been the limiter in my previous Ironman's. Hoping that I've learned enough from the pervious six Ironman's, and the training that precedes them, to finally execute well on game day.
Pre-Race:
Check in & team dinner on Friday. Bike/bag check on Saturday. In between those events I will relax, eat healthy & stay hydrated. Normal race morning routine.
Race Plan:
Swim: Estimated time: 1:20 +/- 3 minutes.
I've spent a fair amount of time this year developing my swim stroke. I can now honestly say that I look like an actual swimmer. Still not fast in comparison to a "swimmer" but making progress.
Plan is to line up at the tail end of the 1:15 group. I need to start easy & work into a comfortable pace. Smooth is fast. I will sight every 6 or 8 strokes as well as use other swimmers around me for guidance.
T1: Goal time 8:00
Wetsuit stripper, inside lane up helix & into the building. T1 bag will contain helmet & shoes. I'll put the helmet on in the building and carry my shoes all the way to the mount line. If done right I'll never stop walking/jogging. Sunscreen will be on before the swim start.
Bike: Goal time 5:40, VI: 1.05
Bike power numbers this year are at an all time high thanks in part to some racing on Zwift early in the Outseason as well as the longer Sunday ABP group rides. All of my long rides this summer have been done at 15-25 watts over Ironman pace. In theory this should be the easiest long ride I've done all year.
I've ridden the course (the loop) a dozen times this summer. Thanks John Withrow & Kory Reitzbach for showing me how to ride those hills.
Bike plan:
Fuel: 1 bottle GE every 45 minutes plus 2 oz. EFS Liquid shot every hour. That’s 400 calories per hour, 99g carbs & 986mg sodium. Should pee twice on the bike and again in transition.
Effort: I've identified sections to ride "hard" and others to maintain a solid pace. As usual, the first section in town will be used to gat my heart rate under control. After that I'll get to work. At the beginning of the second loop I will asses how I'm feeling and adjust from there.
T2: Goal time 3:00 or less.
Contents of T2 bag will be shoes/socks race belt & hat or visor. Again, If done right I will only stop moving to put on shoes.
Run: Goal time 4:20 (10:00 min/mile)
As stated above, running a complete Ironman marathon has been my weakness. Goal here is to have a solid and controlled run between aid stations, walk 15 steps, rinse & repeat.
Run Plan:
Fuel: Cup of GE at each aid station plus1/2 of a cliff shot every other until mile 15. Usually can't eat much after that so will switch to coke.
Effort: If I learned anything from last year its that you can't run too slowly in the first six miles. Patience & discipline here will determine my outcome. My plan is to run by heart rate only. The first hour should be mid 130's then can creep up from there. I should never see 150 before the last two miles. If my HR is low (<130 ) I need to eat.
Comments
Seems right to the point. Just be careful riding the "hard" parts too hard early in the race. You and I have to remember the same thing, the real hard part is the 2nd half of the run. Also make sure to rest in the days leading up to the race.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Todd
@Mark Stahlkopf I can hear your determination in every word of this plan. "...you can't run too slowly in the first six miles. Patience & discipline here will determine my outcome. My plan is to run by heart rate only..." You are so right. It took me 6 or 7 IMs to learn the first point (first six miles stupid slow). A other couple of years to get how Patience + Discipline + (in my case) Humility determine that speed. And the HR thing didn't come until I did an IM in 2013, and even then it took 2 or 3 to get that right. Here's hoping you can shorten that learning curve drastically...
@Mark Stahlkopf I'm really excited to track you this year - you've built some monster power on the bike! You know this course really well, but my 2¢ to keep in mind on race day is how long the ride out and back into town is. Be mindful, especially the ride back in, when you are mentally fatigued that these sections are way too long to be thought of as admin sections. Added to it is that the only time you may have a favorable wind all is the ride back - keep your focus and keep the hammer down until the last mile or so. You will pass tons of people that lose their focus.
Have a great race!
Hello Mark
You clearly have incredible power on the bike. Actually, you had it last year: we know this firsthand because on the Mt. Mitchell day at BRC, we left you after you flatted, and you still crushed us all way before that final climb. And this year you wore a polka-dot jersey and cruised to the top of Mt. Mitchell with relative ease.
You wrote: "In theory this should be the easiest long ride I've done all year". One possible corollary is that maybe it shouldn't be. You may have enough bike fitness to push harder without impacting the run. But I can't tell without seeing more data; hopefully you don't mind sharing those data points
@Mark Stahlkopf I think you have a good plan and you know this needs to be all about the run. After riding the course with you for 2 days, I know you have the power and brains to ride that bike fast AND smart! Don’t forget to keep pushing on the return stick, you do have the legs for that. Your familiarity with the course and overall strength WILL set up a great run!
Regarding that run, I do think you need to take it easier until at least after Observatory hill. You learned last yr how far south it can go on the run if you screw that up, so take it easy the first 6 Miles, settle your stomach, get in nutrition and just tick off those low HR Miles. You already know this and wrote it in your plan, I just wanted to re-emphasize how important it really is! There will be PLENTY of time to make the run harder later...
good Skill buddy, see you in a few days!
Maybe think backwards. What is a good run for you? What effort on the bike sets you up for that? (%FTP) Do you trust your ability to run enough to keep the bike IF down?
Thanks for the input everyone.
@Paul Curtin, answers to your questions:
My last long ride is here:
Thanks @Mark Stahlkopf -- that's very helpful data. If you can ride IMWI just like that August 25 ride you'll be in great shape. On that ride you had steady power, steady cadence, and HR behaved just like you'd expect on a long ride (slight increase over time due to cumulative effort and temperature increase)
So keep to the 5:40 target. I suspect that your increased bike fitness and power won't show benefit until the run, and probably not until late in the run when you find you're still running between the aid stations
135 seems like the perfect target HR to start the run. You'll likely find it creeping up to 142 in the first few miles, and that's your indicator to slow down
@Mark Stahlkopf course familiarity means more in Madison than nearly any course on the IM circuit. Your knowledge, coupled with your increased fitness and of course great execution will be the equation to get you the 11 handle time.
Look forward to cheering you on!
@Mark Stahlkopf - I am conflicted here. I really want to be PC and say "nice plan." Then again, I want to take you smack you around and say WTF?? I have ridden and run with you enough to know how you are vs me. The short answer is, you are much faster than me. I did a 5:47 bike on this course 2 years ago. I can't imagine that you are ONLY 7 minutes faster than me. How much faster? 5:30 may be too fast, but I am willing to bet mid to low 5:30s will set you up nicely for a run...
now that run.. your increased bike fitness, if expressed as an "easier" effort, should have you cruising in the run. I know the big issue for you is going easy to get over the mental hurdle of never having run an IM run. I know you can break 4 hrs.
here's the challenge(pulling a @John Withrow here, get your Transition times in the top 10 of your AG AND break 4:10 on the run, I've got $50 for your favorite charity. Another $10 for every minute under 4:10. Go under 4:00 and I'll $200 all in.
Given that HR is your governor, you can do a lot here! watching with eagerness that my baiting gets you going! Good luck my friend
#thecultofthebean
It’s all about Transitions and the run! I like it... I’ll match @scott dinhofer ‘s offer...
No sense in even having a time goal on the bike. Yes...it's ok to estimate what the bike will take but if you have a goal of 5:35 you may work really hard to get from 5:36 to 5:34 and those two minutes will cost you 15-20 on the run. Race your watts...you are stronger than ever on the bike. I think you'll see those watts will bring you in below 5:40 if you are smooth, but time shouldn't even be on your Garmin.
Set your autolap to 5 miles and hit that 198 watt target for each lap (excluding the first where it will be low).
I can't pass up a good wager...I'll take a different slant. Hit your power target on the bike (+/- 4 watts) and $25 to your charity. Top 10 in both transitions another $25. But the run is what makes a good IM, so $25 on the line here if you hit your run target and if you do all three $200. Make us pay!