Brian Quarton's IMWI Race Plan
Brian Quarton's Race Plan
- Tell me what you're thinking.
- I reviewed past results and race reports from IMWI
- After each segment I put the range of my past splits
Lead up:
- Value hotel Wednesday, then DoubleTree Thursday for the duration
- Continue the tried and true
- Thursday AM drive the bike stick out and ride down Garfoot, and up the 3 sisters, to Midtown
- Register and expo on Thursday
- Get all the admin, exploring, gear prep, battery stuff, expo and most of the walking out of my system by Friday
- Brief swim walk through Friday to check the venue and my equipment
- Be at bike check before it opens on Saturday
- Set up a shuttle ride for Sunday morning
- Set Garmin to lap the run every 4 miles
- Spend the rest of the day Saturday resting and doing no dietary harm
- Start my race morning nutrition after 3:30
- Liberal waterproof sunscreen
- Catch a shuttle to the Terrace about 4:50
- No SN bags planned
- Drop T bags
- Air tires
- Group photo
Swim: (1:20-1:17)
- Try to seed with the 1:17 group
- Swim straight
- Sight less
- Count strokes
- Maintain form
- Draft
Note: The most important thing for me is to stay engaged.
Transition 1: (6:46-6:29)
- Immediately unzip, strip to waist
- Goggles and cap in left sleeve
- Find a strapping eager young lad
- Run on inside curb up the helix
- Helmet on, shoes in hand
- #557
- Shoes on before mount line always works well
Note: My race report from 2011 reminded me that I passed 20% of the field in T1!?
Bike: (6:05-5:40)
- Flo 90/Disc planned, also have Flo 60 front and rear, opinions welcome
- Constantly consider: “What do I need to do next to have a good race?”
- Core Diet nutrition plan works well for me
- Goal 162 to 164 watts and 137 to 140 BPM
- Safety first, don't ask me how I know
- Set up turns and keep momentum
- Stay ahead on nutrition
- Don't relax nutrition plan on the second loop
- Problem solve with Tylenol, sodium and caffeine
- From experience I HAVE to pee my pants at least twice or game over
Note: I took a good look at my WKO+ WI data going back to '11, '13, '16. I hit an expansion crack in '16 and flatted, so I have wider tires. I had similar numbers in each ride, but my runs couldn't have been different. The difference is nutrition/hydration. Again my AW, NP, AC, HR and VI are all ESSENTIALLY THE SAME!
Transition 2: (2:31-3:46)
- Loosen shoes on the Nolan, but stay in them up the Helix if possible (In shoes or out up the Helix?)
- Nothing fancy dismounting before the line
- Run socks on, Shoes on, Grab go bag and I'm out
- Garmin, hat, sunglasses and belt on while running
- Start Garmin at exit
- Get started eating and drinking
- I'll be around 2:40 if I don't make thoughtless errors
Note: I used to just put my stuff in a hat, but I dropped my Garmin in '11 and it cost about a minute, so now I seal everything in a Zip Lock. A nice thin, soft bag is great of ice.
Run: (4:07-3:29)
- Goal pace is 8:00 and Target HR 143
- I had a near perfect run here in 2013, so I know what to do
- Run relaxed until about mile 20 when it gets hard even if you did everything right
- If the nutrition went well on the bike all that's left is to execute the run
- Gatorade and ice every mile, gel every 30 minutes
- Keep your feet dry as long as you can
- Problem solve with Coke, caffeine, salt, bananas, Hot Shot(?) and slowing down
Thanks team!
Comments
@Brian Quarton You have more data and experience on this course than most of us. And it sounds like you have a very well thought out plan. Now the only thing is to put your ninja hat on and Execute!
FWIW, I plan to take my feet out of my shoes before the helix and ride up it with my feet on top of my shoes...
@Brian Quarton - my only feedback would be to have the SN for the bike. it’s super low cost and has saved me many times. a few extra gels and salt pills and a tube + CO2 will do... my $0.02.
orherwise, rock it!!
Brian. Will be good to see you up there. Nice to be the young guy in the age group. Not that it matters, but I agree with Patrick about bike special needs. 5-10 dollars that could be wasted, may just save the race. Also, I have found there is penny of time to take feet out of the shoes at the top. You may loose 1-2 seconds versus taking them out with the speed you are carrying from John Nolan, I just like the security going up hill.
Travel safely.
Nothing to add other than take advantage of the likely tailwind coming back home on the stick...
@Brian Quarton :
Sounds like you are an IMWI veteran!
With all the rain we are having, be careful on that bike. I expect there will be lots of debris that will have washed on to the roads and puddles that may be hiding a lurking disaster.
One thing I learned from IMMT this year is to dial down the hydration if it is a cooler day. You mentioned 2x pee on the bike. I consumed my normal 36 - 40 ounces per hour that I trained in 90 degree heat in Wisconsin in July during IMMT which was in the 70s, thinking I was being smart being conservatively hydrated for the run, and wound up peeing 8x on the bike and sacrificing another 5-8 minutes on the bike.
Solid plan and well thought out. Only thing to add is to know that something will happen to cause you to deviate from your plan. Stay calm when it does, think through your options, and know that it isn't an issue but simply a decision point to get you to the finish line.
@Jeremy Behler "something will happen" - Yes it will. Always does. I hope I've gotten better at this with experience. @Tony Ledden That's very true. The temperature in Madison can vary widely. @Al Truscott I'll take that tailwind. @Todd Glass My bike shoes have BOA closure. I bet I can stay in them. See you up there. You are going to kill it. Well Heading out. I will have a special needs bag on the bike. Good advise all.