Tallo 2018 IM Kona Race Plan
Dave Tallo, 48
Goal: Sub 10
Strategy:
1. Execute with respect for the course
2. No drama; keep mentally and emotionally levelled all day, in all circumstances
3. Remember every standout race has materialized after mile 18; don't give up when there are early setbacks
Race Week - General
-smile. Enjoy being here. (2018: I’m really doing this! A lot!)
-safety first. You’ll be distracted, flighty and tweaked and at the greatest risk carelessness and an accident. (IMPORTANT: No bike riding of any type between Industrial park to the North, and Wyndham to the south)
-Handwashing and purel; fist bumps instead of handshakes; if someone sneezes, run the other way.
-approx 2300 cals/day plus replacement of training cals. Green, lean and clean.
-Follow Couzen’s meal plan (sort of – don’t neglect glycogen stores). Don’t fill time or boredom with junk food and mindless eating.
-In all situations, ask "Is this adding to, or depleting my energy?"
-Go into hibernation mode. Don’t move very much. Nap. Often. As of Wednesday, you can’t get enough sleep.
-lots of sitting. Avoid walking / riding anywhere if you can drive. Monitor and enforce time on your feet – if it means some cutesy iphone app to cap it at, say, 2 hours a day, that’s good.
-stay in control of all situations. Have an exit plan for any outings.
-Daily, 3 x 2 minute (or more) visualization exercises.
-In bed by 10pm nightly, and have good groceries and fizzy water in the fridge all week. Avoid buying your meals at the ABC.
-Buy a scale on arrival, and have a daily weigh-in. But don’t get freaked out by weight gains – just track these for future information and general feedback.
-Tuesday bike: practice shoes-on-pedal transitions until it’s a fluid movement (bike mount / dismount).
-Continue consuming no-cal electrolyte drinks all week.
-use post-it note ‘burn-down list’ of things to do during the week, on wall.
Days before race
-Carb load, following discussion in 13/9 thread
-in advance, write itinerary: where to go and when, menus and venues for meals, follow schedule using 15min blocks.
-big smile all day
-IHOP team breakfast. Pancakes. Last coffee no later than 1030 am.
-salted everything.
-sip electrolyte drink all day
-Lunch as small 'clean' pasta or burritos w flour tortilla, chicken, mild salsa, rice. OR Jamba Juice if time is tight.
-approach check-in as get in, get your t-shirt, get done, get out. Then physically leave the area.
-230 / 3pm arrive at check in, work from list
-Squirt chain lube on fully degreased race chain the day before; follow manufacturer protocol
-iPod as isolation mode-keep stimulation at a reasonable level
-physically walk route from water to bags to bike to exit. Think about places to run fast, run slower, shortcuts. Don’t be rushed by the patient volunteer during drop off. make iphone video of the T1 walk from swim exit to tent to bike to mount line to exit.
-Look for 2x landmarks and markers for bike rack position. Note, and write down the row/column.
-afternoon: stretch / light yoga, DL movie from itunes in room and relax.
-take out pasta dinner with garlic bread at Italian place in Keauhou mall. Sit for dinner by 6:30, be grateful!
-put on timing chip and aero band, left ankle, safety pinned, before bed
Sleep by 9-10PM - "I'm grateful to be racing and damn lucky"
Race Day
-wake at ~2/3am for 3 x Ensure
-wake 4:00
-mirror: "I feel great" ... arms up in Victory pose ... fake it until you make it!
-Drive to race Time TBD, park at Walmart(?)
-quick list of admin (more to add later): water bottles, salted gatorade on bike; 3 x clifs and 6xgels onboard, inflate tires to 100psi, wipe chain, wipe tires, bike in easy gear, attach sunglasses to bars w elastics, elastics on shoes, and get outta there
-find somewhere quiet to sit, chill, light stretch, put on sunscreen
-continue sipping water
t minus 30
-roll down triskin to waist, swimskin on, make way to water
-spash around with warmup including 4-5 x 'hard' intervals and practice breathing out in water, and hand as “paddle” for pull
-caffeinated gel at 10 mins to start
Swim
-Seed near r and outside -get ready for cannon, cuz it’s deafening when you’re next to it.
-avoid sea urchins hanging off Kaulua pier
-warmup swim – practice exhaling bubbles, tall stroke, “windmill” arms turnover
-find big dude to get behind at start, gauge speed, use his big draft
-go
-hard for first 400 (NTD - approx marker for 400m is past Kona Inn). Quick strokes, hard pull, natural kick, exhale like practice. Hard pace based on muscles, form and fitness ... NOT adrenaline. Be in control.
-you'll get hit; hold your ground and keep making forward progress.
-muscle fatigue: first 400 will be over soon, just keep hard pace
-settle into race pace with longer taller pulls, no glide,lift heels to kick and maintain body position, count strokes
-keep key 3 in mind: tall, catch around the barrel/jonny-o elbow, strong pull.
-get on a hip or feet and enjoy the ride.
-Mentally, stay on the rivet. Prepare for 'swim to nowhere' section on return
-REALLY stay on hip on return. Lots of the fast women start to catch up here, so there are some bridging opportunities in the drafts.
-effort: remember ... it's a race. Mike Roberts: “swim like a swimmer.”
Exit and T1
-Look at personal / AG T1s of previous years and aim for fast. Reverse-engineer them in your walkthrough and recon (“I’ll spend 10s here, then 20s there …&rdquo if possible.
-wash eyes under hoses, run outside of tent – watch pegs - and toss bag wherever (… they’ll find it!)
-roll up trisuit top while en route from the tent to the bike.
-HELMET ON AND BUCKLED BEFORE EVEN TOUCHING BIKE
-grab bike, run guiding bike by holding saddle (not bars) and go
Bike
-11-23 with compact crank. Flo90 on front and 808PT rear (note: I've done Kona with (a)front and rear 808s, (b)Hed 90s, and (c)Bonti Aeolus 65s on a variety of wind days. I prefer the deep wheels as long as I have practiced on them a lot ... I installed mine back on Labour Day weekend, and will have 2 weeks of Queen K riding pre-race, so I should have ~ thousand (?) miles of 'getting acquainted' time.)
-Planned IF .74, approx TSS 270, watts as 185-190 first 30 mins, 195 thereafter, 210 for longer climbs. HR cap ?????? Goal time irrelevant (Note strategic choice here: early in the season I had plans to Set The World on Fire and micromanage the bike with BestBikeSpit-like “descent at x watts; etc etc.” I’ve mellowed, looked at past race reports and mindsets from HI, and will instead execute bike with a view to a strong run.) RR was 'comfortable' 5:10 in full gear, minus skinsuit and Supersonics/latex tubes.
-think "range of watts" - 190 to 193; 200 to 203; etc. Outbound, lower range. Inbound, make a determination on how you feel.
- make decision at gas station at bottom of Hawi descent whether to switch to revisd watts or stay with current numbers.
-Bike is a 5h conversation with your powermeter. No siteseeing. -shoes on pedals, flying mount and go, pull on shoes once moving forward on bike
-Stay low all day with head tucked down and turtled, and helmet high on forehead when down. Stacked hands, hunched shoulders and low head outperform even the fastest of superbikes’ gains.
-visuals through ride: "I get small and punch through the wind." This is your ideal, with a *low* top of head. Throughout day, cue of the chin being horizontally below the notch between the bicep and deltoid.
-Safety first … the Queen K has divots and some serious reflectors. Head’s up ball at least until you get to the numbered highways.
-but find tangents on shoulders, even on long sweeping curves. Actually, especially on long sweeping curves. Think about the difference running the outside and inside lap on a track, then multiply x 30-40.
-Hide from crosswinds behind rock formations as they appear
-for position, remember that wind speed is important … not necessarily ground speed. So, if you’re only going 10 into a 30mph headwind, don’t sit up.
-pull “plug” from helmet as ground speed (or wind speed) dictates: plug in below ~28mph, plug out above that.
-First 5 mins / industrial park as 190, easy spinning, very much heads-up riding, glasses with arms inside helmet straps.
-Safety first.
-DRINK!
-climb Kuakini Highway at 210-13 max
- 185-190 out along Queen K to 30 min mark. HR cap 130.
-keep very very very low in this section and ensure helmet is flush against back, stacked hands, narrow shoulders.
-Use airport as reminder to check that shoe straps are covered and aero, and wristband isn’t flapping around.
-coast 2 x large downhills If neutral winds. Staying low is much more stable than sitting up on Scenic View descent.
-eat early - stomach is normally settled right away and harder swim will have taken more cals than normal
-1 /2 Clif every half hour with water. Gatorade on the :15 and :45. Switch from Clifs to gels at about 3.5h. A minimum two full bottles of water plus Gatorade every hour.
-make sure you're still peeing hourly at 3+ hour mark
-1 lava salt every .5 hour
-high cadence on climbs if possible
-Do what you need to in order to ensure there is the mental real estate to keep making good choices all morning. There’s frequent decision making all day. Tactically, do what you can to keep your head clear (caffeine, mental queues, keep nutrition going).
-Climb to Hawi: stay aero at all times (until you get to the shaded part with the ghost bike at .5 mile out). Climb as 200 / 220 for the "sawtooth" start for the first 15 minutes, then progress to 210 for longer climbs in aero.
-take on a lot of water for the climb. It's worth the weight.
-grab 2 water bottles at bike turn immediately after turn at Hawi
-descent first drop from Hawi as full coast. Others as easy pedal, gear 1 as appropriate. Remmeber that there's a lot of time spent in race watts / gear 2 on the descent - it isn't all downhill.
-Overall, descent SAFETY FIRST in full aero, plug 'out' of helmet, turtled head, shoulders rolled in, weight of upper body on elbows and armrests. Keep pedals level with weight on feet/pedals to lower centre of gravity. Watch the line of riders ahead to predict gusts. But expect unpredictable gusts as well.
-pick a landmark around the 3/4 point of the ride that will coincide with your normal point of losing focus / drifting mentally. This is the cue to get your head back into it. Have a caffeinated gel around this time. And (as goofy as it sounds) force yourself to have a big smile for a full two minutes. This will improve your physical performance.
-at Moana Kao resorts, get this song and the visuals in your head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l8zU4N8tFg
-from 30mins in to bike finish: keep on watts, with terrain features at 213 and climbs at 223. Stay on gas steadily, don't come up during descents until 40mph or so. Look for opportunities for free speed = keeping momentum on rollers, legal drafting, etc. Lots of people will go out too fast on the bike = Free Wind Shadows from pretty much first half of lap 1 onwards.
-After airport, make decision about output recognizing a net elevation loss and need to run a marathon
-Nearing finish: you'll never be happier to see a "Ross - Dress for Less" store in your life
-Turn after Aquatic Centre: unstrap shoes, drop to gentle 180, easy light spinning, remove Garmin, “light legs” and your mind into t2 game
-make sure you protect your back all day – remember lower back problems that emerged during Canada and WI.
t2
-aim for a “best in class” t2 time based on past races (~1:30?) Reverse-engineer them in your walkthrough, if possible – i.e 60s running from chute to tent, 30s in tent, etc.
-t2 flying dismount, drop bike and gogogo
-helmet unstrapped once past dismount line, take off while running.
-grab a chair near exit of transition tent, not entrance. Hand volunteer empty bottle from T bag and ask them to fill w water.
-sit down, dump bag, socks and shoes on, grab hat / baggie of sunscreen bundle, step into race number belt, then get movin'
-just carry hat and sunscreen until everything is settled, then put 'em both on when you're underway. If this is hard, you're going too fast.
Run
-"focus"
-assume hot, with continued hot.
-don't break stride for pee breaks - keep moving forward.
-run smart: take tangents, follow the shortest paths anywhere.
-be prepared for real discomfort I've experienced in last few RRs for the first few minutes, but know this passes eventually.
-start as shuffle with Key Bobby McGee look-fors: run tall, engage glutes, forward lean from chest, footstrike along stance line, quick turnover at 90rpm, eyes on 6 ft ahead on road
-"I am light and strong"
-There is no flat – you’re mostly going up or down at various pitches. So, GPS is (mostly) noise, and be prepared to run by HR or perceived effort.
-In light of the above, know what you want to do in advance wrt HR or efforts on hills. Do you want to push a bit on shorter ones to keep pace, or just stay on effort like a diesel? Be ready to be making these micro decisions for the next few hours.
-alternate Gatorade and gel at 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.
(NTD – HR ranges will need recalibrating after race rehearsal #2 on course and observations while training in heat. But this is good enough to describe the progression I want. )
-run entire race, keeping consistent miles
-opening pace w HR cap of 135, run tall and economically
-back down to if RPE too hot, and adjust slower every few minutes unti RPE is very easy
-mile 6: if on pace, drop to HR cap of 140
-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 140s, keep on. If running with HR higher than 145-50, drop pace and walk aid stations. If feeling anything else, figure it out.
-at mile 12/13,(as goofy as it sounds) force yourself to have a big smile for a full two minutes. This will improve your physical performance.
-Hills: remember form to maximize mechanical advantage, make tactical choice at each hill whether to bump to higher effort to climb (HR cap 155), or maintain pace
-run palani with little steps, body lean, forward momentum from core. Keep hips very stable.
-run downhills with forward lean / drive from pelvis and momentum instead of muscle force.
-mile 16, make a tactical decision. “Do I feel good enough to begin mile 18 a few miles early?”
-where possible, fully draft on return run from Energy Lab into headwinds.
Either mile 18, or 16: toggle Garmin to "time of day," 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. Forward lean in run, remind y ourself to run with gluten instead of quads.
-get extra drive from one thing that has been your commitment for the last 6 years.
-"I am light and strong and breathe energy"
-Remember 4/3 -> 3/2 breathing progression as effort increases
-note tendency to roll shoulders in ... make sure you are pulling elbows back, especially late race.
Other
-No Special Food bags.
-Bike setup as front BTA bottle for water, water in behind seat carrier, 3 clifs and gels onboard, 2x extra light tubes on bike with c02, lever onboard. Contact lenses in storage.
-two extra safety pins on race belt. Because you never know when you can use a safety pin.
Risk Management and Contingencies
-blown tire or minor: come to a stop, close eyes and breathe deep for 5s, and get on with a calm fix. Think Chrissie, not Normann.
-major: you're lucky to be doing Ironman, in Kona. Use it to learn something on race day: maybe try a run PB using McGee 8/1 run walk.
-Say 'Mahalo' at the end.
Addendum: Heat Management
-2 weeks of pre-arrival sauna acclimatization in Toronto
-2 weeks of legit acclimatization in Kona. This period as training and living in heat following established SOP.
- Bike: continued jersey soaking, hydration as written. Use peeing frequency as key indicator of ongoing hydration status.
Run: HR is the first thing to monitor. Gear is 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) carry ice in bare hands and let it melt, (d) all of the above. Ice in the junk and on the lower back are good for a while.
lessons learned in the past: IMHO, the humidity of Kona obviates the usefulness of cooling sleeves, gloves, jerseys or other garments ... best strategy is bare (but heavily sunscreened) skin, and taking in whatever is on offer for cooling whenever it's available. Especially ice. But most importantly, not allowing core temp to rise early in run or as a result of any effort spikes will let me stay on top of the heat.
-co
Gear Addendum
Based on ERO testing: Garneau p09 helmet, EN Garneau M2 suit for the bike. Wear this rolled down at the waist, and underneath a XTerra swimskin, for the swim. Run with Asics DS Racer flats, the Craft socks I have worn for 22 of my 24 Ironmans, and my weirdly comfortable Vineman hat. I've done the race with the whole gamut of cooling gear, incl. a cooling hat, arm coolers, short sleeve, etc ... and the humidity and heat just make the minimal coverage preferable to me. If I could rock a speedo, I would.)
Comments
@Dave Tallo Putting it out there with a Sub 10hr goal. The perfect race plan as usual, many may think a bit anal or OCD :-) What I see is snippets of your mental game, beginning with your goal above. Visualization Exercises, I feel great, Mentally on the Rivet, effort its a race, focus, I am light I am strong breathe energy. So strong across all disciplines and preparation. May Good Skill get you to your goals.
@Dave Tallo Always love the detail in your race plans. Seems you are also being a little more aggressive on the down hill sections (less coasting). I'll be following on Saturday. Have a great race.
Apparently, you "still haven't found what you're looking for". Here's hoping you find a little bit it of it somewhere out there on the road come Saturday. I wish nothing but cool island breezes and safe passage for you.
@Dave Tallo, great plan which you will no doubt execute with precision. Excited to track your progress!
Dave, awesome detail as always. Tip: the run course has changed a bit. When you see the Lab solar panels after 6 miles on that cool, refreshing highway, you don’t get to turn. You get to run past it for 0.5 (?), turn around, come back, then head into the lab. Not a major deal, but be prepared mentally for “solar panels don’t = turn.” Same on the return - get to the top, turn AWAY from town and the finish. And, because you’re racing for time (not for everyone, but I like it), you absolutely must check Time o’ Day as you start the run. 6:15 into the day? I have options, can be smart and semi-conservative. 6:25? No f’n around, no stopping, no mental lapses. 6:30? I gotta take some early risks, be aggressive, and be ok if consequences appear before Ali’i. If you haven’t had the conversation yet, will you be ok making it to Mile 138 at 100% effort, only to be carried off in a gurney? Or do you want to finish even if you miss you goals? Something in between? Mental is important all day, but last 6-10 miles, it’s nearly everything.
Cant wait to watch you take on the day.
Mr
Thanks for posting your plan. I just learned so much...lots of good nuggets on physical and mental aspect of racing this course. Looking forward to enjoying the day with you!
Hele on bruddah.
Good skill Dave, execute like a ninja. I'll be tracking. SMILE! I love it and I don't think it's goofy at all.
@Dave Tallo Good skill to you my friend! I just loved reading your detailed plan and wish you all the success in the world. As you know, that race is just plain hard. You know that. Embrace it. Go get yours brotha!
Lots of goodness in your race plan that I will borrow for my Kona 2019 'just finish' goal. I'm sorry you didn't break 10 hrs but you were so damn close and with this kind of detail you certainly can't blame yourself for not having thought it through. Great time, great results and many congratulations on your stellar finish!