Al T Race Plan IM AZ 18
Final Week
Sunday: MiamiMan Half Iron, to qualify for 2019 ITU LC WC in Spain. All I have to do is finish. Planned paces: Swim & Run @ IM pace; Bike @ IM Race Pace Plus, 150-154 watts on a perfectly flat course. Fly home in the evening.
Monday: Review any equipment issues from Sunday’s race. Run 2 miles, lift weights. Wash clothes; review packing check list.
Tuesday: Swim 45’; Run 20 minutes with strides; pack non-tri stuff; pack nutrition, including Sunday breakfast. FTP bike on Zwift:race or workout.
Wednesday: Run 20’, lift weights. Pack tri stuff from checklists.
Thursday: Fly to PHX: leaving home @ 0900, arrive @ 3:40 PM; run 2 mi on north shore of lake; build bike.
Friday: Register, buy CO2 cartridges, socks. Drive to Beeline for out and back from gas station. Run 15’. PM, Mesa Snap Judgement show.
Saturday: AM swim, ?register for 2019, run new section on north shore; pack bags and deliver to T zone. Identify Transition landmarks and distance from change tent. ?Movie in afternoon, Jamba Juice for dinner. Check temp predictions, and verify heat impact discount, for run, which should be about 4-5%.
Race Day
Up @ 4 AM. Breakfast of oatmeal, OJ, 600 cal shake. War paint (sunscreen, aquaphor)
Race day outfit: Contacts, HR strap, EN Castelli Tri Suit, Road ID with chip; Fenix 3.
Leave for T zone @ 5:15
In T Zone: bike - check tires, add nutrition, place arm coolers and wrist band if desired, then check bags. Go to trees by exit, put on wet suit, drop off MC bag, exit near front of masses.
Warm-up, then line-up @ end of 1:10-1:20 group.
SWIM: No rush @ start, keep a steady pace and effort. Swim like I mean it. After turnaround, find a good pair of feet, preferentially along buoy line. Try to pee after about an hour. @ Mill St bridge, OK to start working a small bit harder. Aim straight for steps, find the least crowded area, even if to the right.
T1: WALK to strippers, pulling off top as I go. Point at a stripper, flop down and wait. Jump up grab bibs, and RUN up the hill to bags. Grab bag, and aim for clear ground outside of tent. Helmet on, grab shoes; run to bike, run with bike past mount line. Smile crowd, hopefully wife and other EN folk. Put on shoes, mount bike and ease up the hill.
BIKE: After turn onto Rio Salado, start getting fixed: start Joule; arm coolers on, wrist band on. Start Garmin. Begin to repeat mantra: “No packs, no surges”
Every 15 minutes, drink. Start new interval on Joule @ turn onto Beeline, then @ turn-around, @ turn off Beeline, @ Rio Salado turn-around. Repeat x 3 Every 30 minutes, slug from gel flask.
Start to base of turn onto Beeline: ramp up to 0.65 IF/130. Up Beeline @ 0.67/135. From there on, stick between 0.65 and 0.69 IF, 130-139. If HR goes over 116, back off; if it’s less than 105, put a little effort into it. BBS says this will give me a 5:44 split. Stay aero, stay aero, stay aero.
First bottle of Infinit done by the end of first lap; toss bottle when finished at aid station. Finish gel flask by the turn around.
Second lap, consider if water needed @ each aid station, probably at the turnaround.
Special needs: remember to take both Infinit bottle AND gel flask.
Third loop: time to knuckle down and maintain narrow focus, with increasing effort to keep IF up.
PROCESS, PROCESS, PROCESS: No drafting, no surges, DRINK every 15 minutes, don’t skip any nutrition, keep the gel and Infinit flowing, stay aero, maintain narrow focus. THIS IS AN EASY COURSE, NO EXCUSE FOR GOING TOO HARD OR SITTING UP.
Coming down Rio Salado past the stadium, remove coolers, wrist band, feet out of shoes.
T2: Don’t be on someone’s highlight reel when getting off the bike. Hand it off, and trot downhill. Lap Garmin. Grab bag, sit down, and put on shoes. Grab go bag. Remove helmet. Drop bag in pile, find a toilet.
RUN: Across the mat, lap Garmin. I’ll be reading cadence, HR, and current lap pace. Work on Go Bag: visor on, wrist band on, sunglasses on. If it’s warm, will be using Race Saver Bag. Sun screen spray?
Start STOOOPID SLOW: monitor breathing and HR. If I can feel myself breathing, or HR goes over 116, slow down. Keep this up the North side @ apartments. After that, let the water torture begin - meaning follow my patented advice on gradually increasing RPE.
Aid stations: 4 oz perform, plus water to dilute and add to hydration. Will probably need sponges to shoulder straps, and ice to back pocket. Run to last last perform, grab it, go for water and ice, start running again when done drinking.
Smile going up the Curry St hill, fly by folks heading down to the underpass. Maintain pace back over the bridge and along Rio Salado, prepping mentally for the second half.
Do it all again, but this time with more intent, and total, firm resistance to slowing down. SLOWING DOWN IS NOT AN OPTION. On the second loop, NO ONE should be passing me.
ABS: Always Be Smiling
“It doesn’t get slower, it just gets harder. All the way to the end.”
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR NUTRITION AND YOUR PACE; YOUR TIME AND PLACE WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.
Checklists:
T1 bag: Giro Aerohead MIPS helmet with visor, Sidi T 2.6 shoes, socks, spare contacts
Bike Special Needs: spare tube, CO2 cartridge, Third bottle of Infinit, second Clif Bar, cut into pieces.
T2 Bag: Nike Vaporfly 4% with Stryd foot pod, socks, plastic GO bag with Tifosi sunglasses, visor, wrist sweatband, EFS gel flask, Race Save Bag®.
Run Special Needs: wrist sweatband
Morning Clothes/Back Pack: wet suit, cap, goggles, body glide, ear plugs; to place on bike - Clif Bar in pieces and two bottles of Infint (one throwaway), one EFS flask; pump, tire, tube, tools. Head lamp. Arm coolers, wrist band for bike.
BACKGROUND: This is my 33rd IM (which includes 3 DNS and 3 DNF), and my 7th IM AZ (1 DNS). I’ve ALWAYS had a good race there: 3 x 1st, 1 x 2nd (10 yrs ago), 1 x 6th (5 yrs ago - which was actually one of my 3 or 4 most fulfilling races ever, anywhere), 4 KQs, 1 x course record, and my 2 best times ever. But, I’m @ the top of my AG again, and am doing this primarily to get back on the saddle after two years away from IM, to get ready for my Age-Up year in 2019.
I started triathlons in 1999, with one of my prime goals being to find out and demonstrate what was physically possible as I/we get older. As I’ve continued, that remains an ever stronger motivation. In addition to the normal ravages of age (lower strength, lower max heart rate, etc.) I’ve managed to give myself some additional handicaps from self-inflicted injuries. Up to now, I’ve found a way to continue training and competing, along with simply having fun swimming, biking, and running. My number one goal for this race is to demonstrate that I am still capable of achieving that combination of fun and competition in an Ironman.
Comments
@Al Truscott You are ABSOLUTELY still capable of having fun AND competing at Ironman! I can't wait to watch your comeback show.
When I think back to June and you dragging me and Gronk all the way up Castle Creek Rd for what seemed like an hour I was truly humbled at your "Absolute" fitness to say nothing of your fitness "Relative" to others your age, I know with 100% certainty that you'll be just fine leading the way for the rest of this team!
Have a great race, I'll be "watching" from Minnesota!
the only thing I am questioning here is the wisdom of doing a 70.3, albeit a flat one, 1 week before an IM... I know you feel you are at the top of the AG where you have slowed and weakened over the last four years. I'd also believe you are going to find yourself in a fight for a top slot at IMAZ.. my $.02...
one of these years I think I need to pay attention to the ITU long course worlds and go!
what fascinate about this race plan ? 33 !!! its a huge number of races. With that experience, nothing can be add to this plan.
good luck!
So much to learn from you. Racing at the top of our AG when over 60 is exponentially more years than absolute years. Good for you to give it a go.
You have a busy week with Miami Man! Be careful. Fly first class 😃
Reading your race plan in 2015 helped me win t2 in my AG (me! who was almost 40' in t1 and 2 at IMKY this year!) at my fastest and best place IM in my much shorter career. Thanks as always for sharing the gold...in my case, exactly where to take my feet out of my shoes for that awesome t2 and approach to your day. You rock Al. Will be sending lots of Motor City Mojo on the day. Not because you need it, but be cause I love sharing the day just a little bit with you that way! :D
So hard to give advice to the guy that gives advice to all of us. I can just say good luck! and hope you don't have to deal with headwinds as we did last year.
@Al Truscott Have a great race. I was thinking similar to Scott but know you want to qualify for the WC. Is this a typical IM taper for you or have you cut back due to the 70.3? I also noted you are running every day following the 70.3 to the IM. Tuesday's FTP work is a possible zwift race?
Are you utilizing the Stryd on the run or just collecting data at the moment? You've got race HR and RPE pretty locked in. I'm also interested in how you are going to use the data?
@John Withrow I appreciate that confidence boost, man. It's so easy to get mired in self-doubt on the long slog to an IM. I needed a little light shining on what I am capable of.
@scott dinhofer Two comments on the 70.3/140.6 in one week, first to a general audience, second to your point: Like the commercials say, "Professional Driver on a closed course. Do not attempt this @ home" (That's also a warning on the "Jackass" movies...). Meaning, it's not recommended to *RACE* like that. I'm not viewing the 70.3 as a race. Because of the USAT qualifying rules (I'm basically competing against the 70-73 y/o, of whom there are 8; and there are 15+ slots available), literally all I have to do is finish. I could swim breaststroke, bike @ 13 mph, and walk the 13.1. Not gonna do that (I've got a plane to catch), but I am going to follow the MD code, "First, do no harm."
Now, as to being ready to compete in Arizona...I take every Ironman seriously, as a chance to perform at my best. The IM plan for the final weekend has a 2:30 bike and a 1:20 run, along with a full IM length swim. I think this EasyMan half iron is on a par with that level of effort, and will not impact my form a week later.
@Sheila Leard I am going out 1st class, but on Sunday evening, that was full...
@Trish Marshall - always love your mojo
@Jorge Duque @Francis Picard Luck is the best gift going.
@Gordon Cherwoniak I'm not really doing anything differenet for a taper. Except, as you notice, daily running. Couple of reasons for that. FIrst, with nearly no cartilege under my patella, I've found that frequent, shorter runs keeps the knee a little swollen, and it hurts less - all that fluid provides a cushion of sorts for every step. My theory anyway, for why it feels better if I run every day, then if I take a day off. And, I think that, the older I'm getting the more often my legs need to be reminded they are expected to work - meaning maybe mitochondria are dying off at a faster pace, and need a daily kick in the butt to reproduce?
As to Stryd, I've been running with it for a year now. There's a tight correlation between pace and "watts", with HR being the usual laggard by 15-20 seconds. So it might be useful during a race to keep in check when going up a hill, and during the first 25-50% of the run leg. I think it was @Rory Gumina who used it with some success recently, as well as @Coach Patrick in his races the past year. Because both Miami and Arizona are basically flat run courses, I doubt it would an improvement on HR and RPE. But I will be wearing it, and review the data on what few shallow short hills there are to see if it can be of any use in a longer race.
Nothing has changed with IM, you've just been away from it. There's nerves now, but you'll fit right in once the race starts.
I think your plan looks great, for me the biggest part In coming back is forgetting what "feels right" relative to effort / experience at any given point. As such, I tend to Be a bit more conservative on the bike at key points, banking those "suffer points" for when I'll need them on the run.
I can't wait to track you!
~ Coach P
Ho Hum gonna do Miamiman HIM for a training qualifier then do an Ironman. I know you will handle that just fine as long as you stick to the HIM and NOT race it. Still crazy and would hate the traveling more than the HIM .
2019 Register? Damn. Wasnt planning on it.
Look forward to heckle you on the run course, I mean see you and Cheryl. We should be in PHX friday afternoon.
@Al Truscott very detailed plan. I noted that you plan to do it again in 2019. I know you will be smart and stick to your plan. Have a great race! Oh.. have fun!
Great plan Al. Nice to see that level of detail from someone with your IM experience. Though you've been away from IM racing for 2 years, your race plan is full of the right amount of confidence. Have a great race, stay present and focused on every stroke, pedal and stride.
You know that you could just write “do the same thing as the 33 other times” and you would still get an A+, right?
Have a a great race, Al. Always fun watching you do this.
@Dave Tallo - That got a belly laugh. Seriously, it's the primary reason I *wrote* plan for this race.
@Derrek Sanks - "...stay present and focused on every stroke, pedal and stride." Formula for success. See below.
@Brian Hagan - Regrettably, I'll only be able to have one-third the fun you had last February in Florida
@Coach Patrick - I've been doing a LOT of racing the past 4-5 months - triathlons (6), half marathons (3), 2 TTs and a 5K (my version of 12days of Christmas...), so I think I've got the feeling wired. But I really appreciate as usual a key bit of coaching from you: "Be a bit more conservative on the bike at key points, banking those "suffer points" for when I'll need them on the run." Except I call them "power plays" (suffering ain;t in my vocabulary)
@tim cronk - Well, I'm back from Miami, and you're right, the traveling was the worst part of it - 24 hours out of the 66 were spent getting from house to motel and back again. Then, it rained buckets during the time for transition set-up, the swim was non-wetsuit and I wasn't working, so I was 16' slower than my last 1.2 mi. I walked thru the transitions, took time to pull Injinji 5-toed socks on after biking 0.65 IF for 2:56, ran 10:45s in 88F noon-day sun, and *still* ended up with 3 in the AG by 4' (this was the USAT National Championships), 2nd fastest run. And I was an hour or so ahead of all the others (69-73) I was competing against for the WC slots. I'm leaving out the parts about shopping for stem bolts, trying to kill two hours between transiton set-up and wave start, being away from Cheryl, etc., etc. But all that meant I *really* invested in the trip next year to Spain. I want to see how well I can do at that race. Last year nobody my age or older beat e in Penticton @ the ITU LC WC, so I'm in with a shot, I think might as well give it a go. 3K/120K/30K. Hopefully it will be a flat run or my knee can handle downhill racing by then.
As to the wisdom of doing this, first of all, it's a long-range multi-year plan. The ITU LC WC is first weekend of May, then it's get-back-to-Kona time, and I need a running start on that. I needed to prove to myself about my IM capability after 2+ years off. My previous "last year of the AG" results in AZ were 2nd and 6th; all my others were 1st. After running in Miami yesterday, I gained a lot of confidence that my will and determination to persist over the distance is still available, should I chose to deploy it. If I have a steady run after biking 0.65 IF, I will be taking a lot of confidence into next year's training. Any additional results vs competition would just be a bonus.
things deliberately heels the best results. I know you’ve had quite some
time to work on this, but your calmness in the midst of a raise is just
amazing to read about and even more stunning to watch unfold. I feel sorry
for your competition.
Cant wait to follow you on race day. Great report and thanks for leading! I've learned so much from you. Thanks and have fun!
Great stuff @Al Truscott . You inspired me to race a bunch of shorter stuff this fall after a disaster in my IM in July. Really had fun, but can say it really made me tired. Watching what you did this fall and now this back to back race schedule is something huge. I know I for one could not handle the Miami travel not to mention the race (at any pace) knowing I was facing IM Arizona the next weekend. You truly have something special that helps me feel like I could do way more. Thank you for leading the way. I will watch with interest! I'm excited to learn about your experience.
@Al Truscott - about the EN Castelli suit. Do you have the one piece or two piece variant? Does it fit true to size?
@Paul Hough I have the one-piece sleeved trisuit. You know my physique, about like you - 5' 8.5", 145#. I wear the medium. It fits snugly, without any flapping or constricting on me.
Thx. The size chart has me at a medium chest but everything else small. But yes, we are very similar in size!
folks, Castelli runs small, particularly on the tops. I've seen a reputable site put up a notice on all of their castelli items that they run small and to heed the castelli size charts!
@scott dinhofer - I read two separate Castelli sizing threads on ST. Some folks said they ran small, others said they fit true to their size charts. People bigger than me had size Small -- bottom line, advice was all over the table. As noted above, their size chart has me in a Small on 3 of 4 measures. Only in the chest am I a Medium. That had me thinking that maybe I should order a Medium top and Small tri shorts instead of getting a one piece (which I prefer). Thoughts?
@Al Truscott Wow I was just reading some race stuff (things I do to get excited) and WOW you are very impressive. I know you have gave me some great advice and information to think about and I want to say thanks. I see your 2019 plans, and please keep me up to date on how you're doing, I want to follow you on! Thanks