Kryvicky's IMTX Race Plan
I have never done this before so I took liberty of stealing the format from WSM Al T. :-) Here we go! Please let me know if I have neglected anything or have over thought anything.
Final Week
Sunday: Easter, SAUs
Monday: Review packing check list and make sure everything is ready for the trip tomorrow. I already have everything packed by event in bags so that I can transfer easily to my race day bags without worry – morning (pre race) – bike – special needs – run – special needs – post event. I was made for the logistics of these races!
Tuesday: Start the drive to IMTX. 18.5 hours not accounting for stops. Goal is to be on the road by 8am, stop by 10pm with 3 hours of breaks for gas, potty, eating and stretching.
Wednesday: Finish drive to IMTX – hopefully in before 5pm to do athlete check in and recon the start line for a hot minute, however if not then go to hotel (5km away) and get ready for the days ahead.
Thursday: It begins! Priority #1 – SLEEP IN and Breakfast. Then Race site for Athlete check in and all the goodies there, get in and out as quickly as possible. Check out all my gear and make sure all is working. Course recon of bike then a quick 30’ jog on the run course before the Athlete’s banquet at 5:30pm-7:30pm. Post banquet finish up shopping for anything needed for Friday/race day i.e. food stuffs and anything somehow lost, broken or forgotten. Charge D12!!
Friday: Priority #1 – SLEEP IN. Practice swim (only chance at venue) sometime between 8am and 10am, big carby breakfast. Afternoon: Lunch and athlete briefing at 2pm, bike check in then be done with it all. Movie? TV? Go home and off feet, relax the rest of the day with an early dinner of something light. In bed by 8pm – pretend to sleep.
Race Day
Up @ 4 AM. Breakfast of 600-800 cal shake. Put on sunscreen and antichafe
Race day outfit: HR strap, Coeur Tiger Team Race kit, Road ID, Garmin 920xt, chip
Leave for T zone @ 5am
In T Zone: bike - check tires, add nutrition, check bags.
Walk 1 mile to swim start – if wetsuit legal put on suit, if optional swim without. Hand hubby my MC bag.
Warm-up, then line-up @ end of 1:40-1:45 group.
SWIM:
No rush @ start, keep a steady pace and effort. Count strokes – focus on form. Slow is easy and easy is fast.
T1: WALK to strippers if wetsuit legal Grab bag and aim for clear ground inside of change tent. Slather on Betwixt. Helmet on, shoes on, glasses on; run to bike, run with bike past mount line. Smile and get ready for fun!
BIKE:.
Get settled on the bike and don’t eat the paste. Ice and steady for 30 -60 minutes. Start Garmin after mount. Begin to repeat mantra: “It is my day.”
ON BIKE SET UP: 1 aerobottle, 4 water bottles mixed with infinit custom bike blend. Bento box with BASE bars and Skratch energy chews. Emergency kit in my aerobox.
Every 15 minutes, drink, eat ½ BASE bar every hour and handful of SKRATCH energy chews as needed. Aim for 2 bottles first hour, then 1-1.5 bottle each hour afterwards especially if hot and humid. Eat until burp back then keep on liquid calories. Bike fueling determines the run.
Focus on aero position – Manage HR – 150-155 is where to keep it all day.
Special needs: Potty break, refill bottles and grab special treat – refill bento.
2nd loop of bike – same as first but last 10 minutes or so get mentally ready to switch to the run.
PROCESS, PROCESS, PROCESS: No drafting, no surges, DRINK every 15 minutes, don’t skip any nutrition, keep the bars and Infinit flowing, stay aero, maintain focus.
T2: Hand off the bike Grab bag, sit down, and put on injini socks and shoes. Start wrist Garmin while Grabbing go bag. Remove helmet. Drop bag in pile, find a toilet.
RUN:
Across the mat, lap Garmin. I’ll be reading HR, current lap pace and average pace. Work on Go Bag: visor on, sweat band on, cooling towel ready, sunglasses on. If it’s warm, will be using Race Saver Bag. Slather on Zealios from travel packets.
Start STOOOPID SLOW: monitor breathing and HR. Keep HR no higher than the average for my bike split – goal 155 or less. If I can feel myself breathing, or HR goes over 155, slow down. If feeling good – EAT.
Aid stations: I am carrying a water boittle with BASE Rocket fuel and baggies to make more on the course as needed. If hot and humid 1 salt lick from the BASE tube every mile with water, drink from bottle every mile or as needed to keep HR and core temp happy. Run walk plan is 5 minutes running 1 minute walking. Maintain this as long as possible and when walking – do it with purpose. ABS: Always Be Smiling
Checklists:
In general: Di2 charger
T1 bag: Giro AirShield helmet with visorPear Izumi shoes,
Bike Special Needs: spare tube, CO2 cartridge, 3 bottles of Infinit, BASE Bar, cut into pieces.
T2 Bag: ON Cloud Aces with Stryd foot pod, Injini socks, plastic GO bag with glasses, Coeur Team visor, wrist sweatband, Race Save Bag, Skratch energy chews and 1 baggies of Rocketfuel mix plus1 packet of Zealios sunsreen
Run Special Needs: 1 baggie of Rocketfuel, Skratch energy chews, extra socks,1 packet of Zelios sunscreen
Morning Clothes/Back Pack: wet suit (just in case), cap, goggles, body glide; to place on bike – BASE Bar in pieces and 4 bottles of Infinit (one for Aerobottle, 3 on frame) 2 bags of Skratch energy Chews pump, tire, tube, tools. Head lamp, light jacket.
BACKGROUND: This is my 2nd IM attempt – first one on very little training. All my issues of being ill, travel and availability of making it all work in the winter with limited daylight, fighting depression, and living in 2 states.
I did IMFL in 2012 – then signed up for 2018 however the hurricane made the new venue and date unrealistic for me so I deferred in to IMTX. This is a training race for me – learn IM execution the EN way and to learn how to get ready and execute for IMFL later this year.
Comments
Great plan and congrats on setting yourself up for success. The greatest value in writing up a plan is in the process itself, and forcing you to put your mind, and pen to paper, on the act of actually thinking through what the myriad parts of the day will present to you. So, kudos, and well done.
Getting down to the nitty gritty and details of the plan, it looks great, and you've obviously done the preparation to get the level of detail toknow what's going to work for you.
Looks like a thorough, well-thought out plan @Jenniferlyn Kryvicky . I look forward to tracking you on race day and reading your successful race report! One question -- any solids on the run, or are you all liquid nutrition through BASE?
Thank you both!
@Jeff Phillips on the run I use the BASE rocket fuel pretty exclusively. I find that the Aminos in it help me keep going and reduces my fatigue. I will throw in a handful of SKRATCH energy chews / stinger chews or cliff bloks when the ability to eat allows at the start of the run. Later on I go for aid station food like fruit (grapes and oranges) or if really needed potato chips but I tend to do enough BASE salts to not really need the additional sodium.
I'm fortunate that all sports nutrition seems to work in my system so I can adjust on the fly easily however I find the BASE products to have been an actual game changer in my performance.
I cannot wait for the BASE hydro to be on course in the US like it is in Canada!
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky well thought out. You seem to have a handle on what works for you nutrition wise. It takes a bit of management, but if you know it works it will be worth it. Good luck out there. Your preparation appears thorough. Have fun!
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky looks great to me!!!!
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky
ABS guarantees you a great day😀 wishing you good skill!
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky
Have a great day! Stay well hydrated and salted. Make HR your primary metric.
Wishing you all the best!
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky Sorry for being late to comment, so read with the idea of tucking this away. Always be ready to go to plan B with nutrition.
"Eat until burp back then keep on liquid calories" ... You really need to have calories processing and flowing out of the stomach into small intestine. If eating until you burp you could potentially be backing up the flow of absorption. Sip and nibble. If feeling full don't take in more.
*Bike recon. you'll only be able to do the part in town, the rest is on the highway.
*T1 - if it's muddy carry your shoes to your bike so to avoid mud in your cleats. Maybe they will improve that part.
You're ready. Constantly assess the moment and trust yourself to adjust the plan.😎
Great job writing plan!! Good luck & excellent execution @Jenniferlyn Kryvicky !!
Plan looks good. I heard from some IM Texas Vets to not do the practice swim. Check with someone like Mr Glynn on the Groupme. Have fun. we'll be stalking you on the Tracker.
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky - Great plan! You picked a good one to copy 😉!
Hi @Sheila Leard ,
Thank yo so much for your time! :-) I love seeing what your take is on nutrition topics as well - you are definitely a well deserved WSM! <3
I am definitely tucking away your comments as now I get a whole 6 months to fine tune my plan for IMFL and want to get it right ASAP so that I have lots of practice. I am hoping to be getting away from Infinit and staying with my original Plan A of Rocket Fuel or my NBS/Rocket fuel hybrid plus solid chews and bars for nutrition. Thoughts?
For the bike - my main goal was to drink 24 ounces of Infinit custom blend per hour - 336 calories per bottle. With 1/2 a base bar that gets me in the 400 range which according to my sweat test results and nutrition calculations seems fine for me in real life utilization. I am unfortunately quite heavy right now (60 lbs heavier than when I raced IMFL in 2012). Clearly body comp is my goal now! lol
This custom mix was supposed to be enough calories and electrolytes to be my one stop source for calories plus hydration. I knew IMTX was going to be hot as hades, so I opted to plan for more Infinit in the first hour as I would be drinking more fluids per my sweat test however - I think that I would have been just fine to ditch that approach for my alternate Plan A which is usually BASE Rocket Fuel 24ounces per hour, and then eat solid calories with water on the 30's for my caloric needs supplementing with water. Does that sound more reasonable?
I also do NBS for hydration (I add in BASE Aminos and Salt for my "hybrid Rocket Fuel") with solid nutrition in the form of BASE Bars or Chews (I like variety).
My B plan is to live off of the course and focus on hydration through liquids and calories through solids.
For the run - At first ( 5 years ago) I thought too high in sodium as well however in the real world it saved my butt on a very hot and humid day and so I have ran with Rocketfuel plus additional salt in hot and humid climates ever since. It has been a real literal race saver for me. My sweat rate is very high and if I do not do the extra salt, I start to get bloated and fingers swell uncontrollably.
For me the BASE products were truly the first sports nutrition I have ever used that made a real tangible and measurable difference in both my performance and my recovery. I have found that for me the biggest bang comes from the Aminos and Salt. The hydro is nice however I can sub in NBS (my preferred alternative to BASE) and get the same effect as I do from pure rocketfuel.
So I would love your thoughts on the above - I am thinking more preferred to go hydration focus with calories from eating food plus additional water. I think logistically it would be easier to manage than 7 hours of fluid calories plus hydration.
Thank you so much for your time if you made it to the end of my long post! :-)
@Jenniferlyn Kryvicky "My B plan is to live off of the course and focus on hydration through liquids and calories through solids."
Considering the length of time you are on course in an IM I believe you are better off with separating out calories from hydration. You can modify the hydration and sodium intake much easier with this method. Infinit is a great product but I question if you have the gut capacity to drink calories AND drink enough electrolytes to stay hydrated.
I also would revisit your calories per hour. 400/hour is a lot to process in the gut - move into the small intestine - and move out to the working muscles. Put down some of data you have collected from testing and go by feel. The data could be wrangling you into false numbers. Hormones will affect sweat testing.
You mentioned body composition has changed since 2012. This next training phase is perfect time to focus on moving towards a body composition goal that in the end will affect sweat rate and quantity of calories while on course. Put aside race fueling and engineered products for now and target daily nutrition with the same vengeance you take to racing. You have a great attitude that can make this happen. Train with real food and hydrate with NBS (or whatever low sugar product you like). When it gets closer to IMFL then bring in the race fueling protocol.
Go after it! 😎