John B's IMMT Race Plan
Overall, I am just happy to get to this point healthy. With some hip flexor issues in 2018 and into this past winter I felt like any real ability to push on the pedals of the bike only really came around in the last couple months. However, with that I do not feel beat up physically & have felt at times recently very loose and comfortable with the cycling, running, and swimming. It has really helped with staying motivated and on days when it just isn't happening to know that it is ok, there is a tomorrow. So if you back off a little you can be stronger physically or even better mentally prepared to handle it the next time.
Thursday: Travel day. - Leaving home in NJ around 5am to get ahead of the traffic to avoid the drive being longer than it has to be. Staying at Residence Inn at the Village.
Race check in is open until 4pm. Should be there with plenty of time to check this off. If not will do on Friday. No rushing around!!
?? Training plan calls for a 1:30 Bike Taper? Only If time allows? I rode the course and those steep hills near town July 4th weekend, so I know what it is going to take to get me up them. A lot of patience and a compact crank and a 12-30 in the back, it is what it is…LOL.
Friday:
7am? Practice Swim., then Breakfast, then Sit someplace and Relax!!!
Short shake out ride of bike or a Short Run w/ Strides!!
NAP & Relax!!!
5pm Athletes Banquet with 7pm Mandatory Briefing
Saturday:
Sleep in if possible!! Nice sit down Breakfast somewhere. Relax & pack gear bags. Have a nice sit down Lunch. Perhaps get something for dinner for later.
12-4pm Bike drop off & Gear check in (there is no hurry!! SO make sure to eat lunch before bothering with this!!)
NAP & Relax!! Try to stay off my feet and stay out of the sun!! Early Dinner.
In bed by 7:30pm. Then wonder why I am staying in the village with all the noise...LOL.
Sunday:
Real Goals –
Swim= get out of the lake without spending any more energy than necessary.
Bike = It isn’t about saving the legs for the run, as much as it is about saving the engine (the heart & lungs!!). I was never super strong on the bike and this is no different, so do not get into worrying about a bike split time.
Run = Relax, it is just a Sunday group long run. Assuming you and your friends are stupid enough to start your long run between 2-3pm, in the heat of the day when you are already more dehydrated and tired than your type A brain will ever admit.
Get up 4am. Eat Breakfast, keep drinking some gatorade until race start. But no so much that I am like a fountain.
5am – 6:15am Transition open .
Drop off special needs bags, Put Fluids & nutrition on Bike, Check Tires & Bike, Set Garmin on Bike.
Get to Swim start and find a place in the water to warm up.
6:35 & 6:38 am. Pro starts
6:45am Age Group Rolling Start.. LINE UP WITH 1:10-1:20 (Target 1:20+/-, see note above)
Swim . Focus on form and try to find a line with as little contact as possible.
T1. Keep moving parts to minimum, but no rushing like a maniac!!
Get Gear Bag. Dump on a chair. Wetsuit into bag (if no volunteer available)
Helmet, Shoes, Gloves & go to bike
Bike. Main goal. Enjoy it!! Beautiful view & location. Do not waste it stressing out!!
Try not to look at the time.
Keep HR as low as possible for as long as possible. Max 150bpm. Goal AVG under 140 bpm
Watts. 135 avg. & IF=0.67 (I pulled those from recent training and from a long ride on the course) HOWEVER NO CHASING WATTS AT THE COST OF A HIGHER HR OR R.P.E.
Watch the % grade on the Garmin & stay calm with the winds on 117. Course has a lot of 2% & 3% grades that look flat. Obi-Wan Kenobi once said "your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them". so use the force & trust your Garmin!
Bike special needs Bag..Extra gels, and zip lock with co2 & tubes.
Nutrition goal…HYDRATED!! GET OF THE BIKE HYDRATED!!
Water and Sports drink at each bike aid station.
Take gels every 30-40 minutes.
Last 30-40 minutes of bike make sure you are drinking without forcing it in.
No matter how slow you have to go to make that happen!!
T2. Plan to change into running shorts & singlet. (done it before, it goes quick)
Body Glide on toes, socks & Shoes & nutrition in running belt. Plastic zip lock bag for ice.
Remember to look for something to drink leaving change tent.
RUN. Enjoy the day!!
Start with easy effort, and assess the situation. If it is not happening, stay calm and wait for it…DO NOT RUN A TIRED ENGINE INTO A BRICK WALL!! Fix it and wait for it to come back.
If all is well, just stay calm and around 9:00/mile for as long as feasible or until mile 6. If possible 8:30-8:40 after that. Stay calm up the hills, open the stride on the downhills. Overall, do not worry about the pace.
Water & Sports drink at aid stations.
Gels every 4 miles. If effort seems too difficult, no need to keep giving the stomach homework and make sure the effort is steady.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and have a great week!!
Comments
Great plan @John Bayone I like your approach of letting the day come to you and taking it in stride. IMMT has been on my radar for a while, so I'm interested to read your race report.
One question on bike nutrition -- is your goal one bottle of water and one GE between every aid station? I'm assuming you've practiced that plan, along with gels at that frequency? Do you have a Plan B? Same questions for run. (I ask because I've been trying different plans in training and am always eager to learn)
Good skills on race day!
Hi, @Jeff Phillips thanks for the help.
Double checking my numbers and what I have. The Base Performance drink on course, my target is 1.5 bottles per hour...which should be about 240 calories/hour. Which should be about right. The point of all that water, is if I can not drink it the plan is to wear it (dump it on myself). Also being a slower swimmer I know that by the time I get on the bike (including my T1 time) it is possible that I have been moving for 1:25 to 1:30 and want to make sure I get on drinking and the nutrition right away on the bike.
I have trained the last couple of months and on long rides trying to drink as much as I can, including just water, to stay as hydrated as i can. That is why I have (and really want to stick with) if I have to slow down a little to make sure I am not chasing power numbers or some time goal on the bike, I can stay so much calmer and not burn my system to the ground before T2. Also I do not want to start the run with "homework" in my stomach from trying to cram a crazy amount of gels into my system the last 60-90 minutes on the bike. A couple of long training rides, I made sure I had extra water and would try to just slowly make sure I would drink as much of it as I could during that time. Seemed to feel ok.
I have not done a full for a few years, and each year it seemed I had the same issue. or one of the same anyways. Getting off the bike and either right away or within a couple of miles feeling dehydrated and like I was cooking. I really love super detailed analysis and can identify with what @John Withrow wrote in @Dustin Givens IMLP report here... https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/25966/dustins-2019-ironman-lake-placid-report#latest and could really connect with what they wrote about how much on a windy day and just being on the bike in tough conditions that your body is working so hard to do all the functions it needs to stay cool, see the bike upright, keep moving, etc. I was spectating at IMLP this year and even at the bike mount line talking with a couple of people about how very windy it was already at 8:15am in town and how that made for a really tough day. So I just want to make sure I can learn from the great advice here in EN.
Have a great day. I will let you know how it goes.
@John Bayone So good to see that you are prioritizing hydration. A thought about gels on the run. If your stomach feels bad just take half a gel then, throw away the other half. It's less of a bolus going into the gut. This would avoid taking gel every 30 + minutes. Instead you would be trickling in some sugar with less absorption issues. Just tuck that away on race day 😎. Good luck.
@Sheila Leard thanks for the feedback. That can work, and I will keep that in mind. I have at times in long events or long runs taken a few minutes to get a gel totally in, with a lot of little bites. I'll let ya know how it goes.
Have a great week.
It was a while ago that I did IMMT but the aid stations were a little irregular. Combination of kilometers and the geography of where the could set them up. Sounds like you are physically and mentally ready. Enjoy your race.
Thanks @Robert Sabo. That is a great tip. Got me to double check the locations on the map and I will make sure I stay on top of making sure I am drinking enough.
@John Bayone Great attitude and approach. In keeping with that attitude, consider the following:
• Do not show total bike leg time on bike computer. Replace with lap time, or something else (but not speed!)
• Erase the run paces from your plan. Replace with "Observe, but do not act on, run pace every mile. Save analysis for after the race."
Have you considered adopting an HR-based plan for the run? Specifically, targeting an HR at the start of the run off of (the same as) your average HR during the last 60-90' on the bike? And then using that as a whip to maintain effort level during the run. Remember, if you keep the same effort level throughout the run, your pace will go down over the 4+ hours.
@Al Truscott Thank you for your input. I like your suggestions, and like suggested did not have the total or even lap time showing on the bike computer. In the future I will work on, as you suggested, look at the HR a little better during training so that I can use as a valuable metric on race day. Over the past couple of years I just kinda stopped wearing the HR monitor when running, so if I am going to continue with this will work to bring that back into the routine. It would have been good to use that as something else to get me to keep things in check a little better.
Overall, thank you very much for your help and hope that you are doing well.