Shaughn Simmons 2019 IMCOZ Race Plan
IM Race history:
GOALS:
1. Have fun the first 125 miles of the race.
2. Execute pre-race week
3. Execute race day plan
4. Run well
5. Leave it all out there
6. No time goals……
11/21 Arrive in Cozumel Thursday of race week. Hydrate, acclimate, pick up bike from TBT, pick up race packet and get settled in resort. Drink 100-120 oz of liquid each day.
11/22 Friday of race week, bike recon with short run off the bike.
11/23 Saturday of race week, swim recon, bike and gear bag check-in, rest.
Carb load details for Friday and Sat:
Swim Gear:
· HR Monitor
· Fenix 5+
· EN Kit
· Speed Suit
· Googles
Bike Gear Bag
· 24 0z bottle GE
· Bike Shoes
· Bike Helmet/visor
Bike Special Needs
· Tube & CO2
On Bike
· Wahoo Element
· Spare tube
· 2X CO2
· 2X Tire levers
· Bike tool
· 6X PowerGel (3 caf)
· 2X Salt stick dispenser
· 2X Concentrated bottles of GE (each bottle 4X concentrate)
· 24oz GE in upfront dispenser
· 3X Stinger Waffles
Run Gear Bag
· Hoka Rincon shoes
· Stryd powermeter
· Ziplock bag
o Visor
o Race number and belt
o 2X Clif Shot Blok roll
o Gel Flask with 4X PowerGel w/Caf
o Banana
o Salt Stick tablets
Run Special Needs
· 24 0z bottle of GE
Race Day
3:30 alarm
Apple sauce, banana, whey protein, sports drink
Swim
Seed in Corral 3 1:10 – 1:20
Swim straight, buoy to buoy, reset form focus at each buoy. Enjoy the view.
T1
Speed suit down at T1, helmet on while moving, shoes on at bike. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Bike
Follow Best bike split plan loaded into bike computer with terrain, wind, power assumptions targeting 190 NP (modified for heat) overall. HR ceiling is 140. Cadence 85-88 rpms. Stay aero at all costs. Stay alert for rookie riders, crosswinds. Drink every ten minutes, 2X 24 0z GE each hour plus water and salt as needed. Honey Stinger waffle each hour for first 3 hours then replace with Gel thereafter. Pee 2+ times on bike and make sure 1st time occurs on or before mile 40.
T2
Shoes on, grab Zip lock, sunscreen as needed, walk out of T2 and eat banana if possible.
Run
10:00/mile pace 140 max HR first 6 miles. 9:30 pace thereafter with HR limited to 150. Use Ice in mouth, hands, under hat, in shirt. Use sponges without allowing water to flow down into running shoes as needed. Walk through each aid station if needed to manage HR down to target.
Switch to COKE miles 18-20 and use water only during last hour if needed along with salt stick.
Comments
@Shaughn Simmons I am not at all surprised at how precise and well thought out this race report is. I have really enjoyed and taken inspiration from you while training on the same schedule this fall. Thank you for diligently posting your work and reminding me to get after it. Enjoy the results of your preparation. You have for sure done the consistent work. Also take time to enjoy Cozumel! One of my favorite places.
@Shaughn Simmons Great race plan. I love how your experience allows you to be dialed-in with your plan. Concise, to the point, now you just have to get 'er done.
Good skills at Cozumel, I can't wait to read about your day.
@Shaughn Simmons I was re-reading a story I wrote about the 2006 Boston Marathon, and saw this line, which I will offer you as my advice for this race:
"I've got a plan, and if there's anything I've learned from 9 Ironman races and 4 marathons in the past five years, it's that plans only work if you follow them."
You've done the training, have the smarts, and know how to race. Now all you need is a little "Good Luck".
@Shaughn Simmons, great plan, very detailed. Just a quick question on your two bottles of concentrated GE on the bike. Why? don't they have GE on the course that you could grab at each aid station? or maybe they don't have GE on course since the race is in Mexico?
In any case with your strong training of the past few months I'm sure you will have a great race as long as you stay in ninja execution mode. Looking forward to tracking you on race day.
@Sid Wavrin nice work getting after it and training smart this cycle! Thanks for the kind words.
@Jeff Phillips - I'm dialed in on paper - expecting that to be more difficult in real life with heat and humidity but the plan is a start. Thanks for reading and sending positive energy.
@Al - thanks for reaching out periodically and guiding me during this cycle. Love the words you shared above. I will have "WWATD?" written on my arm for race day.....
@Vincent Sivirine - In MX there will be only regular Gatorade - not good. If you plug that into the nutrition model, you find you need to add a lot of salt under those conditions. I've tweaked the plan a bit and have switched to EFS Pro for bike then GE for run......Thanks for reading and for the bump!
Very concise race report, you have things dialed in. Have been following your workouts and you look in great fitness, stay positive and enjoy the race. Will be following you on race day, good luck
@Shaughn Simmons I'm sure you have dialed this in with all of your experience in past races. My question comes from the old EN calorie calculator you are using. Are you sure you can handle that many calories/hour on the bike and run? Can you handle them in the heat of Coz?
Good Racing, thanks for joining us in the AZ GroupMe. You are a strong racer and always put in the work. Make your training self proud. I hope to long distance celebrate the day with you when we are all done.
Solid plan! To me, what jumps out of your plan is confidence, experience and readiness. As always, your training build for this race has been off the charts and all that's left is executing the race. Don't be afraid to smartly go outside your comfort zone. Have a great race and I'm looking forward to following you.
@Derrek Sanks thanks for reading and for the vote of confidence! My plan is to make it through ~132 miles of heat and humidity then decide, based on where I'm at, what I can do outside that comfort zone. I have no problem with suffering, I just need to be careful the first 10 hours....
@Gary Lewis - My last 6 weeks of training says I can process those planned calories/hour at 174 lbs.....BUT, the heat and humidity will be the major issue here. Having raced IMLV(2009 Aug), IMTX, IMFL, and IMCOZ, all with heat indices 90-95 degrees, experience says it will be a challenge to process that amount of caloric intake. So, two adjustments are in this plan:
1) Going with EFS pro on the Bike leg = higher sodium less calories and option to add .5 extra Honey Stinger Waffle if able. The EFS-PRO drink mix has technology built in that allows for better calorie absorption and superior hydration. EFS-PRO contains a special carbohydrate source that has a significantly lower osmolality than any other carbohydrate available. Because of this, absorption is improved so you can consume more calories without gastric distress under HOT race conditions.
2) All liquid calories after 2 or 3rd hour.
Key for me will be to make adjustments timely as needed and keep my box and big as I can for as long as I can.
@Dave Legg - thanks for the bump. should be interesting to see how well I can drive the fitness vehicle I have in those conditions.
@Shaughn Simmons Solid plan, nothing to add. Have a great race.
@Shaughn Simmons I'm jealous, I should have signed up for IMCOZ with you instead of the freeze fest we are going to have in AZ, I figure after your first loop on the bike you will have generated enough heat in COZ to send a hot weather patter to us... I'll be thinking of you racing with us. Good Skill !
@Shaughn Simmons - Great plan! I will be thinking of you all day. It's fitting that you will be leading all of us from Cozumel. Enjoy the day and stick to that plan!
@Gordon Cherwoniak - thank you and thanks for the bump my friend.
@tim cronk - positive side of IMAZ 2019 is that you may see your run PR for that course! You can be sure that I will be honoring all of your and the team's hard fought performance come Sunday thinking of your execution and suffering in the final hours.
@Brian Hagan - I am going to take a black marker and write on my left arm: "Brian Hagan said Stick to the Plan!" Thanks for leading and pushing us all during this cycle while also making it as fun as one could make weeks 16-18 in an Ironman plan! Keep leading and stay thirsty my friend!
@Shaughn Simmons I like EFS Pro. Your plan looks like a guy named KMF wrote it 😂 . Enjoy the warmth and celebrate big afterwards.
Go fast!
@Shaughn Simmons looks like a solid concise plan, you've trained well, been consistent and done enough of these now to know how to adapt it if necessary, hoping it comes good for you on race day 👍️
@Shaughn Simmons - great plan. I will think of you and try to channel some of the extra heat from you as I am freezing my backside off in AZ :-) I hope the stars align for you this weekend!
@Sheila Leard always, so kind/supportive. Thanks for the well wishes.
@KARL BONNER thanks for reading. I've enjoyed following your work this year!
@Rich Stanbaugh - I see possible IM PR for you at IMAZ this year! Most don't know that RS really stands for Running Strong! Good luck Ironman!
Race plan tweaked and updated quite a bit:
IMCOZ 2019:
11/21 Arrive in Cozumel Thursday of race week. Hydrate, acclimate, pick up bike from TBT, pick up race packet and get settled in resort.
11/22 Friday of race week, bike recon with short run off the bike.
11/23 Saturday of race week, swim recon, bike and gear bag check-in, rest.
Carb load details for Friday and Sat:
Swim Gear:
· HR Monitor
· Fenix 5+ and charger
· EN Kit
· Speed Suit
· Googles
Bike Gear Bag
· 24 0z bottle GE
· Bike Shoes
· Bike Helmet/visor
Bike Special Needs
· Tube & CO2
On Bike
· Wahoo Element and charger
· Etap batteries and charger
· Spare tube
· 2X CO2
· 2X Tire levers
· Bike tool
· 6X PowerGel (3 caf)
· 2X Salt stick dispenser
· 2X Concentrated bottles of GE (each bottle 4X concentrate)
· 24oz GE in upfront dispenser
· 3X Stinger Waffles
Run Gear Bag
· Hoka Rincon shoes
· Stryd powermeter
· Ziplock bag
o Visor
o Sun Glasses
o Race number and belt
o 2X Clif Shot Blok roll
o Gel Flask with 4X PowerGel w/Caf
o Banana
o Salt Stick tablets
Run Special Needs
· 24 0z bottle of GE
Other Gear
Phone and charger
Passport
Race Day
3:30 alarm
Apple sauce, banana, whey protein, sports drink
Swim
Seed in Corral 3 1:10 – 1:20
Swim straight, buoy to buoy, reset form focus at each buoy. Enjoy the view.
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 folk. Put on shoes, mount bike and ease up the hill. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Bike
Follow Best bike split plan loaded into bike computer with terrain, wind, power assumptions targeting 190 NP overall. HR ceiling is 140. Cadence 85-88 rpms. Stay aero at all costs. Stay alert for rookie riders, crosswinds. Drink every ten minutes, 2X 24 0z GE each hour plus water and salt as needed. Honey Stinger waffle each hour for first 3 hours then replace with Gel thereafter. Pee 2+ times on bike and make sure 1st time occurs on or before mile 40.
T2
Hand off bike to volunteer, and trot downhill. Lap Garmin. Grab bag, sit down, and put on shoes. Grab go bag. Remove helmet. Drop bag in pile. Shoes on, sunscreen as needed, walk out of T2 and eat banana if possible.
Run
10:00/mile pace 140 max HR first 6 miles, stupid slow pace. 9:30 pace thereafter with HR limited to 150 or faster if HR allows. Use Ice in mouth, hands, under hat, in shirt. Use sponges without allowing water to flow down into running shoes as needed. Walk through each aid station if needed to manage HR down to target. Use water only during last hour if needed along with salt stick.
Miles 18 - 26, take inventory of how things are holding up, if able, feeling STABLE, no cramps, the gloves come off, start running like you mean it……….., don’t look at HR, do not look at watch, disregard pain in legs and body, trust in your fitness, remind everyone else what it means to be a veteran. 😑
what's to say on top of what everyone added above. You know how to do this. I like the idea of getting through the first 125 miles. Getting on top of heat control in the first 1/3 of the race and continuing it will be paramount... enjoy the ride, looks like you are set up to hit the legacy next year if all goes well! we may become Kona Legacy Bros!
that is quite a varied and interesting racing history.
have a great day.
we'll be thinking of you.
you'll get to the suffering before us due to time difference. Embrace The Suck. Like you always the do.
tall man to tall man High Five.
Imua !
We will all be thinking of you in AZ! Win!