Canadian Bacon: My Calgary 70.3 Race Plan
Calgary 70.3 Race Plan
Okay guys, here is my race plan for Calgary 70.3 in 2 weeks. If anyone has any inside scoop regarding the course, please share it with me!
Background Info:
First HIM. Did my first full IM at CDA last year in 13:45 ish.
Pre-Race:
Im arriving into Calgary on the Friday before the race, sometime around midnight. After crashing for a while, on Saturday will pick up packet, drop off bike, and soak up some rays. Big lunch of sashimi and water. Take a nap in the afternoon. For dinner, a salad and a beer. More water befor bed.
Up at 2:00 for some oatmeal.
Out the door at 4:30. Double shot of espresso.
Swim:
Well, not to much to talk about here. I'm going to draft as much as possible. Just a full body wetsuit with no neoprene headgear. I have heard that visibility was pretty poor last year, so Im going to jut follow feet as much as I can. I also heard there was a lot of gas in the water last year....nothing I can really do about that. Hopefully BP isnt sponsoring the race this year. My CDA swim was 1:25, so I'm shooting for sub 40:00.
T1:Going with sunscreen, socks, no gloves, Tardiz helmet, Oakleys.
Bike:
Setup is going to be my good old Cervelo P2-SL. 50/34 up front and
12-27 on the back. There are two aid stations on the bike course, one at 18 miles and another at 36 miles. In an effort to save as much weight as possible, I'm going to go with a bottle on the down tube filled with a normal concentration of Infinit (2 scoops). One aero bottle with just water at the start.Will refill aero at aid stations and mix with some Infinit. Will have a bento box with tire kit.
Based on my FTP of 202, my goal zone 3 watts will be 165- 175. For the first twenty minutes on the bike, will get warmed up and settled in around 150w. Then up to zone 3 for the rest of the ride.
I have heard that the course is both hilly and fast (is that
possible?) I've felt pretty good with hills this year, so I'm not expecting too much difficulty as long as my weight doesnt creep back up over 149 before the race. I'm going to try to make up as much time though by doing good downhills and pedaling all the time.
The times from last year were all over the place. I was snail slow at CDA, 7:15, so Im shooting for around 3 hours.
T2:Run socks on, lucky Timex cap, a bandaid, and a little stamp sized wad of duck tape.
Run:
Going to change socks before the run; blisters really ruin my day. Im going to take it nice and slow on the nutrition as I don't want any of that sloshing/cramping I had when I over hydrated in some other races.
For first 3 miles, will run at 9:00 minute pace. After that, will shoot for 8:30 pace until mile 10. After that, run as fast as I can, hopefully faster than 10:00 pace. Will take a gel every three miles.
Goal time for the run is less than 2 hours.
Post Race:
No rest for the weary! Back in the car same day for six hour drive back to Montana followed by call the next day. WOOT!
What ya think?
Comments
Greg,
The water will be cold, i'm guessing 60F. The weather in Calgary hasn't been that great and it's been raining a bit lately (with a little hail here and there). The water does have a slight smell and taste of gas as you have to swim out of the boat ramp between a bunch of anchored boats. Coming back up the river it was a little windy and choppy last year but not too bad.
The hilly part of the bike course is the first third; the hills come one after the other and the first aid station is at the top of the last climb. (perfect timing). Then you head east for a bit then south and once you hit the fresh pavement it is fast. The second hill is coming out of Cochrane, it's fairly long but not that steep. Be prepared for some wind on this stretch as it's exposed prairie. Once you head east you're gonna fly all the way to Glenmore park. Beware though of the second aid station, last year it was on a downhill section where you were just moving too fast to grab anything. Maybe they moved it though because it was a complaint. Enjoy thebike because the view is awesome.
The run is nice around a reservoir and into a natural reserve. Save some because there are a couple decent hills on either side of the park. It was an oven in there last year so keep that hydration going.
I'm riding my race rehearsal on the course tomorrow so i'll let you know if there's anything of concern on the road.
NP. Good call on the neoprene cap. I wore one last year and it was too warm. The course is in good shape with only some gravel in the shoulder and at the entrances to properties. There were also a few pot holes but everything should be swept and filled before race day. Here is an elevation diagram. It is roughly the first third of the course. I rode it in reverse so every second peak is what you want to look at.
Wayne I was also out there today. Hope 70.3 race day has the weather we had today. Biked down to the lake first to check the water. Felt cold but that can change.
Nice review of the coarse Wayne.
Greg
Good luck sounds like you are prepared.
Wind can have a big infuence on the bike. The wind can be a strong head wind from the east or a strong tail wind from the west.
From your stats if we are in the same AG we may be going toe to toe
Yeah, you just grab your bike from the racks after the run. You'll be taking the shuttle buses out to the lake so i'd go park at the casino if it's still one of the pickup points(body marking is done there also) because that is the closest point to the finish line. You can just ride or walk your bike to your car afterwards.
Went for a swim in Ghost Lake today, still needed the neo cap. Weather forcast is hot all week so the water temp should come up. Roads are looking better with more pot holes filled. Lots of bikes on the coarse today.
Excxellent. I was just looking at the forecast. Hope it doesnt get too hot on race day.
By the way, what kind of hydration rig are you going with? Are you using a behind the seat carrier for this distance and course?
Six days!
I am going with an aero bottle and two bottles on the down tubes. Coach R has a good setup guidance in the following podcast. http://enation.libsyn.com/advanced_...ing_topics.
Weather is looking great. I like it on the hot side. A hot run will cause high attrition for those who over do the bike. I’m slow on the bike and rely on a good run.
My predictions for the pro field
1st MIRINDA CARFRAE - USA
3rd LINSEY NORA CORBIN - USA
2nd HEATHER WURTELE - CAN
MEGAN JUNE GASKILL - USA
ERIN O'HARA - NZL
EMMA JANE GARRARD - USA
LAUREN HARRISON - USA
4th JANELLE MORRISON - CAN
AYESHA ROLLINSON - CAN
1st KIERAN DOE - NZL
2nd JAMIE WHYTE - NZL
ANTHONY C TOTH - CAN
MATTY FRY M 31 - CAN
KIRK NELSON M - USA
BRIAN FLEISCHMANN - USA
TREVOR WURTELE - CAN
3rd KYLE MARCOTTE - CAN
TREV WILLIAMS M - CAN
4th SCOTT CURRY - CAN
KYLE LETO - USA
GRANT WADE BURWASH - CAN my swim coach
JEFF BRUCE SYMONDS - CAN
JEMANI FRANCIS - AUS
PAUL TICHELAAR- CAN
BRENT ANDERSON POULSEN - CAN
JON BIRD M - CAN my swim coach
Let the fun begin!!!