IMLP Race Plan - Paul Meloan
I have never been to IMLP or even laid eyes on the course, so Thursday and Friday will be a lot of reconn and discussions with other EN folk about positioning for the swim and sighting. I don't get worked up about this stuff much so it will only to avoid the obvious errors.
Swim: only fast enough to keep my form. I am not a fast swimmer, so range based on day and conditions is 80 to 95 minutes. Bright side is that I usually keep the swim drama-free, so that is my only goal here.
T1: dump wet suit, put on bike jersey over tri top and don't forget the sun screen! Add socks & shoes, helmet beanie, helmet, gloves, sunglasses, race belt. Remember to turn on the Garmin on the bike (Edge 500).
Bike: I train and race on HR, so challenge for first half hour will be to get HR steady out of the swim and keep it there through the climb out of town. Alarm is set on Garmin to ring at 143 bpm (top of Z2) to help me stay focused. From then on it's lather, rinse, repeat for hopefully the next 6 to 6.3 hours (just over 17 mph average) in Z2. I do a lot of rolling roads here in Md, so I am confident I will keep it smooth on the climbs back into town. Nutrition on bike is 1200 cal of Infinit custom brew, supplemented by about 3 packs of Clif Shot Bloks. I sweat like Seattle Slew (shout out to anyone over the age of 40 there) so I take Endurolyte capsules every half hour. Total intake will be 1600-1700 calories.
T2: remove bike jersey, gloves, helmet, beanie, socks. Grab hat, Garmin (forerunner 410), fresh socks, clean off my feet completely, and shoes. Get out of T2!!
Run: here is where things get interesting. My realistic pace first 6 miles (the RNP +30 sec bit) is 10:45, but I have no big plans to accelerate much beyond that. That would get me a marathon in the 4:40 to 4:50 ballpark, which would give me a real shot at 13:00 to 13:15 overall. Nutrition on run will be water & cola at aid stations, with a Clif Shot Blok (30 cal) every 15 min or so.
Last year I was not very well trained, and I ran a marathon at my easy pace (10:15/mi) and managed to run completely flat splits the whole way around. It was good training for the EN approach, as I felt like I was in reverse for the first 8 miles, then passed several hundred athletes after mile 20. There is no way to tell what will happen, but from running an ultra to doing two prior IMs I am very good at staying inward-focused through the day and staying in the moment.
Should be fun. Good luck to all of you, I hope you each have a terrific day.
Comments
---Ann.
Initially I was going to do the same but looking at weather forecasts got me thinking about the heat. I even considered tossing the jersey to my wife after the first lap. In the end, I realized the only time I might be cool is on the decent to Keene the first time around. After that it will be verry warm to hot. I think a sleeveless tri top will be fine early and necessary later.
Thanks to you both for the thoughful comments. Yes, the tri top/jersey call will be a game-time decision. In warm weather around here I cycle in a skin-cooler base layer under my regular jersey, and that has done well by me, so that is another option.
Will almost certainly not go with just the tri top on the bike, if for no other reason than the fact that I tan like the Irishman I am out there and want to keep sun off my shoulders and arms.
Most of my long rides have been done in significantly higher temps than we will be seeing at LP, so I am keeping an open mind to all of this.