First HIM in 3 Weeks
Just realized from reading other posts that I should have a race execution plan for my first HIM (TImberman) in 3 weeks. My "plan" is to finish.... In about 8.5hrs.
That may sound like no biggy but based on my training and shorter races, I'm going to be reallllyyyyy tight on time. I've read some other HIM execution plans with a lot of Z2/Z3 but I'm afraid if I spend too much time there, esp. on the bike, I won't make the bike cut-off.
If I can make the bike cut-off, that leaves me 3hrs. for the run, which I can prob. manage, even with a significant amount of walking.
Any advice, aside from "stay home"? 
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It does 2 things: 1) serves as a game plan that you stick to as best you can to avoid bad execution; 2) something to compare your actual race to - did I follow my plan? how well did it work? what will I need to do different next time.
Hope this helps
Go back through this forum and look at how detailed some of the other execution plans are. The more detail and thought you put into your plan the more successful you will be on race day and for future races. Remember that "what cannot be measured cannot be improved". You will be able to take your actual race experience and bounce it off your written execution plan and learn what could have been better.
One thing to think about may be the "free time" you can get if you think you're actually going to be close. In other words, if you think 5-10 minutes matter, consider how you can make your transitions fast, for example. Practice taking off your wetsuit several times. Make sure you have nothing to put on besides socks shoes and helmet in T1. If you carry gels, put them in your pocket under your wetsut. You can put on a race belt with the number sort of folded around it under the wetsuit too. For T2, all you need to do is change shoes and hats. Anything else, you could put in a baggie and just pick up the baggie and do it walking/running out of T2.
Finally, what can you do to go just a little faster on the bike? Could it be riding in a little more aero position? Could it be changing tires and/or using latex tubes? You are moving slowly enough that rolling resistance (from tires and tubes) is pretty significant compared to wind resistance. So you might be helped disproportionately by fixing up that tire/tube/pressure combination.
Hope this gives you some ideas!
What about your race rehearsals...how did those go? Tell us about them...
(Why is it that all of the Steves responded to this post? Haha)
@William- Some great suggestions here! I don't have aerobars (road bike) so my "aero" isn't really aero, but I do try to get lower on flats/downhills. I will def. add more air to the tires, I usually have them arond 100psi but can go to 120.
RR #2 is this weekend so if I can, I'll do it on the Timberman course. Otherwise, I'll try something with a similar elevation gain vs. shooting for waaayyyy too much. (Suggestions welcome on that front too!)
Thanks to all the Steves, and William for feedback!
But back to tires:
I'm not suggesting that you put more air in the tires, per se. Different tires have different optimum pressures...so 100 may be the ideal pressure in the tires you have. You can look that up on the web or something to find the best pressure for your tire.
What I AM suggesting is that you may or may not have the most efficient tires to begin with. New racing-quality tires are $50-70 apiece, but if you invest in them, they will give you "free" speed. I use Michelin Pro Race 3 tires, as a balance of almost as smooth rolling as the best, and somewhat grippier and more pucture resistant. You can order them on line or get them from your local bike shop. (They are very common.) Probably the fastest tire out there is still very good for these things, the Vittoria Corso Evo
The other switch I am advocating is your normal black ("butyl") tubes for latex inner tubes. The only disadvantage of these tubes is that they slowly deflate by diffusion, so you have to pump them up every day. However, they puncture a little less easily and they are undeniably faster than butyl tubes. If you "speak power geek", it is worth 6-10 Watts to switch from butyl to latex tubes. They are a little pricey and harder to find than butyl tubes. More like $15-20 apiece.
Here I am assuming you use 700 x 23 tires, but you could get what you need in whatever size you are using:
Vittoria: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2011-vittoria-open-corsa-evo-cx-700x25-clincher-tire-6933.39.1.html or http://www.amazon.com/Vittoria-Open-Corsa-Clincher-Road/dp/B002SR7JUM/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1312204717&sr=1-1
Michelin tires: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2011-michelin-pro-3-race-700x25-clincher-tire-5553.256.0.html or http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-Pro3-Race-Tire-700x23c/dp/B001B8VM7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312204666&sr=8-1
Latex tubes http://www.amazon.com/Vittoria-Latex-Tube-Color-700x19/dp/B003M3R9ZQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1312204526&sr=8-3
Go in Wiki and look up the RR protocol and nail down exactly what you want to do on the bike - nutrition, effort level, course, etc and we will review your plan.
Sound good?
@William, this is a bit off topic, but the difference in power between butyl and latex tubes is pretty amazing. Is it really that much of a difference?
As with anything, "it depends". 5 W is pretty easy to justify; 10 W may be on the high side. Here are the data, both for tires and tubes, that people usually cite:
http://biketechreview.com/tires/rolling-resistance/475-roller-data
The other thing to remember is that extremely high air pressure is only good on extremely smooth roads...i.e., tracks. For real roads, stick with the recommended tire pressures. At higher pressures, you actually increase rolling resistance because the bike has to go up and down and the tire doesn't absorb some of the mini-bumps like it should.
Thanks William, very helpful.
Thanks for the advice.... Need all the help I can get!
Plan to ride course with similar elevation as Timberman (Timberman is abot 2,800ft, my route is about 2,600) I know I don't have to but would feel better doing so!
Will ride with new race tires (being put on tomorrow)
I don't have power, or aerobars so watts and getting aero don't apply.
Breakfast of Nutrigrain waffles w/ PB, honey and banana and gatorade.
On the bike- 2 bottles of Accelerade (360 cal ea) and a couple of GUs. Ride should take me right around 4.5hrs for the 56 miles. Will try to keep HR in Z3, but will most likely hit Z4+ on hills.
Run to follow on local (flat) trail. I carry a 4 bottle Fuel Belt, 1 bottle w/ Accelerade. Will probably cover 5mi in about 1 hr.
Will post report Sat. after RR. Feedback welcome on the plan! After RR, I'll start writing the race plan.
Thanks all!
A couple thoughts:
1) Although hills aren't "necessary", I agree with you that they are psychologically helpful, and for a slower biker, there is no substitute for them in the sense that they will demand higher effort than you'll be putting out most of the time (higher watts if you were using a power meter). So that's a good choice.
2) For 4.5 hours, the amount of calories sounds reasonable, but what are you going to do about water? Are you carrying extra water and just not including it in the list? You're going to be pretty unhappy if the only fluid you get in that amount of time is two bike bottles! It's worth it to carry an extra bottle or two and stop if you must to refill them at a gas station or whatever.
Good luck!
Willaim
Things to change for race day: Probably need more calories. (Losing energy around mi 40) I used some Gatorade Endurance (as that is what they use on the course, and wanted to make sure I didn't have any adverse reactions, but it doesn't have as many calories as my Accelerade) Also, will need to grab water on the course. (BIke only has room for 2 bottles) I'll use a GU flask as well.
My approach for race day.... I'll use a "speed bank", making deposits on the downhills and flats which I can cash in on the uphills. This will allow for the inevitable major slow downs going up, without feeling like I have to toast myself to maintain the avg. speed needed to make the cutoff.
Feeling pretty good about the race now. I'm confident I can make the cutoffs and finish! (OK, that's at least what I am going to start telling myself from here on.....)
So how many calories did you actually take in on the bike? From your pre-race plan, you were going to get 720 (your 2x 360 cal), but how much gatorade and GU did you have? I agree that you have to get the calorie # north of 200/hr, but make sure you don't get into the 275 ish range. The more concrete your plan (ex. drink accelerade every 15 minutes, chase with water + 1 GU on the hour) the less likely you are to make random nutrition decisions in the midst of the race. I find it also helps me truly assess what I need (if things are going wrong) and if things are going according to plan I have less to think about in terms of calorie intake.
Can you clarify the "speed bank"? I'm not wrapping my head around what you mean--my brain ain't grasping it
. One thing to remember about the Timberman course is that the return loop is mostly false flat going uphill. After that initial climb, you'll feel like your flying on the out part, but many people over cook this and suffer on the return.