Strauss IMWI Final Race Plan
Hey All,
Time to get this out of my head, into the forums, and hopefully shake the other IMWI athletes out of the trees to post theirs for critique over the long weekend!
Personal Deets:
43yo, 5'9", will be about 154-155lb on race day.
FTP: 300w, ~4.3w/kg
VDot: ~50-51
I'll add pictures of the bike and me on the bike later, when Joanne gets home, so you can see my setup, fit, how awesome I look in my EN kit with Captain America helmet, etc 
.
Saturday:
- Sleep in, drop off bike and gear bags, etc. Lunch with my dad, sister, nephew and Joanne. Dunno what plans are with the rest of the day but everyone is cool with it being all about me
. - Dinner: light, around 6pm. Want to go to bed a little hungry
Transition bags/bike:
- On bike: bottle of water or Gatorade. Flat kit in the Bento: tube, lever, 2xCo2, inflator, boot, multitool. 2nd tube stashed under the seat. Compact crank (50/34), 165mm length, 26-11 cassette. Hed3 front, PT Pro+ built into a Hed Belgium wheel, Vittoria Open Corsa tires and latex tubes. 115psi on the rear, 105-110psi on the front. Matt and/or Hayes, is this correct?
- T1: helmet, shoes, race belt, sunglasses, whatever device I decide to use to carry some no-doze and/or salt pills in, Garmin 310
- T2: socks, shoes, hat or visor, sunglasses, duplicate pill device above, in case I drop it on the bike, etc
- BSN: tube, Co2
- RSN: dry socks, duct tape for if I'm developing a blister
Sunday, Pre-Race:
- 2am: 2 x 350-400cal Trader Joe's smoothies
- 4:30am: wake up, shave, coffee, ~300cal 2nd breakfast, coffee, and more coffee, water, do my bidness, etc
- ~5:30: leave hotel (staying at the Hilton, never had this kind of convenience before), drop off B/RSN bags. Check my transition stuff -- basically all I need to do is pump up tires, put that bottle on my bike, done.
- 5:50: want to be out of transition. Not sure where I'll go but hopefully down the cattle shoot, jump the barricades, find a quiet place, go back over the barricades and chip in before getting in the water.
- 6:40-6:55: swim warm up -- about 400-500m easy, then some quick 50's or so. The later and closer to the swim start time I finish this, the better. Take my place on the buoy line, front row.
Swim: 53:30-54:30
- 400-500m very hard, shut off the legs, begin to bring the pace down, find feet, get in my groove and swim.
- Draft by putting feet on my left side. Find ways to minimize sighting and looking up for feet, buoys, etc
- Start kicking again the last 200m, do a couple sommersaults to stretch my lower back.
T1: 4:30-45
- Wetsuit strippers
- Sprint up helix
- Get bag, run in change room to the exit. Without sitting down:
- Dump bag, put on helmet, sunglasses, race belt, pill dealio in pocket, grab shoes, sprint...
- To bike, get bike, sprint to mount line...
- Lean bike on wall, put on shoes, mount bike and go.
Bike -- 5:05-5:11
Course is here
Wearing:
- DeSoto Tribibs (I have the new Rivierras coming today, will try them out, I have the Forza now)
- EN singlet
- Desoto arm coolers -- I ride much, much better in cool temps, colder the better, so will be water dumping fool on the bike.
- Lazer Tardiz
- Special Trivent shoes
Joule is set to display:
Current Watts Pnorm Watts
Cadence IF
Ride Time Speed
Distance KJ
Will generally create an interval every 30', with the exception of a couple key terrain areas below, and ride with the display in interval mode. Will toggle over to the overall ride numbers at about mile 56 and maybe again on the Stick back to T2. Will not look at TSS...maybe. We'll see.
0-30': 70%, 210w
Every interval thereafter: 75%, likely seeing 224-228w at the end of each 30' interval.
Terrain Intervals:
- 1st and 2nd loops will create an interval for miles 42-49 and 85-92, basically the bit from Birch Trail to Shady Oak.
- Won't do anything special on this bit the 1st time through
- 2nd loop I'll see how things are going and make the call to wick it up to 80%+, specifically making a tactical decision to take those hills right at or just above FTP.
- Will then make another decision about how to ride from Shady Oak all the way back to T2. I think from mile 85 to 110 is a key part of this bike course and have modeled 78% for this 25 mile stretch.
Other bike notes:
- 200-250cal/hr as Perform and/or a gel now and then
- 3 x 200mg caffiene spread out across the ride, weighted towards the second half
- Conserving momentum, always: no coasting unless I spin out the 50-11 and/or need to stretch, bombing all corners, legally riding the drafts of those around me or am lapping on the second loop.
- Sitting up/standing at < 16mph, to stretch back, change positions.
- Shutting it down in the Aliant Center parking lot. Put on Garmin, turn on, ride in hoods, stand, stretch, etc.
Goal Numbers:
Using Matt's spreadsheet to model the ride, based on a goal VI of 1.035 (I rode 1.04 during IMWI camp and Matt has ridden 1.03 so splitting the difference:
- 225w Pnorm
- 218w Pavg
- .75 IF
- 288 TSS, based on 5:07 bike split
- As a frame of reference, in 2004 I rode a 5:11 on 225w Pnorm but a terrible VI 1.08 and 208w Pavg. I rode the first half too hard, was a hot day, got dehydrated, did a lot of coasting and didn't finish strong. My bike setup (specifically tires, bottle placement, and helmet) are much better now, much smarter and will ride with a much lower VI = ~10w more average watts for the same Pnorm, etc. Based on this, 5:05-11 seems very realistic.
T2 -- 1:30-45
Socks, shoes, grab everything else and go. Maybe high five the sunscreen peeps and apply while I run. I've asked Joanne to either be at the exit of T2 or at about mile 1 to give me a spot of where I am in the AG.
Run -- 3:37-45
- 0-6 miles: 8:50 pace, by seeing 8:40 on the dial and walking 20" at every aid station at about 16'/mile pace
- 7-20: 8:20 pace by seeing 8:05-10 on the dial, walking 20" every aid station. FYI, I'm saying 20", holding 10" in reserve so I can give myself permission to walk 30"/mile later in the day, if I need to.
- Last 6 miles: just get it done.
- The above gets me a 3:41 per Matt's run/walk calculator. What happens in the last 6-8 miles -- no walking, straffing aid stations, burying myself -- is where the race goes to a 3:38, maybe, we'll see.
- Minimal calories: water, coke, Perform. Ice, ice and more ice, everywhere, regardless of temps.
- Personally, my more important goal is to have a "good run," in terms of execution and even pacing, vs a "good time." IOW, I'm happy with a 3:45 if I get there by executing a great race, according to what the day gives me. I do that by focusing on the back end of the race, not the front end.
Pics later!
Comments
Only thoughts -- those special needs bags seem super light. Although I really like the duct tape.
If you heart the Coke on the run, they ran very low last year, having it at only one aid station. Perhaps an addition to run special needs? (you can wrap the duct tape around the bottle.)
Do you have a rain plan in your head?
I thought I previously read that you’re putting a coke in BSN.
“6:40-6:55: swim warm up -- about 400-500m easy, then some quick 50's or so. The later and closer to the swim start time I finish this, the better. Take my place on the buoy line, front row.”
What time do the Pro’s take off? Will warming up this close to 7am be in their way?
Looks good.
Your tire pressure is good, but most things I read say to run the front and rear at the same pressure on a TT bike as your weight is more even. On road bike the back is higher due to more weight being back there. Here is the vittoria chart for reference: http://www.vittoria.com/tech/recom-tyre-pressure/ That said, I run 105-110 front and rear on this course as the roads suck and I'm lighter.
Two comments you made stick out to me:
Knowing that swim bike is your strengh, I agree with this strategy, however I think if you go that route you should be prepared to have a less than ideal run and suffer a little. Instead you said:
"Personally, my more important goal is to have a "good run," in terms of execution and even pacing, vs a "good time." IOW, I'm happy with a 3:45 if I get there by executing a great race, according to what the day gives me. I do that by focusing on the back end of the race, not the front end."
Maybe I misunderstood, but my opinion is if you should either play to your strengh and kick it up on the bike, OR set your goal as focusing on the back end of the race (i.e the run)... expecting to do both just seems a little risky to me. Obviously, you have played this game longer and know your body better though.
Pros usually go off at 6:45 or 6:50 at IMWI, however there are like 15 of them total and they will just line them up right in front of where the AGers start and it is no big deal at all. There is plenty of room behind the starting line so we can easily warm up right until 7 if we want. Just keep in mind there are 2800 others trying to warm up and then get back to line up in the exact spot they want to be at by 7 as well.
@Coke: on all of my training rides I haven't done a very good of hydrating myself. IMWI will be different, as there is no end of water on the course. As such, my priority is hydration and racing, not necessarily treating myself to a special something at halfway. Near the end of my training I started to feel that the coke limited my ability to hydrate properly: here I am with a bottle of Coke and a bottle of Perform on my bike, both of which are relatively calorie dense. So...my bike plan is focused on calories, sodium, caffiene, and fluid. Done, nothing else really. As for the run, hopefully they're not running out of coke by 4pm
@Swim warmup: yep, what Matt. I have the whole lake
. My usual MO is to swim out away from the mass of bodies about 5' one way, 5' back, and get lined up about 3-4' before the start. Matt, noted about a lot of other people having the same idea 
.
@Rain: gonna bring about every item of cycling kit I own and make the call. I've raced in tri shorts, singlet, armwarmers, toe caps in 55-60f and rainy. I have a cheap vest I wouldn't mind tossing at an aid station. I don't sweat getting cold (haha) on the bike, I actually race better the shittier the weather is.
@Matt: yeah, it's a tactical decision, but I'm pretty confident that by putting in solid efforts at key places (go faster where the rest of the field is going slower), I can find 2-3' without doing too much damage to my run. Again, as I look at my '04 file, how I applied power to the race and the resulting speed, I'm confident that I left a lot of opportunity on that course from Cross Plains to Madison. So it's not so much about riding harder as it is about riding smarter.
* I'd plan on a big saturday breakfast…that was fun and chill and breakfast always beats lunch.
* Put Advil in your pill box.
* You might need to bring a wetsuit & skinsuit / stash it in dry clothes bag if they call it different after you head out of your place.
* Sponges on the run, esp in upper back and chest make a difference. You can stuff them in and then go hands free for the rest of the aid station.
While I like the detail, what's the option for your "disaster" scenarios? That's what keeps me up at night. Swim turns out to be a 58. Or bike issues cause you to lose 10'...or stomach starts shutting down. What happens if you start the run "behind" on what you want? If the temps are like 90 vs 80? Only you can answer those things, but worth having in hand. For me in LP, my "great" plan ended up getting tossed out and I went with plan b ride steady/hard all day to catch up to the pack.
The nice thing is you get to play at the front of whatever race scenario there is. Bummer is folks don't "play nice" on the bike at the pointy end...so you might be solo-ish until the second loop. I totally agree with your focus on that latter stretch of the course for making some magic happen...given how well you want to run I think being conservative/steady on the bike for as long as you can is a good thing. Opting for smart at every chance you get until you have no other choice, IOW on the run.
Can't think of anything else right now, but will keep it in my head for a while. Want you to kill it!
Also, remember that I swam like it was my job, from 8-22yo so I'm a little different.
You need to add the part where you stick around after you epic race is over and "catch" the rest of the team ;-)
@P: yeah, things are different at the pointy pointy end. In the past I have about a top 30-35 OA swim, then ride my way up through the field a bit to come off the bike top 20 or so AG. So first lap of the bike, until I start going through lapped traffic, and the first loop of the run are like a local sprint race -- not a lot of people out there. At IMCDA'05 I found myself with the leaders of the 30-34AG, I was 37, and just keyed off of them, keeping my 4 bike lengths while they raced each other. Was a great mental break.
I prefer to not create plans for all the stuff that can go wrong. I prefer to make sure I have tools with which to create solutions on the fly. In mil-speak, mission is to race to a sub 10. "Commander's Intent," the thing that drives everything when shit goes wrong, is to execute a well-paced run.
Ebe, yeah, that part is a given
. When PnI raced CDA'08 together, we got regrouped at the finishline, got changed, walked to the CDA Brewery where the bartender bougth us each a beer and gave us 800mg Vit-I, then went back to the finish where we stayed until the last EN finsher came across. I've told my family to expect the same and they can take care of themselves.
@Nemo: hear ya for the race belt, but I rented a MyAthlete GPS tracking dealio which, as I understand it, comes with race belt + pouch to hold the thing. Pretty sure I can't get that thing wet
. If it's not waterproof I may wear the number on swim, tape the GPS thingy to the bike and put it in the pouch while riding.
Sunglasses will be hanging from my bento box on the bike. Pill dealio ducttaped to aerobar. Garmin looped on aerobar, gloves on the shifters. Once down the helix put sunglasses on, pill thing in singlet pocket, put on gloves, Garmin in singlet pocket. I did all of this yesterday before I got about 2 blocks from my house. I can ride no hands no problem on my tri bike so...not a problem. Gloves because I've done every ride forever with gloves on. I like the control they give, better than bare hands for wiping the sweat and snot off, etc.
Cool. Race belt will be worn on the swim, GPS taped to bars and put in tri-bibs pocket while riding
One option for pill holders that does not rattle is the plastic “coin holders”, they are slim and hold ~ 15 or so pills.
Rock it on race day!!
Your bike IF seems pretty high to me. What are some past races like? in the 75% range? If your run > 3:55, I'm going to ask if you were the guy walking at mile 18 talking about his great bike split
Tom,
.74-75 for 5:05-5:10 gets me ~280-85 TSS. Sorry, WI isn't a course where you can ride a .70 to a 5:02 split, like TX