Dave Tallo 2011 IMWI Race Plan
I'll be updating this after I grab some content from the WI Group threads, and after a recon of the course this week. But here's the skeleton.
Dave Tallo, 41, IM #14
FTP 270, weight 150, VDOT 53-4
Strategic Pillars
1. Racing to 9:56
2. No drama until Mile 18
Race Week
-approx 2300 cals/day plus replacement of training cals. Green, lean and clean.
-all situations, ask "Is this adding to, or depleting my energy?"
-lots of sitting, avoid walking anywhere if you can drive, keep off feet
-stay in control of all situations
Day before race
-in advance, write Saturday itinerary: where to go and when, menus and venues for meals, follow schedule using 15min blocks
-get in, get done, get out
-salted everything.
-Odwalla / Naked Fruit smoothies breakfast. Last Starbucks no later than 10am.
-gather bags
-Lunch as 'clean' pasta or burritos w flour tortilla, chicken, mild salsa, rice
-arrive at check in, work from list
-wear ipod to shut out nervous crowd energy (happy music. Maybe ska or Beatles.)
-walk route from water to bags to bike to exit. Think about places to run fast, run slower, shortcuts.
-Look for 2x landmarks and markers for bike rack position. Note row/column of t bags.
-get outta there fast because it is an energy suck.
-afternoon: stretch / light yoga, DL movie from itunes in room and relax.
-sit for dinner by 4:30
-dinner as bland white pasta, red sauce, chicken, white bread
-put on timing chip ankle strap before bed (safety pin neoprene strap)
Sleep by 9-10PM - "I'm grateful to be racing and damn lucky"
Race Day
-wake at ~3am for 4 x Ensure
-wake 4:30
-"I feel great"
-craft singlet, craft shorts, Garmin
-Get to race Time TBD - aim for 5:30?
-is bodymarking mandatory under WTC rules? If not, skip
-quick list of Admin (more to add later): water in profile bottle, salted gatorade on bike cage, PT computer attached and secured w extra elastic, inflate wheels to 125 and cover valve holes with duct tape, chain lubed in easy gear, attach 4 x clifs, gel flask, sunglasses to bars w elastics, outta there
-find somewhere quiet to chill, light stretch, sunscreen
-continue sipping water
t minus 30
-armcoolers on, race belt under wetsuit, make way to water
-spash around with warmup including 4-5 x 'hard' intervals
-gel at 10 mins to start
Swim
Goal of 1:02-1:04
-Seed near ??? (NTF: pull this from IMWI Group advice)
-find big dude to get behind at start, gauge speed, use his big draft
go
-hard for first 400 (NTD - identify approx marker for 400). Quick strokes hard pull, natural kick. Nake hard pace based on muscles, form and fitness ... NOT adrenaline. Be in control.
-you'll get hit; hold your ground and keep making forward progress
-muscle fatigue: first 400 will be over soon, just keep hard pace
-settle into race pace with longer pulls, start to count strokes
-keep key 3 in mind: early catch, high elbow, strong finish
-stay on hip or feet and enjoy the ride
-effort: remember ... it's a race
Exit and t1
-Look at t1s of previous years and plan for top 50-100 (4mins?)
-do a few wetsuit removal practices during race week: I bet I can do it faster than stripper-aided removal. If this tests well, bypass and do your own
-keep moving ahead, stay on inside of (?) helix
-helmet and shoes in bag. dump out before tent, don helmet, carry shoes, drop off bag and wetsuit
-grab bike and go
Bike
-lean bike and shoes on at dismount line; tighten straps once moving forward on bike
-mental state: these guys pushing 400 watts are entertaining and it looks likes everyone is going to be a Viking today
HERE'S WHERE I'LL HAVE TO COME BACK TO DETAIL AFTER A RECON OF THE COURSE. GENERAL PLAN ONLY FOR NOW W / MORE TO FOLLOW
Bike Planned IF .74, approx TSS 275, Goal time 5:20
-First 30 mins as 190, easy spinning, take time putting things attached to bike in pockets (Clifs in jersey pockets, glasses with arms inside helmet straps, gel flask in shorts pocket at back). Pull two-sided-tape backing off back of race number so it's sticks to back, flap-free. Safety first.
-eat early - stomach is normally setled right away and harder swim will have taken more cals than normal
-WI bike success is about constantly making decisions. Do what you need to in order to ensure there is the mental real estate to keep making good choices all morning.
-from 30mins in to bike finish: keep on 200 watts, with terrain features at 210 and climbs at 220. Stay on gas steadily, don't come up during descents until 40mph or so. Look for opportunities for free speed: corners, riding tangents, keeping momentum on rollers, legal drafting, etc. Lots of people will go out too fast on the bike = Free Wind Shadows from pretty much first half of lap 1 onwards.
-Bike is a 5h conversation with your powermeter. No siteseeing.
-general strategy point: if feeling great at 85 miles, make descision to bump to 205 / 215 / 225
-Visuals through ride: "I get small and punch through the wind" ... "I am light and strong"
-1 /2 Clif every half hour with water. Gatorade on the :15 and :45. Switch from Clifs to gels at about 3.5h
-2 x lava salt every hour
-make sure you're still peeing hourly at 3+ hour mark
-pick a landmark around the 3/4 point that will coincide with your normal point of losing focus / drifting mentally. This is the cue to get your head back into it.
-Mile 110: unstrap shoes, drop to 190, easy light spinning, get mind into t2 game
t2
-aim for 'best in class' t2 time based on past races (~1:30?)
-t2 flying dismount, drop bike and gogogo
-turn race number right away so volunteers can see and grab your bag
-helmet unstrapped once past dismount line, take off while running
-sit down, dump bag, socks and shoes on, grab hat / baggie of sunscreen bundle, get movin'
-just carry hat and sunscreen until everything is settled, then put 'em both on when you're underway
Run
-assuming currrent forecast of mid-70s
-alternate gatorade and gel at every aid station. Grab 2 gels every time: one for next aid station and toss in pocket to eat as you roll up to station - especially on lap 2 of run when aid stations get a bit crowded. IOW, always have an 'emergency' gel pack in your pocket.
-don't break stride for pee breaks - just keep moving
-run smart: take tangents, follow shortest paths anywhere
-run start: Hit power on on Garmin (wear on wrist from start of day powered off)
-start as shuffle with Key Bobby McGee look-fors: forward lean from chest, footstrike along stance line, quick turnover at 90rpm, eyes on 6 ft ahead on road
-"I am light and strong"
-opening pace of 8:30 with HR cap of 150
-back down to 8:40 if RPE too hot, and adjust by 10s slower every few minutes unti RPE is very easy
-run entire race, keeping consistent miles
-mile 6: if on pace, drop to 8:00 w cap of 158
-If first 6 at slower pace, just adjust by 30s faster than whatever that is
-Mile 12: how do I feel? if it's an HONEST "great," and running at 8:00, keep on 8:00s. If running slower than 8:00s, and feel great, drop to 8:00. If feeling anything else, and slower than 8:00, just keep on pace.
-Hills: remember form to maximize mechanical advantage, make tactical choice at each hill whether to bump to higher effort to climb (HR cap 165), or maintain NP
-mile 18: toggle garmin to "time of day," keeping moving, and take stock for a minute. Breathe; control. Figure out what will be needed to get to 9:56 or better. One last reminder of running with perfect McGee form, then go and run with heart.
-move from "reserved, internal focus" to "gutsy, external focus." Pass people and steal their energy. Try to get pace to 7:30s. Keep turnover, keep form, don't walk anywhere. Images of Peter Reid in Kona, Mark Allen, Luc Van Leirdre; find anything that gives you energy.
-"I am light and strong and breathe energy"
Other
-No bike / run Special Food bags
-Bike setup as Profile front bottle for water, Gatorade on cage, 4 clifs and gel flask in jersey, 2x extra light tubes on bike with c02, lever and minipump under seat. Hate the Bento, bit it's aero, so I have to make the call. If not, velcro tiny zipbaggie of Lava salts to back of PD.
Risk Management and Contingencies
-off pace: balance it being a long day with finding opportunities to make up time across the 2-3 hours ahead. Don't try to regain 2-3 mins over the course of a half hour. Look for time gains **ONLY IF YOU ARE MAKING UP FOR A DEFICIENCY** in miles 85-110 of bike, or miles 12-18 of run
-blown tire or minor: come to a stop, close eyes and beathe deep for 5 s, and get on with a calm fix. Think Crissie, not Normann.
-major: you're lucky to be doing Ironman. Use it to learn something on race day: maybe try a run PB using McGee 8/1 run walk.
To be determined
I normally "race" without looking at the time over the day. IOW, I don't look at my swim or t1 time, and I'm only looking at my bike split to guide nutrition, pacing numbers, etc. Also, I normally hit Garmin at the start of the run, so I can see my event time, but never monitor my overall time. Not sure if I should be tracking Overall Time throughout day or not. Advantage: it will keep me on track for goal time and let me make adjustments as needed while there's still time in race. Risk: if off pace, could affect mood and energy for day, or lead to catastrophic pacing mistakes.
Comments
You have it dialed in! Best of execution to you on race day!
-My IMWI psa is remember to turn on your Garmin and acquire satellites early. Last year, about a mile and a half into the run, there was a chorus of athletes around me, who just picked up their signals, and all found out they were running too fast.
Running hills - you may want to think about the last one -- one you turn back onto State Street, its a long, slow hill up to the finish. First time around? Doesn't look so bad. Second time, it has a habit of turning into a mountain.
Looking forward to cheering for you on race day!
Dave, from looking at my past ride/race files on the course, I'm convinced that the second half of the bike is faster than the first, specifically the ride back to Madison on the Stick. I think you should really focus on this bit, not necessarily going harder but rather keep on keeping on and not shutting it down until you make the left into the Alliant Center parking lot. That's where I plan to go into admin mode.
Likewise, I was going through a lot of lapped traffic on the second loop in '04 when there were about 1500-1600 people racing. This year will be close to 3k so a lot more wind shadows out there that I plan to leverage by staying on the watts but riding up to the wheel and slingshotting around.
I think you'll also see that crew of top 15 40-44AG guys who seem to swim 1:02-1:08 and ride ~5:20. I think you should pay attention to the calves passing you and keep any groups that form in sight. I've found it's a good mental tool, as you gain confidence watching them screw up, and making a confident move at about mile 85 through 110 could put you in a good place for the run.
-Yep. Lots of time this weekend reading, listening and thinking about lap 2. I will be getting out there at least 3 times between W and F, so I should be able to get a good lay of the land once i'm on the ground.
-I HATE looking at calf numbers. I'll do it, but that stuff really gets in my head when racing for a spot ... although I know they'll come back to me, but it takes the wind out of my sails when it happens, and even that microsecond of doubt eats away at me. I'll probably go to the sauna tonight and start to develop some strategies or mental tricks to conrol my responses more completely.
-@ P: ya, that "cost benefit of 5 extra watts" calculation is my obsession these days. I wanted to pin the decision point to one that is (1) made at a specific place in the race, (2) based on clear criteria (which I have to sharpen a bit more); (3) deliberate. IOW, making that a structured decision that isn't clouded by the fog of war that I'll be in at that time.
I suppose I should also riff on the cost side of the ledger, and give some reflection to what that's going to do to my run. My guess is is I were to kick it up in that section, I would probably see it reflected more in how I feel for the first 10 miles than the last 16 ... but because I've kinda scaffolded things on markers in my first 6, there's bound to be some impact later on.
Sauna time tonight, so lots of time to play out the scenarios. I love/hate tapers.
Dave,
Planning to have Joanne drop me off at Uphill Grind on Thursday and I'll ride from there back to Madison, about 25 miles. I "think" we may be renting a big-ish car that could accommodate two bikes. That will be my only ride while there, other than race day. Let me know if you want to join me. Will also OWS that morning.
Also, I don't think it's a matter of upping things by 5w across the board for the last x'. Rather:
I don't have the specific numbers in front of me, but for my '04 race:
I really had my heart set on biking under 5:25 at IMC this year but I knew that my 5hr MP was the lowest it's been in about 4 years. I gave myself a ~195w NP threshold and I biked 196w (IF = .73). Unfortunately we had headwinds going back into town from YL which forced me to work a little harder than expected.
Now I felt like shit for about 20 of the 26 miles of the run and ended up with a 3:39. I obviously knew it was going to be a very hot day but I think I was a bit too focused on time on the bike. Normally I would have backed it down a tad knowing that everyone would melt on the run (it always happens in >90* conditions). No complaints but it wasn't what I expected even in that heat. Most people melted and I just barely held it together.
The point: You might want to have a slightly different plan for a hot day unless it's pretty obvious it won't be hot on race day. I honestly think I could have biked 5 min slower and run 10 min faster but the truth is that I didn't have the guts to ride 5:30 and see if I could run a lot of people down in that heat.
Focusing on time can definitely mess with your head but hindsight is 20-20 (which also messes with your head)...