IMFL Race Plan; Tim Dux (The other Tim ;) )
IMFL will be my first full IM. I have been in the haus since January and have learnt so much about not only the sport but about myself and what i am capable of achieving. Anyway, here is my plan.
Goal; To finish and to run the entire marathon (other than walking at the aid stations). If i have a great day i think i can realistically expect to finish somewhere around the 12.30-12.45 mark but i am not going to concentrate on that till mile 21 on the run.
Pre race nutrition; I will be up in the middle of the night anyway, always am, so will suck on half a bottle of Naked Protein and then go back to staring at the ceiling. alarm will be set for 3.30am coffee, bagel with peanut butter, water, sports drink. Morning ablution, more water and sports drink.
Swim; I am a MOP/BOP swimmer, swimming is not something i have come into in my adult life but prior to this year i hadn't swum with any sort of structure since i was 15. I plan to seed myself on the outside of whichever way the current is flowing. I figure i am going to get kicked around anyway so i might at well be in the thick of it so will put myself in the middle. In the past i have put myself right at the back and then found myself swimming over people for the majority of the swim. From reading everything in an IM swim you end up swimming with people the same speed as you (obviously) and as i think i am realistically a 1:15-:120ish swimmer i think being in the middle is ok? thoughts? Tactic for the swim is coutn strokes, chill and get carried along....
T1; find my wife and give her a kiss on the way out! Temp on the day will dictate if i add the arm warmers, other than that i will be in full EN stash. Not going to worry too much about transition time, i just want to be comfortable in what i am doing.
Bike; My 2 x 112 RR rides were done right around the 6:00 mark so that is my goal. I live in SOFLO so the terrain is similar. Using the EN calculator my goal watts will be 154 for the majority of the ride. Like most in the haus i am quietly competitive (what a surprise!) but on race day I WILL NOT EAT THE PASTE. first 30 will be JRA and then dial in 154. I will on purpose slow to not get caught in the draft packs where necessary i didn't get into this to let someone else do the hard work for me (my head talk will be "see you on the run sucka"). Bike nutrition will be 250kcals of Infinit an hour taken as 4 sips=1 hr (15 min intervals) after the first 30 (which will be water only). I will carry 2 bottle of infinit on the bike with 2 more a BSN's. I have found that the salt tabs massivly help me so i will be dropping 2 an hour form hour 1 on the bike. At about mile 110 i will start sitting up and trying to get my diaphram realxed and down for the run to avoid a stitch. Spare socks at BSN if i feel the need to change it up
T2; Slow and Smooth, put the swim and bike in a box, the day is about to start here. You can do this, You've been here before. Give R&P six miles, that's it. Let the race come to you. Smile 
Run; I plan on aiming for 10min miles for the first 6, and then dial it in to 9:30. I have done (as have most) a heap of running as dusk turns to night and it is actually my favorite time of day, i enjoy running in the dark (
). Nutrition on the run will be how i feel but taking calories through on course perform at every aid station with water. I will walk the end of the aid station, i will force myself to do this. Coke and Broth will be my present to myself if and when needed. Spare socks if i need them at RSN if i need a mental que to get me back on track. I will run how i feel after mile 18 BUT I WILL RUN! as i run past the people who were cheating on the bike i might even give them a little tap on the butt and tell them to keep going....
So that's it folks. 1 year in the making.
Let me know what you think and if i have left anything out that needs thinking about.
Comments
Great attitude for your first IM - if I had only known what you know, when I did my first IM in Panama City 2000! I think you will be pleasantly surprised by your bike time at the end of the day.
Solid Plan. My takeaway from 2009- it gets very dark in the park at turnaround. I did not have a light. I noticed others had headlamps, etc. I figured it out why when I stepped in a hole in the park, ouch. Enjoy your first IM.
Sounds great. The current usually runs to the left; watch the pro wave. I found it helpful to start wide right.
The bike: you'll have big packs rolling up on you; use 'em. Slip to the back, figure out a just-legal distance to ride behind, and enjoy the ride. Use this time to sit up, stretch, eat, pee, whatever. Just be sure you're legal; the refs on the motos are silent and deadly. Toward the end of the bike you'll be passing plenty of "blown" riders; come right up behind them, use the momentary draft and pass 'em. This speeds you up and breaks up the monotony of he long ride.
Tim - Solid plan. I did my first IM this year @ CDA and followed a similar plan, even down to the Infinit on the bike. You are wise to just let the race come to you @ mile 20 of the run. That truely is when the race for us AGers start. At CDA, I stayed in Zone 1 for the entire bike and the first 20 miles of the run, then picked it up to zone2-3 pace. I passed so many people those last 6 miles. It felt awesome to go flying by them, even those who were still running. With your plan and since running in the dark is your favorite time, I think you will have a super run too. Good luck.
Besides your jerk of a coach will be there screaming "GET ON YOUR BIKE! GET ON YOUR BIKE!" and you might not hear her. Just saying.