SarahMcDonough's IMMD Race Plan
Okay, here's my plan. I do best when I play things a tad fast and loose so it may seem that I don't have as much detail as others but I intentionally put a lot of flexibility in so that I am ready for a range of situations. That being said I'm looking forward to your feedback.
Sun – Wed: attention to fueling and hydration.
Workouts as prescribed. Pack on Sun.
Make shopping list and menu for week.
Make pre-race playlist and load it on shuffle
Arrive in Cambridge around 8:30 pm
Thurs AM:
Register.
Swim?
Sort out gear for check in on Friday.
Team dinner.
Friday: Check in bike and gear bags. Go back to house and rest, read, eat, drink. In bed early.
Saturday:
Wake up @ 4 am – eat breakfast (2 x waffles with pb/banana), coffee, 2 x chocolate milk – listen to good music
Arrive at transition @ 5:30 am (need to figure out parking situation): get marked, double check gear, pump tires. Listen to music, eat fig newtons, drink nuun.
6:30 head toward swim start: bring disposable h20 bottle and a gel. Get wet if possible, check goggles etc.)
SWIM: Goal: 1:20 – 1:40 seed in 1:20 – 1:30 group. Stay calm and smooth. Expect the worst hope for the best. Okay to stop and gather wits. Don’t judge anything based on the first 10 min
T1: helmet, sunglasses, socks, shoes, calf sleeves, drink some water, take time, double check everything., GO SLOW, put on more sunscreen if needed, more chamois cream for sure, mount garmin on bike, put helmet on!!
Bike: Goal: 5:45 – 6:30
Nutrition: Infit in big bottle and down tube (68 oz total), pretzels and fig newtons in bento box. Infit mixed @ 240 cal/24 oz, eat another 150 cal/hour. Carry 2 extra servings of Infit in case more is needed before special needs. Drink water on course for refreshment only. Planning to consume the equivalent of 1 bottle/hour plus 150 solid calories. DO NOT STOP EATING – TREAT IT LIKE A BUFFET, eat as much as you want
Pace: keep high cadence – DO NOT GRIND. Don’t look at speed, just keep watts in check, it will be what it will be. No watts sustained over 125. HR between 140-155. HR dominates over watts.
Special needs: 5 servings of inifit, more newtons, kind bars and pretzels, 2 stinger gels, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie? Aleeve, extra compressed air
If underfueling becomes a problem supplement with on course Gatorade.
T2: fresh shorts, shorts, socks, top if desired. Race belt with race number and scratch, stinger, and shot blocks, hand held water bottle with infit, nuun tablets, , visor, aleeve
RUN: Goal: 3:50 – 5:00 GO OUT SLOW!!!! Okay to have some walking in first 3 miles. Don’t trust how it feels in the first 3 miles, it always feels better after three miles. Keep heart rate at 150 or less until mile 6. From mile 6 – 15 okay to go to 155-160. Miles 15-22okay to be 165 – 170, mile 22-26 max heart rate of 180. Plan is to run 1 mile, walk 1 min do it from the beginning! Use aid stations to refill hand held bottle – can toss if it become cumbersome. Eat 2 gummies every mile with some hydration.
Run like you own it! This is the part you are “good” at.
Special needs: more nuun, infinit, and gels. Pretzels. Fresh socks and shirt, long sleeve something, aleeve
Remember to enjoy the run – this is what I saved myself for.
Finish: Goal: 10:55 – 13:10 – Enjoy it, take it all, EAT/DRINK as soon as possible. Remember that you are happy with just finishing even if it is 17 hours. Expect 6 things to go wrong.
Packing List:
Googles
Tri suit
Wet suit
Speed suit
Towel
Bike
Helmet
Water bottles w/straws
Inifit
Nutrition
Bike shoes
Sunglasses
Visor
Socks
Compression sleeves
Throw away sweat shirt
Throw away shoes
Running shoes
Race belt
Bike tools
Betno box
Garmin watch and charger
Swim suit/running/cycling clothes for Thursday and Friday
Movies, books, magazines, camera
Bike pump
Melatonin
Aleeve
Endurox
Extra water bottles
Casual clothes
Go to mantras: this is a bucket list item, make the time worth it, no regrets, it is all about the ability to suffer, there are going to be high moments and low moments – neither one will last forever so just be present in the moment,
Comments
"Arrive at transition @ 5:30 am (need to figure out parking situation):"
Yah, the parking situation is a little bit of a stress. below is what it says on the athlete guide. I imagine most folks will use the shuttle on race morning. As you will see there is also a shuttle Wed-Fri. Pick up point is different than race morning. Having said that, you may want to consider backing your race morning up by about 20 min. Give you plenty of time to get ready and get wet before the gun goes off.
Page 11 of the Athlete guide.
Shuttle bus parking in Cambridge
Plaza Shopping Mall on
Route 50 (will be signed) on
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will
be an information center with
volunteers on hand. Drop-off
and pick-up will be outside
Great Marsh Park (T1/T2).
Shuttles are free and the drivers
will let you bring your bike on
the bus!
Shuttle “golf carts” will be available
between Great Marsh and
IRONMAN Village powered by
EarthLink/Finish at Long Wharf.
Additional golf carts will be
available to take athletes downtown
to shop and eat.
RACE DAY ONLY: Shuttle
parking will be at Mace’s Lane
Middle School, Mace’s Lane
(see map). From 4:45 a.m. race
morning until 1 a.m. Sunday.
Pick-up outside Great Marsh
Park only.
Thanks Nate and Nemo! I really appreciate both your comments!