Mark M's Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon Race Plan

Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon Race Plan ~ July 15, 2017

This is my first extreme triathlon (http://www.akxtri.com/) but I will use the experience from 8 IMs and 60+ years on the planet to get me through it. It is almost fully self-supported and my wife Susan is my team captain. She has 4 IM finishes and understands the logistics of nutrition and hydration. I have to have someone with me the last 7 miles of the run so she’ll be doing that with me. My main goal is to finish the race but I have no intention of slacking off either. I’m one of just 2 people over 60 in the race (the other is 72!) so I want to represent the OF’s well. There are no AG awards but there is a special ulu knife for the first 150 finishers. It would be nice to get one of those. 

The swim is 2.6 miles in Resurrection Bay starting at Miller’s Landing south of Seward, Alaska. The expected water temperature is in the low to mid 50’s but apparently there are some spots where streams hit the bay that are colder than that. I’ll wear a full wetsuit, neoprene hoody, and booties during the swim. (Gloves are allowed below 54 degrees F.) The swim starts at 4:30 AM to take advantage of the last of the incoming tide, but mostly it will be a slack tide while I’m in the water.

The bike is a one way ride from Seward to north of Girdwood with an out and back to Portage Bay. The winds are typically from the south or the north so it could be a fast day with a tailwind, a slog against a headwind all day, or neither if there is no wind. There are two mountain passes with 4,000 feet of climbing so there’s less elevation gain than any IM I’ve done. Susan will be driving along the route to provide support between miles 35 and 85. I’ll have enough nutrition and hydration to get me through the first 50 miles. We’ll plan on meeting up at approximately miles 36-40, 55-60, and at the turn around at Portage Bay. The turnaround at Portage Bay is the last place I can get support on the bike from my team. After Portage Bay I’ll ride to T2 north of Girdwood. Since the swim starts so early, I’m anticipating that I will be on the bike before 6:30 AM. The air temperature is forecast to be in the low 50’s then so coming out of the cold water and trying to warm up might be a challenge. I’ll have long everything to put on for the first leg of the bike and change layers as needed during stops at the car. I’ll also have multiple layers in the car to match the weather from full on rain and cold to warm and dry. The temps are forecast to be in the 50-60 degree range and I’m used to training in that, so once I warm up it should feel very comfortable. (This is the first IM I’ve done where I haven’t had to go out of my way to do heat training.)

The first 14 miles of the run will be on the Bird Creek Trail, a paved bike/pedestrian trail, and account for about 400' of elevation gain (5,850’ total elevation gain on the run). There will be no support for the first 12 miles so I’ll have to carry enough hydration and nutrition to get me through that. I’ll also be carrying some mandatory items and some bear spray (another first for me). Miles 14 to 20 are on the Nordic ski trails at Mt. Alyeska resort and that’s where it becomes a little hilly. I’ll switch to trail running shoes at mile 14. Mile 20 is where the fun begins. There will be a check point there to make sure we have all the mandatory gear in our backpacks that we need for the last 7 miles and medical to check our condition. I’ll top off my hydration and nutrition for the last push and then head up the mountain. The last 7 miles consists of ~2,000 feet of climbing, going across the bowl at the top of the mountain on a snow field, going past the finish line, down to the bottom of the mountain, and then back up ~2,000 feet on the North Face trail (the hardest). The climbing will be hiking not running. I’m anticipating that my pace will be about 25-30 minutes per mile for the climbs. The downhill will probably be in the 12-15 minute mile pace. It will be a bonus if it’s faster, but I know that going downhill is harder on the legs than going up. In some ways I’m more concerned about the downhill than the uphill because there’s a greater risk of falling especially that late in the run when it’s going to be hard to pay close attention to every step because of mental and physical fatigue. I’m planning on hiking the full 7 miles on Monday. I’ll fine tune the plan after that. I’ll carry poles on that to see if I’ll use them or not on race day.

The finish is at the tram stop at the top of Mt. Alyeska at the top of the stairs. It will be a very welcome sight. Afterwards we have to take the tram down to the resort. I have a room reserved there so we don’t have to go anywhere except back to T2 to get the bike.

Jack Cooper was the 16 year old that was killed by a bear earlier this year in a race in Alaska. His mother is running the Alaskaman and Jack was going to be one of her support team. I’m dedicating my race to him and he will be my main one thing.   

The nitty gritty.

Sunday

·         Pack bike and everything else following checklist.

·         Load car for early morning flight

Monday

·         Fly to Alaska, 6:00 am flight

·         Get to Anchorage and make sure everything got there OK

·         Go to Mt Alyeska and check out the last 7 miles of the run course

Tuesday

·         Put bike together (if I didn’t do that on Monday) and take it out for a ride possibly on the Bird Creek Trail

·         Take stock of everything I have and fill in the gaps

·         Get food and supplies for the stay in Seward

Wednesday

·         Pack up and organize stuff for the trip

·         Pick up rental car at the airport

·         Pick up Marissa and Matt from the airport

Thursday

·         Travel to Seward

·         Check into the cottage and unpack.

·         Check in at registration

·         Check out the swim exit and T1

Friday

·         Go to the practice swim at 5:00 AM

·         Go to athlete briefing

·         Short run and bike to shake out the cobwebs

·         Get the T1 and T2 bags ready. Use checklist.

·         Check in T2 bag

·         Eat a big lunch

·         Go back to the cottage and take a nap

·         Mix up race drinks and organize nutrition

·         Put clothes bag together for car

·         Charge both Garmins

·         Drink a serving of Osmo pre-load hydration

·         Pack up everything I don’t need on Saturday morning (I won’t be coming back to the cottage)

·         Legs up, relax, and get to bed early

Saturday

·         Up at 1:00 and have breakfast of muesli with almond milk, a bagel with honey and almond butter, applesauce, and a cup of coffee

·         Get dressed and apply sunscreen

·         Take off at 2:30 for the venue

·         Load my nutrition on the bike, Powerbars and ClifBars cut and wrapped in rice paper, enough for first 40+ miles (3 bottles Skratch and 3 bars)

·         Mount and fill torpedo bottle and Garmin, calibrate Garmin

·         2 bottles of Skratch behind the seat

·         Take a bottle of Osmo pre-load hydration and drink while waiting on the start

·         Visit the portapotties

·         Apply TriSlide and Aquaphor and get into my wetsuit

·         Get on the bus at 3:30

·         Eat a powerbar on the bus

The Swim

·         Head down to the start line

·         Get in the water and warm up for 200-300 yards

·         When the gun goes off, swim 200-300 yards fast and find a set of feet to draft on

·         Settle into an easy rhythm that allows me to do alternate breathing

·         Mind the catch and keep my form solid

·         Go to 4 strokes per breath when my form starts to deteriorate to restore smoothness

·         Keep focused and draft when possible but don’t let the lack of someone to follow slow me down

·         Exit the swim and make my way to T1 with the help of Susan and others

·         Remember, slow is smooth and smooth is fast

·         Strip wetsuit and rinse off

·         Dry off as best as possible and change from jammers to bike shorts, jersey, tights, belt and bib

·         Put on shoes and socks

·         Rinse out mouth with water before getting on the bike

·         Put on sunglasses and helmet

·         Unrack bike, head towards exit

·         Mount the bike and head out

The Bike

·         Use the 4 gears listed below during the ride. My 4 gears are

·          

o   Use the first gear for the first 7 miles (auto-lap set for 7 miles on Garmin)

o   Increase my power to midway between the 1st and 2nd gears for the second 7 miles

o   Increase the power to the 2nd gear for the 3rd and subsequent laps

o   Use 3rd gear for hills longer than 3 minutes

o   Use 4th gear for the hills shorter than 3 minutes

·         Start to drink as soon as I get past the first few turns in town

·         Let the crazies pass me and stick to my plan (this won’t be so much of an issue since there are less than 300 participants)

·         Use my bike gears to stay in my goal watts and keep a VI close to 1.00

·         Maintain appropriate power over the crest of the hills and on the downhills until I spin out in my highest gear then get very aero and fly!

·         Stay in aerobars as much as possible but sit up every 15 minutes for a few seconds when eating

·         Pedal smoothly with a high (90) cadence

·         Drink every 10 minutes and take in 24 to 32 oz per hour depending on the temp.

·         Eat 240-280 calories/hour – 1/4 clifbar or powerbar every 15 minutes and then switch to gels at 90 miles to get ready for the run.

·         Drink water with gels

·         Eat a margarita ClifShot occasionally to change the flavor up a little bit

·         Meet up with Susan at the pre-arranged pull outs and take on more fluids and nutrition. Change clothes as needed.

·         Take 1 salt stick tab per hour for each of the last 3 hours if needed

·         Execute like a ninja!

·         If I get a flat or other mechanical, get off the road, take a deep breath or two, assess the situation and get to work. Remember, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

·         Eat an additional gel in the last mile of the ride

·         Loosen shoe straps and put feet on top of shoes in the last 150 yards

·         Enter T2 with a smile and rack bike

·         Put helmet on bike

·         Stop Garmin and hit save

T2

·         Grab bag and put on socks and shoes (slow is smooth and smooth is fast)

·         Put on hat and backpack

·         Flip bib number to front

·         Hit the trail

Run

·         Take off and keep my pace at 9:45 (HR in 120’s) for the first 6 miles 

·         Eat one clif shot block every mile

·         Take 1 saltstick cap every hour

·         1 gel every 45 minutes as long as I can tolerate them

·         Eat peppermint tums or ginger if stomach issues start up

·         Walk 30 steps every mile and drink 3-4 0unces. Cut back if my stomach starts sloshing

·         Increase pace to 9:15 for miles 6-20 (HR in 130’s)

·         Monitor everything and adjust as necessary

·         Check fluid levels at mile 12 and reload at aid station. Grab gels.

·         Meet up with support team and change to trail shoes at mile 14

·         Drink Hot Shot if legs are cramping or borderline cramping

·         Have a gel with caffeine at mile 20

·         Go through check point at mile 20. Smile. Meet up with Susan and take on other mandatory items for last 7 miles. Top off fluids.

·         Hike as quickly as possible up the first climb but remember this is the first 2,000’ climb and the harder one is last. Keep HR in check

·         Go as fast down as possible but keep safety in the forefront.

·         Encourage other runners that I see on the trail

·         Keep up the pace on the North Face. This will be the toughest 2 miles of the race and it’s at the very end when I’ll want to quit. Be strong. Smile. Enjoy the views and bring it home strong

·         Rejoice at the finish line!  ( though it’s OK to collapse into someone’s arms if I need to)

·         Grab some fluids and begin to recover

·         Enjoy the feeling of finishing the Inaugural Alaskaman and visit with other participants in the post-race feed zone!

·         Go down to the resort and take a shower

·         Retrieve my stuff from the transition area (or have someone else go do it)

·         Go back to the finish line to cheer others

·         Have a good meal as soon as I feel like eating

Write up my race report while things are still fresh in my mind

 Thanks for reading and please feel free to critique.