Go Time
It's only a few days until the race now, so the heavy training is done and the heavy fretting begins.
Am I ready? Can I do this race? Will I enjoy the day or will it become a festival of suffering? These are questions I keep asking myself as the 23rd draws nearer. There's nothing more to be done that can affect my fitness, and to be honest I feel like I'm as fit as I've ever been so that's good. The question is whether it's good enough.
Three of us (fellow competitor M plus cycling compadre P) are leaving tomorrow morning, which gives us plenty of time to acclimatize in Lake Placid. Fourth man and 3rd competitor D is travelling solo, as is his wont. He'll be there today for an extra day of pre-race angst.
It's recommended that all athletes take a good look at the course beforehand, so even though it won't be new to any of us (I scoped it out last year even though I did not race) I think we'll likely drive the bike course and bike the run, plus swim a loop of the swim course.
My Race Plan
Swim: just swim. Don't do anything special, just stay comfortable in the water and let the giant draft effect pull me around the course.
Bike: Go easy. No pushing, especially on the first loop. Keep as much energy in reserve as possible, so I can run reasonably comfortably off the bike. I'm riding a very comfortable steel road bike (Cervelo Super Prodigy) that in the past has always left my legs feeling pretty fresh for the run. If I can resist the temptation to turn the bike leg into a race I should be ok. The bike ride is all about the "3 Rs": Recover (from the swim), Rehydrate, and Reserve. And above all, don't worry about my personal peloton (M and D) coming up behind me. That was my downfall in Peterborough.
Run: Again, an easy pace even if I feel fantastic off the bike. Walk every aid station, pay attention to fluid intake, and try to stay in cruise mode for as long as possible. If all goes well I should feel ok until somewhere on the second loop, which is when the inevitable difficulties will begin. Even a straight marathon is never a party all the way through, and an IM marathon will be even tougher. I read recently that the run on an IM is "20 miles of hope followed by six miles of reality". So we'll see how real it gets towards the end of the day.
Time prediction: Not making any. Well north of 12 hours is all I know, but beyond that I'm not going to tie myself into any hoped-for result other than to finish the race and stay out of the medical tent. There won't be any qualifying for Hawaii, that's for sure.
That's all for now. Watch for a post-race report next week!
Am I ready? Can I do this race? Will I enjoy the day or will it become a festival of suffering? These are questions I keep asking myself as the 23rd draws nearer. There's nothing more to be done that can affect my fitness, and to be honest I feel like I'm as fit as I've ever been so that's good. The question is whether it's good enough.
Three of us (fellow competitor M plus cycling compadre P) are leaving tomorrow morning, which gives us plenty of time to acclimatize in Lake Placid. Fourth man and 3rd competitor D is travelling solo, as is his wont. He'll be there today for an extra day of pre-race angst.
It's recommended that all athletes take a good look at the course beforehand, so even though it won't be new to any of us (I scoped it out last year even though I did not race) I think we'll likely drive the bike course and bike the run, plus swim a loop of the swim course.
My Race Plan
Swim: just swim. Don't do anything special, just stay comfortable in the water and let the giant draft effect pull me around the course.
Bike: Go easy. No pushing, especially on the first loop. Keep as much energy in reserve as possible, so I can run reasonably comfortably off the bike. I'm riding a very comfortable steel road bike (Cervelo Super Prodigy) that in the past has always left my legs feeling pretty fresh for the run. If I can resist the temptation to turn the bike leg into a race I should be ok. The bike ride is all about the "3 Rs": Recover (from the swim), Rehydrate, and Reserve. And above all, don't worry about my personal peloton (M and D) coming up behind me. That was my downfall in Peterborough.
Run: Again, an easy pace even if I feel fantastic off the bike. Walk every aid station, pay attention to fluid intake, and try to stay in cruise mode for as long as possible. If all goes well I should feel ok until somewhere on the second loop, which is when the inevitable difficulties will begin. Even a straight marathon is never a party all the way through, and an IM marathon will be even tougher. I read recently that the run on an IM is "20 miles of hope followed by six miles of reality". So we'll see how real it gets towards the end of the day.
Time prediction: Not making any. Well north of 12 hours is all I know, but beyond that I'm not going to tie myself into any hoped-for result other than to finish the race and stay out of the medical tent. There won't be any qualifying for Hawaii, that's for sure.
That's all for now. Watch for a post-race report next week!
posted by carbonman at 12:09 PM
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