I wrote this the day before Ironman Lake Placid. Sorry for the delayed post on this…

I thought I would do a quick write up of my goal and plan for the race tomorrow. In the past I have done a few write-ups along with a dedication. This Ironman is just a blog of leading up to race day and what you can expect from me out there.

Since April of 2013 I have essentially been training for an Ironman with maybe a month off to not be so focused. I need a break. After this weekend I plan to take off about 4-5 months of Ironman training to focus on running and cross-training. I have a marathon in mid-October that I need to get ready for. I plan to try to qualify for Boston and that will be my focus starting next weekend. I also have some other fall running races. I still would like to break 1:30 for a 1/2 marathon but I plan to wait until late October/ early November to try that. Once January comes along I will start training again for Ironman Texas that is in Mid-May.

I have to be honest here. Over the last 2 1/2 years when I started training for my first Ironman I wasn’t in love with biking anymore. I started biking in August 2008 and joined QVV in August of 2009. When I joined the cycling club I fell in love with riding. I would ride 5-6 days most weeks. I improved very quickly and felt around 2010 or 2011 I was at my best. I was easily out there biking 100-175 miles a week. In 2010 and 2011 I logged about 5,000 miles each year. During this time so many riders from the club taught me so much. They brought me from a C rider to about a B+ to an A- rider in a short time. People like Chris G., Paul H., The Boves, Tracy, Wendy, Anson, Ben S., CR, James F., Gail, Jay A., Mark G., Pauline, Dumas, Rich, Sue and Pete, and I’m sure several others. They made it fun, hard, and rewarding.. In 2012 I cut back and biked about 3-4,000 miles. By the time 2013 came around and I was training for my first Ironman I wasn’t as enthusiastic about riding those longer rides. I would talk about doing them and even go out with the intention of riding say 70-80 miles but after about 40 I would head home. I noticed that my bike was weakening when I did the Flattest Century in 2013. Normally I could hang on to the front group for about the first 60 miles or so when it’s mostly downhill/ flat but I had a hard time after 20 miles.

After Ironman Texas in May of this year I fell back in love with biking again. I think mostly because I picked up a power meter and really want to improve. I have found training with a power meter is a great way to improve and see where your weaknesses are. I have a lot to learn on using it effectively but so happy I purchased one. For the last 4-6 weeks I have be wanting to go out and ride my bike. I was enthusiastic about putting in some longer miles. I even road the Quabbin century in early July with my friend Adam C. This ride is the equivalent of the Lake Placid ride tomorrow. They both measure at 7,000 feet of climbing. Something I am looking forward to.

Swim:

I am hoping/planning on swimming about a 1:30. I picked up a new wetsuit this week and this full length but sleeveless. I think this could save me a few minutes. The swim is easier than Texas. I swam a 1:35 in Texas without a wetsuit. Even though it is a two loop swim It’s very similar to Syracuse 70.3 and Timberman 70.3.

Bike:

Setup: I am riding a straight road bike. Nothing fancy. I have a 53×39 in the front and an 11×28 on the back. I have been using the 11×26 for the last 3 IM’s and 1/2’s but I want the extra gear fore the climbs if I need to bail out.

I am shooting to bike sub 7 hour’s. I plan to take my time and relax out there. It’s a two loop course. The first 1/2 of each loop is downhill and the last 10 miles are rollers that have a few challenging hills. They have 3 hills that they call the mama bear, baby bear, and papa bear. To my QVV friends papa bear is similar to the steep side of Buck hill but probably not quite as long.

Run:

I am planning on running a sub 5 hour marathon. Now those that know me closely may smirk at that goal. Yes I want to run much faster but based on my training overall I can’t expect to do much better than 5 hours. But I will try…..

I hope to finish in sub 14 hour range. This bike course will be the hardest course I have done so I need to be careful not to cook my legs.

Nutrition:

My nutrition plan I am mixing it up a bit from Texas. I learned in Texas and in training after about mile 75 of the bike I don’t like to eat the same food and sometimes it’s hard for me to eat solid food. So I have multiple choices out there.

Pre-Race:

3-4 Ensure Plus, Oatmeal, Protein Shake (same as Texas and Chattanooga)

Hammer Endurolytes: 2 every hour from start to finish (same as Texas and Chattanooga)

Swim:

I will take two Endurolytes before the start. It’s a long walk/run from the swim exit to the bike transition.

Bike:

Power Bar: 1 every hour on the bike

Hammer Perpetuem-2 bottles for each half of the bike

Gu:1-2 on the bike only

Bike Special Needs: Mile 55ish.

Campbell Soup: 1 at the Bike Special Needs.

Pick up more Power Bars and a bike tube if necessary.

Mile 75:

After mile 75 be prepared to take in more liquids and less solids.

Run:

Campbell Soup in T2 along with an Ensure

1 Campbell Soup at about mile 5

1 GU every 45-50 minutes

Salt every mile: Just a quick lick from Base

Run Special Needs: Lap 2 is my plan

1 Campbell Soup and 1 Ensure Plus

Carry one Soup with me for later in the race. Around mile 20.

Grab 3 more GU’s.

If you have any questions let me know.

Power- 150-160…

In Texas 159

Syracuse- 167