Race Plan

Swim

A good swim will mean hitting the bike course surrounded by better cyclists. Even in a non-drafting race (must leave a 12m gap between riders), being amongst fast cyclists still makes a difference, especially if there is a strong headwind. However expending too much energy on the swim could spell disaster for the rest of day.

The secret to a good swim is to draft off a faster swimmer (sit on their toes). This will not be easy with over 1,600 other competitors all trying to do the same thing. Add to this the fact that the swim start is 30 minutes before official sunrise and you can start to imagine how crazy the swim leg will be.

So plan A is to try and start towards the front of the field (probably front 25%) and risk a few small spurts of speed early on to try and latch onto a group of fast swimmers. In this context I am regarding anybody faster than me as a fast swimmer (everything is relative).

If I don't find any toes worth following in the first 200m I will revert to plan B which is to simply cruise through the rest of the swim without any regards to how long it will take.

Of course I haven't even mentioned what I'll do if conditions are rough, mainly because I don't want to think about it. Choppy waves will not only make it more difficult (and tiring to swim), it will make it harder to navigate between the buoys (risk swimming off course, further distance) and trying to follow somebody else's toes can become impossible.  Water conditions early in the morning are usually calm, hopefully Sunday will not be an exception.

A best case scenario should see a swim time of around 65 minutes (calm conditions and good draft). Hopefully the worst case scenario will not blow longer than 1h20m, otherwise I'll already be tired before I even get on the bike.

Transition 1

It is common to see very long transition times in Ironman as athletes use the opportunity to relax, recover and mentally recharge for the next leg. Unless my swim was very slow, I will be trying to not waste any time in T1, otherwise those fast cyclists will get too far ahead. I'll be wearing my heart rate strap, triathlon top and shorts under my wetsuit, I won't wear socks on the bike and my bike shoes will be attached to my bike. So after removing my swim cap, goggles and wetsuit, I'll attach my race belt, grab my sunglasses and helmet and head out to collect my bike.

Bike Leg

Mistakes with pacing and/or nutrition on the bike is what wrecks most peoples' Ironman races.  Every 10 minutes faster on the bike will usually cost you 20 minutes on the run and nutrition mistakes can blow the run out by hours.

Eastlink is very open to the elements and any sort of wind will make one direction very difficult. Ideally I would like a tailwind (northerly) on the last lap of the bike coming back into transition, but this would mean a headwind for the entire run. A southerly wind would give us assistance heading up to Doncaster which is predominantly uphill - but of course this would mean the last 45km (when I am most tired) would be fighting a headwind.

The plan is to try and sit in a pace line (a line of bikes, each separated by 12m) during the headwind sections.  If the pace line is too fast I risk blowing up and if too slow it is probably not worth the bother.

Ignoring the conditions, I intend to conserve as much energy as possible during the first 45km (Frankston to Doncaster) as this is the most dangerous time as far as pacing mistakes go (because you are still relatively fresh).  The next 2 laps (90km) I will concentrate on riding around 190 watts and keeping my Heart Rate in the low 130s.  With 45km to go I will be feeling pretty stuffed and will no doubt have some nasty saddle sores, so the plan will simply be to get back as best I can.

At approximately the half way mark of the bike I will pick up my 'Special Needs' bag.  It will contain 2 new water bottles filled with Optimizer, sunscreen and maybe a special treat (I haven't worked out what yet).  I'm sure there will also be a need for a toilet stop somewhere on the bike - I suspect these will be available at the aid stations (I'll try and hold on until I see one without a queue).

Transition 2

You don't have to rack your bike in Ironman, you simply pass it across to the bike handler and they take it away and put it on a truck that will transport it to St Kilda to be picked up after the race.

There is no need for speed in T2, but there is also no point wasting time. I'll enter the transition change tent in bare feet because my bike shoes will still be attached to the pedals. Once I've found a chair I'll put on socks, runners and a cap and keep the same sunnies from the bike ride. I'm told you can get helpers to apply sunscreen to your shoulders while you get changed.

Run Leg

The first few kilometres wind around Frankston, firstly to the base of Oliver's Hill and then along the foreshore. This will be a good time to relax into the run starting at a very slow pace.  Once I've got through this section which should include the first aid station, I will try and find a rhythm.

Unlike the bike leg, I will not have a heart rate alarm for the run, so there will be no beeping if my heart rate gets too high. I'll keep an eye on the heart rate to make sure it doesn't go too high, but I'm concerned about finding a nice easy rhythm. The more I can get into a flow, the less strain it will put on my body. With the injuries I've had I am more worried about my body giving out, in particular my knee.

I expect to make it to Mordialloc (about 17km) without too many problems.  Every aid station after that point that I am still running will be a bonus. The last special Live station before the finish will be Green Point, Brighton. This is less than 10km from the end and as long as I'm in some sort of condition, I think reaching this point will be huge psychological boost - because less than 10km does not sound far.