Ironman Tahoe Course Review

I hope that this will help some of you training for IM Tahoe in September of this year.  Like any other race you have done, if you are putting in the training time you will be fine.  Remember, also, that everyone is different, the advice I offer below is from my point of view and I’ll try to reference that whenever I can.

Take a water bottle and electrolyte bottle with you to Tahoe.  Carry them with you EVERYWHERE you go.  Your kids usually get a binky, this is your Ironman, and you too get a binky or two.  Drink, drink, drink (water and electrolytes).  Stay hydrated and keep sunscreen with you as well.  You burn quicker at altitude, so pay attention to how long you’re out in the sun. 

As far as your method of training (Perceived Exertion (PE), Heart Rate, or Power) you MUST modify your zones in order to take into consideration the altitude.  I will be making a 5-10% decrease in my heart rate and power in order to compensate for the altitude.  For those of you that train with Heart Rate, my low Z2 felt like mid to high Z2 on my exertion level.

My suggestion to you: start your first training ride and run in Tahoe without looking at your watch.  Go off of PE and once you feel warmed up and like you’re running/riding at your Zone 2 level, take a look at your heart rate or power and see where you actually are.  From that point on in your training ride/run, pay very close attention to those zones and make note of the differences due to altitude.  If you stick with your regular training zones you’ll trash your legs before you ever get off the bike and you won’t be able to recover from that.   

RACE MORNING:  Bundle up!  Think pants, a hoodie, and SHOES (not flip flops).  It’s going to be chilly at the start and you’ll want to keep your body temperature up.  I may even consider a beanie (or for those of you from Texas, a toboggan…this will be confusing to anyone in Tahoe as we see toboggans as sleds…)

SWIM:  We swam Saturday morning at roughly race start time.  The water was 68 degrees, chilly upon first entry, but once we got swimming it felt perfect.  My rule of thumb is 65 degrees and up I’m in a sleeveless wetsuit.  I run hot and I also have a shoulder issue, so the extra material pulling against my left arm, and heat from the sleeves, makes me uncomfortable.  You know you, so think of races you have recently done and make your wetsuit choice taking that into consideration.  I swam Galveston, Marble Falls, and Buffalo Springs in sleeveless this year and was fine.  Something I learned a few years ago in Coeur d’Alene (and was reminded of again in Tahoe) is NOT to go swimming when you arrive in the early afternoon.  The lake is gorgeous, and inviting…and also deceiving.  We swam one day around noon in our bathing suits.  It was FANTASTIC and I could have floated in a tube all day with a beer in my hand…but race morning will be a different story.  Get out there a couple mornings around 7AM and test the waters.    

The clarity is that of Hawaii or the Caribbean.  I will deem this a “draft friendly” race (in the water, people!).  If you are going with a group (like the monster pack from Texas that is heading out) and you have people that swim your same pace, there is great opportunity to work off of each other.  Tip – the bottom of all feet pretty much look the same under the water…You can wrap a little K-Tape under the arch of your foot so you can easily find your draft buddies.  This offers great opportunity to work together and save some energy (and ultimately time) in the swim.  Warning here, have a conversation with your draft buddies before race day and get on the same page.  If you get separated, you get separated.  Go on your way and find some more bubbles to follow.       

I would also suggest bringing ear plugs for the swim.  If it’s a little cooler your equilibrium can be thrown off by the cold water in your ears.  I did notice a bit more fatigue from the swim, due to altitude, but was not totally thrown out of my zone by the compression of the wetsuit and the altitude.  Just like the bike and run, you’ll have to focus on your exertion level and adjust it.  It was nothing like it has been described, like a life-sucking, compression of death experience.  It truly wasn’t bad at all. 

BIKE:  I am having a hard time putting a description of the bike course in words.  I’ll lead by saying, I don’t want to scare anyone, but at the same time, I have to be realistic.  If you’ve been putting in your dedicated long, slow climbs, you’ll be just fine.  Lots of talk has been thrown around about the 11-32 cassette that can be purchased to assist in climbing (take note, that you’ll also need to get a new rear derailleur and new chain to accommodate the extra gears you’re adding).  For those that are VERY challenged by hills and/or have not been putting the training time in to build strong legs for these climbs, AND have the financial capability of making this purchase, it may be a good idea for you.  Yes, it will help during the entire race, as you will have less grinding up the hills.  I am running a compact crank and 11-28 and plan to stick with that for race day.  I would definitely recommend an 11-28 and if you are able to swap out your standard crank for a compact, I would do that as well.  The issue here is not being able to make it up the climbs, but rather saving your legs as much as you can so you have them left for the run.

The first section of the ride, along the lake, is pretty flat.  There is a surprise climb at mile 6-ish, that isn’t too bad, but kind of comes out of nowhere.  The next section of the course, up 89 to the town of Truckee, is flat and FAST.  My recommendation here, is to hold back.  You can make up a ton of time on this section of the course, but remember the climbing you have later on in the ride.  It’s easy to go 25+ on this section and it actually feels pretty good.  I was doing this at mid to upper Z2 (my regular Z2) and had I been completing the entire course, I would have found it tough to keep that pace up on the second loop.  On our recovery ride I was easily holding 20mph on this section and was not exerting nearly as much energy.  My biggest piece of advice, to the average age-grouper, is DON’T GET EXCITED HERE.  The speed is fun and you can fly, but remember what you have ahead of you.

 

You’ll wind through downtown Truckee and then head up another slow climb onto the bike trail.  This section will slow you down.  It’s a steady climb, followed by a narrow, winding bike trail.  Once you’ve completed the trail, you’ll be in the neighborhood north of highway 80.  Here you’ll find some more climbing, before descending onto 89/267.

The first section of 267 is pretty fast too.  We ran into a headwind here, but could still get some good speed going.  We didn’t attempt to go through Martis Camp (the closed off neighborhood), we were trying to keep the peace J  But if it’s anything like the climb up to the Ritz, on the opposite side (where we will descend prior to climbing Brockway), it’s going to be a tough one.  We have two challenging climbs back to back, with a pretty good descent between them.  Keep soft pedaling (continue your pedal rotation as you are descending) in order to keep your legs loose.  You don’t want to hold your legs steady after a difficult climb, your you may freeze up or cramp.

The climb up Brockway was pretty much what I expected it to be.  Similar to what we’ve been doing at Mt. Scott, HOWEVER, it felt easier on my legs, but my pace was slower.  You descend down Brockway (you can get some good speed here too), it’s not too technical (that’s what Liesel thinks J Jenna here…most of the descents scared the shit out of me! ) play it safe, but you can really make up some time on this descent if you’re comfortable descending on your bike.  Post-Brockway descent brings you back down to King’s Beach for round two of the bike.

RUN:  SPELL-BINDING!  The first section of the run is pretty flat, before starting a quick climb up and around the Squaw resort.  Then comes a good descent onto Highway 89.  You’ll follow this South towards the lake.  This portion of the run is on the shoulder of the highway and is a slow ascent.  You’ll make sharp turn down a dirt path onto the trail for the remainder of the run out.  BE CAREFUL on the dirt section.  I would hope they light this section on race day.  It’s loose and has some wooden steps, so take it easy.  The portion along the trail is absolutely breathtaking.  You’ll slowly be climbing on the way out, but will feel the difference on the descent back to Squaw.  The trail will get dark at night (sunset is a little before 7pm in September), I would highly suggest getting a headlamp (my favorite is the little clip on light that goes on the bill of your visor/hat).  The tight elastic of a headlamp gives me a headache, but you can’t even tell the visor light is there, so I would highly suggest that.  There is climb on the run going back up into Squaw for the second loop, but it looks worse than it truly is (ask me about this again on my head back to the finish and I may change my mind on that description).

I would suggest putting arm warmers, a jacket, and possibly gloves in your special needs bag for the run.  When the sun goes down, it will get chilly out there!

Recap of my recap: This will be one of the most breathtaking, awe-inspiring events you have ever done.  Conquering this course will not be without hard work and mental toughness.  I know 20+ people going up to Tahoe and have no doubt that each of them can complete this course.  They MUST trust in their training and have the mental toughness to know that they can complete it.  It will not be easy, nor will any Ironman be easy, but this one will take true grit and the will power of knowing you’ve put in the time and effort and CAN DO IT.  We have eight weeks left to prepare.  Your base has been built and now it’s time to hone it all in.