Strategio

Be careful who you pass

I sat down last night with the Kepler Challenge map and started devising my race strategy.  Those of you who’ve ever competed in anything before will know that you always go into things with a little bit of a plan or, at the very least, an escape route .  Maybe your strategy is to get out fast, or to even split certain intervals, maybe it’s to keep your heart rate within a specific range, or just to finish the race.  I remember my friend Esteban, a former International Triathlete Union (ITU) competitor, used to tell me his plan was to stick his bike pump in the spokes of anyone that passed him.  Hence why he’s a “former” ITU competitor… (that kid will never be the same you evil bastard).

Ok, so I won’t have a bike pump to mess people up with, but I need a plan!  60km, 7+ hours, is a hell of a long way to try and stay focused; if I’m going to keep motivated, I’m going to need some wins along the way.  So maybe I’m best off cutting the race down into little pieces; making things a little more manageable and giving myself something other than just the checkered flag to look forward to.

As I see it, the race is best broken up into 6 smaller races:

1. That opening 6km stretch makes for a natural first race.  It’s reasonably flat, short, but will give me a good warm up and a feel for the pack (Motivating Statement: Warm-up; Goal Time: 30mins).
2. Unfortunately, the ball buster comes early in the race, the second leg.  This is that grueling ~8km climb up to the Luxmore Hut.  The only saving grace is that at the Hut there’s the gear check with a water and aid station.  But man, this is just going to be pure survival.  Run, walk, crawl, just do whatever it takes to get up (Motivating Statement: Don’t cry; Goal Time: 80mins).
3. Ok, so I get through the killer uphill, now what… well, sadly, mini race #3 is more uphill.  Ugh.  This is that “short” 5km stretch from the Luxmore Hut to the top of the very peak of the Kepler Track.  The only thing that’ll push me through this part is knowing that things won’t get any higher than this in the race.  God help me if that’s not enough mentally (Motivating Statement: I can roll down from here; Goal Time 50mins).
4. So I get to the top.  Race #4 will have me catching my breath, cruising along the ridge of the Jackson Peaks, and then heading downhill (yes, downhill!) to the Irish Burn Hut.  This 9km race is really more about gathering myself for the big push to the finish and not crushing my knees on that downhill section (Motivating Statement: Enjoy the view; Goal Time 50mins).
5. #5 is will be the make-it-or-break-it point for me, I just know it.  Not only is this a monster leg (16km), but it’s also at that point in the race where you’re kind of in-between things – you’re well past the start of the race but nowhere close to the finish.  This leg will take me from Irish Burn Hut to Moturau Hut (Motivating Statement: Are there any cuties or other adequate distractions?; Goal Time 100mins).
6. Almost there.  Last race, #6.  Just another 16km to the end and this thing will be in the books.  Surely by this point my legs will be blown, my tanks empty, there’ll nothing left.  It’s just going to be pure guts;  run cause you don’t know any better (Motivating Statement: Finish; Goal Time: 110mins)

So there you have it.  Six mini races spanning 60km in roughly 7 hours… yeah, I’d better start working on a Plan B.