First Ironman LP 06 couple questions please :)

Bike course: The whole course is just beautiful and even though there are a few rough spots on the road in general it is in top condition. Right out of what will be T1 you’ll go down Mill pond and then hit right onto 73. This is basically down hill with a few rollers. You keep going with a few moderate climbs, pass that and you’ll have a nice long decent (5-6 miles) This will be a good portion to tag along, coast and enjoy the ride while making up some time for the rest of the loop.  If you are not confident about your descending skills I would strongly suggest you to work on it before LP because it will help a lot (you can coast at 45-50 mph). Also be careful as in this portion it might be a bit dangerous when descending with less skilled riders aside you. At the bottom, you turn onto 9N into Keane. This section has some rolling hills but mostly it is a fast section.  Whatever you do, DO NOT surrender into the temptation of pushing more than you should. In the 1^st loop you’ll probably be feeling very good and strong and it might be a deceiving trigger to push harder than you should and waste precious energy that you WILL need for the second loop and run. This is a great portion to eat, take gels/bars. After this portion, you pass Jay and further up you’ll take a left onto 86. Here you have a steady 3 mile climb. IMO this a hard one and it will be another deceiving place for the hammer heads to blow up. Again, do not succumb to temptation and just spin up the hills as easy as possible. (DO NOT look at your speed because it might discourage you or make you accelerate, and YES you will be going slowly: like 10 mph or less)
Then you’ll get to the out and back (7 miles in/out at Haselton Rd) This portion should also be a fast portion so be smart, ride at your pace and continue to work on nutrition in particular on the way back to set your energy up for the rougher section of the course back into town. When heading back you’ll be riding back to LP heading to Whiteface Mountain. In this section the scenery is just beautiful and that might help you to keep your mind entertain. There is a steady climb with a few rollers (10+ miles I think) and in this section seems it is usually windy making it more challenging. Just work your way through it and spin up as much as possible, coast and don’t forget to work on your nutrition. Continue to be VERY patient and do not hammer at any point. Remember that once you get back into town you have to do it AGAIN. As my coach says: “it is all about the run” and for IMLP I think that statement should be x2! If I was racing LP, I would probably set up limits for my HR/watts that I would never let myself pass. (i.e. certain HR/watts for flats, hills and my target avg for the whole ride) I would SPIN any steep/long hill and COAST once I would hit 28mph any time possible. Even on the flats when you can roll at 22+mph easily I would hesitate to do so unless it is within my range/pace/HR/watts stategy. Finally, you can’t afford make any nutrition or pace mistakes at all in this course, so whatever it is your drinking/eating plan stick with it and get your self set up for the run… I consider myself ok rider but a good runner so I would def consider riding a 12/25 or 27 cassette 53/39 combo to spin at higher cadence all the hills and save precious energy for the run. >>> Data for the day - 111 miles, 5:59 hrs, avg 18.5 mph, 155 avg watts, NP 179, 69% of FTP, 93 rpm, AHR 143 bpm. I rode 90 miles at below IM pace (easy/steady) and 21 miles at IM pace (steady), and we stop 2 times to refuel even though 3 would have been better.

Run course: Wow, what can I tell about the running course… maybe this is a good moment to let you know that I think you guys are totally nuts for choosing IMLP
This portion will be very challenging because you’ll run a couple long down hills and 2 long/steep climbs TWO TIMES. If your running form is not the best and you hate running down the hill or you “break”, you might want to work on that because it will save your legs a bit from the hard pounding and you might even pass more than a few competitors flying downhill. The section when you turn onto Riverside Rd (the out and back) is sort of flat with a few hills. This might be a rough spot if the weather turns to be hot so keep that in mind and don’t skip aid stations. When you are heading back to LP is where you’ll have the 2 big climbs, the first one when your turn right onto 73 (ski jumps will be on your left). This is a long steep climb, so take it easy and just run uphill as comfortable as possible. Then you go through rolling terrain and right before the stop light on Mill Pond the 2^nd climb begins, you’ll go up and at the light you turn left and KEEP climbing. This is the toughest hill IMO, but according to friends who did LP in previous years the crowd will be cheering you up so loud that it will make it a bit easier. (Through the 1^st loop, avoid the temptation to pick up the pace just because the crowds are cheering you!) Anyway, for LP I would take it easy the whole 1^st loop by NOT forcing my pace, working on nutrition and trying to get into a running rhythm. Every single downhill I would try to be as comfortable as possible and just let my body go down without breaking at all. And when going up hill I would take my time, run with “baby steps” as my coach says and avoid powering up the hill wasting energy. If you are a weaker runner, you went too hard on the bike or you are just spent from the long day you could/should consider walking up the hills. Some people train to walk the aid stations, I particularly don’t like to do that because it breaks my rhythm a lot BUT I am also NOT racing an IM. Still if I was, I would try to slow down to a light jog to assure I could eat/drink enough and cool down at each aid station and then continue running.