QT2 Systems
Max Jaffe
2026 IRONMAN World Championship - Kona
2026 IRONMAN World Championship - Kona: Race Execution Plan
Read This First
This is a guide, not a script. It is not meant to be memorized.
You have raced this island before. This plan is not here to teach you Kona. It is here to put a few clear decisions in front of you for the moments when the day gets noisy.
Conditions on the day will shape what good execution looks like. Let them.
Race Purpose
Success on Saturday is simple: perform to your fitness.
A good swim. A strong, smart bike. Then an equally strong run.
You are a very fast runner. Saturday is about expressing that run fitness off a good, strong, smart bike. The bike sets it up. The run is where you show it.
You have the evidence. Your running has kept moving forward, and your run threshold has improved twice since last fall. In your 70.3 racing this season you have run controlled and even. At Western Mass the second half matched the first at the same heart rate. All build you have run strong off the bike, including 20 miles off the bike in September.
The bike is ready to deliver it. Your long rides this summer sat at 253-271 W normalized, and this fall they have sat around 260 W.
You know New York summer heat, and you have had about 10 days on the island. You are in a good spot.
The 30,000-Foot Approach
- Swim controlled. Find a rhythm, not a fight. Responsive at 500 m.
- Ride strong and smart inside your window.
- Respect the climbing cap. 330 W is absolute.
- Pee at least twice on the bike, once in the first 90 minutes.
- Arrive at the right turn back onto the Queen K strong.
- Use Mile 90 to Mile 1 as a cooling pocket.
- Run by feel. At mile 4, you must be able to raise the effort.
- Leaving the Natural Energy Lab, go for broke.
Your fitness is the rubric. Not the people around you.
Your Control System
The numbers are your bike structure. Feel leads on the run.
Bike
- Flats: 255-270 W. The whole window is good execution.
- Long steady climbs (Hawi): nearer 280-300 W.
- Climbing in general: 280-330 W, depending on how steep and how long.
- 330 W is only for short rollers and kickers. It is an absolute cap.
Run
- By feel.
- Heart rate, lightly: if HR is 155-plus early, pay attention and make sure you are still buildable. It is a cue, not a ceiling.
- The real test is mile 4. Whatever pace you go out at, you must be able to raise your effort and intensity at mile 4.
Wind, grade, and passing rules move bike speed. Heat, Palani, and turns move run pace. None of that is a verdict.
The Field
Kona is a very fast pond. The field is deep, the packs are big, and the athletes around you will be strong.
None of that is the measure of your day. This is not about the people around you. It is about making sure you have a good, strong day.
The packs may frustrate you. Ride as legally as you can, and do not let what other people do define your race.
If you feel yourself getting flat about where you are in this race, come back to the rubric: your fitness, your execution, your next good decision. Nobody else's race tells you anything about yours.
Heat
You will be okay in the heat. You are not trying to be the best heat athlete out there. You are being smart in the heat.
Heat accumulates. Get ahead of it early, before you feel hot. At every aid station:
- Ice and sponges.
- Cold water on your head.
- Wipe the hot water and sweat off. In this humidity, sweat sitting on your skin stops doing its job.
Fueling and Hydration
Carbs: treat the 65 g/hr on your race card as your carb floor. Otherwise, do what you do. You nail it. Nothing changes Saturday.
Hydration has one rule: drink so that you pee at least twice on the bike, and one of those within the first 90 minutes.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a buoy.
Hold it early. Kona is high energy, and the swim and early bike bring plenty of stimulus. You do not need anything lowering perceived effort there.
Use it when the effort starts to rise. That is when it earns its place. It takes about 20-25 minutes to kick in, so take it a little ahead of when you expect to want the lift.
Same rule on the run.
Swim
Transition is open 4:30 to 6:10 AM, entry only. Be in the swim staging chute at least 25 minutes before your wave.
Non-wetsuit, warm water, clockwise, buoys on your right.
Controlled into a rhythm, not amped. Let everyone else be crazy at the start. Hop on the end of the train and be there when it settles.
By 500 m you should feel responsive, not gassed.
The return may feel quick or it may not. Either way, keep the effort the same. Build into the finish and stay clear of the pier rocks.
Exit composed and ready to ride.
Bike - 30,000-Foot Approach
The bike sets up the run. Strong and smart.
Official 2026 profile: 112 miles, 5,814 feet of gain, one loop to Hawi and back.
Flats live at 255-270 W. Long steady climbs like Hawi sit nearer 280-300 W. Climbing in general runs 280-330 W depending on steepness and length. 330 W is only for short rollers and kickers. It is an absolute cap.
Rust-Shaking Protocol (Available, Not Required)
You know this one. It is here if you need it. If the legs come out of the water ready, skip it.
Flat early bike legs do not mean the race is gone. After a controlled taper, assume rust first, not fatigue.
Use this only when your race output feels unusually hard and your RPE is way out of proportion. Town is for riding clean, so wait until you are safely on the Queen K.
- Assume rust. Do not force your race watts just because they are on the plan. Forcing them when RPE is already spiked usually makes things worse.
- Shake it loose. Do several ~30-second sharp, purposeful accelerations. Not all-out sprints. Full, controlled recovery between them. Think "AED for the legs." You can include lower-cadence jolts. Recover and reassess. Repeat a small round if needed. No power limit on these when you use them for this. The 330 W cap is for racing, not for Rust-Shaking.
- Reassess. If the legs come in, return progressively to normal race execution. Do not try to repay the opening minutes by over-riding.
- Under-ride if still flat. If the legs stay flat after the pops, ride below your window for a stretch and let the effort come to life.
Unusually high HR, real breathlessness, pain, or dizziness are not rust. Respect those.
Cue: Flat early is not flat all day. Find the bike before you race the bike.
Town: Palani, Kuakini, Kona Commons, and the Turnaround
Busy, tight, and loud. Eyes up, ride clean. The Palani descents are no-pass zones. Brake before the turn and hold your line.
Queen K North: Airport to Waikoloa
This is where the real riding starts. Settle into 255-270 W, get aero, and start drinking. The first pee should come inside the first 90 minutes.
The packs show up here. Six bike lengths, finish passes in 25 seconds or drop back. Then back to your own race.
Waikoloa to Kawaihae
Ride the effort, not the speed. A headwind is just a hill you cannot see. The window does not change because the speed did.
Akoni Pule to Hawi
This is the long steady climb. Nearer 280-300 W. Short kickers can go up to 330 W, never above.
Have your intake aboard before the turnaround.
Hawi Turnaround and Personal Needs
Handle the turn, grab only what you planned at personal needs (mile 60.1), and leave calmly.
Hawi is a feeding checkpoint, not a signal to go.
Hawi Descent and Kawaihae Return
Ride the speed you can control.
The Kawaihae climb comes when the hard part feels done. Ride it inside your climbing range. No attack.
Queen K South
This is where we want to be feeling good. Everything before this spot is about getting to this spot ready to ride. We do NOT want to be feeling vulnerable when you take the right back onto the Queen K, around mile 80-84. You will see all kinds of people all around you who do. That is not this section. It is what they have earned from the sections before this section. Keep it boring. The wind on the way home has nothing to do with the wind on the way out.
Keep eating, keep drinking, keep cooling. The second pee belongs on the bike. Every bit of this protects your run.
Back to Town and T2
The final miles are still the bike. Stay alert through the turns and the second Palani descent. Do not chase a split.
The Mile 90 to Mile 1 Pocket
This is our cooling pocket. We want to make sure that everything we do during this stretch of the race is about keeping ourselves cool. We want to make sure that we come into T2 and leave T2 in a state of relative coolness, which will put us in a good position to manage the heat and humidity on the run. That may look like reduced output. That may look like a lot of water on your head and torso. It may look like both.
T2
Arrive with:
- Legs that can run
- Energy aboard and a quiet stomach
- Body temperature under control
- Clear thinking
- Confidence in the run you are about to use
Run - 30,000-Foot Approach
This is where you express your fitness.
Official 2026 profile: 26.2 miles, 1,009 feet of gain.
Run by feel. Carbs: same floor, then do what you do.
T2, Palani, Kuakini, Onto Ali'i
Go out at a pace you can build from. If HR is 155-plus early, pay attention and check that you are still buildable.
Ali'i Out and Back
The crowds will be loud. Let them lift your mood, not your effort.
Mile 4 is the test. Whatever pace you went out at, you must be able to raise your effort and intensity here. If you can, you are right where you need to be. If you cannot, ease back now and rebuild. That is good racing, not lost time.
Ice, sponges, cold water on the head, and wipe the hot sweat off at every station.
Kuakini and Palani
Palani costs something. Shorten your stride and keep the effort honest.
Queen K North
Exposed, quiet, and long. Keep your horizon short: the next station, the next cooling.
The Energy Lab
Make it ordinary. It is a road with turns, heat, and stations.
Personal needs is at mile 16.9. Take only what you planned.
Three Moments to Rehearse
You have already seen these. Here are the short versions. Read them this week, picture them, and know what you will do.
Energy Leaking Before Race Day (Race Week)
The moment: Middle of race week. Early swim at Dig Me Beach, an hour in the expo. Ali'i is packed, pros are riding past, and friends are texting to meet at the pier. Group rides, photo spots, shakeout runs. It is hot, it is midday, and you have not sat down since 7 AM. Your plan says easy spin and feet up.
What it sounds like: "I don't want to miss anything." "Everyone else is out training. Maybe I should add a little." "I feel great. A bit more won't hurt." Each one feels harmless. Added together, they spend energy the week was meant to store.
Anchor: "Saturday gets my best energy. This week is for arriving fresh."
What you do:
- Each morning, name your one or two must-dos for the day.
- Before saying yes to anything extra, ask: "Does this help me race?" If not, skip it or shorten it.
- Set a time limit for the expo, the pier, and social stops. When time is up, leave.
- Get off your feet. Drive instead of walking Ali'i in the midday heat.
- Train exactly as written. Feeling good is the taper working, not a sign to add more.
- Build real downtime into each afternoon: shade, feet up, fluids. Keep your normal bedtime.
Re-entry: Walk away from the pier while the crowd is still growing. Feel the small pang of missing out and let it be there. Feet up. The excitement will still be there on race morning, and you will meet it with energy to spare.
You can enjoy this week and still protect it. Every calm choice now is energy you will have on the Queen K. Saying no is part of the plan.
Everyone Flying Past Me Early (Bike)
The moment: Out of the water, through transition, onto the bike. Within minutes riders start flying by. Some out of the saddle, some already breathing hard. Up Palani and onto the Queen K it keeps happening. Packs roll past. Your numbers are right where the plan says, and it feels like the whole field is riding away from you.
What it sounds like: "I'm losing the race already." "They're getting away and I'll never see them again." "Maybe I just don't belong up here today." Thoughts like these pull your eyes off your own race and onto everyone else's.
Anchor: "Let them go. I'm racing my plan."
What you do:
- Before you leave transition, commit to your 255-270 W window for the opening part of the bike.
- When someone passes, let it happen. Eyes back to your computer or a spot on the road ahead. Blinders on.
- Check your numbers. If you are above your window, ease back into it, even if more riders go by.
- If frustration or a flat mood hits, wait five minutes before changing anything. Then check the plan again. The answer will almost always be to hold.
- Start your fueling and hydration on schedule. The early bike is when it is easiest to forget.
- When you are passed, drop back out of the draft zone promptly and stay legal.
- Keep your focus short: ride to the next aid station, then the next.
Re-entry: Picture yourself settled on the Queen K, steady inside your window, fueling on time. Riders still pass now and then, and you let them. Later in the day some of them come back to you and some won't. Either way, you are riding your race and saving the legs you need for the marathon.
Being passed early costs you nothing. Your fitness is the rubric. Your only job is your race and your fuel.
Cramping Begins Mid-Race (Hamstring, Calf, etc.)
The moment: The unmistakable twitch. An early warning in your calf, hamstring, or quad. Not a full cramp yet, but threatening. You still have miles to go.
What it sounds like: "This could shut me down." "If this locks up, I'm done." The panic response is immediate and tightens everything even more.
Anchor: "This is a signal, not a sentence. I still have time to respond, if I do it calmly."
What you do:
- Back off effort. Not dramatically, just enough to reduce tension.
- Breathe deeper, especially through the cramp-prone area.
- Adjust form. Hamstring: shorten stride. Calf: heel contact and soft turnover. Quad: upright torso and stable core.
- Take in targeted electrolytes, if available.
- Keep moving. A gentle pace is better than standing still.
Re-entry: The tightness softens. It may not vanish. You are still running, still riding, still racing. You adjusted. You did not panic.
A cramp is feedback, not failure. Listen. Adapt. Hold formation.
If a cramp comes with chest pain, confusion, severe dizziness, or anything that feels wrong in a different way, it is not a cramp to manage. Stop and get race medical.
If Things Go Sideways
Notice it. Stabilize. Fix the one thing. Reassess.
A slow swim, a penalty, a mechanical, a bad station: solve it and go back to your plan. Never try to win back lost time.
Chest pain, collapsing or blacking out, confusion, severe or unusual shortness of breath, severe dizziness, or being unable to stay upright: stop and get race medical. That is not something to push through. In the swim, signal for help and hold on to support.
Quick-Reference Race Card
- Guide, not a script. Your fitness is the rubric.
- Perform to your fitness: good swim, strong smart bike, equally strong run.
- Swim: controlled into a rhythm. Hop on the end of the train. Responsive at 500 m.
- Bike flats: 255-270 W.
- Long steady climbs (Hawi): nearer 280-300 W.
- Climbing: 280-330 W by steepness and length.
- 330 W only for short kickers. Absolute cap.
- Packs: ride legal, let them go, do not let it get to you.
- Carbs: 65 g/hr on your race card is the floor. Otherwise, do what you do.
- Pee at least twice on the bike, once in the first 90 minutes.
- Ice, sponges, cold water on the head, wipe the sweat off.
- Caffeine is a buoy. Hold it until the effort rises.
- Arrive at the right turn back onto the Queen K strong.
- Mile 90 to Mile 1 Pocket.
- Run by feel. HR 155-plus early: check you are still buildable.
- Mile 4: you must be able to raise the effort.
- Make the Energy Lab ordinary.
- Leaving the Natural Energy Lab: go for broke.
Finish
Execute your race, and judge it against your own fitness. Not anyone else's.
A strong, solid all-around day in line with your fitness is the goal. Clip off strong race after strong race and you become predictable. Outstanding races blossom from that. Raise your overall average, and a great race comes from it.
When you make the final turn onto Ali'i, stop calculating. Look up and take it.
Believe in the work.
Believe in your fitness.
Now go execute.