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TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST IRONMAN |
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Ironman can seem such a daunting challenge when you consider the distances you want to cover but it becomes even more daunting when you start to think about all those other un-answered questions. What should I expect? What do I need to take with me? What might go wrong, and how do I cope with that and still finish the race? It can seem overwhelming with so many things to think about especially as a newbie but also for the more experienced Ironman racer. Most of us don’t race more than one or two a year so it can be a very long learning curve and constant search for the right mix. Hopefully you will have already done all your training and physically be ready for the challenge and this will be the icing on the cake and final check list……………… Packing There are so many things to think about and pack or to forget so I always recommend athletes to pack there things in plenty of time and in bags according to the bags you will get at the race to fill and hand in the day before:
This also makes things easy when you get your official race bags and have to fill them – it should simply be a transfer and check from one bag to the other. The other important thing is not to panic……if you do forget something, most things can be bought at the race expo and hopefully you will be arriving at least 2days before the race so you have plenty of time replace anything. It is normal to forget at least one thing…we have all been there and the last thing you need to do is spend hours sitting on a plane worrying about it. Packing the bike can be intimidating and it the last place you want to get it wrong is a 180km ride. Mark everything that you will remove or move to pack the bike with a marker that won’t rib off or electrical tape and it’s also worth measuring your whole bike set-up and storing these measurements somewhere safe. Follow these steps, and you should have just about everything you need with you when you arrive at the race registration so you can know sit back and enjoy the flight! Putting the Bike Together: Unpack as soon as you can after arriving to make sure everything arrived in one piece and you haven’t forgotten anything. Assemble your bike carefully and be patient when putting things back together…if something doesn’t go the chances are you are doing something wrong and force is not the answer. Either walk away and come back half an hour later or ask one of the local bike shops for some assistance. Make sure all the parts are in the right place from your measurements and tape and that all the screws are tight enough but not too tight!! Take your bike out for a short test ride to make sure the gears are changing smoothly and it feels right. Don’t panic if things are not right, just get to the local bike shop as soon as possible and ask for help nicely…they are no doubt used to lots of people with last minute problems and will be able to fit you in however being nice if often the best approach to ensure you get quick service. I know what’s like in the days leading up to an Ironman when stress levels are rising so try to be aware of this and take a few seconds of quiet time when things start to feel out of control. Once you register, lay out your transition bags and transfer the items from your packed bags to the correct transition bag. I often get a friend or partner to go through the items with me i.e you tell them what you have in each bag and they can try to identify anything you may have missed or not considered……remember they are trying to help you so don’t bite their head off when they suggest something as this is the point!!! I recently read someone’s notes about race numbers and this made a lot of sense especially after I lost mine on the bike during my last race. Bib numbers can be flimsy, can tear, and can fly off during the race and losing your number can mean a penalty. To avoid this put black electrical tape over the top two holes of your bib number, front and back which more than doubles the reinforcement. Then poke the pin on your race belt through the electrical tape to secure the bib number. The electrical tape holds perfectly. As a second back-up, I now always have a second number belt in my run bag with the second race number attached as it is the run where the numbers are really important as your bike or bike helmet should be safely stowed in transition and chances are your arm/leg numbers have rubbed off by now. Bike & Bag Check-In It can be very nerve wracking checking everything in the day before as you have nothing else to think about and especially for first-timers, you are always thinking you have forgotten something. Don’t panic, at 99% of races you can access all your bags the next morning when you enter transition to check your bike. If not, you can give the missing item to the race officials who will place it in your bag for you so don’t panic. It is often easy to spot rookies bikes at bike check-in as they are already loaded up with all the nutrition for the next day. Trust me when I say, you race day food and drink will taste bad enough at some point on race day without leaving it out all day and overnight especially if you plan sticking Powerbars to your top tube!! You should take your race nutrition with you on race morning and attached everything to your bike as well as check the tires. Onto the tires, don’t put your bike into transition the day before with fully inflated tires especially if it’s hot as hot air expands and it can lead to them blowing up. Instead take your pump race morning and blow them up to the correct level and either give the pump to one of your friends/family who are spectators, take it back to your hotel or put it in your dry clothes bag you will get at the finish. Race Nutrition Planning nutrition can be the hardest part of an Ironman and it can take many attempts of trial and error to get it right. It is very important you discuss this with your coach months before your Ironman race and ensure you practice all the possibilities in training so you can establish what works for you. Many people find approx 2,500 to 3,000 calories on the bike which translates to about 250 calories every 15km of the bike. Remember you are not only fueling for the bike but also for the run where it is much harder to take onboard calories. Many athletes I coach can’t understand why they survive long training rides on less calories and I am telling them to eat more as it’s easy to forget that you have to fuel for the marathon too!! Here is one example of how to consume that many calories:
Race Morning: Think about your race morning routine before race day and have a brief plan written down then you don’t have to keep panicing you have forgotten something important on race morning. There is nothing worse than getting half-way through the swim to realize you have forgotten something. Here is my routine:
After that go somewhere quiet and away from the bussle/pre-race nerves and try to relax…all the hard work and preparation is done and now it’s time to enjoy your special day. Remember, you do this for fun and it’s about enjoying the journey and celebrating your fitness. Also cast a thought to the people who have also sacrificed things so you can do your Ironman, maybe family giving up time with you so you can train, spouse missing a holiday etc and you owe it to them to have fun above anything else. Swim One of the great things about Ironman racing is the number of people you get to race beside and friends you make on route however this also makes the swim start challenging. You are going to have some physical contact unless you start 5minutes behind everyone so you may as well accept it and don’t stick yourself at the back unless you plan to swim over 1:20. If you start further back, you will have the frustration of missing a good draft and having to make your way through slower swimmers and breastrokers. If you are a rookie and not a strong swimmer, let the main field start by waiting a couple of minutes then swim a straight line rather than trying to swim round everyone and swimming an extra 400m. Swim to Bike Most people are disoriented coming out of the water so take your time when exciting the water….it’s a long day and you want to have your head with you when you go through the change to make sure you have everything. At most Ironman races, the volunteers will help remove your wetsuit and other volunteers will help you find your transition bag. A thank you never goes a miss. Find a seat if you can and empty your bag out then put on your helmet, bib number, socks and shoes. Get sunscreen before you head out to get your bike……I always have this in my bag as I remember in Kona one year the officials saying they would put it on you and NO-ONE would leave T1 without it. Needless to say, I escaped and didn’t remember until 20km up the Queen K highway and had to stop a draft buster for some!! It is too long a day to think you can manage without even if you are a golden boy. Bike The first few hours of the bike should be really enjoyable….you should be feeling fresh and fit and not going so hard you can’t enjoy the scenery. I was given some advice a few years back by a good pro……select your gear then go one easier as it’s all too easy to go out too hard as you are fresh for a change. Things can always go wrong so try to be prepared for everything and don’t stress if they do. If you drop all your nutrition, stop and pick it up…I know this is a pain and you curse for loosing a few minutes but you will loose many more if you bonk later in the race. Similarly, I remember doing Ironman Canada and one of the female pro’s got a flat and it took her 10minutes to change it…she was going to pull out but carried on and ended up winning the race. As they say, it’s never over until the fat lady sings. If things go wrong, don’t stress sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise to have time on the side of the road taking a breather and getting some nutrition on board. If you need to wait for race support for help, it could take a long time so relax and let your body enjoy the break rather than pacing up and down the side of the road with steam coming out of your ears. Remember being an Ironman is about overcoming obstacles, unexpected problems included. This is all part of the challenge. Executing your nutrition plan is KEY and it doesn’t matter how fit or prepared you are, unless you consume the right number of calories you will not race to your potential. There will be a number of times during the day when you feel sick or can’t face the thought of another GEL or Powerbar but you MUST keeping eating. It is best to draw up a simple plan for each item you plan to consume, for example a GEL every 15km and a GATORADE must be consumed by every other aid station so you can pick up a new one. The more complicated you make the plan, the more likely you will forget or find it hard to stick to and it’s very easy to loose your mind out there. I spent the whole run during IM Canada looking for mile or km markers and couldn’t see any for the entire marathon. The next day, I happened to be on the same piece of road and there they were…BIG yellow numbers painted on the road!! I don't use special needs bags on the bike or run. It always worried me that I might not be able to find the bag and I don’t want to stop. I like things to be simply and limited anything that might go wrong. If you think of anything you might like e.g savory sandwich put it in the bag and you can always ride straight past if you don’t want it. Similarly on the run, a jacket or long sleeved t-shirt if you think you will be out during nightfall to keep you warm but always put something in there you won’t mind loosing as they throw the bags away after the race. Bike To Run Transition By the time I finish the bike, I’m always really looking forward to the run……something different please! Reality will set in when you hop off the bike and begin to head towards the change tent. Those first few steps after 180km are quite interesting but have faith…..your legs will remember how to run you just need to be a little patient. Try to keep running albeit slowly, collect your bag and go into the change tent. I recommend most first timers have some extra run clothes in the bag and do a complete change as you feel so refreshed having clean/dry kit on. Obviously, when you start trying to be really competitive, staying in the same clothes can save you some vital time. I would always suggest dry socks and try to keep them dry for as long as possible to avoid blisters. Remember, plenty more suncream and then you just have a marathon to deal with. Run Everyone is different but I often find I feel really good running after a long bike….normally much better than when I feel fresh. As on the bike, it’s also important to pace yourself as I tend to have a habit of running the first 10km too hard and pay for it later. It can be very easy to be so elated to be off the bike, very excited by the crowds/announcer at transition and going flying off. Equally, if you feel bad which also happened to me in my first couple of Ironman races, have confidence it will come right and you will feel better. One thing for sure is that you will go through some real ups and downs…..again this is normal. Try to remain positive in the downs and I often use this as another queue to try and eat something as downs can often be nutrition related. The key thing is to keep moving forward, keep eating and drinking. Most aid stations, usually only one mile or 1.5km apart, have water, flat cola, sports drink, oranges, bananas, pretzels, cookies or cake, Energy Gel, energy bars and ice. Try to train with these things so you limit have to carry other things on race day. The run hydration/nutrition plan is even simpler than on the bike, and it’s easier if you don’t carry anything. I have started racing anything over a half Ironman with a Fuel Belt as I run through the aid stations and can’t manage to do the drinking and gels within 5-10m plus I find by the run, I like the gels watered down and with extra salt, so the Fuel Belt really works for me but as with the bike nutrition, simplicity wins. Here is the plan I stick to:
Without stating the obvious, try to run as the best you can and make your goal about getting to the next aid station…forget the finish at the moment as your brain will struggle to cope with something that still seems such a long way away. Your reward at the aid station is cold drinks and you can walk through the aid stations to allow yourself plenty of time to get your nutrition and fluid in. Try not to start walking before the aid station starts or when it stops as it can hard to control the walks getting longer and longer. If things seem really bad, it’s ok to walk – they key is to keep moving forward to the finish line and keep reminding yourself how far you have come and there will be nothing stopping you reach that magical finish shoot. Finish You’re trained a long time and no doubt made sacrifices to get here, you’re raced your heart out all day so remember to enjoy the final few moments as you come up the finish shoot. Be considerate…it’s everyone’s big day and there is no need to race someone to the line and ruin their finish photo unless you are racing for a Hawaii spot or the win!! Most people cherish their finish photo and it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Cross the line, smile for the camera and welcome to the club……You’re an Ironman. Post Finish A couple of things post finish that you may want to inform your friends and family:
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