Love your updates WX - keep them coming and I hope you make it. I did my first IM at end of last year and had a pretty good first outing. I don't have the experience of some others but I'll tell you what worked and didn't work for me which might or might not help you.

First off - don't do Boston! If your goal is to give it your best shot to KQ then a marathon 4 weeks out is not going to help. I get that you're intending to run it at a slower pace, think you said you're a ~2:40 marathoner so even 45secs slower is still putting you at ~3:00 hours which is going to take something out of you. Forgo Boston and focus on the IM. If you absolutely must do it, then drop the pace further and run at ~3:30 pace or slower.

I'd really focus on getting in 2-3 hard 3-4 hour rides. Personally I found these rides really beneficial for IM. I was time constrained and never rode over 4 hours in training and actually found the bike relatively easy (& I'm not a naturally stronger cyclist - swim and run are my strengths). Either way I attribute the good bike to being swim fit, the hard 3-4 hour rides and the fact I paced the bike well.

I wouldn't worry about a minute here or there in the swim - far more important you complete the swim having expended as little energy as possible and getting on the bike as fresh as possible (again this was key for me). To this end I'd focus on sets such as 10x400 @ IM pace or just below (with short rest intervals e.g. 10-20 secs). Aim is to get really fit/strong in the water - it will pay big dividends later on the bike and run.


My biggest mistake was to run too fast. My experience (and I run very similar times to you) is that I went WAY too hard at the start of the IM - ran the first 10K in 42mins, went through 21K in 1:32 and faded to a 3:21. No way of knowing but I think if I'd started at my target pace I'd have run 5-10mins quicker. I think your 7:00/mile for the IM marathon is too ambitious. Start more conservatively - say 7:30/mile, if you're bike fit and don't ride too hard this is a more realistic pace.


Focus on nutrition and correct pacing during the race and in your long training simulations. Getting you're pacing and nutrition right is absolutely critical to having a good IM.

Good luck and keep posting.