OK, my coach (Joel Filliol or czone) just posted so I better get this done. The approach to this race was very different than previous IM's. My biggest weeks were around 25hrs consisting of 2 very hard swims...as much as possible under 1:10pace per 100m short course. 2 very hard bikes with as much as possible way above IM pace. 2 very hard runs, again way above IM pace. The rest was just fluff. There were a couple bigger ride and run days getting closer to the race. Longest ride was 4 hours, longest run was 2 hours. As for the specifics you will all have to wait until Joel goes into private coaching again (if ever) and pay him the big $$$ to get the perfect program for you :) This approach was also a must for me due to work commitments. Even finding 25 hrs per week is getting difficult. Thanks again Joel for the great program.

As for the race itself I have never been so patient in an IM. I waited until the 10km run marker to start racing hard. This allowed my stomach to be the best it has ever been in an IM race. I took in at least 6 more gels than usual in the last 30km of the run and they were all sitting well. I was taking these with water. The bike (riding my ultra-comfortable Ordu) was a steady effort on the flats, very easy climbs and I let the watts drop to almost nothing on the downhills. I also let the power drop way down with the strong tail winds. I don't see the point in doing extra work to go a few km/h faster on the fast parts when I can have a rest instead....it's a long race.

I figure CDA is about 10min slower than IMC so I'm counting my 8:34 as best time. I pissed away 2-3 min in the last few miles but nobody really cares about times. I enjoyed the finish.

Tom