with these credentials that are close to mine (raced elite in France, and 2h24'53'' marathon) I'd say from my own experience,

Tip1: no pressure, get there, have fun!!!!

that's the most important one (hopefuly I will understand it one day)

Tip2 work your nutrtition in training. go for bricks at race pace where you eat exactly what you are planning to eat in the race.

no good nutrition, no good race, or no finish

Tip3: running off the bike is a matter of strength.if you want to use your running ability, work on your bike, make sure you are strong there, don't overdo it, and run a lot of hills in training. running a marathon and running off the bike in an IM are very different...

check the site of Rich Strauss, www.cruciblefitness.com
he has lots of VERY GOOD tips.

good luck

Thanks, Francois. Those are helpful. Did you do a lot of strength training (weights) during your running to triathlon transition?

Matt

This one is easy: patience. Not easy to execute for most of us "type-A" triathletes, but invaluable advice for both training and racing. Stay focused, stay patient, achieve small gains over time and before you know it you will be hopping off the pier in Kona saying "Wow! I'm here already? Cool."



Good luck!

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"To give less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Pre

MattMizenko.com

actually, I have a cycling background, not a running one.
I have basically never done weights but start doing them now.

leave no stone unturned.

the stay patience thing at Matt mentioned is the key...
I haven't been able to apply it so far...too many years of cycling... :-)

#1 training tip. DON'T OVERTRAIN. It's really easy to do training for your first IM as your motivation is so high. It's better to come in 10% undertrained than 1% overtrained. First IM I hired an online coach. The workouts were relatively short but intense. The next year I followed Gale Bernhardts 13 weeks to a sub 13 hr IM and knocked 2 hours off of my previous years time - doing less.

Hope this helps.

Great question: The key workout is the long brick. 100 mile ride (or slightly longer)with an 18-20 mile run. The timing before the race is individual. Some need a long taper, some not. It seems like you may not need any more than two of these for some people. I feel this workout helps you prepare specifically for 10-12 hours of continuous exercise and helps build a "confidence base" going into the race.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

One advice I get a lot from IM vets here(locally) is LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Just because your plan says 1 hour tempo run in Zone 4 does not mean you have to do it. If your tired, go EZ or rest. Like Friel says, tayloring training plans is an art not science.

Only done 3 IM and still searching for that one good day. Are there any?

Matt,

IM is an experiement of one. Don't be afraid to do it your way. On the other hand, if you're going to be in the sport for awhile, and with your potential, perhaps a coach might vastly shorten the learning curve and lead to some pretty cool results.

The danger of over training cannot be over emphasised - In South Africa there is a 90km road race (running) known as the Comrades Marathon - average of 13000 athletes run it each year - the legendary Bruce Fordyce who won it a record 9 times (and held the world 100km record at various times) maintains it is better to arrive at the start of an endurance race around 5% undertrained and a kilo or 2 overweight - NEVER the other way around (overtrained and under weight). In addition do not overrace in you lead up to your priority race - Sports Scientist Tim Noakes has a book out called the Lore of Running - rather heavy reading but some great info on how to avoid overtraining. Well worth the investment as although the book is running based a lot of the theory applies in general to endurance sports - even has a few chapters on Mark Allen and his training principles...

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