I’ve followed this forum for a number of years and have contributed little. For what its worth to anyone who maybe looking for tips/advice/observations that worked for me after 9 years of ironman racing here goes. I will qualify my input by saying i have done 18 ironmans since 2001 and have raced kona the past 7yrs. I’ve won my age group a couple of times at the qualifier and been in the top 200 of hawaii overall a few times – i work full time and train between 8-15hrs a week for 9 months of the year and take 2-3 months off all together and usually put on 15lbs or so. I’m 39 and usually race around 170lbs
My advice/tips/observations…in no particular order
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Riding the trainer has had tremendous benefits for me. Doing your long endurance 4-5hr core ride on the trainer at least twice a month at close to goal ironman watts for most of the ride will improve your ironman peformance. It’s not much fun, but if your goal is to improve your ironman racing ability this workout will generally assit more than riding outdoors for all of these sessions..for me at least. Yes, riding outdoors would be much more enjoyable but i’m talking strictly for what has improved my pefromance, not what is easier. -
Nutrition is an art not a science. There is no “right” way that works for everyone and it comes down to trial and error from what i have found. My race day nutrition that has worked religiously for the past 15 ironmans has been a gel every 15-18 mins with water while taking anywhere from 3-6 salt tabs an hour which will go up/down depending on the heat. I will take some gatorade on the bike but usually only sips here and there to ensure my calories are staying above 400 an hr. On the run i try and do the same and will switch to coke at some point when things get tough and i usually increase my salt intake to 8+ salt pills per hour but i seem to require more salt than most and not drinking gatorade makes this more important for me. I have not had energy/gi issues for a long time using this strategy – again this works for me and will not work for everyone. -
Bike fit – saddle all the way forward and border line too high (ride a p3c) has resulted in the best position for racing the fastest over a 5hr period and then leaving your legs in good enough condition to run. I’ve ridden slacker, lower saddle etc...tried lots and i found my max power is often similar in a number of positions, however my muscle endurance at goal ironman race wattage is far superior in a very forward and arguably too high seat position...realize this is not what most will agree with – just my experience and i’ve run sub 3:10 a number of times off of 5hr bike splits. I think being a runner from my early days has something to do with wanting to be in the forward and high position...again, i’m no expert on this topic at all. -
I train in the shoes i race in for ironman. I use to train in a heavier shoe for the most part and found my quads would be fried too soon in the race when i switched to a lighter shoe. I now do 100% of my training in a ds trainer which i race in. I also find you need to do a good portioin of your long runs on pavement /hard surface and not go too easy on the joints in training or they will not be ready for it on race day....i noticed an imrovement in my run muscle endurance and joint fatigue when i started running more in my racing shoes...you need to be careful if you are a big mileage runner i guess...which i am not and rarely run over 40 miles a week so this could also be why i have not run into trouble training in the ds trainer. -
Racing with power on bike works....knowing what watts you are capable of doing in training during the session described in #2 and staying within watts caps during the race will save a lot of matches in a race. Its the most useful racing tool i have found esp in the first 2hrs of the bike when you feel great and are able to push higher watts easily yet are too high to sustain for 5hrs+. -
You do not have to be fast to be good at ironman. I do not place very well in short races and most people around me at the end of an ironman would be finished 10mins+ in a ½ on an average day. Ironman is a lot about being able to fuel properly for 9+hrs for most of those in the race...excluding the pro’s who most of my advice probably has little use. If you cannot fuel/process nutrition all day it does not matter how fast you can run a standalone marathon....sports cars don’t work without gas. Its very hard to practice race day nutrition in training which is why the art is hard to figure out until you race and it will often take several to get it somewhat right...i doubt anyone ever has it down to what they’d consider perfect. -
I always race on new tires....i use tubulars and have never had a flat in a race. I started with clinchers and had bad experiences....my 2 cents, tubulars are a safer bet for racing and for me easier to change.....i train on race wheels as well....again, i do as much the same in trainning as i do racing more for knowing how wheels handle in certain conditions and other reasons...and they are faster i guess so maybe there is that part of liking the extra speed in training. No i will not where my aero helmet in training except for the week before....there are limits i guess. -
I have learned a lot by listening to people who have proven race day sucess....they are doing somethign that works and i try and take the best of what i have heard from pro’s, age groupers, coaches etc. I will rarely take advice from those who have recurring race day issues. ....advice is usually free so sometimes take it for what its worth....as you should with everything i’ve said in this post !
Good luck – hope this is of some use to at least one person out there.
