I’m doing Florida next year and I was wondering what tips/sites/gear/etc… everyone would recommend using/looking into/buying/trying to prepare for the race.
What would you say has helped you the most?
Wow, that’s a huge question, but I’ll throw my .02 cents in:
Buy the book “Going Long” by Joe Friel. It isn’t about the adult entertainment industry as the name implies, it’s about training for Ironman distance races. I can’t say I agree with everything in there, but then again, I don’t own a sub-10 hour Ironman either.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t say make sure your bike fits, but then again, you already know that.
Experiment with your nutrition plan a lot well before the event, make it a priority. It is an often overlooked part of Ironman training and racing.
Slow and easy wins the race, relatively speaking.
And finally, Good luck and have a great season preparing! Happy Holidays.
Do a search on this site and Gordo’s site, you’ve got a lot of reading to do : ). Ironman, Ironman training, training, Ironman pacing, Ironman nutrition, ought to get you what you need. You will get a vareity of views and approaches. There is not universal agreement on IM training/racing. Read everything, experiment, find what works for you and stick with it.
Nutrition: Makes or breaks your race. If it’s not working exceptionally well in training chances are on race day it will not work at all. Its not likely that someone else’s plan will work perfectly for you. You MUST experiment. Start yesterday.
Bike: You will/should be spending a long time on your aerobars. If you have to sit-up in the Florida wind, your bike split will be longer, and more physcially exacting.
Above all have fun. You only get to do the first one, once. Finish with a smile is an excellent goal. There’s such a huge learning curve for the mere mortals…enjoy the trip.
Thanks to everyone that responded so far. I’m pretty sure I already have the book “Going Long” underneath the tree. (Crossing my fingers.) I believe “The Triathletes Training Bible” is there also. I try and read as much as I can about the sport… every magazine, book, website I can find. I love this sport. As for the bike Tom right now I’m riding a Giant OCR2 with Syntace Ultra Lite Clip Ons. I’m hoping sometime in the spring/summer to upgrade to a tri bike - depends on the funds. This bike has worked well for me… but, I’m worried about my legs being fresh for a marathon. We’ll see. I’m trying to read more on nutrition and what to eat during the week - not just in training. I think that might be my biggest problem - I don’t know the first thing about that stuff. All I know is protein good, carbs good, fat bad.
I’m just looking for any general tips anyone can give me that I might not have already read about. Any tips are good tips. Thanks everyone…