Millions around the world make New Year’s resolutions. It is a very powerful idea that you can start a new year with a clean slate. Many wishing lists include losing weight, eating healthy and getting fit. You can take the fitness goal even further. What about completing your first Ironman race?

The Ironman is a race that involves a 3.8 km open water swim, 180 km bike ride and a 42 km run. Just reading the breakdown of an Ironman may sound exhausting, but actually doing one? Impossible?! Not really. Talk to some experienced athletes or sit at the finish line of the Ironman race and you will quickly realise that it’s all about the mind and the “I can do” attitude. There’s such a wide cross-section of Ironman triathletes, from chiselled studs to 80 year-olds.

If you have committed to completing your first Ironman race, congratulations. Now it’s time to get going, take stock of your fitness, schedule your training and focus on your goal.

Before you start training, there are two simple things you can do:

  1. Get your swim technique checked. A good swim coach will pick up any weaknesses that you can work on before the weeks of training kick in.
  2. Get a professional bike fit. This will make cycling comfortable and ensure you are as efficient as possible with your technique.

Nine keys that can help you complete your first Ironman

Key 1: Start small. A good start will be to train for a 5 km race.
Key 2: Commit. Do not just think about it. You need to become a person who stops thinking and starts doing.
Key 3: Get help from experts. No one expects you to be an expert in triathlon before beginning your training for Ironman. But what is expected is that you’ll be willing to seek out those experts.
Key 4: Build gradually. Focus on the next race, weeks away, not on the Ironman months away.
Key 5: Make mistakes. You will make mistakes. Lots of them. Too many to count.
Key 6: Balance, not sacrifice. Ironman training is time consuming. It can easily take 30 hours and more out of your week. But it doesn’t have to negatively impact your work, family time or social life. Most triathletes have learned that it’s not about sacrificing time with friends and family, it’s about finding the right balance.
Key 7: Have a support system. They will be the people to encourage you to continue when you want to stop and the ones cheering the loudest at the finish line.
Key 8: Envisage success. You need to learn to hate the word “impossible”. “Impossible” is your mind’s way of tricking your body into quitting. “Impossible” is what you say when you’re too scared to keep trying.
Key 9: Enjoy it. It’s work, it’s dedication and commitment and perseverance. But it’s still fun.

Five Ironman mistakes to avoid

    • Swim. It is important to do as much open water swimming practise as possible. Swimming in open water is a different ball game than swimming in the pool.
    • Bike. Not enough Ironman pace training on the triathlon bars (avoid hammering the shorter rides and going too slow on the longer sessions). On race day, letting your enthusiasm take over for the first 60 kilometres on the bike due to feeling fresh and strong.
    • Run. Failing to practise a run/walk strategy in training, even the elite walk through feed stations. On race day not holding back in the early part of the marathon.
    • Last supper. Not “practising” your race dinner and breakfast. Your last 24 hours of eating prior to the race is very important. Aim to eat your last main meal by 6 pm before race morning so you can completely digest it. Have a light snack before bed time. Your body will then be able to eat and digest a substantial race breakfast. Make sure you avoid fibre and quick fix foods first thing in the morning (many cereal bars made with processed cereals that are high in sugar and should be avoided). Don’t drink more plain water than a camel in the five days before the Ironman. This will remove important electrolytes and a lot of your strength that you need on race day.
    • Shopping. The big problem is buying something new that has not been tried and tested in your long training sessions before the Ironman. A new helmet or super-fast drying clothing is only better when you are used to it. If you can afford it just before race day, you could probably have afforded it five months ago. Trying to squeeze performance in the last few weeks by buying new items of kit also takes up too much mental energy and can be more damaging than you think.

Best life experience

Most people who have completed an Ironman describe it as one of the best life experiences they have ever had. Words can’t describe the feeling of elation when crossing the finish line in an event that you did not imagine finishing when you first started training.

From the time you first wonder if you could do an Ironman to the time you cross the finish line, you will have gone through more extreme highs and lows than you thought were possible. The lows will be tough but that’s what makes the highs so high. That is what makes you different from everybody else. That is what makes you an Ironman finisher!

 

Sources

From Couch to Ironman® in a Year — The Ultimate ‘How-To’ Guide

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/
http://mos.triradar.com/Training_Plans/TRI38.First_Ironman.pdf
http://thesportfactory.com/site/trainingnews/beginnersguide.shtml