If you had one piece of IM advice, what would it be?

Dory Dory

Since we have a few IM virgins getting ready to pop their IM cherry, I thought it might be fun if those with IM experience would consider imparting one little gem of IM-race-day-wisdom to help get the first-timers through their day with a smile on their face.

tunney

"This too will pass"

This will get rough in places. Endure. The bad patches will pass.

griffin100

No matter how bad it hurts it will be over eventually and the pain you feel now is only a fraction of the pain you'll feel for a lot longer if you give up.

No matter how innocent it feels, never, ever, trust a fart after ten hours of eating gels.

Oryx

Just. Keep. Going. My motto. Move forward by any means. Stopping is close to quitting so dont do it. Deal with the bit right in front of you and worry about the next bit when you get there. You will have moments when you feel like sh*t. When you do, eat something, drink something, and let it pass. Think of the finish, tell yourself youll sit down then, but not before.

Oh, and talk to those around you as you pass each other. Its a long day, youre in a battle together, support each other. It helps.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Detach your brain from the rest of your body and prepare to go to very dark places. You learn a lot about yourself in an Ironman from an 8hr finisher to a 17hr one

Oryx

On a sensitive note... peeing on the bike can scald. And will leave a lovely white watermark on your suit. If you do it, rinse yourself with your waterbottle.

Shell to Run

Felipe Thousands Silk wrote: »

Detach your brain from the rest of your body and prepare to go to very dark places. You learn a lot about yourself in an Ironman from an 8hr finisher to a 17hr one

I disagree with this. Do not let the mind go to the very dark place because if you do then you are f*cked. Stay positive and enjoy every minute.

Focus on the things that you can control (your mind being the main thing)!!!!

Neady83

Oryx wrote:

On a sensitive note... peeing on the bike can scald. And will leave a lovely white watermark on your suit. If you do it, rinse yourself with your waterbottle.

Really? Do people really pee on the bike??? Thank god for long adventure races, sure taking 3mins to pee isn't gonna make much difference in a 72hour race, is it?

speedyj

At the end of the day it's just a race like any other you've done, albeit longer. Treat it like a long training day, don't be tempted to expend more effort on the bike than you've done on a training spin - you aren't magically faster (without paying for it) because it's race day. Walk 10-20 secs every 2nd aid station on the run from the start - walking isn't wrong if it's planned! Just count in your head and start running when its time - takes more effort later on.

Enjoy - it's only your first one once :-)

Dory Dory

"If it's not moving you forward, turn it off."

It's all about economy of motion, and being energy efficient....it's about making every step count. I tend to do this by relaxing, breathing and choosing the path of least resistance. If your body is tense, you are wasting energy and potentially creating friction in your body that can cause additional, unnecessary work to accomplish your task. Try and focus on a strong, deliberate upper body in the swim while conserving the legs as much as possible, get into a nice rhythm with your stroke, and do your best to find a pair of feet to draft off of. Upper body must stay relaxed on the bike, and try and tap into and exploit any momentum (downhills, pedal stroke, tail wind) that can assist your forward motion. Try and make your body as fluid as possible on the run - think of yourself as a well oiled machine. Stay relaxed - inventory your body from head to toe periodically. Breathe. It's a very long day out there, and you haven't the luxury of pissing away anything, especially not your energy.

Oryx

When doing the body inventory 'systems check', find a part that doesnt hurt, and concentrate on that. If other bits feel awful, tell yourself 'my right ear is grand, and sure my little fingers are just great too'. You have to find the positives, and not the negatives. Let your mind go to how you feel awful, and you will make it worse!

Pmaldini

take salt tabs. if it is a warm day your sports drink will not have enough electrolytes, the salt tabs will help prevent cramping and dehydration. even if it isn't warm i would highly recommend them.

Mr Tango

If you think you are going to hard then you are. Slow down.

If you still feel like this with 10k to go you can open it up.

Enjoy the finish experience. I'd nearly say slow down and savour it unless your on for a sub 10, 11 or 12

The Davestator

I'm by no means a veteran but one of the best bits of advice I got was to make sure you keep the finishing chute to yourself as much as possible. I looked at who had all 4 bands on and decided to overtake or leave them in front over the last 1 km so I would be the only one in the chute as I crossed. No other eejit in my finisher photo!

Aside from that, don't hate the people with more bands than you - you'll get there

kal7

Use two piece trisuit, enjoy it, look around, acknowledge the spectators especially those with tricolours.

peter kern

remberer when you spend money at the expo, you should be lying down and relax

Dory Dory

When going through the bike water stations, make sure you slow dow to a safe speed and try and grab the first bottle available to you. That way, if you miss or drop it, you'll still have other bottles offered to you before you leave that zone.

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

When going through the bike water stations, make sure you slow dow to a safe speed and try and grab the first bottle available to you. That way, if you miss or drop it, you'll still have other bottles offered to you before you leave that zone.

But don't slam on the brakes just before you go to grap a bottle, or you might have someone come right into the back of you.
Also don't dump a half empty bottle, until you've grabbed a new one. Hold it in your teeth until you've successfully grabbed the replacement. It's very easy to come away from the aid stations without a bottle. If this happens, at least this way you'll still have a half a bottle to do you until the next aid station. Once you've gabbed a new bottle, take another gulp from it, then dump it. If it's a bottle of water, pour it over your back/legs before dumping it. For this reason I'd also recommend having water bottles on your frame and sports drink in the bottle between your aero bars. It wouldn't be much fun cycling a few minutes after you poured a sugary drink over yourself.

Any food you eat the day before the race, is going to turn into sh!t. Getting through an ironman without taking a dump is ideal, so don't overeat the day before your race. If you're worried about not getting enough calories in, chocolate milk is a good solution.

Finally something I was told before my debut IM, you should always be cycling in one gear easier than you think you should. I'm not sure if I fully agree with that now, but the advice came from a far more experienced and accomplished long distance athlete than me, and after my first IM, I thought it was brilliant advice.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Shell to Run wrote: »

I disagree with this. Do not let the mind go to the very dark place because if you do then you are f*cked. Stay positive and enjoy every minute.

Focus on the things that you can control (your mind being the main thing)!!!!

You need to re read my post, the key word is prepare! You can be as positive as you like but the mind will go to dark places and you need to prepare yourself for it.

tunney

Felipe Thousands Silk wrote: »

You need to re read my post, the key word is prepare! You can be as positive as you like but the mind will go to dark places and you need to prepare yourself for it.

To be fair this doesn't happen to everyone nor in every race.

bryangiggsy

Skip any of your nutrition on the bike and you will be walking with the 800 other people that do the same for the last 20k of the marathon!

pgibbo

Enjoy it. It's an amazing day so soak it up. There'll be highs, there'll be lows but you'll get through it. Smile and enjoy it. :cool:

Izoard

Top #10 in random order...


10. Vaseline is your friend
9. Nipple plasters
8. Smile - particularly when there is a camera around
7. The secret to Ironman is having an Iron Stomach - be 100% prepared about your nutrition
6. Unless you are a skinny, tanned, Euro racing snake, leave the Speedo and compression socks look to others
5. Most of the people flying past you on the bike, will be crawling the last 20km of the run
4. Don't pee on the run - you never get the smell out of your runners
3. Take your time in transition - an extra minute prep, can save you 1/2 an hour on the next leg
2. Time your finish with a small gap of runners in the finish chute - makes for a much better finisher photo
1. Start slow, then ease off...

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

tunney wrote: »

To be fair this doesn't happen to everyone nor in every race.

Lucky I guess, i have had plenty of ups/downs in the 5 IMs I have started, yes I know, only finished 3

RacoonQueen

Felipe Thousands Silk wrote: »

Lucky I guess, i have had plenty of ups/downs in the 5 IMs I have started, yes I know, only finished 3

60% completion rate? Ouch. Are you going to rectify that in Galway?

dave04

Be very careful in the post race buffet queue !! particularly if your going for cups of beer , my advice would be hold the cup of beer in your dominant hand , hold your food tray in the other , thus avoiding very embarrassing spillage…….YOU WERE WARNED!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RacoonQueen wrote: »

60% completion rate? Ouch. Are you going to rectify that in Galway?

No, i did not sign up.

BennyMul

Felipe Thousands Silk wrote: »

No, i did not sign up.

did you miss a "yet" at the end of that statement ?

sconhome

Can't believe JB is going to miss out on the post race party to beat all parties!

Dory Dory

AKW wrote: »

Can't believe JB is going to miss out on the post race party to beat all parties!

Your place then?

Dory Dory

Best of luck to everyone racing in various IMs this weekend, especially to the first-timers. Whoop whoop!!!