Tips from Ironman National Champion Chris McCormack

Yeah it was funny. He had some choice things to say about Norman Staddler that I dare not repeat!

But he hadn't seen the NBC show about Ironman Kona 2006. They used it to intro the 2007 race coverage so he watched it for the first time. It was surreal he was standing right behind me watching the intro. So I'd look left and there was Macca drinking a beer watching the tube. Then I'd look right and there was Macca talking about crushing Staddler. and doing the race.

Also for all you Ironman heavies - more inspiration. At 177 Macca was the heaviest athlete to ever win Kona!

My new goal weight 177!!

Wow, I'm even a little lighter than him!

How tall is he??  He must be my height or taller.

You cannot leave that hanging, especially after the NBC Kona coverage smack talk ... c'mon, share - it's Christmas

 A lot of people who swim in salt water end up having GI issues because their stomach can't take the salt. It's assumed because they swallow too much water. But Chris was saying that the researchers he worked with said your skin is really the culprit because it absorbs a lot of salt and that could lead to the GI issues. Not just the swallowing of the water.

So they suggested to Chris that he use sunscreen to keep his skin from absorbing the salt from the ocean. And he said that his wife "rubs it all over his body" before every race and he's never gotten sick.

Yes he drinks Coke. Lots of Ironman folks swear by it especially in Kona.

Not to hijack my own thread

But did you train with Coke and chicken broth or did you just eat it on the course?

I didn't train with it, but did use it at every aid station that I could at IM Moo '07.  The coke is flat and warm, but really hits the spot!  The sugar and caffeine keep you going, and the chicken broth has the salt and water.

I did notice that the left side of my tongue got a nasty chancre sore probably because of the amount of coke and chicken broth I took in.  Something to monitor next time.

I think it was the combination of the heat and the fact that they were doing 5:40 min/miles! It's pretty easy for me to stop at aid stations cause I don't have a world-class athelete behind me. But seriously they way it looked it was they were just grabbing anything to stay cool. And they were moving so freakin' fast that you actually saw Lieto grab a cup, go to splash on his head and he was so fast that the entire cup contents missed him!

Don't know you can ask him and see if he was lying!

Or maybe your were there?

Ovetta, he did say he was 77 kg, which is 170 lbs...so still close to 177. 

He was fun to listen to!

Thanks Cogirl. I know I wasn't going crazy.