IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.)
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2008-04-29 4:49 PM |
Veteran 107 Vancouver, WA | Subject: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) First of all congratulations to all you who competed in IMAZ (April). Now that you have had a bit of time to reflect on your day, I was hoping you all might share some of your ideas and thoughts from that day. I am not looking for anything specific, but thought it might be helpful for us first timers competing in November. What things went well? What went wrong? What would you do differently? Anything... I mean absolutely anything will help. Thanks Twocougz Edited by twocougz 2008-04-29 4:50 PM |
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2008-04-29 5:26 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Elite 3235 San Diego | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) My only advice is, get comfortable with the swim distance. If that goes bad, the rest of the day goes with it. Most of the people I know that DNF, have had bad swims. I know lots of people who recovered from bad bikes, but few from the swim. Just my .02 |
2008-04-29 5:51 PM in reply to: #1370587 |
Master 2288 Katy, TX (West of Houston) | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) madcow - 2008-04-29 5:26 PM My only advice is, get comfortable with the swim distance. If that goes bad, the rest of the day goes with it. Most of the people I know that DNF, have had bad swims. I know lots of people who recovered from bad bikes, but few from the swim. Just my .02 Well, I had a great swim, but a bad bike and did not recover. My advise is to have a back up plan to the back up plan. See my log for April 13th and this thread for what went wrong: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=111873&posts=9&start=1 |
2008-04-29 6:09 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) If it's going to be hot, don't sodium load prior to the race unless you've raced with that product and in that amount before. Quite possibly what knocked me out of the race. |
2008-04-29 6:39 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Member 47 Oceanside, CA | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) I have been thinking about this. 1. Pack special needs bags before going to race (excluding fresh food, but leave a note in the bag as to what to add). I was organized and clear headed the day before when packing, but I still forgot my re-supply of gels for the run. 2. Include ziplock bags - snack sizes for supplements, pint sizes for ice, even gallon sizes. I used one gallon bag to pack everything I wanted to put into my pocket of my jersey (supplements, lip balm, sample chamois cream etc) that way in the transition area I didn't have to pull individual items out and wonder what I was planning on doing with them. 3. Practice sighting more while swimming. I got a really bad cramp from pulling my head up to sight, I don't think my muscles were used to that additional strain. And the best advice I got was to smile for all the cameras. I've already forgotten the pain, and now I've got great pics from my day. Good luck, Wendi |
2008-04-29 8:53 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Member 198 Baton Rouge | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) First of all, have fun and enjoy the moment. The swim start is what made me nervous because I am not a great swimmer. I entered the water 15 minutes before the start and started in the back left which worked out pretty good. Most of the athletes piled up on the right side closer to the side. Even stsrting in the back I was able to swim a 1:30 swim , about my average in training. Make sure you have a plan for food and drink on the bike and do not start out going too hard. If you make it to the turn around on the third loop relax on the way in you have got the bike made. Run time--Enjoy the sights, the spectators, volunteers and get ready for your name to be called out followed by the words, you are an Ironman!! |
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2008-04-29 10:31 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
New user 5 | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) make sure your family is at the finish line to run across with you. It capped off a great day and made for a great family picture. One of the best experiences of my life. |
2008-04-29 11:07 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Veteran 186 Flagstaff, AZ | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) There's not enough room on my screen for all of the things I did wrong, but here are a few things I learned...most of them the hard way. These are not necessarily in order of importance. 1. As was stated previously have a plan and several back up plans. However the key to this is to prioritize the elements of your plan. For example it's fine to establish some sort of baseline nutrition plan like 1 Gatorade, 1 water, 1 gel every hour or whatever, and this should be based on training experience. Priority 1 might be proper hydration/electrolyte intake. Priority 2 might be some sort of plan on calorie intake, priority 3 might be some sort of pacing strategy, etc. The key is to make sure that you are not over doing priorities 2 or 3 to the detriment of #1. You can be pretty sure that the race will quickly throw a few unexpected twists at you. Having a well thought out list of priorities will help you narrow down the things to focus on...once priority 1 is OK, move to 2 then 3, etc Go way easy on the lower priority items until you get the higher priority ones dialed in. 2. If you're not a speedy swimmer, start near the middle in the back. I watched a few youtube videos of previous race starts, and it appears that most people bunch up at either the outside or inside. I was scared of the swim, but really didn't find it bad at all. Also on the way back in, don't hug the buoy line, because it makes a curve left to right, and you can cut the tangent pretty easily. 3. Expect wind, but don't expect to know which direction it will be coming. This year the ride out was tough, I understand that last year the winds were worse but coming from the opposite direction. Also, it shouldn't be as hot as it was in April the record for Nov 23 is 87. Be ready for anything from downright chilly to moderate heat. http://www.weather.com/weather/climatology/daily/USAZ0166?climoMonth=11 4. If you are dumping water on yourself to keep cool on the run try to lean over to keep your feet dry and prevent blisters. 5. Pringles taste great on the bike. I'm going to devise some sort of dispenser like a PEZ dispenser for chips. 6. They give you two race numbers one has your first name and the other your last. I didn't really think about it and used the one with my last name. I hadn't had so many people call me by my last name since my college frat days. For some reason it really started to annoy me on the run, even though it's obviously my own fault. 7. Don't use fancy carbon water bottle cages. The cheap aluminum ones seem to hold the water and Gatorade better and you can bend them a bit to tighten/loosen as needed. 8. Put your cel phone in your morning warm clothes bag so you can get it shortly after you finish if you have trouble finding friends, family, etc. 9. SUNSCREEN. Apply early and often. I bought 3 cans of the aerosol spray, put one in each transition bag and put a small one on my bike. The race sunscreen volunteers are pretty good if your not leaving transition at the peak time, but I wouldn't rely on race-supplied sunscreen only. I also stopped at the half way point on the bike to re-apply. Also used DeSoto cooler wings and cooler beanie both of which are awesome products. 10. Prepare yourself mentally for the possibility that you might get an upset stomach and might even throw up. I knew it might happen late in the race, but hadn't really thought about it happening relatively early on the bike. It's probably not something you will replicate in training, but just be mentally ready for the possibility. Because I wasn't prepared for it, I went into panic mode and further compounded my problems. If it happens again I hope to calmly try to manage it as one more scenario that I had planned for. |
2008-04-30 10:57 AM in reply to: #1370512 |
Extreme Veteran 527 Round Rock, Texas | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) After 2 IM's here are my lessons learned: 1. Go into your first IM with the only expectation of finishing. You have 17 hours. Anything less is a bonus. Enjoy EVERY moment of that first experience and document it all. 2. Nutrition is the fourth discipline. Train for as hard, if not harder than the swim, bike and run. Keep track of what you take, when you take it and under what conditions in training. My mistake in Arizona was training in winter weather (Texas) and having a nutrion plan with calories/hour that I thought I needed to stick too in Arizona. When the temperatures reached 96 (14 degrees above any training day), I did NOT change my plan and ended up taking in too many calories for the conditions. Tip: decrease calorie intake as the temperature increases. 3. Start slow on the bike (first 30 miles) and then build to the finish. Start slow on the run (first 4 miles), then run when you can the rest of the way. You will not feel any better than you do after the first 4 miles so don't hold back waiting to"feel better". 4. At the last aid station before the finish, clean up, zip up and remove all reflective items from your hat, shirt and shoes. The reflective tape shine in the flash of your finisher photo. You only get once chance at a first IM finisher photo! 5. Thank ALL the volunteers along the way. Without them, you would be carrying all your nutrition for the day on your bike and run |
2008-04-30 11:30 AM in reply to: #1370512 |
Elite 2553 Tucson, AZ | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) Training Packing Stay Calm Post-Race Good luck and have fun! |
2008-04-30 12:47 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Expert 927 Longview, TX | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) #1 - You've got to train to be able to ride 100+ miles, knowing you have what it takes to run a marathon afterwards. This means that at the end of a century ride, you have to feel like you did at mile 1 of that century ride. And if this means you have to ride 2-3, even 4 mph slower than you normally ride, then that's what you have to do. If you start an IM marathon unprepared, it's going to eat you alive. #2 - You've got to be mentally prepared for the worst. The race is much more of a mental challenge than it is physical. When crossing the half-marathon mark, you'll have more things roll through your mind than you could ever imagine, and 90% of them will be negative. Fight thru the negative, and think about what it's going to feel like when you hear Mike Reilly call your name as an Ironman! #3 - Be prepared for hiccups in training. The most difficult part of Ironman is trying to lead a "normal" life while finding time to still work, manage your social life, and just plain deal with all the hassles that life brings. Every problem that comes at you is going to be magnified twice over, and you'll really feel stressed. You really have to learn how to manage your time efficiently, and maximize your time for training. Best wishes in November! |
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2008-04-30 1:03 PM in reply to: #1370512 |
Regular 73 Raleigh, NC | Subject: RE: IMAZ First Timers (Tips and Suggestions from April.) What can go wrong...might very well go wrong. You can expect the unexpected, but it's hard to plan for it. So with that being said, just stick with your plan, do your training (rain or shine, wind or no wind), work hard and go out there and do your best! Sticking with your training is going to be a daily challenge - so make sure you know why you are aiming for the finish line and give it all you've got. You can get there.!!!! |
2008-05-01 10:19 AM in reply to: #1370512 |
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