Does two ½ ironman races equal one ironman?

I can sum up doing an Ironman in one word; PACING! If you learn nothing else from training and doing a 1/2 IM, learn to pace yourself and to forget about the Ironman as a competition between you and 2,000 other athletes. Stay hydrated, make sure you eat solid food during the race. Do the swim at a relaxed pace so that you are excited and ready to jump on the bike. You should come out of the water feeling "Well, that was easy, now onto the next leg!" Do the bike ride like you were on a century ride with friends. Enjoy the scenery, don't get into a hammer-fest with other riders who may pass you. Take it easy on the hills and stay within yourself. Save everything you can for the run, which will be the stage for your survival skills.

Pacing, nutrition, and hydration. For the first timer, those are the keys. Everything else is just minor details!



Edited by max 2005-08-20 11:36 AM

I'll take your great advice too Max.  I'm doing IM Canada in a week.  I did a 1/2 two weeks ago and felt good after I finished.  I guess I can't just double my time to estimate what I'll do in the full.

Janine, someone once said "Take your half Ironman time, double it, then add 10% and you might be close." Not sure if that's really that accurate, but I do know that I lost most of my time on the run, due to cramping after the first 8 miles, forcing me to walk more than I had planned.

Good luck at Ironman Canada...be sure and give us a race report when you get back. It'll be nice to see another Ironman (Ironwoman) at BT!



Edited by max 2005-08-20 5:04 PM

Max,

I've just logged on after the W/end - thanks for the great advice. I reckon I am the kind of person who would get caught up on the bike in a "race" with others.

Regards,
Stu

I agree with Max on all points but I will say make sure you work on nutrition. I had troubles on the run and I think it was a combination of nutrition and pusing it on the bike a little too hard. YOu will be full of adrenaline, you will be tempted to hammer because you'll feel good, especially on the first half of the bike. There is plenty of time to finish the IM. just pace yourself!

Also, Make sure you do your long bricks. try to have a few training days where you are moving continuously for many hours in order to test how your body may react to it. I did 1 1/2 IM prior to the Full and I had little completing the 1/2 at a pretty strong pace. I never felt like I was in survival mode. In the full....I was reduced to just surviving. I think the whole race comes down to the last half of the run. IF you think it's possible to find time to train for the full IM...DO IT!! you will learn a lot about yourself and you can't help but be inspired by all of the other athletes joining you in the race.

The keys to IM training is consistancy, endurance (especially bike fitness), nutrition

The keys to racing/doing an IM is pacing (especially bike leg), mental, nutrition

Irish Stu, you mention the potential of getting caught up in a bike race during the bike leg. There's a lot of people who've had 5+ hour marathons that like to talk about their great bike leg.

As for two 1/2's equaling a full. No. Oddly enough my first IM time was at a faster pace then my first two 1/2's, but I did very challenging mountainous 1/2's in preparation. I think Max's two 1/2's plus 10% is a good target. Two 1/2's plus 1 hour is another popular formula.

scott

The comments everyone have made about pacing on the bike is the primary reason I went and splurged on a Powertap for my IMLP training. Using it during the next year will let me know exactly how hard I'm working during my training sessions and will let me have some hard data to pace myself with on race day. I know from experience that my HR is all over the place during a race. Having the power output right there in front of me on the bike leg will give me better feedback.