Ironman Florida : Official Thread (Page 5)

Mike, thanks for putting your name back on...no sulking!

Issue is folks don't cut and paste or copy from last list so folks get cut off and they it repeats as next person does the same thing.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the US folks on the list! I am including a special thanks in my toast tonight for my family agreeing to support me for this. I think we all have no idea how it is going to affect us. Hopefully all for the better. Back to cooking and coffee...

Happy turkey day IMFL peeps! Just ran a 10k this morning, hoping not to pack on too many lbs this holiday season so I don't have to take them off before IMFL.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you south of the Canadian border and north of the Mexican border! 

Edited by Nats 2009-11-26 6:31 PM

Happy Thanksgiving!

Interesting thought a year from now we'll be done with our IMs and be on full recovery/off season mode for most of us.

I ate like I had never eaten before...will repeat today w/ leftovers!!  I'll make it up when I ride/run this weekend.  Probably will drag but the food was well worth it!!  Hope everyone had a great holiday!!

IMAZ was my first last week and IMFL 2010 is my second. Looking forward to getting to know you all during the year we have to get ready. I learned a ton doing IMAZ and am looking to improve. Also, while its fresh, I can answer any questions for the noobs out there. Training starts asap.

Ok, I'll bite.  How did the execution of IMAZ compare with your preparations/beliefs entering?  Have you done halfs or others long distance racs before or was IMAZ the first in the "I'm going to run an Ironman" dream?  If you had to put together a list of things NOT to do or things you wish you had done before/during the race, what would they be?
Thanks

Mike

I was a first timer at the distance, and I had a season this year where I went from first oly in Philly/June to first half in Augusta/September to first full in Arizona/November. Things progressed rather quickly for me, and thats how I wanted it. Sort of like math class in grade school, where everything accumulates. I don't like short course and going all out, as I am always worried about getting a heart attack or something. I thought the long course would de-emphasize speed. It did the first time for the most part (my second IM is more about going faster). Bear this in mind when you read my answers for what they are worth. I'll try to be brief below:

Execution vs Preparation (Things to do)
I executed fairly well but struggled in the midteens of the run and with the mass swim start. Luckily, I rallied to finish strong. The key point here is to overlearn or overprepare (volume or fitness is key).

If you are new to the distance, get "Going Long" and read it asap. Hire a coach who is comfortable with noobs if you can afford it and set a realistic goal. If you can't afford a coach, get a good plan, and use this list or other resources to guide you through the ups and downs.

Make sure you have the proper gear to train right.

Do OWS as much as possible, practice the types of swim starts we are going to have, do longer bricks as it approaches, and build your base in all three sports starting now.

Book a good close place to the race site and try to get a sherpa or more than one that has your back for race day weekend.

Get familiar with your bike and what could go wrong. Prepare for every eventuality. A perfect example, is my proprietary Litespeed seat post cracked the day we got to AZ. If I had not brought a spare, I would've been screwed.

Expect two pretty challenging months from mid August to mid October. I thought this process would be civilized. It got pretty savage later in the preparation.

(Things not to do)
My issue was with injuries. Listen to your body throughout this process. Put an emphasis on stretching, rolling, and sticking.

I lost a month for a bike wreck in summer. This was a rookie mistake. Be real smart in massively populated centuries. My ITbands acted up in spring for the first time ever. Upon injury, don't think you can rush recovery. Your body needs the time to heal. Also, I will need to better follow the coach's or static plan. I was always pushing the envelope for fear of peril on race day. This is stupid.

Don't chance nutrition. When people say dial it in, they mean dial it in. Your brain is not going to be able to do math during the big day, so figure it out beforehand and practice. I think that I got away from what I practiced was the root of my mid-teen mile run problems. 

Stay away from bad influences throughout the process. You will find some folks rub you the wrong way. Avoid them in training and race day weekend. My motto was to stay away from panicky athletes.

If you are prepared well, you WILL execute well and enjoy the whole experience better. Try to absorb it all and have fun. This is a helluva gift for us to be able to do this event.

Hi everyone,
I'm josep from Spain and I'll be taking part at IMFL '10.
I'm 26 yo and I was wondering if anyone would like to share a hotel room. I'll probably travel alone.
I have checked in some hotels and they say that the room is for up to 6-8 people, although I believe it is for 3-4 couples.
Since it is the same price to book a room for 1 than for 6 I thought that may be some one else is kind to share it.
What do you think?
Thanks

Phatnot, you say you had some ITB troubles in the spring. I'm currently trying to get mine under control with ice, roller, etc. What was your remedy? Anything work/not work?

Thanks Josh, I will check it out!

TriManGa

ITBS is a really tough thing to deal with. This article provided to me from ADollar was pretty helpful:
http://optimumsportsperformance.com/blog/?p=375

Bearing in mind that it never goes completely away, I was able to compete again at a lower intensity than I am used to. My main things that worked were

1. rest (mostly from running while focusing on the other 2 sports) - sincere rest
2. reduced intensity in training (which was fine since I needed to shift to endurance work)
3. consistent use of Ibuprofen not the other NSAIDs
4. shortened my stride
5. stopped using my fave shoes (newtons)
6. stretching and daily use of the stick and trigger point or foam roller (go to a good PT if you can afford it or have good helath insurance, which we did).


Edited by phatknot 2009-11-30 6:23 AM

Phatnot, thanks for the tips. I actually just joined Team EC (coached by Anne) to get ready for IMFL. Hope to see you at some races this year.

welcome to the team TriManGA!

I realize that everyone's ITB issues can be different, but I had issues years ago which completely went away when I switched shoes.  I now wear the Acics GT-21x0, and haven't had any recurrence.

Yes, every case is different.  The best advice I can give to ANYONE with ITBS is to make sure you take care of it NOW not later!  TREAT AGGRESSIVELY AND DO NOT PUSH IT.

Or you'll end up with one of these:



Do as I say, not as  I did.

oUCH! by treating aggressively, does not mean roll it aggressively. means approach rehab and rest with dilligence 8)

Ok, well today is the day.  Following the car vs bike damage to my achilles tendon and after 4 months of "conservative" treatment, then surgery then 4 months of physical therapy, it is time to hop on the treadmill and try running.  I've been swimming and biking and doing quite a bit of walking.  Only pain/stiffness in the morning and after sitting motionless for too long.  I'm feeling pretty optimistic.  Going to go for a big 'ol one mile.  No more, no matter how good it feels.  Then observe it for 48 hours.  If good, then it'll be time to get things started (albeit REALLY slowly, no need to push and screw this up again).
 Wonder if running with my fingers crossed will throw off my gait....

Yes, well...that is what I meant.   I meant not to let it linger or it will become chronic...and then you could end up looking like me!

Hope your first mile back goes well. Always better to build gradually and allow your body to adapt again to running.

Ouch - good luck!