What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3? (Page 3)

Don't underestimate the effect that heat will have on your HR and pace in the race.  Swallow your pride, be conservative during the bike and first few miles of the run, and have fun!

You only have one opportunity to do your first race of any distance, so focus on enjoying the experience.  After this one, you'll always be chasing the clock and your past performances.  

I have two HIM's under my belt and neither was anywhere near perfect, here are some issues I had.

1. I did not properly put my wetsuit on for my first HIM. It was my first OWS with a wetsuit and I had the fit all wrong. There are some good youtube vids on how to get a wetsuit on the right way. Basically pull that thing up far enough to make you sing Soprano before you ever try to put the top on. I had mine too low so it pulled my arms down killing my shoulders and also pulled down on my chest so I couldn't breathe. I spent a lot of time on my back pulling the neck of my wetsuit out so I could get a breath, not fun. 

2. I like biking the best of the 3 so I tend to go too hard on the bike, works okay for a short course, not a good idea for HIM or IM. My second HIM I trained a ton of running and felt really good going into the race, thought I was going to crush the HM. The bike was windy as all get out which is frustrating. It sucks going 12mph into a wind so the natural inclination is to push harder to get that speed up. The course was a square so on the backside I was hammering to make up lost time. My run was absolutely terrible. First 6 miles went okay, last 6 I totally fell apart. 

3. Practice your nutrition. I decided to "live off the course" for my second HIM, they had Heed, lets just say Heed and I do not get along, made for a miserable day. After cooking the bike and then the ambient temp going crazy for the run, I was completely destroyed. I spent 3-4 hours after the race puking and falling all over myself with nausea and dizziness. Heat, too hard on bike, lack of fitness, and the wrong nutrition made for one heck of a day.

I am doing my first IM this summer. My mantra will be eat, and go easy easy easy on the bike. I would much rather have a good marathon and finish strong than to average 17.5mph instead of 16mph on the bike. 

I'd be interested to know if the OP has seen the re-birth of this thread and could let us know how the race went LAST YEAR.

FWIW, this was the post on page 2 that revived the thread:

"I've been reading these opinions with great interest, I'm in the early stages of training for my first HIM (August) and I'm soaking up any sensible advice offered. Thanks for the great thread, and if there are any more opinions, lets hear 'em!"

I've seen many new posters get flamed for creating a new thread to ask a question rather than searching.  Here's someone who used the search function, found a relevant discussion, and tacked onto the end of it asking for more opinions.  From that point on, the posts may not have been relevant to the OP, but I'd bet they were for the new poster.  I say kudos to them for keeping this good discussion all in one place.

Originally posted by KatieLimb Well, I am the OP, and my first HIM went so well last August I am training for my second, StG 70.3 in 4 weeks. It is good to see this thread pop up again and read some good advice. I think that I did everything right as far as my race plan went. I seriously felt great until the last two miles of the run when my legs were finally like "ENOUGH ALREADY". I think the key advice is to relax, trust your training and nail your nutrition, but be prepared for adjustments as necessary. The race ended up being a ton hotter than was anticipated or what I had trained in, and I ended up taking salt tabs in the race, and I hadn't done before. I know it was a huge risk, but luckily it worked okay. Another piece of advice I grabbed race morning in transition from a 6x Ironman was if at any point your legs burn, you are going to hard, and you will hate yourself later. Ease up, gear down, or whatever you need to to save it for later. For someone that likes to race be RPE and not by numbers, HR, or anything else, that was great advice. I finished in 6:20, #8 in my age group and felt good 90% of the race. The last two miles of the run though were sheer survival. Glad to see this thread pop up again, you guys give tons of good advice that was very helpful

Thanks for coming back to the thread to let us know how it went!

Great job and good luck at St George!

That's one of the reasons I race in wool socks.  They don't get nearly as 'sloshy'.  Super comfortable.

It's been great reading the new perspectives on this topic, especially little snippets of "whatever you do, don't do this..." information that are only otherwise learned by making the same mistake.  And the thread has reinforced (for me) the need to do more bike training. I'm not a fast or strong rider, so I'll really need to focus on the bike during the coming months. Thanks!