Nutrition
“Have a nutrition plan that works for you and you have practised. Don’t forget some painkillers, salt tablets and Imodium (especially useful for the run!)”
“Use the first few miles of the bike to get fuel (nutrition) in your body and drink plenty of water throughout – you will be thankful later in the race.”
“Fuel regular and often. If you wait until you need it, then you’ve gone too far”.
PETER
“Test out the on-course nutrition prior to race day – the last thing you want to find out is a few miles into the run, you take a drink of electrolytes and you can feel it going straight through you!”
“Fuel regular and often. If you wait until you need it, then you’ve gone too far”.
“Get your nutrition right. I would make sure that you have some alternative food to the gels, bananas, carb bars on offer. If I had used my special needs bag and stopped for five minutes to fuel up with some decent food such as rice cakes etc then it possibly would have saved me the 25 minutes that I probably spent in the-less-than-desirable portaloos!
The Run
“Walking is ok and pretty much all athletes will walk at some point during the race. Just remember: if you stop, the clock doesn’t”.
The Finish
“First timers – remember to ring the bell at the start of the finish mat. Ring it loud, long and smile all the way over the line (and don’t look at or hit your watch until at least 10 seconds after crossing the line – the cameras will get you!)”
I don’t know about you, but that’s got me fired up!
Some great advice from athletes who have been through it, many of them for the first time last year. Through all of the comments, I can sense joy, pride and a real affection for their Ironman races. The advice is also warm and caring, really wanting our new Ironman athletes to have the best time out there.
Would you offer any other advice, any other words of wisdom to an athlete taking on an Ironman for the first time? Let us know!
