Ironman South Africa 2008 race tips
April 10th, 2008 by Nikola Tosic
Unfortunately I will not be in Port Elizabeth neither to participate nor support the Ironman South Africa race. I finally decided to cut down on all travelling in April and not miss any long rides which are super crucial for my season. I wish I could be there but I can not. Anyway, I have spoken with many triathletes getting ready for Ironman South Africa and I have noticed there are few common mistakes - so here are some of my tips based on this observation:
Ironman pacing
The most important element of Ironman racing is pacing - estimate your pace and stick to it. Your coach should give you heart rate and power output guidelines but also your feeling should be a relevant indicator of your race pacing. Never use time splits as a measure of your pace especially if you are going slower than 10h 30min (In Ironman South Africa). Just look at your heart rate or power and investigate how you feel, forget about the time. Time is the killer. Some splits will be super slow, some will be super fast - it means nothing - what matters is that you feel relaxed first 90% of the race.
This is how I would describe a good Ironman racing strategy for someone slower than 10h 30min:
If you are swimming slower than 60mins in a pool than your swim should be super relaxed. Try to avoid the initial rush as much as you can and slowly pick up your pace. Do not worry if you did not warm up before the race start (I never managed to warm up and I always use the first 1/4 of the swim for my warmup - I swam around 60mins so far). So the swim should be easy and relaxed. If you loose few minutes because you are not struggling do not worry. It is better to loose few minutes in the swim (small portion of your overall result) than to get out of the water all stressed out and cramping. Your mind and body should enjoy the swim, do not fight or chase too much. At the end of the swim you should feel good, eager, relaxed and ready to go on the bike. If you are feeling tired and stressed (mentally and physically) than this is bad, but you can fix it by relaxing on the bike.
Keep in mind that Ironman South Africa swim can end up being 10mins slower if wind blows just a bit. Again - do not worry about time, just focus on your heart rate and how you feel. I actually stop and check my heart rate several times during my swim just to make sure I am not working more than I should.
Try to catch a good swim group for drafting, try to follow but if its too messy and fast for you do not struggle, let go and do it on your own terms, slow and easy. Relax…
Those who swim faster than 60min know what to do.
If you are cycling slower than 5h 45min in ideal conditions than your first hour of the bike should feel like no effort at all. I really mean it. You should not loose breath, you should feel like your legs are falling through, like you are not pressing at all. Of course this is adrenalin and race psyche doing its work and you will probably do enough wattage anyway. Your feeling will cheat you here so you need to focus on feeling even easier and more relaxed. Be super relaxed and go super easy. Again do not worry about splits and speed and such things. I would suggest that you do not have any speed information during the bike.
If you have a powermeter you know what to do, but still do not forget about your feeling and heart rate. It is normal for Ironman that you start pushing higher watts a bit later so your average goes a bit up, and if you eat properly and if your training was good, you should be able to maintain higher wattage all the way through. Drop in wattage can probably mean you are eating and drinking badly (caffeine gels could help fix this).
The overall feeling on the bike should be easy and relaxed. I have done three Ironman races so far and maybe 10 half-Ironman races. In all I had a good run and passed hundreds of people - it is not because I am a great runner as much as it is because I really cycle slowly. I almost put no effort in my cycle. I could always cycle maybe 15min faster but I do not. I am very comfortable all the time. I was even teased that I look too relaxed on the bike.
At around 120km you might have a bit of a crisis. This is mostly related to food if your training went well and if you are not over doing it. Again do not worry, it will pass. Eat well, drink well, and take it super easy on the bike.
The run should start extremely slow. Due to the speed on the bike you might start your first few kilometres on the run super fast - your mind is used to things passing by quickly during last 5-6 hours on the bike and running seems slow now. Chris McCormack is famous for making this mistake with his close to 6min/2km Ironman marathon starts. I too did some crazy first few kays in Ironman (think 3:50 or so). First 3-5km should be extremely slow and easy until your mind gets used to the slowness of the run.
If you planning to go slower than 10h 30min in Ironman South Africa than your swim and your bike and first half of the run should be understood as a very easy and very long warmup for the final 21.1km. You should reach your half-marathon mark feeling full of food and relaxed. If you are 30min behind your goals does not matter, you probably calculated badly what you can do and this is not relevant, you will still be able to place well.
What happened to me in almost every ultra distance race is that I passed amazing amount of people in the second half of the run. Most of these people I pass are faster than me on paper, it is just that most of them overdo the pace while I still feel fresh with only 21km to go. I try to keep all my motivation and eagerness for this moment and when I pass that 21km mark than I start “racing”. Before that my whole race is about getting to that mark as relaxed as possible.
Ironman is not a race against other participants, it is a race against your ego. Your ego will constantly push you to pass someone, to do just few more stronger pedal turns on some hill, to accelerate in front of the crowd, to look mean on the bike downhill, to rush out of T2 etc… You must fight your ego all the way, for full 9-10h of the race. It is your biggest enemy.
Your goal is to look like a lazy wimp first 90% of the race because that is the only way you can look super cool during the last 10% and at the finish line. Ironman is about every meter of the race and especially about your finish. It is not about how you look on the bike or some hill on the run. If you want to be a true hero than control your ego and relax until that 21km mark and than let your ego loose bit by bit. Again for some the last 2h of the run can also be a challenge so it does not mean you should start sprinting at 21km mark, it just means that instead of controlling yourself completely you can start experimenting with less of that extreme control. A bit of ego is necessary for those last two hours.
Eating
Eat, eat, eat, eat, eat… from some 20mins into the bike until the last few kilometres of the run you should eat like never before. I usually eat so much that I am super sick of sugar and drinks by the half of the run, and than I eat some more. I eat around 20 gels and 3 bars and drink god knows how many litters of energy drinks during those 10 hours. That is what allows me to have a good run. Of course you have to have your own strategy for eating but if you are not going for sub 10 hours than basis of your strategy should be: more is better.
Beware of Coke on the cycle and especially on the run - Coke is super sweet caffeine and once you take it you have to be sure you can keep taking it all the way because it is so strong you need to keep taking it and keep that high level going. If you take it once than your energy might actually fall down after some 20-30min. The whole goal of eating is to keep the sugar in your blood high and save as much sugar in your muscles and liver as possible. Also by pacing yourself well in the cycle you might even use some fat for energy which would be great, but overdoing the bike (like attacking hills and wind etc) will only spend your sugar immediately and that’s how you end up with a walk in the run.
No attacks on the bike please!
I mentioned it in the pacing and eating section but here it goes again: your bike ride should be relaxed and even paced. If you reach hills do not accelerate, do not attack. If you are passing someone maintain your pace as much as you can. Your heart rate should be a flat line for your entire bike ride. Any jump, any increase will spend your sugars and might cost you few mins or more on the run, and even possibly a cramp. If you attack 10 times that could be 30mins extra on the run (this calculation sounds silly and is not scientific but I think it is quite correct in reality).
How come so many people end up with such a slow run in Ironman? It is because of the riding style they do - many people train like cyclists: attacking hills, change of pace etc - this is a suicide strategy for Ironman. Cyclists can draft and do not need to run a whole marathon after so they can allow themselves to spend sugars on crazy stunts like this. Ironman is different. It is about even pacing and slow riding. Ironman is monotonous. If you are trying to win an Ironman race than you fight for every hill, but if you are trying to finish it in a decent time (if you are not the top 10 overall) than you should focus on keeping it even and do not increase your speed on any hill. Save your sugars, eat, keep it steady, relax.
Clothing on the run
I have figured out that I feel great when I run in a good running t-shirt instead of those race tops usually used in triathlon. A good t-shirt allows me to breathe well for those 3+ hours and adds to the whole relaxed feeling. I would suggest that in T2 you wipe yourself with a towel, wash your face a bit, wash your mouth from all the sugars from the bike and put on a light running t-shirt instead of a tight race top. For me even the polar strap is super tight in those last hours of the Ironman so less things I have restraining my chest the better.
I would also suggest wearing really good running socks. I use Elite Nike running socks and also super light Nike running t-shirt. I prefer t-shirts that are a bit shorter so air can freely go underneath and cool my stomach and lower back.
Watering yourself on the run
I noticed that a lot of people in triathlons and road running put water on their legs and face. Some even do it in the first 5km of a marathon road race. This water might create a temporary feeling of coolness but it does go down your body and into your shoes. After an hour of putting water on yourself your shoes can end up weighing extra few hundred grams which is not a nice effect in an Ironman. Also your clothes will retain this extra weight.
I never put any water on my body. What I do is I take a sponge, I squeeze the water out away from my body and than I wipe my face and stomach with it. I still get the feeling of coolness and freshness (so good!) but there is no water that goes into my clothes and shoes and I remain mostly dry.
Conclusion
Relax, keep your pace, maintain the feeling of relaxation and ease, eat a lot, do not attack…
I hope this helps, enjoy the race!
Hope to see some of you in Klagenfurt in July.
