24 Hours: From Sleep to the Ironman Finish Line

Going into my first Ironman weekend I had a million questions.  From rest, to nutrition, to tire pressure, to pre-race meals, to breakfast, it’s almost impossible to turn off your mind.

The entire weekend has a bit of a “festival feel” and my natural instinct was to soak it all in.  Hit all the booths and meetings, do all the dinners, meet as many people as possible.  Frankly, it wore me down a little.

The other thing I “over-did” was pack everything and anything even remotely related to my race.  I mean, I loaded up the car with 6 brands of nutrition, 3 pairs of cycling gloves, a back up tire pump, 4 different kits, two helmets, 3 pairs of running shoes, toe covers, arm warmers/coolers, thigh covers, you name it.  I had two hotel carts worth of stuff and my transition bags were overflowing.  It was ridiculous.

Since my first I’ve been through 3 more Ironman race weekends and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that keeping things simple goes a long ways.

It’s pretty crazy to think that most people get into town on a Thursday and feel like two and a half days aren’t enough time to get ready for a race.  I like to check in as early as I can to avoid lines and put it behind me.  Same goes with checking my bike and dropping off transition bags. The later it gets, the more everything feels rushed, and you always have race morning to put an extra Gu in your bag.

So, what happens after all that’s done?  Where’s pre-race dinner?  What’s a solid breakfast race morning?  What should we be doing 30 minutes before the swim?

Coach Robbie and I explored all of those questions, plus many more in today’s podcast 24 Hours: From Bed to the Ironman Finish Line.  Other topics from today:

• Night before Race Meals
• Sleep strategies
• Wake up calls
• Morning of race meals
• Last hour before the swim thoughts/nutrition
• Tactics for the Swim
• Nutrition for first 10 miles of bike
• Gastro challenges
• The biggest mistake people make on the bike
• Prepping for run while on the bike
• Nutrition/Hydration strategies for the run
• Post-race fuel
• A great way to clean your top, shorts, and shoes after the race