Category: Chattanooga

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Getting Ready For Ironman Chattanooga

By Mike Tarrolly for the Crushing Iron Podcast

Next week the co-hosts of the Crushing Iron Podcast, Mike and Robbie, will descend on Ironman Chattanooga . . . as spectators. We have ten C26 athletes racing, (including C26 athlete, Ross, who had an amazing story to tell on a previous podcast) and will be soaking in the entire experience.

We thought we’d organize a look at some of the Ironman Chattanooga information we’ve compiled since the event started. After you finish this post, check out this one with 18 story/video links to things we’ve covered at Ironman Chattanooga in the past.

Here’s a podcast (the Crushing Iron Podcast is released every Monday and Thursday) we did about Ironman Chattanooga if you want to check it out:

Thursday/Friday: For starters, let’s talk about the first thing you should do when you get to downtown Chattanooga: Check In!

We are big on getting this out of the way. If you get into town on Thursday and make a quick drive-through to soak it in, park, get out, and check in. It’s just so much nicer to get your gear bags, chip, etc. and have it back at your room early. Plus, lines get increasingly longer as more people get to town. Thursday is optimal, but certainly early Friday morning so you can start loading your bags and go get anything you may have forgotten. Because, other than a morning tune up, Saturday should be treated as a day of rest with minimal walking.

Saturday is bags and bike. (We always like to remind people that they will have a final chance to check their bags race morning). We also like to drop our bags and bikes later in the afternoon when the lines are down and your bike won’t have to sit in the sun as long.

Race morning can always feel a little hectic, so below we’ve screen grabbed the timing for transition, shuttles, and the race start.

Quick story about race morning: In 2015 when I was racing Chattanooga (this is Mike), we stayed at the Chattanoogan, which is a really nice place, but about a mile or so walk to transition. We left insanely early and I was groggy as usual. I feel like we got to transition about 5:15 which was in PLENTY of time, but when you start hearing bus engines take off, you get the sense that you’re falling behind. We rushed to check our gear bags, then scrambled to the bus. It’s about a 10 minute bus ride and five minutes into said ride I realized I forgot my timing chip at the hotel. This happened because I put the chip into one of the backpack pockets instead of immediately putting it on the counter with everything else. Dumb move.

Talk about a panic moment. Thankfully the woman right behind me said she did the same thing and thought she heard they had extras at the start. Well, this was true. (Note: If you DO forget your chip, make sure to turn it in after the race or you’ll have to mail it back. If you don’t they charge you for it).

The problem was, they have them at the front of the line. The bus drops you off at a place that is essentially the middle of the line. So, I walked all the way to the front of the line, then all the way back to the end of the line forming line where my friends were. About two extra miles of walking for no reason. So, I’d walked around 3 miles before the race started, which really bummed me out, but it turned out to be my fastest race to date, so who knows.

When I raced it was a first come first serve rolling start. I can’t find anything that says it’s “self-seeded” so I’m thinking it may be the same. The earlier you get in line, the earlier you get into the water. If it’s a wetsuit optional swim, the people in line with wetsuits are asked to step to the side and they will go in after all non-wetsuit swimmers enter the water.

Race Morning Schedule:

Here’s a little more info from the Ironman Chattanooga Athlete guide that’s good to be familiar with:

And finally, here’s another screen grab about timing chips, race cut off times, etc.

Here’s a video we made for 2017 Ironman Chattanooga. Watch it, then go enjoy your race!

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C26 Athletes Share Thoughts On Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga

One of the coolest things about C26 Athletes is the free-flow of information. The Crushing Iron podcast is committed to sharing anything that we’ve learned and think will help the listener. After Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga we asked our active athletes what they learned and they didn’t hold back.

We think there’s so much good stuff here that we dedicated our newest podcast to the topic. You’ll find it embedded below.

Some are fun, some are funny, and some are intense. Hopefully you’ll find a few nuggets from the C26 Athletes that will help you in your next race.

Suzanne– The biggest take away from this weekend: hydrating days out from the race is so important. Staying ahead of the heat is key. I never felt like the heat was getting to me until a half mile to go. I think this was the key to my PR. 

Joanne- I’m doing well. I learned that not worrying about things you can’t control and work on things you can is best advice for racing and life.

Walking the aid stations works for me, ice and sponges kept me in the game for the run.

Revae– Listen to your body when it comes to nutritional advice. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. And a second pair of socks for just in case after the bike is totally clutch!

Michael-  It was my first Half IM so I did not have a lot of experience or expectations except to finish. With that being said I learned that next time I will look closer at the course maps. Not that I didn’t look but I was not expecting a hilly run. I trained on the flat streets of Chicago. I might have been beneficial to hit the hills of treadmill or find some hill and do repeats.

Wes- To stop telling yourself you can’t do something and start telling yourself you can.

Steve- I am trashed. I learned that I love the 70.3 distance. I mean LOVE. Also, I learned that if I sing Eminem classics in my head i can squeeze out an extra 15 seconds per mile………. ‘Til the roof comes off, till the lights go out.’Til my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth.

Amy- I feel like I didn’t race 😢. Some races go as planned and others don’t. I’m trying to keep my head up and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Bobby- I learned to stick to myself and my plan and not let those people who passed me on the bike early on get in my head. I saw a lot of them towards the end of the ride and then again on the run. Also, stuffing ice in my tri top was a fantastic feeling.

Claire- I learned that sports bras can hold an absurd amount of ice between aid stations and that my bike saddle has got to go.

But on a more serious note I also learned that if things aren’t going wonderfully it’s not the end of the world. I got kicked in the mouth on the swim, which I was a little bitter about, until I was chatting with a girl in transition who was excited because she overcame her fear of the water. She almost drowned when she was 8. Yeah. I got humbled real quick. Getting perspective back made the rest of the race better.

Peter- I’m sure I learned more but two specific things stick out for me. 1) this was my first race with power on the bike. My first half I let the power be a guide but followed how I was feeling more, the second half I became obsessed with hitting the range coach and I talked about, it became all I was worried about. I was so worried I over-biked, it almost took over my thoughts on the run. Future races I will trust my body more and keep the power as a guide. 2) the run is going to hurt, it is all about managing the pain as long as possible, I kept telling myself to keep running, just make it another mile before you walk. I made it to mile 10 when I gave in to pain and walked the hill. In the future I want to push through and not give in.

Sharon- I learned you can have a ton of fun doing a relay and push yourself as hard as you want in your leg because your teammates can do the rest and you still get a cool medal out of it.

I also learned that people like reading my name off my butt.

Tom- I learned that 70.3’s are this really interesting puzzle of power, speed, pace, and nutrition. Solving that puzzle specific to your body is the key to a successful race. Lots to learn

Tracy- Things I learned…

1. Although every single podcast mentions going too hard on the bike and being trashed for the run I probably kinda did that. And I’m gonna use this as an excuse to convince my husband I need a power meter.

2. But I’m still wayyyyyy stronger and more capable than I thought.

3. Going into a race with a time goal ruins everything. This was the first time I truly didn’t have one and I barely watched the clock because I didn’t care.

4. I need to learn how to pee on my self.

5. Having my name on my ass is low key annoying when I am on the struggle bus and people want to talk to me.

6. I hate coke except during a 70.3 when it tastes like the nectar of the gods.

7. My coach kinda sorta maybe just a little knows what he is doing.

Robbie– I learned it’s really hard to run and vomit at the same time… and forcing yourself from aid station to aid station works

Lucas- I learned how it’s funny when you hold back on the bike because coach says so and then all those people that passed you in miles 1-10 show back up in miles 40-56.

Courtney-  Long car rides home the next day suck especially when you have to drive most of it. I learned I need more focus on nutrition. So for everyone that rocked the run what was your nutrition like on the bike?

Ross-  1) Racing with teammates and C26 colors rocks. 2) No, Andy Potts does not get special treatment from the shuttle bus driver when he asks to be let off before everyone else. 3) You can pee your wetsuit in line before the swim and almost no one will notice. 4) Without enforcement, people will draft the heck out of the bike course. 5) Coke on the run works best when flat, otherwise, get ready for crampy run burps (it’s about as pleasant as it sounds). 6) Trusting your coach with a conservative game plan can produce a good race. 7) I haven’t reached my potential and can’t wait to see what comes next.

Mark- All good here, quads are sore as a MF! 1) Consistency and hard work in the winter will pay dividends. 2) I like running with no watch. 3) Patience, patience, patience… 4) Do a lot of walking. Helps the sore legs.

Kelly-  I did a caffeine fast for 8 days prior to Sunday and found that caffeine was a great reward to my system on race day. I also worked on taking in more nutrition. I’ve basically doubled the amount of gels I take on the run. No stomach issues and almost perfectly even splits on the marathon. I feel like that helped me race closer to my peak pace. I’m excited to have figured out what works for me. And I’m ecstatic that Robbie’s running workouts don’t have all the long boring runs I used to do yet still produce great results. I don’t think I’ll ever look back on a 20+ miler again! Unless I get so fast that I log that many in 2:20.  😂

And I’m sore and I’ve already lost a toe nail. Boo—it’s finally sandal season. A 7 hour car ride home after a marathon is not ideal.

Jason-  (1) Consistent, structured training beats sporadic, panic training. (2) if its going to be a hot day, Its never too early to start cooling (3) Don’t under estimate the power of managing your mind and thoughts. (4) Smiling when it sucks does help. (5) Paying a little more to have a hotel room close to the race start is worth it. (6) Personally,my biggest area of opportunity and gains is on the bike (7) THERE IS NOTHNG BETTER THAN RACING WITH A TEAM OF AWESOME FOLKS! GO CRUSHERS!

Aaron- Love all the posts.What I learned: 1) Racing without a watch was AWESOME, I could focus on the race instead of pace . 2) Mud, my plan was ok to mitigate the mud which populated the grassy transition area and path to and from each discipline with extra wet towels at my transition area. You lose cool points with muddy cleats and wet pedals when clipping in at the mount line… 3) Race reports and more informative workout journaling to have a robust set of references of that day and what worked and what didn’t to help build your race plan.

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If you have a race coming up and are thinking about a coach, please contact Coach Robbie at [email protected] to discuss our multiple plans. We have all the information, including prices, posted on our Coaching Page.

Here’s our Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga Re-cap Podcast. Please be sure to subscribe to the Crushing Iron podcast on iTunes and follow Crushing Iron on YouTube.
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Ironman Chattanooga My 20 Things
Ironman Chattanooga 2016 Tribute Video
Ironman Chattanooga 2015 Tribute Video
Ironman Chattanooga Run – 11 Thoughts

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The "Voice of Ironman"

Someone once told me, “Everywhere you go, there you are.”  Lately it’s been, “Everywhere I go, there HE is.”

Over the last 5 weeks I’ve driven to Louisville, Wisconsin, and Chattanooga for Ironman.  Once to compete, twice to spectate, and within minutes of arriving to these wonderful cities, a powerful voice of inspiration floods my ears.

As of Ironman Chattanooga 2014, Mike Reilly has announced 138 IRONMAN races and if you haven’t seen one, you have no idea how impressive that is.  His voice rings in the air from 6 am until midnight and the pitch never waivers.

I didn’t make it to the Swim Start in Chattanooga, but Mike was there, pumping everyone up and calming nerves at the same time.  When you nervously await the start, as an athlete or a spectator, his voice is omnipresent and the words always seem to be right.

I had a brief meeting with Mike at Louisville pre-race as I was noodling around near the sound board.  I was about to walk into a furnace and Mike knew it.  He likely knows more about IRONMAN than most.  On this day I was trying to impart my strategy when Mike politely stopped me and simply said, “Take it easy out there and try to have fun.”

He was right, of course, but I didn’t listen.  I went after the run like a dog in heat and it ate me alive.

Yesterday, he stood high above the crowd in Chattanooga as the last swimmer battled to get out of the water.  He did everything in his power to help her get home.

It was one of those moments that stops you in your tracks.  She was alone in the water, battling demons while hundreds watched her labor to reach shore.

“Keep going, we’re all here waiting for you!”  “Doggy paddle if you have to, you can do it!,” said Reilly with a combination of compassion and the tenacity of a father.

His day started before sunrise and he was still going as I watched the live stream from my hotel room until 12:15 am.  His energy and passion for what he loves was just as enjoyable to watch as the finisher.  He danced, joked, shouted encouragement, and dished high fives as the last runners crossed the finish line.

At 12:16 the lights went out and Mike Reilly was gone from my sight, but his voice was ringing in my core.  “You are an Ironman!”

People always ask me why I write about Ironman and travel around to races and I think the simple answer is, I love it.  I love to surround myself with optimistic people who stop at nothing to push their limits, and Mike Reilly has certainly been a great representation of that lifestyle.

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Here is Mike Reilly from this morning after handing my new buddy, Dave Richter his award and Kona slot.

mikereilly