tips

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

I was looking at the “search terms” people used to find my blog and one was “Ironman Wisconsin Run Course Tips,” so I thought I’d weigh in with a few “non scientific” thoughts. I’m gonna do it by “feel” and a sketchy memory, so don’t take it too seriously.

It’s a 13.1 mile loop that starts with a short and slow climb from the top floor of the awesome Helix transition. You go straight at, then around the majestic capitol, before tearing down State Street where “I Run for the Party” has real meaning.

My advice here is watch your speed. There are TONS of people cheering, and it’s mostly downhill, so it’s easy to get caught up in the moment. Thankfully my legs didn’t bend the first two miles so I didn’t have a choice.

When you leave State Street it flattens out for a while and you head toward one of the coolest college football stadiums in the country. I feel like it’s a little over 2 miles before you meet Camp Randall, home of the Badgers, and a short little staircase climb that caught the attention of my calves. Then you descend onto the football field, and while I am arguably the number one fan Badger fan living in SEC country, I didn’t really feel much like looking around. What I liked most was the soft turf surface that gives your knees temporary reprieve.

After you emerge from the stadium, you hit a small downhill then flat section that eventually takes you under a bridge for a short “out and back” which I hated. I loathe out and backs for some reason, and even though this was only a few hundred yards it got in my head a little.

Then it’s back into “somewhere” before you are dumped onto a trail that rolls between a bunch of University buildings along the lake. It’s kinda cool because there are students milling about and most of them look at you like you’ve been working out for over 8 hours.

Then it’s time for first of two substantial (by Ironman standards) hills. There’s and aid station at the bottom and I highly suggest you regroup before the climb. A ton of people walk these hills and I did for a short spell on the second loop, but they are not awful unless you are from Florida, and in that case, I recommend quitting.

After that, you wind to the right and close in on your second taste of State Street where people are five deep and scream some of the happiest sounds you’ll ever hear. In retrospect, this is probably where I felt the best on the entire run. It’s right around mile 6 and I suggest soaking it in. You’re about halfway into the loop and it’s loaded with electricity, which is good because the worst part of the run awaits.

When you hit the trail again you have a 10k left in your loop. It’s nice and shaded for a while, but when you leave the dirt path it turns into blacktop and the bikeway takes you out a mile before you turn around to come back. It’s desolate and I really started hallucinating on this section. It’s a two mile trek that seems like it will never end and the one section I wanted to walk most.

After that, you have about 3.5 miles before paydirt (or the painful turn around). Slowly but surely spectators come back into your life and you will need their support. The support, by the way, is excellent. Aid stations are loaded like a buffet and on my second loop I hit the chicken broth hard on that turnaround.

You wind back past the stadium (and go down the little flight of stairs, which is painful in a different way) then back through the neighborhoods before hitting your last little climb up State Street. The party is rockin’ now and the hill is not an issue. At the top you stare at the massive capitol, turn left for a block, right for another, then right for a half block before turning left to finish.

The finishing part is great, but if this is the end of your first loop be prepared for a major mind f&ck. They lead you well into the Finisher’s Chute before sending you back out to battle. All you can really do is laugh.

Ironman Wisconsin was my only marathon to date, and I am pretty sure it will always be one of my favorite courses. It’s challenging but not unfair. It’s urban with a great taste of wilderness. And you get to see some of the finer sections of one of the greatest cities there is, Madison, Wisconsin.

Tag: tips

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