Ironman Pre-Race Talk

Source: Rich Strauss

My speaking notes for many pre-race talks I've given at IMNA races.

Key Thoughts:

· When the gun goes off, the race doesn’t care how fit you are.  Your fitness is a vehicle you drive to the finish line.  Execution is everything.
· It’s not about who goes the fastest, but who slows down the least.
· For the first 130 miles, your job is to create the conditions for success in the last 10 miles.

Four Elements of Ironman Racing:

· Emotional State
· Task Focused Decision-Making and Problem Solving
· Pacing
· Nutrition

I.   Emotional State:  

· “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
When presented with a problem or issue, slow down, think about what you are going to do.  Then execute smoothly, quickly and decisively. 
 
· Control what you can control, let go of the rest.
Only expend energy and thoughts on events you can control.
 
· Emotion = valuable energy
The “IM experience” can be very emotional.  Before the race think of everything you and your family have sacrificed for this day.  Then put those feelings and emotions in your back pocket and save them for the last 8-10 miles of the run.
 
· Ride the crests and manage the troughs
Most athletes will experience the race in waves of good and bad.  Once minute you're on top of the world.  The next you're in the dumps.  Expect this and roll with it.  Remember you can only control so much of your day.  Do your best and let the bad stuff work itself out.
 
· The "One Thing"
What is your One Thing, your reason for being out there in the first place? Solidify a clear purpose for the day and then expect your body to question your mind's commitment to that purpose.  Expect this internal debate and prepare/rehearse your rebuttal.  I remind myself that the pain and discomfort I feel is only temporary.  Pain can't stop the clock and no matter how bad it gets, it has to end sometime.  My job is to keep running in a straight line until they tell me to stop.

II.  Decision-Making and Problem Solving

· Racing a Plan vs Racing Principles
Many people show up with a plan: race at HR x, eat 100 calories when the watch beeps every 15 minutes, etc.  A plan is nothing more than a scheduled series of actions all based on some simple principles.  Focus on these simple principles and adapt to changing, real time events by continually assessing the current situation and making decisions.  In other words, don’t follow your plan into a brick wall. 
 
· Focus and “The Box”
Remember, the key is to not make mistakes and to not slow down.  Your body will push itself far beyond your mind’s ability to drive it.  Most often, people slow down or make mistakes because they lose focus, not because they are fatigued.  Retain your focus by “racing in the now” and maintaining a Box around your race.  The boundaries of this box are defined by the events within your control.  Your #1 goal is to show up to mile 18 with as large a Box as possible, then use that focus to keep from slowing down.

Swim: the Box is about as large as the space your body occupies in the water.  I prefer to simply count my strokes.  This brings my mind back into my form and technique and away from events beyond my control.

Bike: the Box begins at your front wheel and extends 20-30 minutes down the road.  Don’t worry about what just happened and don’t concern yourself with what might happen in 4 hours.  Just ride and control what you can, let go of what you can not.

Run: keep your Box as big as possible for as long as possible.  Start with 2-3 aid stations and try to maintain this for as long as possible.  Focus on mile 18.  Expect to have some “conversations” with yourself along the way and anticipate them.  Prepare your rebuttal beforehand.
 
· OODA Loop
Within the Box you are continually assessing the current situation, using the OODA Loop:
Observe the situation or problem.
Orient yourself to possible courses of action.
Decide on one course of action.
Act to implement the course of action.

If you perform this loop quickly and continuously, you will stay ahead of the race.  Lose your focus and you let the race get inside your loop.  You are now reacting to events rather than anticipating them.

III.  Pacing

An effective pacing plan enables you to enter miles 16-18 of the run focused and prepared to not slow down.

Swim = Form
Your pace is defined by your ability to maintain good form.  Only swim as fast as you can maintain good form.

Bike = Patience and Discipline
Exercise patience and discipline to ride your race and ignore the athletes around you.  Your goal is to ride an 82 mile bike after a 30 mile warm-up.  You make or break your bike leg in the first 30 miles.  Be patient.

Miles 1-30

· Overall Goals: Settle into a comfortable cycling rhythm, establish food and drink strategy.
· Effort Guidelines: Pace should feel easy.
· Heart Rate Guidelines: Once the heart rate has settled from the swim, typically upper heart rate Zone 1.
· Notes: You should be holding back through this whole segment.

Miles 31-60

· Overall Goals: A continued emphasis on nutrition and hydration, as well as an overall assessment of how the day is progressing.
· Effort Guidelines: Pace should feel easy.
· Heart Rate Guidelines: Typically, Zone 2 effort.
· Notes: The goal of this stage is to maintain a steady effort at goal Ironman-distance bike pace.

Miles 61-90

· Overall Goals: This is the meat of the ride. Here is where early ride pacing pays off or takes its toll. Goal should be to work a little harder than goal effort. Athletes that have paced properly will begin to move up the field.
· Effort Guidelines: Pace should feel steady. Hills and rollers will see efforts up to moderately hard intensity. Avoid hard intensity.
· Heart Rate Guidelines: Typically, upper Zone 2 effort with short periods of Zone 3 effort when climbing.
· Notes: This is the key stage and where you will have to concentrate to maintain your focus. Early ride pacing starts to pay off and athletes receive a mental boost as they start to move through the field.

Miles 91-112

· Overall Goals: Athletes should maintain their cycling momentum and continue to eat. Almost all athletes will have lost their appetites and continued nutrition is essential for a strong run.
· Effort Guidelines: Pace should feel steady to moderately hard. There will be fatigue and stiffness associated with the ride. However, these should be manageable.
· Heart Rate Guidelines: Zone 2 effort with periods of Zone 3 effort when climbing.
· Notes: Athletes should maintain their focus on pacing, nutrition and aero position. Race fatigue can cause the mind to wander. Athletes should maintain a task orientation. If you have paced the bike correctly you should feel like you are "racing" the bike while those around you just want to get off. Take these good feeling with you off the bike and into the run course.

Ideally, you should get off the bike feeling as if you could have gone 5-10 minutes faster. Keep this fact in mind: it takes quite a bit of sustained effort to go 5-10 minutes faster on the bike.  But walk one mile of the run and you give this all back. It's OK to feel a little cheesy when you get off the bike.  A 42k run is a long time to make up for riding too slowly.

Run = Focus and not slow down.
Remember your goal: to arrive to the Mile 18 aid station in a mental and physical condition to not slow down.  Until that point, run comfortably, focus on form, and get what you need from the aid stations.  Then just bring it home as best you can.  Expect waves of positive and negative feelings.  Anticipate internal conversations questioning your commitment to the One Thing.

IV. Nutrition: The Fourth Event

Many issues in the Ironman are nutritional in nature.  Keys to remember:

· Start the race with a full tank of gas: well hydrated with full glycogen stores and a good breakfast.  I recommend a large liquid breakfast very early race morning.  If you need to, wake up, eat, go back to sleep.

· Monitor your body in real time instead of eating according to a strict feed plan.  If your bladder is empty, you need to drink more. If your stomach is full and not emptying, bring your HR down. 

· Liquid calories are less risky than solids.

· If your HR is high, eat less.  If it is low, eat more.

· If an issue is developing, slow down and let your body work itself out.  If that doesn’t work, considering standing down for 5 minutes to save 30 minutes later in the day. If you feel good, eat.  If you don’t, slow down.

· Drink water, not sports drink, when eating something high cal (gel, bar, etc)

· Don’t try anything new on race day.  However, I believe you should be open to new solutions if you’ve tried everything else.  You never know if the chicken broth you haven’t tried is going to make you suddenly feel better.  If all else has failed, try it.

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