Long triathlons (1/2 Ironmans, Ironmans, and similar-distance races) pose some specific challenges and take a bit of a different mindset from shorter races. Pacing, nutrition, and mental abilities play an increasing role in the outcome of your race. As you tackle your first or your next long triathlon, keep these 10 keys to your best race in mind (five do’s and five Don'ts). Have a great race!
Jason Gootman, MS, CSCS & Will Kirousis, BS, CSCS
Long-Triathlon Do’s
1. DO have a plan for pacing and stick to it. In every endurance-sports race, of any distance, you will get your best time with even pacing or a negative split (your time over the second half of the course is faster than your time over the first half). The longer a race becomes, the more important pacing becomes—because the negative impact of pacing errors is magnified! In a sprint-distance triathlon, if you go 10 percent too fast/hard in the swim, it may cost you a minute or two in the run. In a ½ Ironman or Ironman, this same pacing error could result in you walking quite a bit on the run (losing lots of time) or even a DNF. Going into your long race, have a plan for pacing based on what you’ve been able to do in your long workouts. Be realistic in setting your plan and on race day, stick with it! |
Long-Triathlon Don'ts
1. DON’T let the excitement of the day or your ego get you swimming, riding, and running at speeds/paces that you cannot maintain. The thrill of your family there watching you, the energy from hundreds of other racers, the cowbells—they can all make you feel like superman or superwoman! That’s good—use it—but stay within yourself. Just because you are excited does not mean you’ll be able to ride 23 miles per hour (MPH) for a distance that you’ve never held more than 20 MPH for. Similarly, even though you just can’t stand losing to that guy or girl in your age group, if at a given time in the race they are pulling away from you and going at a pace that is not right for you, let them and your ego go. If you are fast enough to beat them, you will. You will catch them later because you will sustain your pace and they will fade later. The fastest way form the start line to the finish line is to go consistently at speeds/paces that you are well-trained to go at. Drastic fluctuations in intensity into intensities that are too hard for a race this long will come back to haunt you. |
| 2. DO race an evenly paced race from start to finish. Pacing in a triathlon is a bit tricky when compared to a singlediscipline race like a running race, so it takes a bit of experience to really get the hang of it. Think of the swim like the first fifth of a marathon. It’s no time to be racing like a hero. Would you ever race real fast/hard—faster/harder than you can sustain—in the first five miles of a marathon? No way. Because you know it would come back to bite you later in the race. The same thing can happen in a triathlon. Avoid thinking of it as three separate races. Your body (and your mind and heart), perceive a triathlon as one race and a long triathlon as one long race. In the transitions, you don’t get a chance to rest your muscles, take a mental snooze, or stop giving your all to start fresh on the next leg. Think of the bike like the bulk of the race and the run like the last fifth of a marathon. The last fifth of a marathon is when it hurts, when you have to dig deep to keep racing well. The run in a long triathlon is no different. Pace yourself well through the swim and the bike and you are in place to finish strong and have your best overall time. |
2. DON’T try to “win the swim” or “win the bike” at all costs. Everybody likes to win. It feels great to win! In this quest to be a winner, it’s easy for the strong swimmer to go like heck to be the first triathlete out of the water. Or for the strong cyclist to “really show them who can ride” on the bike. The problem with these approaches is that they often involve racing at speeds/paces that have you working at intensity levels that are much higher than you can sustain for the 3:45- to 17-hour race that you are racing. For a 3:30 marathoner (8:00/mile), this is like running a few miles early in the race or in the middle of the race at 6:30 pace. Ever seen this strategy work well in a marathon? It doesn’t work too well in a triathlon either. It’s often seen as the first triathlete out of the water gradually fading over the next several hours or as the cyclist who really falls apart on the run. Going too fast/hard at the beginning or in the middle of a long race dips into energy stores in a way that can really hurt you later on. It can also make it harder on your gastrointestinal system to digest your race-nutrition products well, furthering your problems. A triathlon is one race—race it that way. |
| 3. DO have a plan for race nutrition and stick to it. Start with a good breakfast 2-3 hours before your race. This should be a regular meal that you tolerate well or a meal of more easily digestible foods (foods with less protein, fat, and/or fiber) if you have a sensitive stomach. After breakfast, sip on sports drink until you get in the water to warm-up (about 20 ounces will do you good). During the ride and run, ingest a good sports drink at your known sweat rate (or at about 30 ounces—the average for a triathlete). This will be the foundation of your during-race fueling, providing you with a steady stream of water, sodium (and other electrolytes), and carbohydrates, |
3. DON’T take a haphazard approach to race nutrition. Dehydration, hyponatremia, bonking—not good! And all potential consequences of a haphazard approach to race nutrition in a long race. Long races present two major physiological challenges on your body—heavy sweating which brings significant water and sodium (and other electrolytes) losses and prolonged exercise far outlasting your glycogen stores (can last for about two hours of racing). Even a small amount of dehydration results in decreased work capacity. Hyponatremia (low blood sodium) is a serious condition which will stop you in your tracks and is very dangerous. Bonking just plain stinks all in an easily digestible form. Based on your preferences, add small amounts of additional carbohydraterich race-nutrition products like sports gels and bars at an amount/rate that works well for you. After the race, drink a recovery drink and eat a normal meal as soon as you feel comfortable doing so. Drink water all day after the race as you normally do every day. and can make even a well-trained athlete cry for his or her Mommy. To beat these plagues, follow the advice to the left, practice often in long workouts, and over time, refine a race-nutrition plan that works great for you. Then on race day, stick to it. |
| 4. DO take in plenty of easily digestible carbohydrates during the race. There’s two keys here: “plenty” and “easily digestible”. You’ll need 240-280 calories worth of carbohydrate per hour during the race, on the high side and maybe more on the bike, on the low side and maybe less on the run. The key is to provide enough carbohydrate to supplement your glycogen stores and keep you going for hours. The main source of energy in a long triathlon is stored fat. But in order to access this fat, you need to have enough carbohydrates present. Taking in carbohydrates in an amount around this 240-280 range will get you enough carbohydrates to keep you going and not too much to shut your stomach down. Liquid (sports drinks) or semiliquid (sports gels) are generally easier for your body to digest. Remember that carbohydrate is carbohydrate. The carbohydrates in sports drink and sports gel are great sources of energy, even though it can be hard to think of anything short of solids as having any energy in them. When it comes to a carbohydrate source for racing, simple is best. |
4. DON’T try to cram in any and all race-nutrition products and foods and take in as much as you possibly can. We call this the “Plutonium Method of Fueling”. The premise is that energy in equals energy out. “The more energy I put in the more energy I will get out,” many triathletes think. Sounds logical, but it does not work like that in your body. It’s like trying to put some plutonium in the gas tank of your Honda Civic! The car is not designed to be able to convert this fuel into mechanical energy to drive the engine and propel the car. And your body is not designed to ingest huge amounts of hard-to-digest carbohydrates when racing. When racing, your body diverts a large portion of its blood flow from your trunk to your working muscles, making it harder to digest food than when you are say, relaxing at the kitchen table. Respect this. Focus on taking in roughly 240-280 calories worth of carbohydrates per hour and focus on easily digestible carbohydrates that you tolerate well. Have a plan for race day and stick to it. |
| 5. DO keep your cool if something goes wrong. You’re cruising along, everything is going great, and you get a flat tire. Stay calm. You can get it changed and get back on the road in just a few minutes. In a race that is going to take you several hours, this few minutes is not a big deal. While it’s no fun, in a long race it rarely by itself will take you out of contention for the PR, age-group win, or qualifying spot that you are aiming for. Keep your wits about you, get through the problem, and move on. |
5. DON’T panic if things aren’t going your way. Besides a flat tire, you could run into some gastrointestinal issues, maybe a cramp, or simply some extrahard patches of racing. Don’t panic. In a long race, you will have a few ups and downs. It’s not the end of your day. Keep things in perspective, keep forward progress going even if slowed, work through the problem, and get through it calmly and positively. |
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