Denise (Iron Mom)- I've got a question for you

[Tri Girl]

Hey Denise,
Just wanted to give you a HUGE congrats on finishing IMAZ! I've been lurking here for many months, and wanted you to know how much I enjoyed following your IM adventure. You've inspired me to try an iron distance race this fall (not Ironman- but Redman in OK). You are sooooo amazing, and I loved being brought along on your journey (I couldn't wait to wake up and see how you did). Congrats again!

Anyway, my question is this: how did you pass the time on the bike for so long? I've run marathons before, and I can always find ways to pass the time, but on a bike I can't blank out (go brain-dead) like I can when I run. What are some tricks/tips that worked for you when riding for so long. My longest ride has only been 3 hours, and it was a stretch keeping my mind busy. I can't imagine doing that for an additional 4-5 hours. I use my headphones on my rides, but can't do that race day.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Running Mommy]

First of all welcome... There are a great group of girls here.
Now as far as passing the time... In training it was brutal. I trained on the same 10 mile loop... over and over, and over... But it built mental toughness. I just had to put it in my mind that I wasn't going to end my ride until my gps read xx amount of miles. SOmetimes I would change up directions, add side streets, etc. But the best thing is to not let your mind think to far forward. Make your mind stay right in the moment. Look around at your surroundings and take notice of the little things. If you are on a barren boring stretch of land that can be hard. In that case concentrate on your pedaling cadence, and your pedal stroke. I would say over and over "smooth ovals, up and over". When you are concentrating on form the miles just kind of happen. Do not let your mind wonder to where you need to go. It will mentally kill you.
As far as the race... Well that was easy. Being in the presence of all those other athletes just kept me going. Seeing all those strong cyclists, the volys at the aid stations. Just the excitement of the race carries you along. The only downside to that is you can push too hard early, or even worse forget to eat and drink. But if you are mindful of what you are doing at the moment and what you need to do, the miles just come and go.
Hope this helps. I also recommend the book Nanci turned me on to. Long distance cycling. It really put the nutrition componet in terms I could understand.
Well, congrats on your decision to join the Iron ranks. You really can do it. If *I* can, ANYONE can!! You just have to believe in yourself and be willing to do the work to get there. Talking to a guy who voly'd in the medical tent at IMAZ it seems alot of people took the distance for granted and really didn't train. They also didn't finish. It seems that doing an IM is in vogue right now, so alot of people are assuming it's easy. It is not. Does that mean you have to train for hours on end for a year? NO. I built my training up from last summer, but then slacked off over the holidays. It wasn't until Jan that I really started focused training. And even on my longest weeks I never went over 16 hours a week in training time. You just need to be consistant, do NOT slack on the long stuff, and know when to step back in order to avoid injury. Look back on my training logs. It really is doable.
Congrats, and keep us posted on your training. You can take over for me!
Denise

[bluedress]

Your advice is quite helpful...I was thinking about the same thing as I went around my 10 mile loop of pain this weekend...I found myself too much anticipating the next hill...don't blink...here it is...or is it somehow just one big hill up and up and up...? Mental toughness. Our legs will stand up to incredible challenges; it is usually our brains that defeat us. ~Marca

[Nanci]

I get pretty bored riding without my iPod (one ear only) (constant scanning of mirror) on long training rides (6-8 hours) (or even 1 hour!!) but I've found that events "feel" different- I'm more tuned in to what I'm doing, even if I'm by myself- I have plenty of thoughts about the upcoming hours to occupy me. Then, in a brevet, there are usually some other people to ride with in the later hours, and in a Century, definitely lots of people to ride with. In an iron-distance race, there will be tons of other riders to watch, and stuff written on the roads, and all the spectators. I don't think you'll be bored at all!

Nanci

[Lise]

Talking to a guy who voly'd in the medical tent at IMAZ it seems alot of people took the distance for granted and really didn't train. They also didn't finish. It seems that doing an IM is in vogue right now, so alot of people are assuming it's easy. It is not.

I'm shocked to hear that anyone would take that distance for granted. That anyone would propose to do such an event, pay over $400 for the priviledge (right?), and not train. Heck. They can save themselves all kinds of pain and suffering, and just write me, or Tracy, or Denise, or Nanci, or Melisa, or KSH, or Tri Girl a check for $400. We'll get some good gear, or a massage, or a bunch of cliff shots with embedded electrolyte tabs, and we'll train for the event! Can people do IM as a relay? That would make a lot more sense for people who don't want to train so much.

That said, you still have to train to swim 2.4 miles OR ride 112 miles OR run a marathon! Grrrr, you can tell this got under my skin.

Denise, you trained, you finished, you are Iron. L.

[Tri Girl]

Thank you for the helpful advice!!! I also train on a fairly boring 10 mile loop around a lake here (I don't like the roads for safety reasons- although I plan on pre-riding the course at least half a dozen times before race day). The biggest mental speed bump for me is the wind (Oklahoma)- most days it's sustained and steady at 10-30 mph. If I can mentally make going into a strong headwind easier, I don't think the distance will scare me as much. I guess it just makes me stronger (and a strong tailwind is always a good thing).

I think it's great advice to stay in the moment. I often think "I've got 10 or 20 miles left" and I know that'll kill me mentally on race day. I even tried counting to 100 by 3's, 4's, etc... to pass the time. It worked for a little while. I know race days are always better than the training days, but I guess for some reason I thought an IM would be less spectated and more barren (I suppose not). It's good to know all the volunteers and people will still be out there cheering me on.

Thank you all for all your tips! I'll keep them in mind this weekend on my 40 mile fun-fest.

You women are the greatest here- I'm so glad I'm no longer a lurker....

[Running Mommy]

Yeah Lise, there are those people. At the pre race banquet they had people stand up that had never done another tri before- of any distance. This was their very first race. I think at least 6-8 stood up. In my mind that's like entering the kentucky derby before you can even ride a horse.
I hate to say it, but I bet a good number of those folks never finished.

I really think that because Ironman is becoming mainstream, and alot of *regular* folks like me are doing it, people automatically asssume it must not be *that* hard... So they sign up, do minimal training, don't really pay attention to the other componets such as nutrition, and then they crash and burn on race day.
It's kinda like when I'm racing and I hear a guy say to his wife/gf "Don't let that fat chick beat you"... And then see her struggle to keep up with me. Yeah, I may be fat, but I put the miles in. And just because you are skinnier than your competition doesn't mean you are going to be fitter. If you didn't log the miles, you didn't log the miles. Thin does NOT equal fit. period.
So I really think that is alot of it. People see "thick" folks like me out there doing our thing and say to themselves "I'm thinner than them. So there is no reason why I can't if they can"... But then they don't log the miles.

Like marathon, IM is a distance that you simply cannot cheat in training. You either did the mileage or you didn't. And if you didn't you most likely will not hear Mike Reilly calling you home- except in your dreams.

Ok. Off my box now! Can you see this gets to me too!!

[KSH]

Yeah Lise, there are those people. At the pre race banquet they had people stand up that had never done another tri before- of any distance. This was their very first race. I think at least 6-8 stood up. In my mind that's like entering the kentucky derby before you can even ride a horse.
I hate to say it, but I bet a good number of those folks never finished.

Wow. That is truly shocking. NEVER done a tri before... and they go for an Ironman? What the hell are those people thinking?

It sounds like they paid the price though... for being so pompous and egotistical. Hopefully, they were humbled by the Ironman "gods".

It's kinda like when I'm racing and I hear a guy say to his wife/gf "Don't let that fat chick beat you"... And then see her struggle to keep up with me. Yeah, I may be fat, but I put the miles in. And just because you are skinnier than your competition doesn't mean you are going to be fitter. If you didn't log the miles, you didn't log the miles. Thin does NOT equal fit. period.

That is SO TRUE! When I first start racing, I would size up my "competition" based on their body types. MISTAKE! I can't tell you how many skinny people I passed and how many *overweight* people kicked my butt. I know better now.

[Tri Girl]

Not train for an IM? You might as well just grab a sock, some bars of soap, and start beating yourself to death and pocket the hundreds (thousands) of dollars you'd spend on equipment and race entry fees. How ridiculous. You must admit tho- if you actuallly finished one with no training you'd be a stud (but that's extremely unlikely). I saw quite a few hundred DNF's at IMAZ. Sad...

Have you read Slow Fat Triathlete by Jayne Williams? It's a hilarious book about a normal person, like me, who is an overweight triathlete in a world of "skinny mini" athletes. She is a humorous writer, and I loved all her tips and stories about her races. My favorite tip is to soak in a hot bath w/epsom salts after a tri. Mmmm... my muscles hardly get sore and it really relaxes me. Someone here mentioned a bath fizzy that is similar to that. What is the name of that? I may have to check it out.

Anyway, your stories of "thick" athletes made me think of her book. I'm a bit thick myself, and I may not be fast or skinny, but I can outlast about anyone. I've got endurance like the Energizer Bunny.
And, so true about athlete size. I like to think my rather ample hips and thighs are what get me up and down those hills and give me my power.

[Lifesgreat]

I recently read somewhere (I can't remember where) that triathlon is indeed "in vogue". It is something that is done just once so it can be checked off of the "to do before I die list" (Now, I am not dissing a list like that, I have one )

To me, triathlon is a lifestyle. Yes, I still have 25 lbs to go to get to my goal weight, but I feel better than I did when I was in my 30s. I can thank triathlon for that.

I hope that those who do tri for "the list" will get hooked and make it a lifestyle.

[Nanci]

I think the reason you see a few people in every IM that that's their first tri is they watch Kona on TV, and have a mental life-changing experience by it- so for them, it HAS TO be the IM. They aren't interested in triathlon as such, but by the IM and what it stands for, how it changes others, and they want to experience that life-change in themselves. I believe there are plenty of them that take it seriously and train. I think it's more the habitual triathletes who've been doing oly's and half IM's for a while, and been fine, just can't seem to squeeze in the extra training for the full distance- some of them are the under-trainers.

Nanci

[Nanci]

I think that when people try to increase their training from half to full, then they start getting injuries where maybe the hadn't had problems before, and that impacts the amount of training they can do.

Nanci

[Lise]

(having done neither, I don't know what I'm talking about, but that never stopped me before... )

It seems that the jump from 1/2 IM to IM is the biggest, most potentially disasterous shift in training and racing. Don't get me wrong. Sprint to Oly is big, I expect Oly to 1/2 IM will be enormous to me. But I respect that. Anyway, OK, they tried an IM, didn't train for it, or found out that you can't buy training in the form of equipment, and they had a lousy day. I wonder if triathlon will continue to be in vogue, or if it's a thing of this decade...will be interesting to watch.

I watched Kona for the first time last fall. Blew me away. I cried, laughed, cried. I didn't, for one moment, think, "Hey, I could do that!" When I saw my first Oly distance in '02, I saw people of all shapes and ages doing it, and I thought "I wonder if I could do that?" It was a tiny small voice, barely heard and quickly hidden, but it was insistent. And now, here I am. The power of a life changing event. I wish that people who are drawn to triathlon could spend two years doing sprints and Olys, and if they love it, and want to get an IM under their belt, then go for it! What joy.

PS, Denise, your mention of Pringles in the T2 has me craving them. Haven't given in yet. But I'm still thinking of them! L.

[Lise]

Have you read Slow Fat Triathlete by Jayne Williams? It's a hilarious book about a normal person, like me, who is an overweight triathlete in a world of "skinny mini" athletes.

I love Jayne! Her book has helped me a lot. We emailed several times last year. She and Susan from TE helped me feel better about not being skinny, yet wanting to be a triathlete.

Jayne just did her 1st marathon last month. The race report was up on her website.

[Running Mommy]

Yeah Lise, Pringles make a great salt replacer! They have single serve packs now - little plastic tubs- that fit great in a Bento box. PLus when your riding they kind of melt in your mouth, which is a nice thing. I hate chewing and riding at the same time.
You know lastnight I was thinking back to when I remember seeing Kona on tv for the first time. I think it was around 1994. I was walking on the treadmill at the time, and I remember thinking how cool it was that people could do something like that. I also remember thinking there was no way in hell I could EVER do anything remotely like that. It seemed so hard, so out of reach.
I started crying.... Because I did it. It may not have been Kona- but it was hot enough! ...
I've been through ALOT over the years- cancer, major weight gain, etc. And I don't really think about it most of the time. But lastnight it hit me that what I did was kind of amazing. Esp. considering that growing up I was never encouraged to be active. And as a teenager I became a party girl and was addicted to drugs for a few years.
If you knew me growing up you'd probably be shocked that I did an Ironman. It just was not who I was. But I guess people change. Because now it *is* who I am. I'm already planning #2, and looking at ways to improve. I went to the doctor yesterday and she is referring me to a dietician. So hopefully I can get my weight down. I do know one thing. I am totally turned off by sugar since the race. And for a sugar hound like me who's trying to kick the habit- that's good! Maybe if I don't eat it long enough I'll lose the cravings. I can only hope!!
I guess it's not such a bad thing that triathlon is in vogue. It brings more exposure to our sport. I just want people to realize that IM is something to be respected.