Ironman 70.3 - So Much to Learn

How does an infielder become a triathlete?

So long are my days of fielding ground balls and swinging at fastballs. Though I grew up casually cruising mountain bikes in California, my time jumping apartments and cities throughout college prevented me from leveling up in endurance efforts.

During grad school, a friend recommended I try my hand at Georgia Tech’s Navy Seal Fitness Challenge - one tribulation of which was to complete a 500-yard swim in fewer than 10 minutes. I lowered myself down the ladder, into the pool. In the summer that followed, a group of fellow associates invited me to run down the West Side Highway from the Flatiron office to the World Trade Center, and back. Seeing that running was more than a punishment for losing games by over five runs, I (over)ambitiously embarked on a do-it-yourself marathon two months after.

I was content. I felt good with my level of activity. But I will never forget the shock I experienced when catching wind of my high school classmate competing in Ironman California. I tracked every split while architecting machine learning models for a group project in a Georgia Tech research building. He finished the course, a major accomplishment - and he did so faster than every competitor in his age group. He kindly offered his time to meet and address my curiosity - but he only expanded it. I thought: maybe, possibly, perhaps a 70.3 was in sight.

I was missing one piece - the bike. With the completion of my Master’s degree in sight, I planned my move to Chicago with its lakefront trail in mind. I found the final piece to the puzzle, and I registered for Ironman 70.3 Wisconsin.

Once getting situated, my training dedication increased, and my learning soared. Here’s a brain dump of takeaways spanning the complete timeline of my Ironman 70.3 experience.

Before Race Week: Research, Training, & Everyday Life

• One week doesn’t change anything

  • Enjoy a vacation. You practically won’t fall off track. At the same time, a week of AWOL training won’t get you too far.

• Open water will induce panic

  • Build comfort by looking down through endless green. Even now, swallowing less water remains a goal.

• Don’t kick so hard

  • Over an endurance distance, invest in breathing comfort and lowering lactic acid buildup. Focus on an immaculate catch, pull, and stroke recovery.

• Respect the 10% rule

  • Don’t increase weekly efforts too quickly, or you’ll be forced to pull back even quicker.

• Peeing mid-swim/bike is a skill

  • Still a work in progress.

• Don’t neglect legs

  • Your IT band will thank you. Single leg everything, if possible.

• Practice peeling off your wetsuit

  • You need to take it off after training swims, anyway.

• Practice a chaos swim

  • During a race, swimming is a contact sport. It may be best to know the feeling of a foot to the goggles before the big day.

• Go nuts

  • Train like an animal if you feel like it.

• Race fees are expensive

  • Better to accept this fact sooner rather than later. Yes, fees largely cover insurance and logistics, but non-Ironman-branded races will be lighter on the wallet.

• Learn how Strava works

  • More than Instagram for athletes who want to level up their coworkers - a training tool to track fitness, plan routes, compete on segment leaderboards, integrate metrics with wearable devices, build training plans… the list goes on!

• Register

  • Only then does the finish line become real. Indulge in the “what did I just sign up for?” feeling and double down on your grind.

• Learn the Physics

  • Buoyancy, hydrodynamics, and aerodynamics will take you just as far as fitness itself!

• Learn the anatomy (legs)

  • The body is smart, but it isn’t simple. Learn to stay healthy, improve oxygen utilization, and build endurance throughout your musculoskeletal system.

• Avoid an infinite training cycle

  • Define a training season and offseason. Don’t lose purpose because there is no end (checkpoint, really) in sight.

• Figure out an indoor setup

  • The sun doesn’t always shine. Chicagoans know what I’m talking about.

• Find a flow from workouts to work, and vice versa

  • Building a training schedule that integrates with work and life is a balancing act in itself. Find the best bang-for-buck within your own time.

• Scout the course

  • Know what it means for hills to be “rolling”. Build familiarity and gain a home-field advantage. Better yet, bring some friends and share the experience!

• If you don’t know what a saddle sore is, you will

  • Pick up some zinc oxide.

• Caffeine is a PED

  • And probably the most researched stimulant. It’s hard to go back.

• Swimming heals all

  • Not just a skill to improve, but a form of physical therapy and meditation in itself.

• Apple Watch can’t hang

  • The “Series” models may die before you finish a marathon. The Ultra may die before you finish a century ride. If any triathlon longer than a 70.3 is in mind, go Garmin.

• Real men wear speedos

  • The talk of the town: jammers are for twelve-year-olds.

Race Week: Gearing Up for the Big Day

• Amazon Prime is your best friend

  • In the week leading up to your race, you will acquire so many products and gadgets out of panic. Dominate the race and return what didn’t work!

• Charge your groupset batteries

  • Don’t ride a fixie into the finish line. SRAM cultists know that the front and rear derailer batteries are interchangeable (swap if the rear dies)… Shimano falls short in this category!

• Body glide everything

  • Staying slippery will prevent swimmers from pulling you back, ease wetsuit peeling, putting on socks, and eliminating chaffing. Cover every square inch of skin, if you’re dedicated.

• There will be dummies

  • Too many of the “of course I can swim” type who proceed to trot a half marathon, untrained. Don’t get me started on competitors wearing finisher gear before the gun.

• The timing chip goes on the left

  • Otherwise, you’ll drop your chain!

• Wear identifiable gear

  • Don’t tell friends and family to look for the black wetsuit or white road bike.

• Pack transition with options in mind

  • Allow for mid-transition flexibility. Lay out socks of all lengths, sleeves for all appendages, gloves, a gilet, and even a waterproof shell.

• Know which gear you’re good to toss

  • Be prepared to toss bottles if additional hydration is needed, or any clothing if it isn’t serving you well.

• Goggles under the cap

  • Don’t lose your goggles due to contact with another swimmer. Are you prepared to finish the swim with your bare eyes?

• Choose to start on the inside

  • Where you line up is free - may as well start on track to shave yards before everyone else.

• Swim turns are highly contested

  • Determine how hard you want to battle for shaving a few yards, and at what cost.

• Transition 1 sucks

  • Generally where heart rate peaks during a triathlon. A full sprint, still wet and disoriented from the swim, into a clean bike mount? Thank goodness you only do it once.

• Don’t worry about the bike drafting rule

  • Cyclists become spread out after T1. Drafting truly requires the intention to draft, and risk a penalty. Focus on simply gaining ground.

• Bottle handoffs are harder than they look

  • Going 20mph, bottles will bounce off your palm and leave you off balance. Call it a skill issue, but slowing down may be worth a more secure transfer.

• Overcommunicate

  • Always give a firm “on your left” to avoid confusion of any degree. If they don’t like it, they can try being faster.

• Passing others is such a joy

  • Especially if they sport an Ironman calf tattoo or ride a $14k TT bike.

• Become a Chatty Kathy

  • Being on the course for hours, get to know other athletes just as crazy as you are. Conversation will also keep you in Zone 2 and prevent you from starting the bike/run too hot!

• Be nutrition flexible

  • Bottles and gels fall. Be prepared to feast on gels and electrolyte drinks, if necessary.

• Gels are barely caloric

  • A typical gel only contains 100 calories, which you will burn each mile you run. As a warning, the caffeine does add up quickly.

• The course isn’t 70.3 miles

  • A combination of inaccurate segment lengths, unintuitive transition points, and your affinity for corner cutting.

• Show up to slot allocation

  • Qualifications are highly forgiving of finishing place and may catch you by surprise!

• Ask someone else to drive home

  • Either you raced so hard that walking becomes a challenge, or you partied so hard that you need a DD. Go for both.

After Race Week: All Done, What’s Next?

• Who needs a Tattoo?

  • Is it necessary for you to internalize your self-worth? If you didn’t finish a full, don’t consider it, either.

• Finisherpix is not worth it

  • The photos that draw smiles (and Instagram likes) are with friends and family after your big accomplishment.

• Everyone will ask you what’s next

  • And saying “I don’t know” is arguably the most appropriate and respectable response.

• Hold your horses on a new bike

  • How much higher could you have placed if you saved a few dozen watts? Just as high as if you dedicated time to strength training and Zwift in the offseason for $20 per month. But I understand the temptation. Believe me.

• Now’s a great opportunity to cool down

  • Settle back into a “normal” lifestyle, you earned it! Go enjoy every season of that new Netflix show. Sleep in until noon on Saturdays.

• Now’s a great opportunity to heat up

  • Alternatively, you’ve come so far - why slow down? Treat the moment as a checkpoint for an even greater goal. Don’t waste time by telling yourself you’ll rise back to your current level of fitness “one day”.

• Cut your bracelet off, but the bike stem sticker can stay

  • Enjoy your aura, but ground back to reality by Monday. Still, I’m a fan of the tradition of seeing your race number on your bike - until it gets replaced in the next race.