Scotty Farrell's KEY TAKEWAYS - ironman HAWAII

I had the pleasure of heading to Kona for a whirlwind trip over the weekend just gone. As you would have seen it was a cracking weekend for everyone over there. The T:Zero athletes all had a great days racing around the lava fields and racing in the extreme elements, and I got to be there and soak up the atmosphere from pre race, right through to midnight at the finish line. Here’s some things that came into my mind as I was present across the day and weekend. Not all tips are entirely pertinent to Kona, maybe more so racing Ironman events in general, but they come to the forefront of my mind after the weekend that was… so we’ll run with it.
Control the controllables:
What are ‘the controllables’? Things within your realm of control :-)

• Nutrition - for an Ironman race, having a nutrition plan is so key. Your coach will no doubt prompt this and guide you in the right direction, but whether you work with a sports dietition/nutritionist or put things together for yourself, having a well practiced plan is vital to race day, and race week success. Where and what you eat during the lead up can also play a huge role. This is another thing you can control, by eating foods that you know are good for you and your performance. Eating out and eating foods you don’t normally eat are risky on race week. Control your food.
• Gear maintenance - ensure (triple check) everything you are using on race day is in optimal condition. Goggles, shoes and laces, race suits, bike shoes and cleats, bike (all the nuts and bolts + tyres) etc. Aside from punctures and unforeseen mechanicals, making sure everything you are using for the race is in good condition, is something you have control over, so control it. You want to race with rusty nuts and bolts or old cycling shoes, be my guest, but it will only be a matter of time before you’re riding one legged because your cleat broke off. Bolts, tyres, chains etc are all small things that matter, and to a certain extent are within your control. 
• Pacing - yep, all in your control. Go into your Ironman with some sort of plan on how to pace it. Our athletes nailed this in Kona, but I saw so many athletes (mainly pros) suffering in their jocks on that marathon because they cooked the bike early. This one is huge in the hot races, and magnified again in Kona (because Kona). When racing in the heat, you just have to go in knowing you need to be giving away some speed/pace to the conditions. And especially early on in each leg. What I say to my crew...when pacing for an Ironman, and especially in the heat, be constantly thinking about setting things up for the final 10-15k of that marathon. How you swim and ride early on in the day has a huge role in how you run out the end of the day. 
• Mental game - how you react and adapt to the obstacles during race week and on race day can help a great deal. Strategies like positive self talk, and being grateful for being there might sound a bit cliche, but there is plenty of evidence to support this being great for performance. We choose to do this sport, and how much you suffer during the roller coaster of Ironman racing depends entirely on how you approach it. Not many get to experience a perfect day or preperation, so learning to deal with obstacles as they arise and applying a positive growth mindset, can lend strongly to a good performance and ultimately, a great experience.
• Get organised and be ready to cruise into the race - stress comes in more ways than one. And during race race week, we don’t need to making a thousand decisions that should/could be made and organised earlier in the prep. From accommodation, transport, food, race planning etc. The less you have to stress and make decisions about during race week the better. If you roll into race-week and you’re running around stressing about your nutrition, what to wear on race day, or anything really, then you’re tapping into energy reserves that could better be spent on the race course. By the time you get to race week, there should be no real need for your coach, the work should be done… mentally, and physically. Race week is for chilling and enjoying everything there is about the Ironman experience. Pre-race nerves are only natural, we’d be worried if you weren’t a little excited/nervous, but worrying about things that you can’t control or should have under control already... that’s not the best way to enjoy it.

The flip side of controlling the controllables is not worrying about the things you can’t control… we have no power over what mother nature is going to do, whether or not there will be a random piece of glass on the road causing a puncture, or what other athletes are doing. So… just don’t. Control you and your space and leave the worrying and comparing out of it. 

Heat acclimation - coach Heidi wrote a splendid (said with posh English accent...would you like some tea darling? Oh yes, splendid thank you) article a few weeks back outlining some unreal strategies and the benefits for racing in hot weather. With summer on the horizon, do some heat acclimation work. This is another thing you can control and at least try… it’s only going to help. Crazy not to I think.

Wear light clothing and think about keeping cool - the amount of people I saw wearing full black kits and dark colours was astounding. I know we’re talking about minutia here, but wouldn’t wearing black or dark colours attract more sun? Perhaps lighter colours, even if only for the benefits of placebo, work, then why not go lighter in colour, especially above the waist. 

We love to work with growth mindset athletes - no matter what your experience, no matter your ability, we genuinely believe you can qualify for this great race.  We know it because we help make this happen every year!  If you would like to qualify for Kona, we would love to hear from you! Click here to start the conversation - no obligations!