THERE!! You said it out loud. You’ve cut your teeth doing smaller distances and now you have made the decision to do a full IRONMAN and now what???? Soak that in. You are going to swim 2.4 miles, ride 112 miles and THEN GET OFF THE BIKE AND RUN 26.2 miles!! You are all in and yet…… so many questions!! I’m sharing this to let you know what to expect as you lead up to this momentous event, because I assure you – it is MOMENTOUS!! And, once you have pushed yourself to your physical and mental limits, and crossed that finish line, you will likely come back for more!
In my opinion, there are three crucial steps that you should take before committing to the full Ironman distance:
Make the decision (obvious 🙂)
Hire a coach, follow a program and build trust
Get the right equipment for you
Let’s Start from the Beginning
Let’s be clear. You.are.an.athlete.
Triathlon is an inclusive sport and I’ve met the most amazing people in my time as a triathlete. If you are out there doing it, never doubt that you are an athlete. By now, you have built some basic skills with swimming, biking and running. In those three disciplines, narrow down what needs assistance and be ready to focus on those (aka, limiting skills).