Lessons to be Learned from Ironman Kansas 70.3

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Instead of a video this week, I thought I’d share some photos and insights from last weekend’s Ironman Kansas 70.3. This isn’t my race report (which I’ll link to later) but just some interesting things I noticed over the weekend.

First, as you probably know, Ironman is a huge brand! The ironman.com store was there, fully stocked with IM Kansas 70.3 articles of clothing – jerseys, shirts, hats, visors, you name it! I got a sticker for $1.49+tax. Skipped the cheap plastic pens they were selling for $2.99!! I would think they should give those away!
And just in case your dog has m-dot fever worse than you do…dog bowls and leashes.

The pros were also out at the expo. Here Linsey Corbin was cheerfully greeting athletes and signing posters of her at the Zipp wheels tent. Yeah, I got a poster signed. She noticed my Hammer Nutrition shorts and commented they were from Montana. If you don’t know Linsey, she finishes her races in a cowboy hat and is quite proud of her home state of Montana. (She rocked a 3rd place finish.)

OK, so this next picture we can learn a lot from. As a coach, I want my athletes to be prepared.  When you’re out on a half-ironman bike course – that’s 56 miles and the average time is somewhere around 3 hours, some slower athletes can take up to 4 hours. Always make sure you have enough fuel/nutrition. And if you remember in my Training Tips video on how to fuel on the bike, I mentioned taping gels to your top tube for easy access. This athlete apparently didn’t want to take any chances on running out of fuel…

Note: If he were out there for 4 hours, he would need to consume a gel about every 15 minutes!

The owner of the bike below also wanted to be prepared in case someone got in their way. The generally accepted term is “on your left.” But I suppose a horn would get the point across as well. 
Another important lesson at these big events is to stay off your feet as much as possible. With the half-mile walk from parking to the expo, then another half-mile to rack my bike at T1, I was on my feet more than I wanted, especially with temps in the 90s. When the race director’s wife showed up in the golf cart, I took advantage of an empty seat.
These athletes in front of us weren’t so lucky!
My final comment regarding nutrition/hydration is to stick with what you are used to. Nothing new on race day. A guy was drinking a diet Dr. Pepper in line to the port-o-potties. Not my  pre-race drink, but it might be his coffee. Speaking as a coach, however, I don’t recommend the Coors Light. Come on…at least have a Fat Tire!!!

(I probably should add this disclaimer: I do not recommend, not at all, the consumption of alcoholic beverages prior to an endurance event.) 

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3 comments

  1. Coors light? Haha! Steamboat Marathon had an aid station with a sign saying "ICE, COLD, BEER". When I asked where the beer was, they opened up the cooler and there was a nice assortment of brew on ice. Nice!

  2. These pictures ALMOST make it all look very fun and enjoyable. If I end up doing more of these things, I blame only you.

  3. Khem – I hope you saved the chilled one for after the race! 🙂

    Sunny – no worries, I will gladly accept the blame!

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