The Four Keys of Ironman Execution

Here is our no-nonsense, Endurance Nation look at long-course racing. While the essay below is intended for athletes racing iron-distance events, the lessons are applicable to the half-iron distance as well.

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All you've done for nine months is build a vehicle. Ironman racing is about how you drive that vehicle. The majority of athletes on race day are fitness-focused (look at my T-shirt, look at my abs, look at how fast I can go in the first hour of the bike). As coaches, we can make you stronger, but we can't fix "stupid" if you decide to dump your race plan.

Nothing on race day really matters until you reach "The Line" on the run. The Line is the point at which continuing becomes very, very difficult. You define success as simply not slowing down at the line. Everything before the line is simply about creating conditions for success for when you hit it. Here are a few additional thoughts we'd like to put in your head:

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A successful race = a good run. There is no such thing as a good bike followed by bad run. In our world, if you showed up with solid run fitness, had a "good" bike and a poor run, we will always assume you messed up your bike pacing—unless you are missing a limb or in the ICU with an intestinal parasite.

•	If you think you can ride faster than we're telling you to...prove it by running well off the bike.

•	Ride your "should" bike split versus your "could" bike split. Your "could" split is what you tell friends you could ride on a good day. If you say you "could" ride a 5:50, your "should" split is likely 6:00 and is defined as the bike split that yields a good run (see above).

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Be an Engine, not a Caboose. If you find yourself doing the opposite of everyone else, chances are you're doing the right thing. If everyone else is standing up, hammering that hill in the first 10 miles of the bike, don't join in! Just sit down and do what we're telling you. Are lots of people passing you in the first 40 miles? That's good! Going backwards through the field on a hill? That's good too!

•	Think you made the mistake of riding too easy? You now have 26 miles to fix that mistake. Made the mistake of riding too hard? That mistake now has 26 miles to manifest itself. How's that bike split going to look as you are walking/shuffling the last 10 miles of the run?

•	Every time you feel yourself about to get stupid, look at where you are. Are you at the line? No? Then sit down, stop the stupid voices in your head, and do as you've prepared to do. Please don't mess this up.

Unity of purpose creates clarity of focus and yielding breakthrough performance!

All day long you are going to race inside a box defined by what you can control. Ask yourself, "What do I need to do right now to create the conditions for success at the line? Is what I'm doing right now counter to this goal?" From what we've seen first hand on IM courses across the globe as athletes, spectators, coaches and race officials, we believe you should ask yourself, "Am I participating in some short-term tactical masturbation?" If yes, stop!

On the swim, the box is the space your body occupies in the water. Focus on your form and the rest will come. On the bike, the box is probably about one aid station long. On the run, the box begins as 2-3 aid stations long but often diminishes to "from here to the next lamp post/manhole cover/mail box."

Food for thought...

•	Keep the box as big as you can for as long as you can.

•	Keep in the box only the things you can control—let go of the rest

•	Exercise a clear decision-making process inside your box, using OODA: OBSERVE the situation, ORIENT yourself to a possible course of action, DECIDE on a course of action, Act.

If you believe what we're telling you here, then you will show up at the line, in your box, ready to git-r-dun. But we're not done yet. There are still some psychological things you need to address.

During the course of your race day, expect your body to have this conversation with your mind, "Look, Mind, you've had me out here slogging away for 132 miles. This is really starting to get old and very painful. You need to give me a good reason to keep going forward. If you can't give me a good one, I'm gonna slow down and you can't stop me!" Before the race, you need to ask yourself, "Why am I doing Ironman?" In other words, you need to pinpoint that One Thing that put you in this race. Was it to finish in the daylight with a smile on your face? Run a 4:10? Whatever it is, be absolutely clear and rehearse your mind/body debate beforehand. But be warned: your body can be a helluva good negotiator at mile 18, especially if your mind hasn't prepared its rebuttal arguments beforehand.

Ultimately, if you have your head on straight about the four keys outlined above, the rest of the day is relatively simple. However, we know you're a Type A triathlete and you want details, so here they are:

•	The Swim. Swim only as fast as your ability to maintain form. When you feel your form go, slow down. Counting strokes is an excellent technique for bringing your mind out of the race and into the box of maintaining your form.

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The Bike. Just ride along (JRA) for about 45-60 minutes. Then shift from JRA to easy ("should" split) for lap one; as you continue into lap two (and only if you feel great) you can shift into steady pacing ("could" split). Gauge how well you're doing by how well you're not doing what everyone else is doing. Got it? Remember: You only need your "B" game to excel here!

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The Run. Jog for 4-6 miles with a do-no-harm pace and heart rate cap. Jogging is defined as a pace you could sustain for hours if we kept feeding you. After 4-6 miles, shift from jogging to running comfortably—getting what you need and preparing yourself for the line (where things become very uncomfortable). At the line, typically mile 18, just suck it up and get to the finishline.

That's it—that's as complicated as racing Ironman needs to be and we can't say it any more simply. We've basically given you a Vegas betting strategy, having managed and observed many rolls of the dice. If you do what we have outlined, you will have a good day. The more you stray, the more you rattle the dice.