How to Do Your First Ironman — Part Two

I’ve completed ten Ironman distance races now (DNF’d at one, as well) and while I’m not a professional, I consider myself an experienced amateur and therefore perhaps even better situated to help talk through how to do your first Ironman than professionals who may be in better shape than most first-time amateurs. This is a series of three essays. I talked in the first essay about gear that you may need to buy for your first Ironman. This essay is about how to prepare to do your first Ironman in training. Here are some areas you should think about while in training for this incredible goal.

1. Weekends

2. Five-month plan

3. Eating

4. Swimming

5. Preparing family members

6. Slow pace

7. Managing expectations

8. Cheer squad

9. Budgeting

10. Tapering

First, weekends are going to be when you probably do most of your training. Weekends are not going to feel like weekends anymore. You are going to be your most tired on the weekend and you’re going to need to prepare for this. You may need to get laundry and other chores done during the week. Make sure you have nutritious, easy to prepare food (possibly frozen) to eat after long workouts when you’re too…