In this second part of how to prepare for your first Ironman I focus on some of the mental tools to bring to bear to make the experience less stressful and more likely to be an enjoyable and successful endeavor.

Whether you just want to finish or your goal is to make it to the World Championships, an Ironman is a big undertaking and requires a lot of thought. This post goes over many of the considerations that need to be pondered on before signing on the dotted line for your first attempt at 140.6

Of the three sports, swimming is the hardest to learn, get proficient at and see gains in from training. It is the last of these that makes all of the effort required for swim training at times seem less than an efficient use of time and many athletes will find themselves questioning if they should really be swimming when instead they could be biking or running.

Recognizing that marginal gains are real and that they can be prohibitively expensive leads to an important consideration; are they worth it? That is a difficult question to answer.

Training your nutrition is just as important as everything else you train. Practice with different kinds of nutrition so that you know exactly what works and then you won’t be surprised on race day.