How to make the step up to racing full-distance triathlons

Making the jump up from racing IRONMAN 70.3® to a full IRONMAN® can be a daunting experience, even for seasoned triathletes. Whether you’re trying to get to the finish line or have your sights set on the podium, there are a number of factors to consider when preparing for the longer distance. 

With that in mind, here are five tips from my own experience of making the step up to a full IRONMAN® that can help you race 140.6 miles successfully...  

1. Your weekday workouts don’t have to be longer 

Sure, if you have plenty of time, extending the duration of the mid-week sessions can be great. But you can still be successful without doing 20+ hours of training every week. Your long workouts will certainly need to get longer as you get into your race-specific prep phase. But don’t feel like you have to sacrifice your sleep, jeopardise your job, or risk your family forgetting what you look like just because you decided to race an IRONMAN®! 

Don’t be afraid to keep intensity in your sessions. It’s hard for a guitar to sound good if you only tune two strings. It's just as hard for an athlete to perform at their peak if you're only training in two zones!

What I do: Regardless of the race distance I’m preparing for, my preferred build would be to start with a few four-week blocks of specific zone development before doing an 8-12 week race specific phase (see point 5). 

The zone-specific work phases don’t change much at all. In the race-specific phase, I’ll still spend time in each zone to make sure I maintain the work accomplished in the early phases, but obviously shift the focus to preparing specifically for the target race. 

2. Train your gut! 

You’ll need more carbs on race day… a lot more! This is especially true on the run. The key to success in an IRONMAN® is preventing carbohydrate bankruptcy. 

You need to train your gut to be able to tolerate your carb intake on race day, and you do this by practicing your race day nutrition strategy in training… over and over again. 

I’ve always been baffled by people who spend $10k+ on a bike and train in carbon shoes, but fuel their workouts on jelly beans and PopTarts to save money. 

Fancy bikes and running shoes are great, but very few things will slow you down more on race day than mucking up your nutrition plan. Also remember that there are different ways to get your carbs in. 

Are you dreading having another gel? Maybe try a chew in the middle of your ride (the PF 30 Mint & Lemon is fantastic!). Maybe you can add more drink mix into your bottles and get away with fewer gels? Do you like having the electrolytes in your bottles? Do you prefer Electrolyte Capsules? We have so many options available to us now, so don’t force a plan that isn’t perfect for you. Experiment with the options you have available and really work to dial in your plan… then practice, adjust, practice, adjust, then practice again!

What I do: Personally, I target 125g of carbs per hour on the bike, regardless of whether it’s a full or a 70.3® distance race. I want to get off the bike with as little of a deficit as possible and I’ve never had an issue pushing that number while riding. 

The run is a different story.

In an IRONMAN®, my heart rate is typically 165 beats per minute for the bulk of the time. In a 70.3, I’ll average 175bpm+ if I’m running well. The higher intensity makes it hard for me to handle as much in terms of carb without GI issues. 

During a full, I’ll take a PF 30 Gel every 5km, and drink cola from the aid stations. I’ll also carry a flask of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix that I don’t bring along for a half. 

In a 70.3, I take a PF 30 Gel at the 10k mark, and drink the cola at the aid stations. I’ll also carry an additional emergency PF 30 Gel if I end up needing it for the last few miles. 

3. Use longer training sessions to dial in your race day nutrition 

View your long training sessions as opportunities to dial in your race day nutrition. Weigh yourself before and after each session to get a handle on your sweat rate and fluid requirements, and record your fuel intake, along with some notes about how your gut and energy levels felt during the session in your training log. 

Experiment and push the boundaries of what you’ve been doing in the past and be willing to have a session ‘go south’ because you're experimenting. It’s much better to have GI issues on a training day than on race day! 

Remember that your race day nutrition starts with your pre-race breakfast, so practice this as well. Also, plan how you’ll carry everything you want to take with you on the bike and run. How can you adjust the concentration in your bottles so you can get all you need? Where are your gels going to go? How can you use what’s available in the aid stations to help you? 

What I do: My own race morning fueling strategy is pretty much the same for either distance as I’m aiming to maximise my stored carbs without causing GI issues during the swim. 

So, I sip on a PH 1500 all morning to start hydrated, and I have a PF 30 Gel roughly 20 minutes before the start. 

For the 70.3® bike leg, I’m completely self-sufficient, unless it’s a really hot day. I’ll carry three bottles of Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and four PF 30 Gels in the storage box that’s built into the frame.

On the run, I’ll carry two PF 30 Gels in the loops of my race belt.

For the full distance, I have three highly concentrated ‘sludge’ bottles on the frame and a fourth Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix in the reservoir, along with five PF 30 Gels. I’ll drink the reservoir bottle then mix half a ‘sludge’ bottle with water from aid stations. 

On the run, I’ll carry two PF 30 Gels in my back pocket and have four more in special needs. 

4. Caffeine is a tool, not a crutch 

Typically, I take more caffeine on a per hour basis in a 70.3® race than an IRONMAN®. The research is clear that caffeine has numerous performance benefits. But, the amount needed to see these benefits is highly individual, as is the tolerance for caffeine. Many people see benefits with as little as a 25mg dose, while others need quite a bit more. 

For some of us, if we lean on it too much too early in the race, it can cause issues in the last half of the run. Most people need to be a little more careful with their caffeine intake in a full distance race than they would a 70.3®, especially if race day is going to be hot. 

What I do: I err on the side of the ‘minimum effective dose’ for the first six hours of an IRONMAN®, but will be a little more aggressive in a 70.3. 

So, on race morning, I have no caffeine for a full (yes, not even morning coffee!). For a 70.3, I’ll have roughly 50mg (half a PF 30 Caffeine Gel). 

On the bike, I mix PF 30 Caffeine Gels in my bottles to target around 50mg per hour for a full, and 100mg per hour during a 70.3. 

On the run, I get most of the caffeine I want from the cola at the aid stations. I’ll bring a PF 30 Caffeine Gel and a PF 30 Gel with me for a 70.3, and then make a ‘game time’ decision on which one I take at the halfway point. 

For a full, I’ll typically avoid a 100mg caffeine hit all at once until the final 15km of the run if possible. The theory behind this is that while caffeine has numerous performance benefits, it also can increase your heart rate and elevate your core temperature during exercise. So as the event gets longer, I need to factor in HR management and thermoregulation to a greater extent than I would have to in a shorter event. 

So, if you plan on using caffeine on race day, again… practice, adjust, and practice some more!

5. Prepare for the demands of the course

Are you expecting a flat race where you can apply the power on the pedals smoothly all day? Or will there be a bunch of climbs where you’ll want to push the power then recover on the descents? Is the race going to be hot or cold? Humid or dry? You want to do your best to train the body to handle those demands. And, of course, you’re going to want to adjust your fueling plan according to the environmental conditions and the demands of the course. 

The safest way to approach an IRONMAN® bike and run is to aim to pace both as evenly as possible. Dial into your target power or HR on the bike and your desired pace or HR on the run.

What I do: The fastest way to approach a course is not to just stick to your target power the entire time, especially on the bike. Tactical riding can save you a lot of time (for example, riding a bit harder into the wind/uphill sections and backing off a little when you are at high speeds).

If you’re going to take this approach, you may need to adjust your fueling timing to make sure you’re matching the efforts. You want to have a fueling and pacing strategy specific to the course, not just a set plan for the distance - each race is going to present different challenges so you want to prepare for those in your training!

There are a ton of things that can go wrong on race day. As the race extends longer and longer, the list of roadblocks tends to climb. This is why you want to be more mindful about ticking all the boxes in your training so you can be as prepared as possible for race day. 

There’s never a guarantee that everything will go well on race day… but that’s what makes it SO MUCH more rewarding when you go out and execute a great IRONMAN®. Good luck!

Further reading

• How much carbohydrate do you need per hour?
• IRONMAN® vs IRONMAN 70.3®: Comparing race nutrition strategies