How to complete an IronMan

How to complete an IronMan?

An IronMan is one of the hardest competitions. Be one of them it's really hard. It is necessary to complete a long distance triathlon: 3.8 km swim, 180km bike and 42.2 run in a time less than 15 hours.

I want to give you some advices which you can use it for every triathlon competition:

1. The training has to be progressive. It's not good to train really hard the first week and then get leisured for two months. It's important to know yourself step by step.

2. Never do your best in a train. You need energy for the next day.

3. If some part of your body hurts, stop it. This is the most common problem.

4. Almost never train running and cycling the same day.

5. Swimming fits with all the sports. You can swim and run or swim and cycle. It is really difficult to get injured swimming.

6. Take care with long running distances. Don't do too much. It is an attack against your knees.

7. Take the costume of cycling every weekend is necessary. Always enjoy it, if you don’t, it could be awful.

8. Eat a lot of carbohydrates. It is the best way to recover energy.

9. Going out at nights... Personally I think is good to enjoy some days with the friends. To go out helps to keep going. However, tabacco, lots of alcohol, weed... you are out.

 

With these steps you can achieve every kind of triathlon.

 

 

Salud and miles.

Boxing Training

 

Boxing trainning

 

 

 

Watch closely your oponent, always at his eyes.

Learn what he knows, analazy how he reacts.

When you know how is he, then you can start fighting.

Calm, head and courgae is the three words that you need.

Falling and getting up is the only way to beat everybody.

Never back down, and always go as a lion.

Looking at your opponent, speaking with the eyes.

Tellinh him that nobody can't stop you.

Interview to Iduardos

This is an interview to the best tryciclist in Spain. Nobody knows this sport, that’s why he is so rude. However, it is very funny too.

Iduardos Pelemax.

 

 

- Good morning Iduardos, may I do some questions to you?

I’m in Spain, here we are not at. I think you must read a little more for your ignorance.

-Whatever you say. May I?

Go ahead, as faster as possible.

- Ok, thanks. How it is possible be the best tryciclist in Spain?

Sincerely, because I am the best, I’m like Lebron James in basket, Messi in football, Nadal in tennis, Contador as a cyclist, phelps as a swimmer and bolt as a runner. I don’t want to rude, but I born like this, what else I can do?

- Do you think that your mind was important to achieve those things?

Mind? Obviously is important. I have to train every day, so I need a perfect head to keep going. But my incredible legs are important too.

- How many "firts medals" do you have in your home?

I don’t know, I just through them away, I’ve got too many.

-Which has been your best experience?

Beating my competitors and laughing at them afterwards

-Which has been you worst experience?

This useful interview

 

-Thanks Iduardos. I suppose you earn the same money as lebron, Messi…

 

F…k you dude.

5 similar blogs

Blog 1: MURTHA'S TRIATHLON BLOG

This blog is about the author own experiences in triathlon competitions. He also explains how he had to fight to get to the final line.

He tries to encourage the people to do sports. That’s what I’m trying to do with my blog: motivate the people.

 

 

Blog 2: http://amateurtrigirl.blogspot.com/

I read the first entries of this blog and it reminds me a lot to mine. In some of her competitions this girl wasn’t enough prepared and he had to fight with her mind to complete her challenges. I had to do the same thing when I did my first IronMan. I had to fight with my mind to get it.

Blog 3: http://gregsclimbingblog.blogspot.com/

This blog is really god. Climbing is one of the sports which explain better the fact of never get down. Many times there is no apparently solution, no rock to grip it. However, if we try one and another time at last we are going to have a solution for  the problem.

 

 

Blog 4: http://www.marathontraining.us/

This blog shows how to get ready for a marathon. I’m trying to do the same but in all the sports. Be mentally ready for any competition, for any sport.

 

Blog 5: http://www.trifuel.com/

How to end an Ironman, how to be ready mentally for a triathlon, how to handle a 4km swimming race… This blog explains how to be prepared for any competition.

8 Images

Jorge Tarrago's Eye

 

This is my eye after swim 2.5 km, that’s why the expression of it shows that I am too tired. It is not completely open. The eye is looking up; I want to reach the top. Never look down, always as up as your eyes permit. It also express respect, I know perfectly that it is going to be a hard way to get where I’m looking.

Above my eye there is a swim glasses. I have the glasses in this position before any competition. I want to see perfectly what is in front of me and at the same time being ready to start.

 

Cheers

 

The beer is a perfect recovery drink. Is not a joke or an irony, it’s totally true; his components make the beer one of the best muscles recovery.

That’s not all, drink a beer with the friends after a competition helps to disconnect of the hard trainings.

When I go through Spain by bike (120 km every day), we drunk a jar of beer every day. It was perfect, the best part of the travel.

 



Where is the limit hat

 

This is not a usual cap. It is a runner one. The hat has a whole to let the transpiration of the head, avoiding to for the insolations.

It is red. That color express anger. Necessary for complete any competition.

The sentence on the front part of the cap is: Where is the limit? We always have a limit to reach, it seems to be impossible, logically, is our limit. However when we get closely to it, we realize that our limit could be higher. That’s why we don’t know where is our limit, we know where is not.

Where is the limit book

 

This book is an inspiriting book written by an economist and triathlete. Just like me, that’s why I choose that book.

The title is “where is the limit” and it explains that we can do all we want.

Jorge Tarrago's Laptop

The computer is really important for me, is where I write all my experiences and my train schedules.

Near from the computer is a key to fix the bike and a jar of water. Those things are right there because when I come to my home after train I leave the jar of water and the key near from my computer.

Sleep bag

 

 

 

I love the mountain, that’s why many times I have had to sleep in a sleep bag. I choose that kind of bed because it fits with me. Sleeping here I may be uncomfortable. However when I get up and I see all the mountains around me, I see that it worth slept like this.

Energy tree

 

The best part of a train is when I rest under a tree recovering energy. That’s why I choose a tree with kind of energy flowing around the tree. The spectacular landscape helps to recover from the hard training.

Lance Amstrong Poster

 

This is one of my favorite quotes. It’s from Lance Amstrong, one of the best sportiest that have ever been, thought there are people that says that he is a cheat.

After won 7 France tours (probably the hardest competition in the world) he said that: “Pain is temporary, it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, even a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. However, if I quit, it last forever”. This sentence inspire me to try what I do hard.

 

Boston marathon

4:09:43, a time as good as the first classified. After those four hours are a daily sacrifice, a constant effort ... with calm, with head and especially an incredible courage. The courage to stand up one day and say: "I will run a marathon." The courage of getting up every morning one hour earlier. The bravery to hear from all voices, the one which speaks weaker, the one that says: "You can".

Something happened, preventing them from crossing the finish line just 10 steps from his deserved challenge ... An explosion that leaves many injured athletes and cause three deaths 

 

This terrible tragedy is so desperate for us. It appears a lot of questions, the questions that we avoid every day. Why? What are they doing wrong? Why is there so much hatred?

I don’t know. I have no idea. I’m not writing to give the solution, I wish I could. I want to support those runners who were there, fighting for a dream. Those who have overcame through thousands of small struggles to get to that point. Probably many of them will decide to throw away the trainers, will have phobia to compete any competition. They won’t hear from sports challenges. What lived, what they saw and what they felt are important reasons for quitting.

Many will fall; hit by the discouragement of seeing this situation ... don’t do it. Run! Today, tomorrow and the rest of your lives, run. Running more than ever, if you were doing 10 miles every day, now do 15. Show them! You are not going to quit.

Whatever the purpose of the twisted mind that placed the explosives, he has failed. All he has done is that we are going to get up from the couch. Go out into the street to run, offering kilometers for a cause. Because we want to prove something ... We are not afraid. WE ARE NOT GOING TO STOP.

 

 

Beyond the competition

Beyond the competition

Athletics, not just for winning championships, some have gotten much more, I want to writte about the most incredible anecdotes in the sports life.

Jesse Owens challenge the most powerfull general ever been, Adolf Hitler.We go back to Nazi Germany. Specifically to 1936, where the Olympic Games were held in Garmisch-Partenkichen and Berlin. In order to implement the Nazi aesthetic, undertook an elaborate propaganda program to show the greatness of German power. To disappeared the violence against the Jewish community. The wolf wanted to dress like a lamb ... It is said that Hitler also wanted to show the truth to the world of his theories of Aryan racial superiority

It is true that Germany managed to collect more medals than other countries, 33 in particular. But Hitler did not expect somebody like Jesse Owens.

Jesse Owens was an African American athlete who won four gold medals (until 1984 nobody achieved many medals): 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, long jump and relay.

Hitler was humiliated and refused to shake hands with the African American athlete. Jesse Owens managed to remove Hitler theories with sporting merit.

This is not the only case that sports can make incredible things. The legend of Pheidippides Marathon who prevent thousands of wives and child’s death.

In the battle of the plains of Marathon, the army of the city of Athens was fighting hard. The enemy swore that if they won they would go to Athens to loot houses, raping women and torturing children. Thus, women were waiting to see if Athens had won the battle or not. If they didn’t appear two days later, their wives had to take of their own lives and their child’s live. Unfortunatel, although they won the battle, the Athenian general Miliciades couldn’t send the message to the city, so he sent Pheidippides, the best athlete.

The story goes that after a full day of battle, he crossed the plain of Marathon on time...

But upon arrival, he fell to the ground losing his live.

It is always the case of the survivor, amazing what Silvia Marcela Larrain. With 55 years, she went sailing to the land of fire to bring a sea plaque in honor of a lieutenant.

By the way her guardian angel fell asleep and let the boat sink 20 km from San Clemente.

Between the cold in his bones, he tormented despair head and tore her skin crabs, it was very difficult. She survived in open waters swimming for 12 hours. Larrain can tell you first hand that the sea is miraculous.

Never stop believing

Today, I will steal a sentence from a friend's blog: “Don’t stop believing”. I´ll explain the meaning of this sentence with a personal experience I had in a triathlon.

I traveled to Tarragona to participate in a Double Olympic Triathlon (3 km swim, 90km bike and 20 run). It was a long distance triathlon. The mind is very important to keep going hard during the entire race.

The race started. I ran to jump into the sea to start swimming. I started very fast because I had a good possibility to win the race in my category, to be the champion of Catalonia in the category under-23 in this kind of race.   

Unfortunately, I had two big problems in the water. My swimming glasses where a little broken and the saltwater was damaging my eyes. Also I forgot to put on Vaseline under my neoprene (swimming suit). The vaseline is important to prevent wounds at the armpits. Usually, with just one kilometer there is an important wound.

                                                 Arriving to the bike-boxes april-2012

 

I completed the three kilometers badly. I was the last one of my category. For me, the race was over. I had two bloody wounds on my back because of the neoprene. The salt of the sea helped the painful to be more aggressive. One of my eyes was completely closed. I couldn’t open it.  The race's assitants ask me to leave.

                                                      Getting out from the wáter. April 2012

Ok, It’s done. I can’t ride a bike with blood in my body and just one eye.

I don’t know why but two seconds I would have left the race, my brave part said to me:

“it’s not over, go and get what you deserve. Too much training for nothing? I don’t think so dude. DON’T’ STOP BELIEVING¡”

 I took my bike and ignoring the advice of the people I started cycling. It was incredibly difficult. The pain in to my body didn’t permit to go as fast as I could. The other competitors passed me without difficulty. (We are talking about the last positions).

I can’t answer why, but suddenly, at 10^th kilometer's, the pain disappeared, my eye opened, and I started to go harder on the two wheels. It was incredible. I was going so fast, my muscles where shouting in anger. A good anger, necessary. I overtook a lot of places. Each kilometer was better than the other.

At kilometer 60 I was IN the 3^th position of my category. I passed the others like a missile and           they couldn’t follow me.

On the bike. April 2012

When I arrived to the third part, I leave my bike very quickly. I started to run very fast, as fast as ever. My legs were working perfectly. I didn’t understand it.

5 kilometers before the final line I was in second position, I was tired, but I believed that I could take the first place. Gritting my teeth I started running more and more.

0.5 kilometers before the end of the race, I saw my last competitor in front of me. He was my friend.

 

Let me do a parenthesis. Before the race, we had been speaking about who was going to win and I said to him: “If we met at the last straight, you don’t have anything to do”. He was in agreement.

I stayed near to him and with breathing problems I said:

All in 100 meters. Like we said.
 

Last 100 meters. April 2012

After this I started running with everything I had. I crossed the line in the first position, and I understood better than ever one thing. NEVER STOP BELIEVING.

1st postion. April 2012

Finish what you start. The only way to be somebody.

I have had much time to think during the race, so no detail is missing: At 8:20 I take out my bike of the car, I check it and I go to the square of viladecavalls.

 30 minutes before the start of the race I start to warm up and prepare mentally on the race. "This is yours, you can win in your category".

The whistle sounds, the race begins , I go like an arrow and I take the first place, even I run away from other contestants, there are a lot of distance between me and the second.

 

I just do not understand very well, this is a really important race, it is plenty of professional athletes. It was a matter of time understanding why this leisurely rhythm of the other competitors. At km three begins what many people would think it is climbing, small mountains of three meters with slopes between 60% and 70%, logs and boulders to jump, rivers to cross… it is pure mountain. In those three miles I lose about 20 positions. I arrive to the bike transition pretty tired and with stiff legs; as usual I take the transition with calm.

In the first km of mountain bike, I brake my shift-bike, I can’t continue the race, my bike is broken.

I reach the first checkpoint and I reviewed the bike with some cyclists who did not belong to the race. I cannot do anything to fix the bike, I'd better leave.

 "! What rage I wake early in the morning, I drive 40 minutes to see this shit of village "

 I take out courage of my hart and I decided to continue the next 20 km running with the bike next to me. Assistants of the checkpoint remind me I'm not quite right of my mind.

"Tu no estàs molt bé del cap nanu" (Catalan- “You are mad boy”)

"Well, I'll be last"

The important thing is not to participate, this is a story that told to the kids who do not never win. The important thing is to finish. If you do not finish, you have not participated. (Each one adapts the story to like him better come to it).

Kilometer 7. With apologies, but fuck up all the forest viladecavalls, not excluding even a single tree or a stone. My legs are very stiff, the 5.5 kilometers were roads that would slide a goat and a cow would not pass. A lot of cyclists scream to me because of being too slow (of course I’m going slowly, I’m running with a bike in my back).

I realize that I left my camel back in the transition box, I'm dehydrated and I have no water. This is being so difficult.

Kilometer 10. I begin to see people leaving, usually punctures and ramps in their twins. But there was some joker who put the typical excuse.

"Buah dude, I’m waiting to a friend"

"What’s going on?, I’m injured"

I want to highlight a comment:

“What’s up¡, yesterday I smoke too much”

The gates of heaven open and appear two angels with trumpets, a cyclist have dropped the can of liquid, I drink entirely in 10 seconds, big mistake, then I return the water to the mountain, but with some add more.

 Kilometer 12. Attendees of the race should be telecommunications engineers, I say this because when asked "How long to the third part of the race?", I received the following answers:

Assistant 1: 4 kilometers

Assistant 3 (3 meters from other ): There are 10.

Assistant 4 (500 meters of the others): It depends on how fast you go (this is from NASA)

Assistant 5 (3 meters 4): gogogo you are almost there (this is a liar).

 Kilometer 18. I start dizzying, vomiting, keys and foot injuries, dehydration, muscle completely stiff, very angry... just two kilometers to the last part, I have to do it. It is important to say that I’m the last of the race.

 Kilometer 20. I reach the second part, I have just three kilometers running without the bike.

I left the bike without the helmet, which upsets a assistant (as according to the rules you cannot have unbuckled helmet bike while you're touching your bike).

" Lady please, I am the last, who cares? "

 "Do it what I said now "

 "ouu, because some stone can fall to my head?" I said ironically

 "What a fuck do you thing do you are ? where is your dorsal ? "     (I broke it by the way)

"It must be in your p..."

I start runnin and I ignore what she is shouting. She couldn’t disqualify me because she didn’t have my dorsal number.

 I run the last 3 km with many problems. I pick up my bike and I go home.

 It was a hell, I was the last classified. But nobody would have done what I did; 20 km running with a bike plus 10 without bike just for finish what I started. That’s the only way to be the best.

 

The challeges start, be ready

This is my third blog. Like the others the base is the sports, but now we will see the sports from other point of view: The incredible power of our mind in the sports.

Through the blog we are going to learn how sports teach us how to overcome any difficulty. The things that we learn from the sports are the keys of some of the problems we see every day.

The pain, the desperation and the impotence are just simple misunderstandings of our mind created by complaints from our body.

When all seems to be done, there is our mind to keep us going harder and achieve our objectives, to reach the top.

 

Nothing is easy. The objectives always are difficult to reach them. There is going to be blood, sweat and tears, but this is the only way to be as we really are… YOU MUST BE THE BEST. Can you handle it?

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit however, it lasts forever”